Page 22 of Breaking Free (Guarded Hearts)
He withdraws his hand from mine and his eyes become cold and distant. “It’s something I need.”
“Why?”
“Because I do.” He won’t even look at me.
“You said I could ask you whatever I wanted.” I can hear the whine in my voice but I really don’t care.
“I said you couldask, I didn’t say I would give you the answer that you wanted. I answered your question as far as I’m going to right now.”
I can tell that the discussion is over, but now I’m more curious than ever.
“When was your last relationship?”
He turns toward me, reaches over, and starts to massage my shoulders.Damn, it feels amazing.“In high school.” He brushes my hair to the side and kisses the nape of my neck.
“Mmmmm, what made you come up to me that day before the concert?” I rest the side of my head against the seat, enjoying the feel of his hands on me.
He leans close to my ear. “Because you looked so fucking beautiful, but also so damn sad. I was drawn to you and I wanted to know why you were so upset. I knew even when I first walked over to you that day that I wouldn’t be able to stay away from you.”
I feel someone shaking my shoulder, and when I open my eyes people are moving through the aisles. I look to my side at Drew and he’s smiling. “Good morning.”
I fell asleep? How did that happen? The last thing I remember is Drew telling me about the first time we met and massaging my shoulders. Wait a minute. I look at him accusingly. “You did that on purpose. You relaxed me so much that I fell asleep on purpose!”
He plasters and innocent look on his face. “Who, me? Never. Come, let’s go, we’re here.”
“That’s fine. I’ll get you back somehow.” I get up, but before I can move into the aisle, Drew rises and pulls me against him.
“I don’t know how you’ll do that. There is no way in hell I’d fall asleep when I know what’s waiting for me when we get home.” He kisses my neck and pushes me toward the aisle. “Listen, this is LAX and there are always photographers hanging out trying to catch people coming and going. You have to be ready for this. I forgot to bring a hat. Take my sweatshirt and once we pass security put the hood up, okay?”
“Yeah.” I bite my lower lip after I pull his sweatshirt on. I’m nervous for this, even though I knew that Drew had done it many times before.
“Hey.” I look up at Drew. He kisses me on the lips softly. “You’ll be fine.” We exit the plane and Drew grabs my hand. After a few minutes of walking through the terminal I can see the security gate. “Put your hood up.”
I do as he says. After we pass security, I breathe a sigh of relief. No one has popped out at us and we’re almost at the exit. Then I hear the tell tale sound of camera shutters. The reporters are all screaming Drew’s name and asking questions about me. Drew squeezes my hand and it reassures me that we will be fine. We walk through the automatic doors with the photographers still following us. There’s a black SUV waiting at the curb just like the one from the days before.
We climb into the car, and when the door closes, I let out a sigh of relief. Then I remember that we never went to baggage claim. “What about my bags?”
“I sent someone to grab them already.” I relax back in the seat. Once we start driving, my anxiety goes away. I hate those people so much. It isn’t just that they’re always following Drew, but the things they say are so mean and hurtful at times. As we drive through the city, it’s mesmerizing; all of the lights make it look so alive.
We pull up to a gated community and our driver punches a code into the keypad. The gate slowly opens and we drive through the development until we stop outside of one of the most amazing houses I’ve ever seen. The house is a tan color and nearly three stories tall. There are two intricate stone railings that lead up a set of steps to a dark wood door. Drew gets out of the car and then just looks at me and waits. I step out of the car, trying to take in the grandeur in front of me.
He takes my hand and we walk up the steps. My heart feels as though it is pounding out of my chest, even though I’m not really sure why. The driver places our bags inside the door, Drew slips him a tip, and then the door closes and we’re alone. I lean against the wall and look around at the room we’re standing in. The ceiling goes all the way up to the roof and you can see two different floors enclosed by white railings.
Drew stands in front of me and puts his hands on my hips. “What do you think?”
I look at him, unsure of how to answer at first. “It’s so big.”That’s an amazing answer, Holly. Good job.
“Yeah?” He’s so close to my face, and before I can reply, he kisses me. Our kiss immediately catches fire and he lifts me by my butt and presses me against the wall for support. The sweatshirt he’d given me earlier is quickly pulled over my head. His hands roam across my chest before resting at the top of my shirt and ripping it in half. This shouldn’t surprise me; he’s already expressed a dislike for clothes.
We hear footsteps coming and immediately freeze. “Andrew?” I look past Drew and see a well put together woman standing at the other end of the room staring at us.
“Mom? What are you doing here?”Mom?! Oh my God. Kill me now.This is just the perfect situation to meet someone’s mother.
“Drew Drew!” A little girl comes running into the room and Drew curses under his breath.
He quickly scoops up the discarded sweatshirt and shoves it at me. “Put this on, fast.” I do as he says and have it in place just before the little girl reaches us. “Hi, Maya, what are you doing here?” He lifts her into his arms, causing her to squeal.
“Me and Mommy came to surprise you! Surprise.” Drew laughs. His mother comes closer toward us but I can’t even look her in the eye.
