over at him. “I thought we already had this discussion. I do not want to go deep into the West Virginia wilderness to be murdered.”
He grinned, “I’m not going to murder you, we’ll be there in a minute.”
The trees began to thin until they opened up into a clearing. He pulled up to an embankment and shut off the car. My breath caught as I started out at a lake in front of us. “Where are we?”
He got out of the car and grabbed a blanket out of the backseat, throwing it over the hood of the car. He jumped up on the hood and turned to grin at me. “This is my secret place and this,” he gestured at the water in front of me, “is the Cheat Lake. Now get out here.”
I stepped out of the car and sat down next to him. “It’s beautiful.”
And it was. The moon was shining brightly, reflecting off the surface. There weren’t any lights for miles around and the whole scene brought about a sense of peace in me. I scooted up so I could rest my back on the windshield and looked at him as he spoke. “Yeah it is. I like to just come out here and get away from everything.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes, both enjoying the view and the peace that came with it. “Why did you bring me out here Drake?” I asked softly.
He turned to me and gave me a small smile, “I don’t know. I couldn’t sleep and I decided to come out here. How I ended up in that parking lot I’ll never know.”
I reached over and gave his hand a small squeeze before pulling away. “Why did you ignore me all day? And don’t say you didn’t, I know when someone is purposely avoiding me.”
He slid back and settled down next to me, staring up at the moon. The ring in his lip caught the moonlight and I had to force myself to look away from his full lips.
“I was avoiding you, I won’t lie.”
I sat in silence as I waited for him to continue.
“You threw me for a loop yesterday morning. I told you to be with Logan, but I didn’t think you’d dive into it like that.”
I sat up and glared at him, “So you’re avoiding me because I had sex with someone? That’s just stupid, if our roles were reversed, I’d never be able to talk to you again with all the women you’re with.”
“You’re different. I have no morals, you’re better than that.”
“So now I’m a slut for sleeping with one guy? You’re such a fucking hypocrite!”
I started to slide down the hood to get away from him, but he caught my arm and pulled me back. “That’s not what I meant. I know you’re not a slut, I just didn’t expect you to go have sex with someone without even being in a relationship with them.”
I sat fuming, speechless.
“Don’t be mad at me Chloe, I’m just looking out for you.”
“I’m not mad Drake, I’m livid. None of this is your business so I wish you’d just butt out!”
He sat up as he grabbed my face and pulled me to him, our noses almost touching. “You’ll always me my business Chloe, I care a lot about you.” He released me and slumped back down against the windshield as I sat speechless, staring at him. “So are you guys together now or was it just a one-time thing?”
I smacked him in the stomach and he laughed.
“What? I’m just asking.”
“Yeah, we’re together now.”
He nodded as he turned his attention back to the water, “I’m happy for you then,” he sat up and slid down the hood, holding his hand out to me, “I’d better get you home, it’s late.”
I took his hand and let him help me down. Once I was safely on the ground, he released me and grabbed the blanket. He threw it in the backseat as I opened my door and slid silently into the car. Drake got in and started the car, taking us back to the interstate and my car. We were still silent as he pulled his car next to mine.
I glanced back at him as I opened the door, “We good?”
He gave me a sad smile, “Yeah Chloe, we’re good.”
I turned and pulled him into a tight hug, shocking him. He was stiff at first, but he relaxed and hugged me back. “I’m glad Drake. You’re important to me and I