Tainted (19 page)

“Thank you.” He kissed my cheek.

“For what?” I teased.

“For trying something out of your comfort zone for me.”

“I’d try just about anything for you.”

When I sat up, the movement caused his dick to twitch inside me. I needed to return to my seat before he decided he wanted to go again. He helped me as I slid off his lap and went back into my seat. I grabbed my bra and shirt and started putting them back on as he buttoned his shirt and pants back up.

He watched me pull my shirt over my head. “You could always leave those off. I wouldn’t mind.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t.”

Drake finally gave in and stopped at a small hotel for the night, even though he wanted to keep going. We were exhausted from the long drive, and we crashed the minute we walked through the door.

When I opened my eyes, it was almost two in the afternoon. I groaned as I rolled over to look at Drake. I panicked for a moment when I saw that his side of the bed was empty, but I relaxed when I heard the shower. I stared up at the ceiling as I waited for him to finish, so I could shower before we left.

These last few days with Drake had been incredible, and I wasn’t ready to join the rest of the world again. Once we made it to L.A., I knew Drake would be busy, and we wouldn’t be able to spend as much time together as I would like. The band would start touring soon, but at least, I would be able to travel with him.

We’d had several conversations about what would happen once the band went on tour. Two of my major concerns were my college education and the groupies who were sure to be around constantly. The first had caused a bit of tension between us because Drake wanted me to quit school, but I wouldn’t do it. He constantly told me that he would take care of us financially, but I didn’t want to take a chance. Sure, I had the money my aunt had left me, but I didn’t want to touch it if I didn’t have to. If something were to happen between the two of us, then I’d be alone with no hope of finding a decent job. It wasn’t that I didn’t have faith in us. I just wanted to stand on my own two feet. I’d turned to Drake for a lot of things in life, especially after everything with my mom, and I didn’t want to become completely dependent on him. After several small arguments, we’d both agreed to compromise. I wouldn’t attend a traditional college. Instead, I would do my classes online. That way, I would still be in school, but I could travel with him on the tour bus.

There was no true resolution for my second concern. We both knew that groupies would hang around, and neither of us could do anything about it. I just had to accept the fact that they would be a part of his life, and I would have to trust that he wouldn’t betray me. After everything that we’d endured, I trusted him. I just needed the voices in my head to shut up and go along with my decision.

Drake walked back into the room. “What are you concentrating on over there? You look like you’re in deep thought.”

“Nothing important,” I answered.

“Chloe, you can tell me anything. What’s making you frown like that?”

I sighed. “The usual. I was just thinking about how I’ll deal with all the girls who will show up when you start touring.”

He ran his hands through his wet hair as he sat down next to me. “Babe, we’ve talked about this. No one will ever compare to you. I just got you back. I’d never give up what we have for one of those girls.”

“I know, but it still sucks.”

“It does, but it’s a part of this life. You’ve handled it well so far.”

“Yeah, but it’s going to be ten times worse now that you’re a big-time band. Girls will be lining up to meet you, and most of them won’t be wearing very many clothes.”

“I’ve seen you naked. Nothing compares to that.” He grinned down at me.

“You’re such a charmer.”

“I know. It’s one of the many things you love about me.” He leaned down and kissed me. “Now, get your stinky ass to the shower. We need to go.”

“I do not stink!” I smacked him.

“Sure you don’t. Go shower.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine.” I stood and grabbed a set of clothes to change into after my shower.

We were back on the road. Time seemed to speed up since I wanted it to slow down. Before I knew it, we were passing a sign welcoming us to California. I couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of excitement as we passed into my new home state. I’d traveled with my mother several years earlier, but this was the farthest I’d ever been from West Virginia. I knew I was in for a culture shock, and I was trying to prepare myself for it.

The closer we got to L.A., the quieter I became. My nerves were starting to get the better of me, and I couldn’t seem to get my leg to stop jumping.

“Hey, are you okay?” Drake asked.

“I’m fine. I’m just nervous.”

“Don’t be. The band is excited that you’re joining us, especially Jade.”

“I can’t wait to see them. I’ve missed them.”

“You mean a lot to them. Adam even seems to like you.”

I laughed. “Gee, what a compliment.”

“With him, it is. He doesn’t like many girls.”

“What about Amber? Does he like her?”

Drake was silent for a minute before answering. “I don’t know what’s going on with those two. Amber is your friend, so I try to stay out of it.”

“I just don’t want him to hurt her. She says nothing is going on between them, but she gets this stupid dreamy look on her face when I mention him. I’m pretty sure that they’re still talking.”

“Adam doesn’t talk to girls. If he’s talking with her months after they’ve been around each other, something is going on with them. I just don’t know how he’ll handle it. Adam’s past isn’t that great.”

I didn’t know much about any of the band members’ pasts. I never thought it was my place to ask, but his comment intrigued me.

“Why? What happened?”

“It’s not my place to say. All of us have pasts where we’ve dealt with bullshit. The guys and Jade are good people despite the things they’ve had to deal with.”

“I had no idea. They’ve never mentioned anything before.”

“There are things that people try to forget. It’s not that they don’t want you to know, it’s just the simple fact that they don’t like to think about it.”

“After growing up with my mother, I can understand that.”

He glanced over at me. “Is there anything you haven’t told me?”

I sighed. “There are things that I haven’t told anyone. You know most of it though.”

He reached over and took my hand. “If and when you’re ready, you know I’m here. We’re a team, and I’ll help you through anything.”

“I know. I just want to put it behind me. We’re out here, thousands of miles away from home, and it’s time to start fresh.”

“You’re right on everything except for the home part. We’re not thousands of miles from home. We are home. This is our home now.”

“True, but West Virginia will always be my home. Everything important to me happened there. We met there.”

“And now we’ll spend the rest of our lives together, doing whatever the fuck we want, wherever we want.”

I laughed. Leave it to Drake to ruin a sentimental moment with his sarcasm and use of foul language. He had accomplished one thing at least. I wasn’t nearly as nervous as before.

That changed when we hit L.A. city limits and my stomach did a nervous little flip. I watched in awe as Drake weaved through traffic like he’d been doing it all his life. We finally managed to break free from the traffic jams, and we were now on a highway where the traffic was actually moving.

As soon as I’d agreed to move out here with him, Drake had broken the lease on the apartment Jade had gotten him while he was in rehab. He’d bought a house, but I knew nothing about where it was at or what it looked like. I had secretly hoped that it wouldn’t be right in the middle of Los Angeles, and when we arrived, I was glad to see that it wasn’t. It was in one of the less populated areas of town. As we drove slowly down the street, I saw kids playing outside. It seemed like the type of neighborhood that had families instead of crazy rock stars. It was perfect.

Drake pulled into the driveway of a large, simple home. I should have expected something like that from him. He wasn’t the type to go for flashy. It was a white two-story house with a black roof. It had a small front porch with a high privacy fence extending all the way around the house. The only hint that someone important lived here was the keypad on the gate and the fence.

“Welcome home,” Drake said.

We grabbed a few of my bags and walked to the front door. I smiled as he unlocked it and held it open for me. As soon as I was through the door, I noticed a banner hanging from the staircase to the wall beside it.
Welcome home, Chloe!
was written across it. Out of nowhere, Adam, Eric, and Jade appeared. They were all grinning from ear to ear as they walked toward us.

“Chloe! I missed you!” Jade squealed as she ran forward and hugged me.

“I missed you, too.” I hugged her back.

I really had missed her and the guys. I hadn’t realized what a big part of my life they were until they were gone.

“It’s good to have you back,” Eric whispered as gave me a quick one-armed hug.

“It’s good to be back,” I whispered back.

Adam surprised me by grabbing me and literally throwing me into the air. “It’s about time you got your ass back here. Now, maybe Drake won’t be such a moping loser.”

Drake rolled his eyes as he watched our exchange. “You’re an ass.”

“I try.”

“What are you guys doing here?” I asked.

“Drake texted Eric when you guys got to L.A. We put the banner up yesterday, so we came over to chill until you got here,” Adam said.

“We didn’t want to miss your homecoming,” Jade added.

“And Drake said something about all of us going out for dinner. I swear he mentioned he was going to pay, too.” Eric grinned at Drake.

“You guys are only here because you want free food,” Drake grumbled.

“I’m offended,” Adam said as he pretended to be shocked.

“Sure you are. Why don’t you and Eric make yourselves useful and carry the rest of Chloe’s bags in while I show her our room?”

“We’re guests. We don’t have to do anything.” Adam grinned.

Eric smacked him across the head. “Come on, asshole. Let’s go get her stuff.”

“I’ll hang out down here until you guys are ready to go. There’s a box on your bed. Make sure you put it on for tonight,” Jade said.

She walked into the living room and sat down on a black leather couch. I raised an eyebrow. I loved Jade, but I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about something she had bought me. I was kind of picky when it came to clothes.

“Okay,” I said.

I followed Drake up the stairs to the second floor. We walked down a hallway until we reached the door at the very end. He pushed open the door and went in, setting down one of my bags that he’d carried up. Our room in his house back in West Virginia had been almost completely empty, but this one was filled. The walls were covered in photos of Drake and me and of the band. There was also a plaque with their first album that would be releasing soon. Stepping into his room was like I had walked into one massive photo album.

“Wow.” My mouth dropped open in shock.