Because we've both been out of the game so long, and have really missed writing, my good friend (she was actually my very FIRST friend on this hellsite 😋❤️) @walkerismychoice and I have decided to motivate each other by writing together using our LI's and MC's from different choices books. I'll be using Drake Walker and my MC, Ava Matheson from TRR, and Maggie will be using Bryce Lahela and her MC, Charlie Hawkins from Open Heart.
This story will hopefully be the first of a weekly series of one-shots using @choicesflashfics prompts.
We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it! ❤️
Prompt 3 — “Wait a second. Pause and rewind … what did you just say?”
Book: TRR/OPH
Pairings: Drake x Ava, Bryce x Charlie
Rating: M
TW: Gun Violence
“Little Blossom?”
Ava’s eyes flew open.
She was momentarily disoriented, caught somewhere between a memory and a nightmare. But as her eyes focused and she took in the institutional green walls and naugahyde seating of a hospital waiting room, the crushing reality of the evening’s events came flooding back.
***
Ava! Get down!”
Drake’s warning was the last thing she heard before his body slammed into hers, knocking her to the ground. She screamed as a bomb exploded nearby, raining chunks of rubble down all around them as the acrid smell of gunfire burned her nostrils.
“Drake?” She cried, “Drake, we have to get out of here!
He didn’t move.
“Drake!“ Ava began to panic as she felt the warm, sticky dampness of his blood seep into her ballgown. She reached out to press her hand to his cheek and his eyelids fluttered open for just a moment. He gave her a small smile.
“I love you, Matheson.” He mumbled faintly as his eyes closed once again.
“NO! Drake, wake up! Please, baby. I need you to wake up!” She tried to wiggle out from underneath him, but the weight of his body was too much for her.
HELP!” She screamed, praying that her cries were loud enough to be heard over the chaos around them, “PLEASE! … SOMEBODY HELP US!”
After what felt like an eternity, she felt Drake’s weight lifted from her body. She immediately scrambled to her knees crawling on all fours to where he lay prone on the ballroom floor, his suit soaked with blood.
“Oh my God!” She gasped, “Drake!”
Bastien was kneeling over him, both hands pressed over a wound in Drake's shoulder as he barked out orders. “I NEED A MEDIC AND AN UNMARKED CAR…NOW!”
“Bastien! What’s going on?” Tears streamed down Ava’s face as she grabbed Drake’s hand, alarmed by how cold it felt.
“Terrorist attack. Drake took a bullet.”
Ava looked to Bastien for reassurance, “But…he’s going to be okay, right?”
He wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“Bastien! Tell me he’s going to be okay.” She begged, “Please!”
He finally looked up, and the expression on his face made Ava’s blood run cold.
“The wound is close to his heart and he’s lost a lot of blood.” Bastien’s voice was somber, “If we can get him to the hospital quickly, he might have a chance.”
“Might?” Ava pressed a hand over her mouth and felt her stomach lurch.
No! This can’t be happening. We were finally going to start our lives together. I can’t lose him now.
***
Maxwell knelt down beside the chair Ava had finally collapsed into after pacing the hospital corridors for hours. He placed his hand over hers and squeezed gently. “There’s a nurse here who wants to talk to you.”
Heart hammering in her chest, Ava jumped to her feet, ignoring the pain of her own injuries as she anxiously faced the young nurse standing in the doorway.
“Is he okay?” She asked, “Is he out of surgery? Can I see him?”
The nurse smiled kindly, the rapid-fire questions not phasing her in the least.
“Mr. Walker is still in surgery…”
When Ava’s face crumpled, the nurse crossed the room to place a comforting hand on her arm, “But he has one of our top surgeons working on him, so rest assured, he’s in the best possible hands.” She smiled warmly, “In fact, Dr. Lehela wanted me to let you know that Mr. Walker is out of the woods. The bullet has been removed and they’re just cleaning out the remaining debris. There was some concern about bone fragments splintering off and causing damage to the surrounding heart tissue, but that doesn't appear to have been the case.”
Ava felt her legs go weak with relief.
“Oh, Thank God.”
She felt Maxwell’s arms encircle her and sank wearily into his comforting embrace.
“See, Blossom.” He said, encouragingly, “I told you he was going to be okay. It’ll take more than a tiny little bullet to take him out.”
Ava nodded and squeezed Max’s hand without breaking eye contact with the nurse.
“How much longer do you think it’ll be before I can see him?”
“Once he’s out of surgery, he’ll go to recovery." She replied with a comforting smile. "It’s hard to say how long he’ll be there, as everyone comes out of anesthesia differently, but a conservative estimate would be another hour or two. Then he’ll be settled into a room and can receive visitors.”
Ava nodded and swiped at the tears which were once again sliding down her cheeks. But this time, they were tears of relief.
“Thank you.”
The nurse smiled. “Of course. I’ll come get you when I have his room assignment.”
Ava thanked her again.
Drake was going to be okay. Liam had been unharmed in the attack and Bastien and Kiara came away with only minor injuries. Somehow they’d all survived.
Suddenly Ava’s stomach growled…LOUDLY.
Maxwell laughed. “Okay, now that we know Drake is okay…it’s time to take care of YOU.”
Ava began to protest but Maxwell was already propelling her toward the door. “No more excuses! You need food, or at the very least some coffee, or you’ll find yourself in a hospital bed of your own. Now MOVE!”
Maxwell was wearing his stubborn expression, so Ava knew resistance was futile.
She let him lead her down to the Cafeteria. “I’ll go back up to the waiting room and let you know immediately if I hear anything from the doctors.”
“Thank you.” Ava replied weekly before walking through the cafeteria doors and meandering aimlessly towards the various food offerings.
—--
Charlie checked the time on her Apple watch. Wow, a whole 30 minutes for lunch today, she thought. Typically she was lucky to get half of that. Nobody ever told her the life of a hospital internist would be glamorous, but she still hadn’t been prepared for how tired and hungry she’d be so much of the time. Although they bill residency as a training program for your selected specialty, Charlie swore it was also meant to be a boot camp that only the strong survived. Only one more year and she’d have some semblance of a normal schedule as an attending physician.
“Coffee. Must have coffee first.” Charlie mumbled to herself, taking in the aroma of freshly brewed beans as she marched towards the machines only to be stopped in her tracks by someone hovering in front of them. Charlie went left, but then the woman went left. Then she tried to go right, but the woman shuffled to the right. Her patience running thin, Charlie spoke up. “Excuse me, could I sneak in here?”
“I’m sorry.” The woman spun to face her, and Charlie’s irritation melted away. The woman looked sad and tired for sure, but that was not an uncommon sight for visitors of the hospital cafeteria. There was something about her that drew Charlie in and made her want to comfort the woman. Maybe it was the fact that Charlie could see a little bit of herself in her - definitely not the flawless deep olive skin tone and dark hair, wildly contrasting with Charlie’s strawberry blonde locks and accompanying creamy white skin, but they appeared about the same age, and there was just something there that made them alike. Although Charlie was not prone to striking up friendships with hospital visitors, something told Charlie this was a connection she should make.
“Let me buy you a coffee.” Charlie offered.
The woman looked Charlie up and down, seemingly noting Charlie’s white coat and ID badge. “No, that’s okay. You can just go first. I have no idea what I want.”
“Please, I insist. Free coffee is one of the few perks I get for devoting my life to this place.” They both laughed and Charlie saw the first little spark of life return to the woman’s eyes.
Charlie grabbed two prepackaged sandwiches to go with the coffees and brought them over to the woman who had already seated herself at a cafeteria table.
"Thank you so much…" she glanced at the ID badge again, "....Dr. Hawkins. "I was too much of a wreck to even pick out something to eat. I'm sure you're busy, but would you care to join me?"
Again, it wasn't typical of Charlie to hang out with random hospital guests, but she knew this woman needed a friend right now, and maybe that feeling was mutual. "Sure, I still have about 20 more minutes." Charlie sat down. "But you can call me Charlie."
"Well thank you again, Charlie, I'm Ava."
"Nice to meet you, Ava." Charlie hesitated for a moment before asking, "If it's not too forward, do you want to talk about your loved one here that's got you so worried?... Only if you want to talk about it."
Ava's facial expression grew somber once again. She took a deep breath before letting everything spill out - getting invited to Cordonia on a whim to compete for the future King's heart, fate stepping in when she fell for his best friend Drake instead, and all the political drama and everything leading up to the events that brought her to this particular hospital cafeteria. Despite the tears streaming down Ava’s face, the air about her felt a little bit lighter.
"I'm sorry." Charlie squeezed Ava’s hand from across the table. "This must be so scary for you, but Edenbrook is a great hospital. I'm sure Drake is in great hands. Do you know who his surgeon is? I probably know them or at least know of them.”
Ava pursed her lips in concentration. “Dr, La-....hala? I think it’s something like that.”
Charlie smirked. “Young, kind of surfer boy-esque, and cocky as all hell because he knows how good-looking he is?”
Ava laughed nervously. “Yeah, that sounds like him. Please tell me he’s also a good surgeon.”
“Dr. Lahela can be kind of cocky bastard at times, but I love him. And yes, he’s a great surgeon, and I’m not just saying that because I’m biased.”
“Wait…” Ava seemed to be putting the pieces together. “You like love, love him? Are you two-”
“Yes, Bryce is my boyfriend. I might not have been so complimentary about his other characteristics otherwise.”
They both devolved into laughter until Ava spoke up again. “I like your sense of humor. Sounds like you need it to put up with him, just like me with my….Drake.” Ava quiets for a moment and then asks, “So I take it you two met here at Edenbrook?”
“Well, that’s a funny story.” Charlie wondered if she really wanted to get into this with a relative stranger, but Ava had already shared so much and could probably use the distraction anyway. “We actually met at a strip club, and believe it or not, Bryce was a stripper.”
Ava’s eyes opened wide. “Wait a second. Pause and rewind … what did you just say?”
Charlie inhaled deeply. “Okay, I don’t have a ton of time left on my break, so I’ll give you the condensed version. My med school friends dragged me out to a strip club to celebrate after we graduated. I was in a funk because I’d been recently dumped by the douchebag I thought I was going to marry and to top it off, I was set to be in my awful cousin’s weeklong wedding extravaganza and was in no mood to be questioned about the whereabouts of my plus one. Said friends paid for a private lap dance for me. In my drunken state, I got the bright idea to hire the stripper to be my fake boyfriend for the wedding. Somewhere along the way, fake boyfriend turned into real love interest. I learned he wasn’t just a stripper but had worked his way through med school and was about to hang up his banana hammocks to start his residency. As fate would have it, we’d both matched at Edenbrook and two years later, here we are.”
“Woah. And I thought mine and Drake’s relationship had an unconventional start.” Ava peeked down at her phone on the table. “I’m definitely going to need the feature-length presentation of this story another time, but my friend Maxwell just texted that Drake’s out of surgery!”
“That’s great news!” Charlie got up with Ava and walked out to the elevators with her. “I’ll walk you back up there since I’m headed that way.
Little did either of them know that this chance meeting would be the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
Now that I'm actually *gasp* writing again. I figured I should probably make an 'official' tag list.
I know that just because you follow me, it doesn't necessarily mean that you want to be tagged in my stuff, soooooo... here's your chance to ignore this post and get off the hook.😉
For those of you that kept reading... it's your funeral. But thank youuuu!!! 🥰
As of now, the only thing I've posted on this new blog is Serendipity , my crossover/collaboration with @walkerismychoice . ❤️ But I do plan on writing more Drake x Ava (Both the adult canon(ish) pairing as well as the college au pairing, or College man-ho Drake as it's been affectionately dubbed.😏😂) And who knows, maybe even something completely different. Ya never know. 😋
So, if you want to be on my taglist, just let me know either in the comments or drop me a message. Let me know if u want to be permatagged or just tagged in Serendipity.
Also, if you just like 👍 this post...you're getting stuck on my permatag because a like on these posts really confuses me. 😂 I never know what that means.
I'm also thinking about creating a masterlist and reposting some of my old stuff because I've had some requests for that. (Thank you and I love all of you that have reached out. You know who you are. 😉)
For now, I'm tagging my "Forever Permas" because each one of them knows embarrassing and incriminating shit about me, so I need to keep them close. 😏
When I deactivated my old blog, I lost all of my asks. So if anyone has any ideas, thoughts, prompts...anything at all... feel free to send them. My asks are officially open
Okay, so I know that I’ve missed every deadline. 🙈 But the thing is...I started all of them!!! LOL I just have terrible follow-through.
So I combined weeks 2 and 3 (party prep and party time) into one mood board to try and get back on track. I apologize profusely to @choicesmcmadness for completely flouting the rules, but here we are. 😋
Ava is my MC from The Royal Romance series (and the Royal Heir, although I’d rather forget that travesty.🤮)
Are they going to be bringing a date to the party?
Ava will be accompanied by her husband Drake Walker, The Duke of Valtoria.
MC Mixer - Week 2
PARTY PREP
What will your MC / OC and their date(s) be wearing?
Ava is generally a very down-to-earth girl who spends most days in yoga gear with her hair up in a messy bun as she chases around after her two small children. However, she does LOVE to get fully glammed up for a special night out and even has a closet devoted entirely to her extensive collection of cocktail dresses and formal designer ball gowns. For this occasion, Ava has chosen a strapless, feathered gown by Armani paired with Cartier chandelier earrings.
Drake will also be wearing Armani, simply because it’s what Ava laid out for him. He doesn’t even grumble about it anymore, as he has placed this issue firmly into the “pick your battles” portion of their marriage. But, much as he hates to admit it, he doesn’t mind dressing up as much as he once did. With a woman like Ava on his arm, he had to up his fashion game, and there’s no denying he looks pretty damn good in a well-tailored suit.
On important nights such as this, Drake will wear his father’s black Rolex, a gift from King Constantine for 10 years of loyal service to the crown.
Do they have any rituals or other things they must do or wear?
If she has time, (and the kids are occupied) Ava likes to take a relaxing bubble bath to unwind and recharge before spending a long evening socializing. Because although she always seems like she’s having the time of her life at these events, she’s secretly counting the minutes until she and Drake can escape back to the peace and sanctity of their own home.
If possible, (again, if the kids are otherwise occupied) Drake will join her in the bathtub, which is a date night “ritual” they both very much look forward to. However, it inevitably prolongs the “getting ready” process quite a bit, so if they’re pressed for time, Drake will let Ava enjoy her bath in solitude while he takes his shower and shaves.
Will they need a babysitter?
Ava and Drake have two children, Emelia (4) and Jax (2), and are actively working on baby number three. Their house manager/nanny, Agnes will be watching the children tonight.
How will they get there? Drake would always prefer to take his beloved Jeep, but some occasions call for something a little more elegant, so Drake will drive Ava’s Jaguar this evening.
MC Mixer - Week 3
When will they arrive?
While they always strive for punctuality, more often than not they end up running a bit behind schedule. Sometimes Ava’s hair and makeup will take longer than expected and occasionally their pre-party “bath time” will run long, but what usually holds them up is the process of extracting themselves from their children who have developed a nasty habit of clinging to their parents and screaming bloody murder when they try to leave the house without them. (Surviving the toddler years is not for the faint of heart.)
What are they drinking?
Drake will drink whiskey, neat. The better the bottle, the happier he’ll be.
Ava loves a good espresso martini. Coffee and Vodka ... is there anything better? However, she’s learned that she can only have two before switching to water for a while because they kick her ass.
What kind of party-goer are they?
Ava used to love nothing more than a good party. Very social and bubbly by nature, people have always been drawn to her and Ava thrived in the spotlight. She could dance and drink and socialize with anyone and everyone until the sun came up and be ready to do it all again the next night. But now that she’s a wife and mother, her priorities have shifted and she finds that after a few hours partying, she’s more than ready to flee the commotion and head back home to spend some quiet time alone with Drake.
On the other hand, Drake has gotten slightly more social in the last few years since marrying Ava and becoming Duke of Valtoria. Yes, having his gorgeous wife on his arm soothes the sting of these social events, no question. But he also found that the more time he spent among the aristocracy, the better he understood them.
He’d misjudged them.
The nobility weren’t simply the spoiled, vapid, and idle misanthropes who’d openly tormented him for most of his life, simply on the basis of his common birth. No, they were so much more than that. They were also insecure, emotionally unstable, and deeply, DEEPLY unhappy. Most lacked any kind of meaningful connection with another human being, so they used their money, social status, and worthless titles to shield themselves against the crushing loneliness that their privileged lives afforded them.
So no, he didn’t hate the nobles anymore. He pitied them.
Rating: NSFW (This Series contains mature themes, depictions of sexual acts including m/m, m/f, and m/m/f, and coarse language)
Pairing: Drake x Liam
Author’s Note: This series is set in an AU where Liam and Drake are in love with one another and there was never a conspiracy against Riley. This has enough drama without all that Canon nonsense. :)
Word Count: 2730
Liam heard the distinctive sound of Riley's musical laughter coming from somewhere in the great hall. He stopped to listen, a smile playing across his lips. She was such a breath of fresh air in the palace. Her energy and joie de vivre was so infectious, it seemed as though no one was immune to her charms. In fact, just yesterday he’d caught Bastien humming one of the pop tunes she loved so much.
Eager to see what was so delighting her, he followed the sound, stopping when he reached the library.
He pushed the door open and peered inside, the smile fading quickly from his face as he took in the scene before him.
Drake sat in a wing-back chair by the fire, with Riley draped across his shoulder. They had their heads pressed together as they laughed quietly. They were so engrossed in one another that they hadn’t even noticed him.
Liam cleared his throat loudly. “Don’t you two look cozy.”
Startled, they looked up to find Liam leaning against the door frame gazing at them with a frown on his handsome face. Riley stood and backed away, quickly putting distance between she and Drake.
“Liam.” She said with a nervous smile, “You startled me.”
“So I see.” He spoke to Riley, but his eyes never left Drake.
“We were just watching funny dog videos on my phone. There’s one of this Corgi that can play piano. I’ll play if for you…”
“Maybe another time, Lady Riley.” He interrupted, giving her a tight smile, “Right now I need a word with Drake.” He returned his steely gaze to his friend, “Drake...if you wouldn’t mind.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, Liam turned on his heel and strode from the room.
Drake heaved a heavy sigh and pushed himself out of the chair.
“Well that sounded suspiciously like a royal command.”
“I’m so sorry, Drake.” Riley looked close to tears, “I don’t know what I was thinking. I shouldn’t have been sitting so close to you. It was... inappropriate. I can only imagine what he’s thinking right now.”
“Relax, Matheson.” He said giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze “I’ll handle it. Don’t give it a second thought, okay.”
Riley bit her bottom lip anxiously and nodded.
By the time Drake made it to the hallway, Liam was several feet ahead of him. Drake broke into a jog to catch up before falling into step beside the King.
“Liam…”
Liam held up his hand, silencing him instantly. Drake snapped his mouth shut, sulking moodily as he followed Liam to his private chambers.
Liam swung the door open and motioned Drake in, slamming it behind them so hard that several pictures on the wall shook.
“SIT.” He commanded
Drake took a seat on the couch in the sitting area, leaning back and propping one ankle on the opposite knee.
“So.” He drawled, raising a sardonic eyebrow, “Who pissed in your cheerios this morning?”
Liam shot Drake a quelling look as he crossed to the bar at the far end of the room. He dropped some ice cubes into a tumbler and splashed a liberal amount of whiskey into the glass before returning to stand in front of Drake.
“I don’t suppose that’s for me.”
Their eyes locked and Liam raised the glass to his mouth, taking a long sip.
“Guess not.” Drake muttered.
“Would you like to explain to me what I walked in on just now?” Liam’s tone was calm, but Drake could see the tell-tale tightening of his jaw. He was pissed
He shrugged his shoulders meeting Liam’s icy stare with one of his own. “Just a couple friends watching dog videos, that’s all.”
“Is that so?” Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly as he perched on the edge of his desk. “It was all just innocent fun? Just friends...sitting by a romantic fire...hanging all over each other... watching YouTube videos?”
Drake cocked his head to the side and grinned at Liam. “Are you seriously jealous right now?”
Liam gave a harsh laugh, “Of course not.”
“Good. Because you realize how stupid that would be, right?” Drake held his hand out and Liam passed the tumbler to him without thinking.
Drake took a sip of whiskey, studying Liam’s intently. He seemed calmer now, his shoulders relaxed as he leaned back against his desk.
“If you’ll recall, you’re the one who told me to stick close to her. To get her to trust me.”
“Apparently it’s working.” Liam said wryly
Drake’s face broke into wide grin, “You are jealous!”
The corner of Liam’s mouth twitched as he gave in to an embarrassed smile. “Maybe just a little.”
He pushed away from his desk and bent down to cup Drake's face in his hands, enjoying the familiar scrape of his beard against his palms.
“Maybe I don’t like the thought of sharing you with her.” Liam said softly as he guided Drakes lips to his. He let out an audible sigh when he felt Drakes hand cup the back of his head, his fingers tangling in his hair as their tongues collided. After a minute Drake pulled his head back and gazed into Liam’s eyes before falling back against the couch with a sigh.
“You know, if anyone has a reason to be jealous these days, it’s me.” He took another deep swallow of the amber liquid and handed the glass back to Liam. “This whole suitor situation is complete bullshit.”
“Drake...” Liam said gently. “We’ve discussed this.”
“Yeah Li...we’ve fucking talked it to death,” he said sharply. “That doesn’t make it suck any less.”
Liam hung his head.
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to watch those girls fawn over you.” Drake continued, his voice flat, “To watch you flirt with them, kiss them…” He tilted his head back and sighed at the ceiling, “to listen to you fuck them.”
Liam winced and Drake couldn’t help a little smirk. “You really should be more discreet. You know what they’re calling you, right?”
Liam furrowed his brow and shook his head.
“The Kinky King. Because of your penchant for fucking loudly in places where you know you’ll be caught.”
Liam had the grace to blush. “You know why I do that.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. To throw everyone off the trail. To make sure that the courtly gossip focuses on your sexual encounters with the beautiful women of the court rather than your commoner best friend.” Drake raked his fingers through his hair, his frustration apparent, “I get it. But like I said, doesn’t make it suck any less.”
Liam leaned over and smoothed Drakes hair back into place, tugging on it a little until Drake looked up at him, his dark eyes clouded with sadness, “I know this is hard on you, my love.” He said softly, his fingers stroking the back of his neck, “It’s hard for me too.”
“Then put an end to it!” Drake shouted, pulling away, “Marry Liv. She knows about us and she’s fine with it. It might even be fun. I’ve fucked her, you’ve fucked her. One big happy family, right?”
Liam was already shaking his head, “The people will never support a Nevrakis on the throne, you know this. Cordonia is already far too unstable. I need a Queen that will unify the country not plunge it into civil unrest.”
Drake slumped back against the couch in defeat. Continuing this argument was pointless and he knew he’d never win anyway. Liam was going to do the right thing, because that’s what Liam did. He’d sacrifice his own personal happiness for the good of Cordonia.
They sat side by side on the couch, shoulders touching, knees bumping together as they passed the tumbler of whiskey back and forth.
“Damn Leo.” Liam mumbled, “This is all his fault. If he hadn’t abdicated…”
“Jesus Liam...” Drake groaned, “Not this again.”
“But it’s true! If Leo had stayed and claimed his birthright…”
“What would’ve changed?” Drake said wearily, “A big fat nothing, that’s what.”
“That’s not true. I wouldn’t be forced to marry...to produce heirs. Everything would be different.”
Drake laughed. “Yeah? You think we’d be able to be together, out in the open? The Prince and his gay, commoner lover?” He shook his head, “It would never happen. Not even if Leo was King. You have to know that, Li. What we have now is the best we can ever hope for.”
“It’s not fair.” Liam said softly.
“Nope, it isn’t. But when has life ever been fair?”
Liam stood and crossed to the bar to refill their glass. On his way back, a picture on his desk caught his eye. He picked it up and studied it for a minute before turning it around to show Drake. “Do you remember this day?”
Drake didn’t even have to look to know what Liam was talking about. It was a picture that Leo had taken of them the day they set sail on an epic adventure at sea. The day Liam nearly drown. They were standing side by side arms slung around each others shoulders, grinning like fools.
“Like it was yesterday.”
“You saved my life that day.”
Drake laughed. “If I hadn’t dragged you out there when a storm was brewing, your life wouldn’t have needed saving.”
Liam smiled and placed the picture back where he found it before joining Drake on the couch again.
Liam gazed at Drake, studying the face he’d loved for more than half of his life. He saw the little flecks of gold in his eyes that caught the light. He knew how dark those eyes could turn when he was angry or troubled...or turned on. He ran his thumb over the small creases by his eyes that grew deeper when he smiled. He hadn’t changed much over the years. He was still every bit as handsome as he was when they were boys, maybe even more so now.
“Even then I knew I was in love with you. But you had no idea.”
Drake laughed again. “Don’t kid yourself. Subtlety has never been your strong suit. I knew.”
Liam smiled, his eyes sparkling. “You just let me suffer then.”
Drake shifted his body, throwing his arm across the back of the couch as he leaned toward Liam, pressing their mouths together. “I wasn’t sure how I felt about it yet.” He murmured against Liam’s lips.
The kiss was long and languid, with an underlying heat that could quickly ignite into a wildfire at any moment. Reluctantly, Liam pulled away, resting his forehead against Drakes for a moment before sitting back, an indulgent smile on his face. “When did you know?”
Drake smirked at him. “Do you remember our first kiss?”
“How could I forget?” He said, a wistful expression flitting across his face. “The summer we turned seventeen. We were in Lythikos visiting Liv.”
Drake nodded. “She stole a bottle of 100 year old Nevarkis wine and we brought it down to the lake. We all got completely wasted and she convinced us to play truth or dare.”
Liam laughed, “That’s right! The first of many over the years.”
“She dared you to kiss me.”
Liam nodded. “I never was one to back down from a dare.” He quirked a brow at Drake, “Remember what happened next?”
Drake nodded and bit his bottom lip, trying to keep from laughing. “Yeah...I...uh…”
“You fucking punched me. Split my lip open. I had to tell Bastien I tripped and landed on a rock.”
Drake smiled sheepishly. “Yeah. How many times are you going to make me apologize for that? You kind of sprung it on me. I wasn’t ready. I was young, confused…”
“Sleeping with Olivia....” Liam supplied helpfully.
“Yeah, there was that.” Drake rubbed the back of his neck in agitation.
“And the next day” Liam continued, his voice suddenly thick with emotion, “You were gone.”
“Li…” Drake said softly, his eyes clouded with pain, “C’mon. Don’t.”
“You ran away, Drake”
“I didn’t run away. I went to college.”
“You took off in the middle of the night and enrolled in a college 3000 miles away. I call that running away.”
“Ok, Fine. So maybe I ran.” Drake said with an exasperated sigh, “But I did it because I was really fucking confused. My best friend kissed me...and I liked it. I didn’t know what to do with that. All I knew is that up to that point, I was pretty damn into pussy. I didn’t know what the fuck to do with the feelings I had for you. So yeah...I ran."
“Don’t run again, Drake.”
“I'm not going anywhere.”
Liam reached out to stroke Drake’s stubble covered cheek tenderly. “Promise? Because I can see that this is taking a toll on you. I see you retreating...more than usual.”
Drake wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Liam punched him in the shoulder.
“OW!” Drake glared at him rubbing the spot where a bruise was rapidly forming, “What the fuck was that for?”
“Tell me you aren’t going to leave again.”
“Fine, fine... I won’t leave.” he mumbled with a petulant scowl.
Liam rolled his eyes. “Now say it like you mean it.” He commanded
Drake reached out to yank Liam in for another blistering kiss, his fingers sinking into his hair as their mouths fused together. He curled his tongue around Liam’s and sucked gently, sending a jolt of desire racing through Liam’s body. Liam brought his hands up to Drakes chest, the fingers of one hand grabbing onto Drake’s shirt while the other slid inside to roam over his tightly muscled abs. Electricity crackled between them, as it always did, even after all these years.
After a minute Drake pulled his head back and looked down into Liam’s face.
“I’m not fucking leaving. I knew when I let Leo bring me back that I’d never find the strength to leave you again. You’re my weakness, Li. I love you.”
Liam smiled. “I love you too Drake. Forever. I don’t want you to worry. We’ll find a way to make this work, okay? I really think she might be the answer we’re looking for.”
“Riley?”
Liam nodded. “We have a real connection. I care about her...and I think she feels the same. But I sense that she’s conflicted. I think she’s falling for you too.”
“And...” Drake worried his bottom lip between his teeth for a minute before raising his eyes to Liam’s, “You’re okay with that?”
Liam nodded. “It might work to our advantage. If she feels some sort of affection for you she might be more willing to...turn a blind eye to our relationship. She’d make an excellent Queen. The people love her. She young and vibrant and outgoing. Her views and ideal are modern without being radical. I think she’d be good for Cordonia.”
“I agree.”
“So I need you to help me convince her.”
Drake’s brows drew together in a deep frown, “What are you suggesting, Li? Do you want me to seduce Riley?”
Liam threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh, “No, of course not. Nothing so nefarious as that. Just keep doing what you’re doing. She’s already drawn to you, not that I can blame her.” He reached out to brush a lock of chestnut hair from Drakes eyes, “You’re fairly irresistible when you want to be.”
“Heh. Irresistible huh? Everyone else tells me I’m cranky.”
“Oh, you definitely are.” Liam agreed with an affectionate smile, “But it’s endearing.”
“Do you think she’ll still want to be queen when she finds out about us?”
Liam ran his hand over his face and shrugged. Finding out your betrothed is in love with someone else was usually a deal breaker under the best of circumstances. Finding out that lover was another man, well...Liam was pragmatic enough to know that Riley may not respond well to the news.
“I don’t know. But it will have to be a condition that she agrees to before we’re married. If I do choose her as my queen, she’s going to have to know everything. Because I’m not giving you up. Not for her...not for Cordonia...not for anything.”
“What if she doesn’t agree?”
Liam gave a deep, shuddering sigh. “Then I suppose I accept Madeline’s proposed arrangement.”
Prompt 1 — “Would you just shut up and kiss me already?”
Book: TRR/OPH
Pairings: Drake Walker x Ava Matheson, Bryce Lahela x Charlie Hawkins
Word count: 2475
Rating: M
TW: Profanity, Suggestive language, sexual situations
A/N: This is a collaboration between myself and @walkerismychoice using the weekly prompts provided by @choicesflashfics
As always if you want on or off the tag list, just let me know.
~~~
The car ride home was quieter than usual. Typically after a night out with friends, they’d spend the drive home chatting and laughing as they rehashed the entire evening from rating their meals to dissecting the dinner conversations, and everything in between.
But tonight, Ava was quietly gazing out the window, keeping her thoughts to herself.
Drake cleared his throat. “So...that wasn’t nearly as awful as I thought it was gonna be. Charlie is pretty cool, and I guess McDreamy isn’t too bad once you get to know him.”
“Um hmm.”
He was surprised. The McDreamy comment should have earned him a laugh, or at the very least a well-deserved, I told you so.
“The food was really good. Solid 8. We should go back again sometime.”
“Sure.”
Jesus. It was easier to get the last bit of toothpaste out of the tube than it was to get a full sentence out of his fiancée tonight. The fuck?
“So, game night at our place next week, huh?” He tried and almost succeeded at keeping the dread out of his tone, “That should be…fun. Can’t wait.”
“Yeah.” Ava murmured, completely missing the sarcasm that laced his words, “It should be a good time.”
Drake glanced over at her. She was so distracted tonight. But why?
He reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. “What’s the matter, babe? Is everything okay? You feel alright?”
She turned her head and gave a weak smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired I guess.”
Then she turned back to the window and stayed that way until they reached his cabin.
Once inside, Ava headed straight upstairs to get ready for bed.
Drake sighed and grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge before following her up.
He perched on the edge of their bed, watching as she took off her jewelry, piece by piece, and laid them carefully on the dresser. She pulled the band from her hair and combed her fingers through her locks until they fell in soft waves around her shoulders.
Then she reached behind her back looking for the zipper on her dress, but before she could grasp it, Drake was behind her, sliding it down slowly as their eyes met in the mirror.
“Ava.” He said softly. “What’s going on? Talk to me.”
She averted her eyes, shaking her head slowly, “It’s nothing. It’s silly.”
Drake placed his hands on her shoulders and guided her around until she was facing him.
“I thought we agreed not to keep any secrets.” He reached out to tuck a tendril of hair behind her ear, “We’re a team, remember?”
Ava nodded. “I remember.”
“So spill it. Why are you upset? Did I do something…”
"No!" Ava shook her head, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. “God…no…you’re perfect.” She slid her hand up his arm until she reached his neck. She threaded her fingers through the hair at his nape, drawing him in for a long, deep kiss before pulling away to rest her forehead against his. “I love you so much.”
“I love you more.” He whispered as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. As he went in for another kiss, Ava placed her palms on his chest and leaned away.
Drake looked confused.
“Do you think we’re moving too fast?” She blurted.
Surprised, Drake immediately let go of her.
“Moving too fast?” He frowned, “What do you mean?”
“Us.” Ava tilted her head up to look at him, concern etched in her expression. “You and me. Our relationship.”
“That’s it?” Drake let out a relieved laugh, “Shit, Ava. I thought it was something important. You were starting to freak me out.”
Ava’s eyes went wide. “What do you mean…that’s it? This is important, Drake! If you think about it…we barely know each other!” She started to pace as words tumbled from her lips, “I mean… We never even dated before we got engaged. We just skipped right over all of those…milestones that normal relationships have. And…God, there’s so much we haven’t even talked about. Like…I don’t even know your middle name…or … ” Her brain raced wildly, “...or your favorite color…or if you’re a dog person or a cat person!”
“Jackson. Blue. And…that's a choice I could never make.” He quirked a brow, “There. Do you feel like you know me better now?”
“Don’t make light of this, Drake.” Ava’s eyes welled with tears, “It’s serious.”
Drake sighed as he reached out to place his hands on her shoulders. “Sweetheart,” he began, his voice calm and soothing. “Respectfully…it’s really not that serious. We know the important things …the things that really matter. So to answer your question … No, I don’t think we’re moving too fast. I love you and there isn't a single doubt in my mind that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But if you’re having doubts…”
“No.” Ava reached out for his hand, interlacing their fingers together as she gazed earnestly into his eyes. “It’s not that I have doubts. I love you so much, and I know I want to be with you forever. But …”
When she paused, he nudged her with his shoulder. “But?”
“But …we’ve only known each other for six months. And for the first two months…we couldn’t stand each other!”
“Not true,” Drake corrected. “You couldn’t stand ME. I only pretended not to like you.”
Ava smiled. “I was only pretending too. You had me at ‘wow.’”
They both laughed, and some of the tension melted away.
“You looked really hot in that green dress.” Drake smirked, “I couldn’t help myself.”
Ava’s smile faded slightly as the anxiety crept back in. “We’ve been through so much together in such a short time. Sometimes I worry that we’ve just skated over some really important things. Our whole relationship has been spent sneaking around behind everyone’s backs and stealing moments together wherever we could. We never even went on a real date before we got engaged.”
Drake nodded in understanding. “Look Ava… you’re right, our relationship hasn't been exactly…conventional. But somehow, despite everything, we still managed to find time to fall in love."
Ava smiled. “The moments in between.”
“Exactly.”
He ran his fingers through his hair as he struggled for words to give her the reassurance she needed. “I feel like we wasted so much goddamn time, Ava …time that we could’ve spent together if we’d only been honest about our feelings from the very beginning. So, when I woke up in that hospital bed and found out you were safe …I felt like we’d been given a second chance, and I wasn’t about to waste a single second this time.” He shrugged, “So, yeah, maybe things are moving a little fast. But just because we’re engaged, it doesn’t mean we have to get married right away. We can take all the time we need to learn all the little stuff…because we already know the most important thing…we love each other.”
“I do love you so much.” Ava flung herself into his arms and buried her face in his chest, as all of her concerns melted away in the comfort of his embrace.
Drake pressed his lips against her temple for a moment before resting his chin on the top of her head as they swayed gently.
After a few minutes, Ava pulled back and gazed up at him with a mischievous look in her eyes. “So tell me more about how hot I looked in that green dress.”
Drake chuckled. “You looked smoking hot. I could barely keep my eyes off you all night.”
“Keep going…”
The sultry tone in her voice had him instantly aroused.
“I fantasized about sliding my hands up your leg…just like this…” His hand found her thigh and began trailing upward, “... sliding them under that dress until I was touching you…here…like this.”
Ava moaned as Drake's strong fingers slid under the elastic of her thong and immediately found their mark.
“I imagined you making that exact sound.” His voice grew husky as she arched against his fingers as he stroked her, “Because I was pretty sure you wanted me just as much as I wanted you…”
“Oh…I did.” Ava’s voice was breathy as Drake’s expert touch already had her on the edge. “I definitely did.”
Just as she was about to tumble over, Drake pulled his hand away.
Ava cried out. “Draaaake!”
“Are you sure, though?” He arched his brow. “You didn’t have any doubts about how you were feeling that night? Because if you did, we should probably discuss them.”
“Oh my God…you’re such an asshole!”
“You’re right. I am.” Drake nodded solemnly, “We should probably talk about that too.”
Ava mewled in frustration as she reached out to grab his shirt in both hands. “Would you just shut up and kiss me already? No more talking!”
Drake chuckled and picked her up, easily tossing her over his shoulder as he carried her to their huge four-poster bed. “Now you’re speaking my language.”
—
"Can you tell me where we're going yet? Please?" Charlie begged as they drove north out of the city. With every turn they took, she tried to speculate where they could be headed, but to no avail. All Bryce had given her was that it didn't matter what she wore, and that ruled out any sort of dressy affair or anything physically demanding. If he was taking her to another new health and fitness store, so help her… Despite what Bryce has said, you can absolutely have too many tubs of protein powder hogging counter space in your kitchen.
"Charlie, you've made it this far. I don't think you'll suddenly keel over from the anticipation - but if you do, I know CPR."
She shook her head. "Those doctor jokes never get old for you, do they? I can't even fathom how corny you'll be once you get to the dad joke stage."
"You might find out sooner than you think."
"What?" Charlie placed a hand on her stomach. "You know something I don’t? You aren't taking part in some secret male pregnancy study in your department, are you?"
Bryce laughed out loud. "No…nevermind. Just running my mouth again."
"As per usual." It was Charlie’s turn to laugh. It never ceased to amaze her how Bryce could say things that would make anyone else seem like a pompous asshole, yet he appeared funny and charming. But just what did he mean with that dad joke comment? Probably just another nonsensical thing he let slip out without thinking, she decided.
“I won’t ask again where we’re going, but can you at least tell me how much longer?” she pleaded. “If you don’t, I might have to ask you ‘are we there yet?’ every fifteen seconds.”
Bryce rolled his eyes. “Think you can handle waiting ten more minutes?”
His answer appeased Charlie enough to get her to stop asking questions, but she was getting more and more confused as they entered an industrial park area - not her ideal location for any sort of date she could imagine, and there didn't seem to be any storefronts.
They pulled into the side lot of a large unremarkable brick building. As Bryce drove around to the front and into a parking spot near the main entrance, Charlie read the sign out loud. "Furry Friends Animal Rescue? What are we doing here?"
"What do you think, silly?" Bryce grinned. "You've only been suggesting we get a dog every day since we moved in together."
"Really?!" Charlie squealed with excitement. "But you kept saying we're too busy, which isn't untrue."
"I know, but things are starting to calm down with our last year of residency, and there’s that great doggy daycare next to the hospital. Besides, what better way to ensure you're stuck with me than a joint fifteen-or-so-year commitment?"
She laughed, but it did feel like an important and somewhat binding next step in their relationship. "Wait…" something clicked for Charlie. "Is this what you meant by the dad joke thing in the car? We aren't going to be those dog parents that dress up our dog, call it our fur child, and throw it birthday parties, are we?"
"We already have his daycare picked out." Bryce smirked. "You know we will be."
Charlie sighed. "You're probably right. Now, what are we waiting for? Let's go pick out our baby.
The facility was holding a big adoption event and was bustling with people searching for their new pets. There were multiple pens of puppies scattered about, with older dogs in kennels along the wall.
"Have you thought about what kind you want?" Charlie asked.
Bryce shook his head. "Not in particular. Just not a little ankle-biter. I want a dog we can take on hikes and can go running with me."
"Agreed." Charlie scanned the room and decided to avoid the crowds surrounding the puppy pens and peruse the kennels first. It was hard not to want to take them all home, especially when each of their eyes seemed to ask if she'd be the one to rescue them.
Bryce stopped in front of a 2-year-old golden doodle who yipped and jumped nearly to the top of the kennel door. "This one might even have a little too much energy, even for me."
They kept walking, waiting for the one to stand out, and then Charlie spotted him - a brindle-colored dog with floppy ears and a smooth, shiny coat. He definitely wasn't fully grown, but wasn't as small as any of the young puppies with their littermates in the center of the room.
Just then, a shelter volunteer walked up beside them. "This one is the last of his litter. He's 6 months old and a little shy, but a great dog. I'm not sure how he hasn't gotten adopted yet, other than people seem to either want younger puppies they can fully train from the start or adult dogs out of the puppy stage."
"Aww!" Charlie knelt down and the dog cautiously approached the front of the kennel. His ears perked up and his tail started wagging as he tried to give her kisses through the crate. "He likes me!"
"He sure seems to. I don't think I introduced myself. I'm Robin." They held out their hand for Bryce and Charlie to shake. "And this is George. He was part of a Grey's Anatomy-themed litter."
"Well if that's not a sign, I don't know what is." Bryce ducked down to greet George, whose tail began wagging even faster.
"We're both doctors," Charlie explained.
"It was meant to be," Robin agreed. "Do you want to think about it or look around some more, or are you ready to fill out the adoption paperwork?"
Charlie looked to Bryce who nodded in agreement. "I think this is the one. Let's do it!"
I just want to apologize in advance for spamming your feeds in the next few days. I've had some requests to put my masterlist back up, but to do that, I first need to post the fics on this new blog. 😬
Since it's Pride Month, I'm going to start with Forever... which is loooong. 🙈 Sorry!!
Rating: M (This Series contains mature themes, depictions of sexual acts both m/m and m/f and coarse language)
Pairing: Drake x Liam, Drake x Riley
Author’s Note: This series is set in an AU where Liam and Drake are in love with one another and there was never a conspiracy against Riley. This has enough drama without all that Canon nonsense. :)
Word Count: 5700
Shivering slightly against the cool night air, Drake stood outside Riley’s bedroom door knocking gently.
“C’mon Matheson. I know you’re in there. Please let me in.”
He thought he heard muffled sobs coming from the other side of the door, but she didn’t answer him.
“Riley…” He pleaded, “Please. I’m not leaving until you talk to me.”
Silence
“Come on. It’ll be morning soon. I’m just in my underwear out here.” He rubbed his hands over his arms, trying to warm up. ”It’s really cold.”
Dead air
“If one of the maids finds me, she’ll be scarred for life.’
More silence
“Just think of the scandal it’ll cause. I can see the headlines now. “King’s best friend found half naked outside suitors bedroom door.”
Still nothing.
Sighing, Drake leaned his forehead and the palm of his hand against the door.
“Okay...have it your way. When you’re ready to talk, I’ll be right here, waiting...freezing my ass off...but don’t worry about me.”
Drake turned and slid down the door, bringing his knees up and resting his forearms on them. He leaned his head back, banging it against the door a couple times before dropping it onto his arms.
Fuck!
He’d been afraid something like this would happen. He and Liam had even talked about it. They both knew going into tonight that they needed to make it all about Riley, and not about them. It was imperative that she feel special, included, and needed ...if this arrangement had any chance of working.
And they couldn’t fucking do it.
With a frustrated groan, Drake scrubbed his face in his hands. He didn’t blame Riley for running out on them. Anyone in her place would’ve done the same damn thing!
He didn’t know low long he’d been sitting outside Rileys door. All the knew was that by the time he heard the deadbolt disengage, he was chilled to the bone and his left butt-cheek had gone completely numb.
He pushed himself hurriedly to his feet just in time to see the door open a crack as Riley peered out into the hallway.
When she saw him standing there, she sighed,
“You’re still here.” she said wearily, turning and leaving the door open.
He followed her inside, closing the door behind them.
She’d changed out of Liam’s shirt and was now dressed in a pair of leggings and an over-sized sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled into a loose ponytail and her face scrubbed clean of make-up. She looked so lost and miserable, huddled in the middle of her bed, with her knees pulled protectively to her chest.
“I’m so sorry.” Drake began, holding his hands out in supplication, “I don’t know what else to say. I’m just really, really sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Riley replied, her eyes filling with tears, “I’m the one who should be sorry. I don’t know why I ever thought there was room for me in your relationship.”
“Because there is.” Drake insisted urgently, “You just have to give it a little more time. It’s a whole new dynamic and it’s going to take us all a little while to get used to it, that’s all.”
“Time isn’t going to change anything, and you know it!” She cried, her voice rising in pitch, “Liam will never love me the way he loves you.”
“You’re wrong.” The words left his mouth automatically, but even as they did, he could taste the lie on his tongue.
Riley gave a harsh laugh, “It’s okay Drake. We both know it's true I thought I was okay with it, but after tonight…” She shook her head, “I just felt so...used.”
She stopped and pressed her hand over her mouth, unable to continue.
“Riley…” Drake reached for her but she moved out of his reach,
“How can I marry someone knowing that I’ll never come first to him?” She shook her head, “How can I marry someone who calls out your name when he’s making love to me?”
The tears started again and she didn’t bother trying to stop them this time. She buried her face in her hands and gave herself over to them.
Drake sat on the bed next to her and pulled her into a comforting embrace, cradling her head to his chest as she wept.
“Liam does love you.” He murmured into her hair, “I know he does.”
“Maybe.” All the anger drained from her body, leaving her feeling sad, just desperately sad.
“But he’ll always love you more.” She looked up at him, her beautiful blue eyes clouded with pain, “And you’ll always love him more.”
Drake tightened his arms around her, but didn’t try to deny it this time.
“I want more than that, Drake.” She continued, “I want to marry a man who loves me and puts me first. I want to be the most important person in his life. I deserve that.”
She looked up at him, her beautiful face, pale and tear-streaked, “It’s not selfish of me to want that, right?”
Drake tucked her head under his chin, stroking her hair gently
“No.” He whispered, “Of course it isn't.”
He held her, stroking her back gently until her tears finally stopped. He brought his hand to her face, gently wiping at the last of her tears with his thumb.
“You can have that Riley. You can have that with Liam.”
She started to shake her head, but Drake caught her chin between his fingers, stilling it.
“You can.” He insisted, “You’re good for Liam. You’re good for Cordonia. You’re the Queen this country needs. Don’t throw that all away because of this.”
“But I just told you…”
“Listen to what I’m telling you, Riley.” Drake said insistently, his eyes burning into hers, “This won’t be an issue ever again. I promise you that. You’ll marry Liam, and be the best Queen Cordonia has ever known. You’ll fill up the palace with little princes and princesses and you’ll be happier than you ever dreamed possible. If you give Liam the family he’s always wanted, you’ll become his entire world, and he’ll forget he ever knew me. I promise you that.”
“You can’t make that kind of promise.”
“Yes I can.” He reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear with a soft smile, “I’m going to take myself out of the equation.”
Riley stood quickly, shaking her head, “What does that mean, Drake? Take yourself out of the equation?”
“I’m going to leave.”
Riley’s eyes grew wide as she stared at him in disbelief. “No. Drake you can’t do that.”
“It’s okay.” He said, rubbing her arm soothingly, “I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. But after tonight, it’s become painfully obvious I can’t stay.”
Riley shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks, “Drake, no...Please. This isn’t the answer.”
“I’ve made up my mind, Matheson. You and Liam need a fighting chance, and you won’t get that while I’m still here. I have to go.”
She threw her arms around Drake’s neck, hugging him tightly. “But I don’t want you to leave! I’ll miss you so much.”
Drake held her close, burying his face in her hair as she clung to him. “I know, me too.”
Finally he pulled away and kissed her gently on the forehead.
“You’re going to get your fairytale ending, Riley. You deserve nothing less.”
King Liam’s office was a beehive of activity this morning. Bastien and Mara stood conversing quietly in the corner as they awaited their audience with the King. Liam’s personal secretary, Helene stood at his side with an armful of papers requiring his signature. She dropped the stack in front of him, tapping it impatiently with her pen to get his attention. But at this moment he was completely focused on Lord Heyward, who was spreading a set of detailed blueprints across his desk.
Drake stood quietly in the doorway waiting for his opportunity to have a word with Liam, but as more and more people entered and exited the room, he started to grow restless.
“Liam.” He said.
The King looked up briefly and noticed Drake standing across the room.
He nodded a greeting before returning his attention to Lord Heyward, tapping the plans in front of him with his pointer finger, “And what here?”
“A new retaining wall, your Majesty. It will stretch from here…” he placed his finger on the blueprint and dragged it across the page, “To here. Reinforced with steel rebar. It will hold for a thousand years, if not longer.”
Liam nodded his approval.
“Your Highness, please...” Helene said with a dramatic sigh, as she pushed the papers toward him, “ If you would just give me a moment of your undivided attention...”
“Liam.” Drake repeated, a little louder this time.
Liam met his eyes and frowned slightly. It was unlike Drake to disturb him when he was working.
Helene waved a contract in front of Liam’s face. With a frustrated sigh, he snatched it from her hand, scrawled his name across the bottom and handed it back to her.
He held up one finger in Drakes direction as Helene handed him another page.
“I’m leaving.”
“Oh?”
Without looking up, Liam signed his name and slid the paper across the table to Helene before reaching for the next, “Where are you going?”
“I don’t know.”
At that, Liam raised his head, his brow furrowed. “When will you be back?”
Drake squared his shoulders. “I won’t.”
Liam narrowed his eyes and the two engaged in a tense staring contest for several minutes until Lord Heyward’s voice shattered the silence.
“Your majesty, If you’ll just sign off on the orders. We need to submit the plan by...”
“Leave us.” Liam said tersely.
“But sir…”
“GET OUT.” He commanded, his eyes never leaving Drake. “ALL OF YOU.”
Helene sucked in her breath. She knew that tone and didn’t to be anywhere nearby when the King lost his temper. She gathered her papers and scurried quickly to the door.
Bastien cleared his throat. “Mara, Lord Heyward. If you would be so kind…”
He held the door open until they both passed through. Giving Liam a quick bow, he exited, closing the door behind him, leaving Liam and Drake alone.
“What do you mean you’re not coming back?” Liam’s tone was calm but Drake could see the anger boiling just under the surface.
Drake tilted his chin up, readying for battle. He’d made his decision. He wasn’t backing down.
“It’s time, Liam, we both know it. Don’t fight me on this.”
Liam stood slowly and walked to the front of his desk. He leaned back against it, his arms crossed over his chest as he scowled at Drake.
“Is this about the other night...with Riley?”
“She was devastated, Liam.
“Yes, I realize. And I’m sorry for it. It was a moment of weakness. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re right. It won’t. Because I won’t be there next time.”
“So you’re running away again, is that it?”
Drake sighed in agitation, “I’m not running away…”
“After promising me that you wouldn’t!” He pounded the desk with his fist, “You fucking promised me, Drake!”
“I’m not running!” Drake exploded, “I’m just... leaving.”
“You’re a coward! You’re a liar and a fucking coward!” Liam turned his back and ran his fingers roughly through his hair as he fought to control his rising panic.
“You know it’s for the best.” Drake said quietly,
Liam gave a harsh laugh. “Do I?”
“Yeah, Li...you do. Riley doesn’t want this, and who the hell can blame her? She shouldn’t have to share her husband.”
“We’re not wed yet.”
“But you will be.” Drake said sharply
Liam crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at the floor in silence.
“You know you’re being unfair to her. She deserves the fairytale you promised her. She deserves a happy marriage to a man who adores her and puts her first always. A husband who loves and cherishes her above everything and everyone else. She’ll never have that if I stay.”
Finally Liam lifted his head, his eyes full of pain and uncertainty. “I don’t know if I can be that man.”
“You can.” Drake said firmly, “As long as I’ve known you, you’ve wanted nothing more than to get married and have children. It’s time.”
“But I…”
“Just stop, Liam!” Drake shouted, raking his fingers through his hair. “Fuck! You’re making this so goddamn hard.”
“Good. It should be fucking hard on you!”
Drake whirled on him, his eyes wild, “Do you really think this is easy for me? You think this is what I want?”
“If you don’t want to leave, then...don’t!” Liam shouted back at him.
They stood face to face, chests heaving as they glared at each other.
Finally Drake turned away with a growl of frustration. He stalked across the room to the window, staring out across the grounds of the only home he’d ever known.
Why couldn’t Liam see it was killing him to have to do this? Why did he have to be so fucking resistant?
“Please, Drake.” Liam whispered, his voice cracking with emotion, “Please don’t leave.”
“If I stay...” Drake turned from the window slowly, his eyes nearly black with emotion as they burned into Liam, “ You will lose Riley. Do you understand that?”
Liam hung his head
“Don’t lose Riley over this, Liam. She’s your future. She’s Cordonia’s future.”
Liam shook his head, refusing to meet Drake’s steely gaze. “I don’t want a future if you’re not in it.”
“Grow the fuck up, Liam!” Drake exploded, “I was never going to be your future and you know that as well as I do! We always knew there’d come a day when this had to end. We’re not kids anymore, Li. It’s time to stop pretending we can have it all. We can't.”
“Why not?” Liam whispered.
“Because that’s not how life works.”
“So you want me to let you go... for Riley.”
“No.” Drake snapped, “I want you to let me go because you’re the fucking King of Cordonia and your duty is to your people first. You’ve been forgetting that for too long.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed his jaw tightened, as Drakes words hit a raw nerve. He knew very well what was expected of him. The day Leo abdicated, Liam’s path was etched in stone and there was no deviating from that path. He knew it, but he loathed being reminded of it.
Drake noticed the tension in Liam’s expression and softened his tone. “Your subjects need a King and a Queen, princes and princesses, a stable royal family to look to. Riley loves you and I know you care for her. Don’t be a fool, Liam. Marry her. Start a family with her. Be happy with her.”
“But I love you.”
Drake sighed heavily, trying to ease the tightness in his chest. “And I love you. You know I do. But it’s not enough anymore.”
“I don’t want you to leave.” Liam said quietly, unable to meet Drakes gaze for fear that he’d completely lose control of his emotions.
Finally he swallowed down the lump in his throat and turned his sorrow-filled eyes to Drake.
“I’m begging you” he whispered, “Don’t leave.”
Drake closed his eyes and fought against a wave of pain so strong it threatened to break his resolve completely.
He forced himself to picture Rileys tear-stained face and drew strength from it.
“I have to.”
Liam tilted his head upwards, staring unseeingly at the ceiling for several long minutes. Finally, he looked back at Drake, his expression impassive.
He straightened his posture, drew his shoulders back and clasped his hands behind his back as his kingly veneer dropped firmly into place
“When will you take your leave?” He asked formally.
Drakes brow furrowed at Liam’s sudden change of demeanor.
“Tomorrow.”
Liam nodded and returned to his desk. He sat and turned his attention back to the papers on his desk.
“Very well then.”
“Liam…”
“You know your way out.” Liam snapped dismissively, as he went back to studying the blueprints in front of him.
Drake let out a harsh laugh. “It’s gonna be like that, huh?”
Liam didn’t respond.
“Is this really how you want to leave things?”
“I’m not leaving things at all.” Liam snapped, glaring up at him for just a second before turning back to his work, “You are.”
Frustrated, hurt and pissed as hell, Drake strode across the room and yanked the door open forcefully.
“Drake?”
Liam’s voice stopped him. Drake turned slowly to face his best friend, the love of his life…
“Yes?”
“Send Helene and Lord Heyward back in, would you?”
Drake heart dropped as his anger surged. With a clenched jaw, he gave a brief nod and walked out.
As soon as he heard the door close, Liam’s shoulders slumped forward and he buried his face in his hands.
********************
Drake snapped his suitcase shut and nodded to Bastien. “That’s the last of it.”
Bastien motioned to one of the guards who grabbed the bag and disappeared into the hallway.
Drake stood awkwardly in front of Bastien, staring at the floor for a moment before raising his eyes.
“This is harder than I thought it was going to be.” Drake said with a wry smile, “I kinda feel like I’m saying goodbye to my Dad all over again.”
Bastien shook his head, as he reached out to grasp Drakes arms firmly. “No. I’m still here. If you ever need anything...anything at all...I’m just a phone call away, alright?”
“Thanks, Bas. That means a lot.”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Bastien paused, giving Drake a wry smile, “I’m not very good with emotional stuff, so bear with me, okay?”
Drake nodded and steeled himself. He wasn’t great with emotional stuff either and lately there’d been way too much of it for his tastes. Still, Bastien had been a surrogate father to him, so if he had something he wanted to say, Drake owed him the chance to get it off his chest.
Bastien reached out to place his hand on Drake’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “It’s been my honor to look out for you these past years. To watch you grow from an angry little boy with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Aegean Sea, into the man you are today has been the greatest honor of my life. I couldn’t be more proud of you.” He cleared his throat and nodded his head, “I just wanted you to know that.”
Drake reached out to pull Bastien into a tight hug
“I love you too.”
Bastien nodded again and gave him a solid thump on the back before releasing him. “I’ll miss you, son.”
Drake grinned back at him. “I’ll miss you too, Dad.”
Bastien gave him a final pat on the arm before motioning to the door, “I believe there are a few more people downstairs waiting to bid you farewell.”
Drake stopped dead in his tracks and let out aloud groan
He’d really been hoping to slip out quietly without any fuss. He’d thought...hoped that given Liam’s reaction yesterday that he’d be allowed to do just that.
But it had been wishful thinking.
FUCK!
Drake took a deep breath before stoically marching down the hallway and descending the main staircase into the Grand Hall where much to his dismay, he found half of the Kingdom lined up to see him off.
“Drake!” A sobbing Maxwell threw his arms around Drake’s waist, holding tightly.
With a long suffering sigh, Drake gave his back a quick pat.
“Ok Beaumont.” Drake grasped him firmly by the shoulders and pushed him away, “Dial back the waterworks, would you?”
“I just can’t believe you’re leaving us! If I had more notice, I could’ve thrown you a going away party that would’ve made every Beaumont Bash in pale in comparison!”
“Which is precisely why I didn’t do that.” Drake said dryly, “This…” he indicated the crowd of people in the Grand Hall, “Is exactly what I was trying to avoid.”
“But everyone’s going to miss you! You wouldn’t begrudge us the chance to see you off by skulking out in the middle of the night, would you?”
“Damn. You’re right...that’s exactly what I should’ve done.”
“I’m gonna miss you like crazy, buddy!
Drake rolled his eyes as Maxwell gave him another bone crushing hug.
He was surprisingly strong for a skinny little dude.
Finally Maxwell released him and Drake turned to scan the crowd, looking for one person in particular. When he didn’t see her signature flaming hair, he frowned.
Big surprise. She couldn’t even be bothered to show up to say goodbye.
For the next twenty minutes Drake slowly, painfully made his way through the throng of well-wishers, receiving kisses from the ladies and handshakes and pats on the back from the men.
Finally, he found himself standing in front of Liam and Riley.
Liam stood ramrod straight, with his hands clasped tightly behind his back, looking every inch the stoic King of Cordonia.
But Drake knew better.
He could see the dark circles under his eyes, the way his mouth twitched at the corner, just a little bit as he held himself in check. Drake was sure Liam was grateful today for the years of countenance training his parents had forced upon him.
Beside him stood Riley, her eyes red rimmed, biting her bottom lip to stop it from quivering. Drake felt something inside of him crack and closed his eyes for just a moment.
He refused to shed a single fucking tear today. Wasn’t happening.
“Riley.” He said roughly.
Throwing decorum to the wind, Riley launched herself at him and he caught her in a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair and inhaling her scent for what he knew was the last time.
“Be happy, okay?”
Riley nodded her head against his neck.
“Take care of him for me.” He whispered.
Riley’s arms tightened around him and she sobbed into his chest until he gave her a gentle shake, a reminder of who and where she was. She took a deep shuddering breath and pulled herself together.
“Ok,” She whispered, “I’m ok.”
Drake released her and she took a step back with a small embarrassed laugh. “I’m going to miss you so much.” She said with a bright smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Good luck, Drake. Please come back and visit us soon.”
She felt she had to say the words, even though she knew in her heart once he left, she’d never see him again.
Drake gave her a nod and a warm smile before steeling himself to face Liam.
Liam held out his hand stiffly.
Drake took a deep breath and grasped it.
“You will be sorely missed.” Liam said, his voice carefully controlled. “Cordonia won’t be the same without you.”
“I think Cordonia will survive.” Drake said dryly as he pulled his hand from Liam’s.
“Thanks for everything, Your Majesty. It’s been an honor and a privilege.”
He turned abruptly and started for the door, when he felt Liam’s hand on his shoulder.
“Let me walk you out.”
“You don’t need to do that.” Drake said icily
“Yes, Drake...I do.”
They walked side by side to the large double doors. Two pages opened the doors and they walked outside.
Liam turned to the members of the court and the Kingsguard who’d followed them.
“That will be all.” He said firmly, “You’re dismissed.
Everyone quickly filed back inside except for Riley, who remained standing by the door as Liam and Drake walked slowly down the stone steps toward the circular driveway.
Drake groaned when he saw the car his suitcases were being loaded into.
“A fucking Limo?”
Liam smiled, “And a Royal motorcade.”
“This is…” Drake rubbed his hand over his face as he looked at the black cars with t Cordonian flags flying in the breeze, “Excessive and ...ridiculous.”
“I couldn’t let you leave without rolling out the red carpet.” Liam’s reached out to put his hand on Drake’s shoulder, “It’s the very least I could do.”
Drake squinted up into the sun before finally looking at Liam.
“None of this is necessary. You didn’t need to come out here. You said everything you needed to say yesterday.”
No.” Liam’s vehement reply startled Drake and he looked up to see that Liam’s composure had snapped. There were tears glistening in his eyes as he spoke. “Yesterday I was angry. I was hurt and... blinded by pride. Your King dismissed you last night…” Liam paused as he felt his emotions threaten to overwhelm him.
He took a deep breath to compose himself.
“Today I stand here as your best friend...the man who loves you…who will always love you. The man who is going to miss you every single minute that you’re gone.”
“Fuck Liam.” Drake said, shaking his head, “Don’t. Please just don’t fucking do this right now.”
Liam’s fingers tightened on Drake's arm “I’m going to ask you...no, beg you...one more time, Drake. Please don’t leave.. Please.”
“I have to. It’s the only way. You know it’s true. ” Drake’s eyes bore into his, “You know it.”
Liam looked up to the sky, his eyes clouded with sorrow as he raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, Drake. For everything. I’m sorry it has to be like this.”
Liam reached out to place his hand on the back of Drake's neck, pulling him close until their foreheads were pressed together as they mourned a life they would never have together.
Riley watched them from the palace doors, tears streaming down her face.
“I love you.” Liam whispered, pressing his cheek against Drakes, savoring the feeling of his stubble scraping against his skin. “Forever.”
“I love you, Li.” Drake repeated, “Forever.”
Liam ruffled Drake’s hair affectionately and released him, taking a step backward.
“Safe Travels, my friend.”
Drake gave him a crooked grin before climbing into the waiting limo.
Once inside, Drake reached out and raised the dark privacy glass that separated him from his driver. With a deep sigh he leaned his head back against the cool leather seat, closed his eyes and finally allowed the tears to come.
Liam stood in the driveway and watched until the Limo was out of sight. He sensed Riley beside him, but said nothing.
She reached out to place her hand on his arm.
“Liam, are you okay?” She asked gently.
He turned his head and looked down at her for a moment, his expression unreadable. Without a word, he jerked his arm from her touch and turned, striding purposefully back into the palace.
****************************
Drake stood at the ticket counter of the Cordonian Airport, hands jammed into the front pockets of his jeans as he contemplated the flight board in front of him.
“You weren’t really planning on leaving without saying goodbye, were you?”
A small smile curved Drake’s lips, but he didn’t turn around. “I should’ve known I couldn’t escape from you that easily.”
He looked down to find a set of blood red, manicured nails on his arm.
“What are you doing here, Liv?” He asked dryly, “I hope you’re not going to try and talk me out of leaving.”
“God, no. Why in the world would I do that?” She replied.
Drake turned his head to stare into her emerald eyes.”Really?”
“This is long overdue.” She said matter-of-factly, “I’ll never understand why you stayed as long as you did.”
Without answering, Drake turned back to the flight board. Olivia stood quietly next to him as she perused it as well
“So where are we going?”
Drake cocked an eyebrow at her, “We?”
Olivia gave him a slow smile. “You didn’t think I’d let you run away all by yourself, did you?”
Drake raised his brows. “Why in the world would you want to go anywhere with me. In case you’ve forgotten, you hate me.”
Olivia gave him a slow, sexy smirk. “You have your talents.”
Drake laughed at that.
“I’ve never hated you.”
“You just hated my common blood.”
“Maybe in the beginning. But I got over that once I saw your cock.”
He turned to her again, a slight smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. “And you give really good head for a nobel.”
“See?” She said with a laugh as she leaned her head on his shoulder, “Common ground.”
“I guess.” He turned to brush his lips across the top of her head
“We actually have quite a lot in common, you know.”
“C’mon, Livvie,” he said, bumping her with his shoulder, “You and I couldn’t be more different, and you know it.”
She shrugged her dainty shoulders. “I used to believe that. But now I see that we’re not so different at all.”
“Yeah...okay.”
“We’re both outcasts.”
Drake gave a slight incline of his head
“We’re both in love with the same man, and neither of us can have him.”
Drake turned to look at her, noting the sadness in her eyes.
“Yeah,” He said softly, “We do have that in common.”
“And...we’re both incredibly attractive, a little unpredictable and we both drink entirely too much.” She winked at him to ease the heaviness that settled around them.
Drake grinned. “You’re right. I was wrong. We’re practically the same person.”
Olivia leaned against him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they both stared up at the flights leaving Cordonia .
“So where do a couple of fucked up cast-offs like us go to start over?”
“I don’t know.” Olivia said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye, a saucy smirk on her pouty red lips, “What are you qualified to do when your only job description for the last seven years has been Royal Boy Toy?”
Drake let out a loud bark of laughter. Only Olivia could get away with saying something like that to him.
“Hmmmm.” Drake studied the outgoing flights listed on the flight board in front of them.
His eyes lit up mischievously and he pointed. “Right there. 11:45 flight to Amsterdam. Maybe I can sell my body in the red light district.”
Olivia made a show of looking him up and down, noting how his tight white T-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and the way his jeans rode low on his hips.
She remembered vividly what his body looked like under those clothes.
“You could do well for yourself there, I think.” She agreed with a smirk, “But I think you can do better.”
She looked up at the flight board. “1:15 flight to Barcelona.”
She turned to Drake, “You’d look quite dashing in a matador’s traje de luces.”
Drake smirked. “You just want to see me gored, don’t you? Spain is one of the most beautiful and romantic countries in the world, and you went straight for carnage.”
“It’s in my DNA, darling.” She winked at him.
“Ok, if romance is what you’re after…” Olivia scanned the flight board once again. “Paris, France...10:35 flight.”
She turned back to him and smiled, “The City of Lights?”
Drake shrugged. “My French is pretty rusty.”
“How’s your German? Munich at 12:05?”
“My German is even worse than my French.”
Olivia placed her hand on his arm and gazed up at him, her eyes filled with tenderness, “Drake, look at me.”
He turned and gazed down into her beautiful, concerned eyes and gave her a sad smile.
“What kind of life do you want to find for yourself out there?”
Drake shrugged. “Something simple. Quiet. Peaceful. I just want to go someplace and be happy, Liv. But I don’t know if that place exists for me.”
Olivia, reached out to stroke his hair back from his eyes. “Trust me?” She asked softly
Drake nodded.
Olivia pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Go to the lounge and get us some drinks. Leave this to me.”
Drake smiled and hoisted his leather carry on strap over his shoulder. “I can’t wait.”
Drake settled himself into a plush leather chair in the VIP lounge and ordered a round of drinks. He was sipping his whiskey when Olivia appeared and sat across from him, slapping two tickets on the table in front of them.
She brought her glass of red wine to her lips with a satisfied smirk.
Drake looked down, then up at her, his brow furrowed. “Really?”
Olivia nodded. “I think it’s time you went home.”
His face broke into a slow smile. “You’re going to come to Texas with me?”
He laughed, his eyes shining with amusement, “Sorry. I just can’t picture you on the back of a horse, out in the sun all day, or... Jesus, mucking out stalls.”
He started laughing again.
“Oh, Good lord, no!” Olivia wrinkled her nose in distaste as she took another sip of wine.
She pushed the second ticket toward him. “I’m going to Paris.”
He looked up at her in surprise. Her tone was light, but her eyes told him a very different story.
“I think it's about time we each wrote our own happy ending, don’t you?”
Drake nodded slowly, “Yeah...I guess it is.”
Just then they heard a garbled voice over the intercom
Olivia turned to Drake with a sad smile. “My flight is boarding.”
Drake stood and pulled her into his arms. They held each other tightly for a minute until Olivia pulled away, wiping at a tear with a small laugh.
“Ugh. Look what you’ve made me do. If my mascara runs, I’ll murder you with my bare hands.”
Drake smiled. “You look perfect Livvy, just like always.”
“Will you come visit me?” She asked suddenly, her eyes shining with unshed tears, “We can stroll along the Seine, sip coffee in one of those quaint little outdoor cafes, make love all day and all night and just forget about the world for a while...”
“Just try and keep me away.”
She bit her bottom lip and nodded
“Until then.” She placed her hand on his cheek, smiling tenderly. “You take care of yourself, Drake Walker. Despite all instincts to the contrary...I adore you.”
Drake turned his face into her hand and pressed his lips against her palm before pulling away.
