Tainted (14 page)

“I love you, too, Drake, and I do want to be with you. There’s no way that I can deny that now, but if we do this again, we’re going to take it slow and start over. I don’t know how this is going to work with you being so far away though.”

A smile broke out across my face. If I had known a kiss was all it would take to change her mind, I would have done that first.

“We’ll figure it out. We always do.” I kissed her softly. “But I can’t agree to the taking-it-slow part.”

“Why not?” she asked, confused.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small box. “After I checked out of rehab, the first thing I did was stop at the jewelry store, and I picked this up.”

Her mouth dropped open as I lowered myself to one knee and opened the box to reveal a sparkling diamond ring.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

Before I met Chloe, if someone told me I would be down on one knee, asking the woman I loved to marry me, I would have kicked that person’s ass. Before her, marriage had been nothing more than a trap that others fell into. I was too smart for that, or so I had thought.

“Chloe Marie Richards, I never thought I would ever be one of those dumbasses who loves a woman so much he wants to tie himself to her forever, but here I am, down on one knee, trying to think of something sweet and romantic to say. As you can tell, I’m failing miserably, so will you please put me out of my misery and say yes if I ask you to marry me?”

She laughed as I stared up at her.

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask me to find out.”

“I thought I just did.”

“No, you asked me if I would say yes if you asked me to marry you. It’s not the same.”

I groaned. “You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?”

“After the last six months? I think not. You’re lucky that I haven’t thrown you out yet.”

“Fine. Chloe, will you please marry me? I promise to love and cherish you forever and always, and I promise to give you lots of mind-blowing sex every day.”

“Even when we’re ninety and walking with canes?” she asked with a serious look on her face.

“Damn it, quit stalling! Will you marry me or not?”

“Well, since you asked me so nicely, I guess I have to now.” She laughed.

“That was a yes, right?”

“That was a yes.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding as I pulled the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger. “Thank God.”

“Aren’t you going to kiss me or something now? You’re not very good at this, you know.”

“I was getting to that part, smart-ass.” I stood back up and pulled her into my arms. “I can’t wait until you’re Mrs. Drake Allen. Hell, maybe even one day, we will have two-point-five children and live in a log cabin by a lake.”

She grinned. “I never understood that whole point-five thing, but I wouldn’t mind kids someday. I love you, Drake. I don’t think I could be any happier than I am right now.”

“Me, too, baby. Me, too.” I attacked her mouth.

I was going to make up for every lost moment with her even if it took me all night or all year. I didn’t care. I had her in my arms, and there was nothing in this world that would ever tear us apart.

I knew we had a lot to figure out, especially with me living in Los Angeles now, but I wasn’t worried. Sometimes, life threw curveballs, but other times, it seemed like everything fell into place. I was determined to make sure Chloe had her happily ever after, starting right now.

I zipped the last bag and threw it on top of the pile of stuff sitting beside my bedroom door. This was it. I was really doing it. I was going to move across the country to be with Drake. I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d lost my damn mind. I was giving up everything to take a chance on someone who had broken me. I loved him though, and I knew in my heart that I was doing the right thing. We still had so many issues to work through, but I was willing to try if it meant spending the rest of my life with him.

Three months had passed since he’d appeared on my porch after over six months of no contact. The next day, he’d gone back to Los Angeles to record more songs for the album. Since then, he had tried on more than one occasion to get back to me, but it hadn’t worked out. With the album, photo shoots, promotions, and everything else they could throw at him, the label had kept him busy constantly, so he hadn’t been able to leave. We’d talked several times a week, but it hadn’t been the same.

Now, I was going to be with him daily. We’d done little to work through our issues. We hadn’t wanted to do it over the phone, but we could finally start now. I wasn’t sure if moving in with him while working on our relationship was going to be a good thing or not. I just hoped that it would be. I wanted things to go back to the way they had been between us. I was starting to heal from what he had done, but I wasn’t quite there yet. I needed to be with him, so we could do it together.

A knock sounded on my bedroom door, and Logan popped his head in. “You got a sec?”

“Sure. Come on in.”

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “I see you’re packed and ready to go.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I just finished. I don’t think it has sunk in yet that I’m actually leaving. It’s going to be so scary to start over thousands of miles away from home.”

He sat down beside me and pulled me close. “I’m going to miss you, Chloe. It won’t be the same around here without you.”

“Don’t lie. You’ll finally be rid of me. You’re probably planning a party to celebrate my departure!” I joked.

“Not even close. I’m going to pop some popcorn and cuddle up with a blanket on the couch to watch Johnny Depp or some stupid girlie shit like that.”

I laughed. “You will not watch Johnny without me. It’s in our friendship code.”

“I wouldn’t watch it with
you, so there’s no chance I’m watching it without you. I hate that stupid pirate movie.”

“Don’t hate on Johnny. He helped me through some really rough times.”

Logan’s smile slipped a bit, and he squeezed me gently. “If something happens, call me. I’ll find a way to get there to help you, okay?”

“Nothing is going to happen, so don’t worry about me. Drake and I have a lot of work to do, but I love him, and he loves me. It’s just going to take some time to get back to where we were. I lost my trust in him, and he lost himself.”

“I know you love him. I just don’t want to see you hurt anymore. Just promise me that you’ll call me if something happens.”

“I promise, but please don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can, but that doesn’t mean I won’t worry.”

I knew he would worry. It was just the way he was. Logan was one of those people who cared so much that it killed him to see when his friends were hurting.

“I know. Just try not to though. Go out and get a girlfriend or something. You need to get a social life.”

He elbowed me. “I do have a social life. I have friends. I’m just not interested in dating anyone right now. I need to focus on school.”

“You’re such an overachiever. Promise me that you’ll try to get out more.”

He sighed. “I will. You’re a hard act to follow though, Chloe. Whatever girl catches my attention will have to work hard to be as cool as you are.”

“I am pretty awesome.” I paused, staring at Logan. “We’re still good, aren’t we? I mean, you don’t think about me like that anymore, right?”

“You’re nothing more than my best friend. I realized long ago that Drake was the one for you, and I’ve finally accepted that, but it doesn’t mean I’m ready to move on. I’ll get there, but it might be a while.”

I hugged him tightly. “You’re a great guy, and the girl who manages to snag you will be very lucky. I just hope she’s good enough.”

Amber opened my door, and we both looked up. “Drake just pulled in. You ready?”

I released Logan and nodded as I stood. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

They followed me to the front door. When I opened it, Drake was standing there with his hand held up, getting ready to knock. The smile that broke across his face was infectious, and I found myself smiling back. He looked good. No, he looked amazing. The last time I’d seen him, he had looked good, but now, he was downright beautiful. He looked so happy, and knowing I was one reason for his happiness made my heart swell.

“Hi,” I said lamely.

“Hi, back. I’ve missed you.” He stepped closer and planted a kiss on my forehead.

We’d talked about toning down the physical part of our relationship and I was glad to see he was trying to keep his promise to be good. If he’d tried to kiss me, I know I would have caved right there. I’d missed his lips and his touch, and not having him now was a cruel torture. I wanted to do this right though, and that meant slowly building our relationship back to where it was. We were starting over even though I had his ring on my finger. I guess we were healing in reverse.

“You ready?” he asked.

I nodded as I stepped back to let him in. “Yeah, I have everything packed and ready to go. You just have to carry it to your car.”

I had expected him to complain about carrying out my things. After all, I was packing up everything I owned, but he only nodded and walked down the hallway to my room. Logan followed, and a few seconds later, both reemerged with a few of my bags. Amber and I grabbed a few more, and we loaded them into Drake’s car. I was glad he’d borrowed the label’s private plane, or I would have been forced to ship everything. I could only imagine the charges.

“That’s the last of it.” Drake slammed the trunk of his car closed.

“Thank God,” Logan grumbled.

I laughed and pulled Logan into a hug. “Thanks for helping.”

“You’re welcome, Chloe. Just take care of yourself, okay?” he whispered into my ear.

“I will. I love you, Logan.”

“Love you, too. Now, go before I decide I want you to stay. I doubt Drake would appreciate it if I kidnapped you.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Drake said from behind me.

I turned to see him standing just a few feet behind us. He didn’t look mad though. He seemed strangely calm around Logan. After everything happened between the three of us, the two of them had never really been able to hang around each other, but it was good to see that Drake was trying to accept Logan. I loved Drake, and I needed him to accept my friendship with Logan. He was trying, and that made me happier than I could have ever imagined.

I turned to see Amber watching me with tears in her eyes. “Don’t cry, Amber. We’ll see each other again.”

“It’s not the same though. I feel like I’m losing my best friend,” she cried.

“You know you can come out to Los Angeles this summer, and I’ll come back to visit, too.”

“It won’t be the same!” she whined.

She ran over to me and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her tightly, afraid to let go. I knew it would be different. I was used to having Amber and Logan around constantly. I was going to feel lost without them.

Amber pulled away. “Go. I don’t want any long, drawn-out good-byes. It’ll just make me miss you more.”

I nodded as I waved at both of them. I got into Drake’s car and turned in my seat as Drake started the car. As he pulled away, I watched Amber and Logan until they disappeared from sight when the car turned the corner. A single tear slid down my cheek as I realized that I was losing two of my best friends. Sure, we would always be friends, but it wouldn’t be the same with us living so far apart from one another. I just hoped that Amber and Logan took care of each other.

“You okay?” Drake glanced over at me.

“Yeah, it’s just hard to say good-bye. I’m going to miss them so much.”

“I know, but you’ll still get to see them from time to time. Plus, you won’t be alone once we get home. Jade will be there, and I know how much you like her.” He reached over and squeezed my hand.

That was true. While Jade and I weren’t best friends, like I was with Logan and Amber, I still loved her to death. We had been texting more since Drake had come back into my life, and she was excited that I was finally going to join them in Los Angeles. I thought she was secretly tired of hanging around just guys. I couldn’t blame her though. If I had to deal with only Drake, Eric, and Adam all day, every day, I’d pull out my hair.