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My cheeks reddened. Drake growled and slid my chair closer to his, the legs scraping loudly against the floor, making me wince when everyone in the diner turned to look at us in annoyance. Kaleb barked out a laugh. Drake just draped an arm around the back of my chair. “She’s off limits, Chandler.”
Chandler just winked at me. “If you ever get tired of that fucker, Elizabeth, you know where to find me.”
Dear God.
Drake gripped my chin, turned my head to face him, and slanted his lips across mine. My eyes fluttered shut, and I moaned. The world fell away. Everything else failed to exist except Drake, his hand on my waist, his other hand in my hair, and his warm lips against mine.
He pulled back after a moment, both of our chests heaving. He then grinned at Chandler over my shoulder as he tugged me into his lap, letting me burrow my face in his chest.
“Sorry, bruh. I don’t think she’s leaving him anytime soon,” Kaleb snickered.
Rodney smacked him at the same time Chandler threw a balled-up napkin at him, making me giggle.
Drake’s arms tightened around me in response to the sound, and for a moment, he buried his face in my hair, allowing me to feel the smile on his lips.
9
Drake
Seeing Elizabeth smile and laugh with my friends was a beautiful sight, and I only fell even more in love with her. They made her forget about everything she had to worry about. For just a little bit of time, her parents, the bathroom incident, and her broken nose ceased to matter. And my friends never looked at her with pity. They treated her like she was one of the guys.
Even though they gave me shit the entire time and constantly messed around with Elizabeth, I was glad my friends welcomed her into our group so easily. I knew she’d be protected, which was what I desperately wanted since I couldn’t be around her all the time. And while they made lots of indecent comments and flirted with her incessantly, I knew they were happy for the two of us.
“You have fun?” I asked her as I headed toward my house.
The smile she aimed my way had my heart doing somersaults in my chest. Fuck, I was head over heels for her.
“I had a lot of fun.” She looked out the window as we continued down the county road, leaving the town behind and heading out into nothing but trees and fields. She looked over at me again. “Where are we going?”
I reached over and grabbed her hand in mine, linking our fingers together. Warmth surged through my veins when our skin touched. God, this girl was doing some crazy shit to me.
“To my house. Figured you could eat dinner with us, and you could crash at my place.”
She frowned at me for a moment, like she wasn’t sure about the idea, before nodding her head. I relaxed a little. I didn’t want her alone, and I needed to be home this evening so I could help Dad in the morning. I’d already been leaving him alone to do all the work by himself enough as it was. But I didn’t want her at her house by herself. The thought of her parents doing a surprise visit home while I wasn’t there with her made my skin crawl. I couldn’t protect her when she was home alone with them.
She was too susceptible to their abuse, and I didn’t like it one bit. She needed a protector, and honestly, I should have stepped in to help her way before I did. And there was no excuse for me not doing so.
How she was giving me the time of day, I’d never understand. Because even though I hadn’t been the one lashing out at her and saying words to emotionally cut her down, I hadn’t been any better by basically turning my back on what was happening.
I’d been an enabler, but I wasn’t one anymore.
I’d protect this girl until my last dying breath.
The rest of the ride was quiet but comfortable, just like it always was between me and Elizabeth. Mom’s car was parked in the driveway when I pulled up, and I saw the tractor out in the back field, which meant Dad was still working.
I slid out of the truck and rounded the hood before coming to help Elizabeth out. She clutched my hand in hers as I walked up to the front door, opening it before gently tugging her in. She was nervous, but she had no reason to be. Mom already loved her, and I knew Dad would, too.
“Just breathe,” I quietly told her. “Mom?” I called out.
“In the kitchen, Drake.”
I led Liz to the kitchen where Mom was already working on dinner. I hummed when the scent of the roast she was cooking assaulted my nostrils. “Smells good.” I kissed her on the cheek. “We got enough to add a spot at the table?”
