The UnKnown (A Novel) (16 page)

“It’s a beautiful night; let’s walk over to the restaurant.” It was a beautiful night for walking. The moon was bright and there was a light breeze to keep us cool.

“I’m taking you to Angelo’s, the best Italian restaurant in three counties. Their pasta is to die for. Angelo is from Roma and he gets his ingredients fresh from Italy. Wait ‘til you see.” He had so much excitement in his eyes.

“I’d much rather have something else for dinner.” I replied seductively. Drake whipped his head around and looked at me in disbelief at my words. 

“Peaches, you can’t talk like that or I will lose my mind. You know I will take you right here and now.” His eyes were full of hope and promise of getting what he wanted. God that made me want to take him at his word. I figured we had better not. I still needed to visit the doctor to get on birth control pills. Drake made sure we used a condom the last time we were together, but those are not always one hundred percent. That was just one more reason why I loved him so much. I knew he would always protect me.

“I know. I am sorry. I need to get some birth control pills. I want to be protected one hundred percent. We don’t need any children right now.” He nodded and we walked inside the restaurant of the very small Angelo’s. It was busy because it was a Saturday night. The walls were painted a very dark red and each table was outfitted with a matching red table cloth with a lit candle sitting on top of it.

“Very romantic, Mr. Mitchell.”

“I try my best, Miss Scott.” The waitress walked over and took us to a very small, quiet booth in the back of the restaurant. When we reached it there were a dozen white roses sitting there. I was confused, had he planned this?

“Drake, you have already given me flowers. This is too much.”

“I can never give you enough. I want to give you the world. Do you know what the white rose signifies?” He pulled me down into the booth with him.

“I don’t, but they are just as beautiful as the red ones you gave me.”

“The white rose signifies purity and innocence. The red rose signifies love, beauty, courage, and respect. And together they signify unity. Baby, you are those things to me. You are my heart.” He kissed the back of my hand. “You are as pure as the driven snow.” He kissed it again. “And you are as beautiful as an angel descending from heaven.” Drake’s eyes danced with hope and love. I could see that he truly loved me. Where did this man come from? Tears were beginning to form in my eyes.

“And together,” he pulled out a single white rose and a single red one and laced the stems together. “We are strong. We can’t be broken.” By the time he finished I was a blubbering fool. I was so happy in that exact moment.

“I love you with all my heart,” he whispered lovingly.  I closed my eyes and savored his every word. I hadn’t ever known love like this. I never wanted to let it go.

“Baby, you ok?” 

“Yes. I love you so much. I can’t believe you did this. My makeup is probably running.” I wiped the tears from my eyes. Who knows what I look like right now, but I couldn’t help it. This was just all too wonderful not to cry.

“No it isn’t. You are stunning.” The waitress came over and got our drink order. I couldn’t help hating how she was eyeballing my man. It made the little green monster want to come out and play. 

“I’ll take your word for it.” We pulled open the menus the waitress had given us.

“Everything looks so good. What do you recommend?” I asked.

“Spaghetti with meatballs and I will get the pasta primavera. Both are very good. We can share. They serve very large portions.”

“Sounds good.” I took his hand in mine and rubbed it on my face. I loved the feel of his touch. The waitress came over and took the order. She was still looking at him.

“Do you know her?” He looked up.

“Know who?” Please don’t act stupid Drake.

“The waitress, she has been staring you down since we got here. I am just wondering because if you don’t you certainly have an admirer.”

“She looks familiar, but I can’t say that I know her. Don’t worry your pretty little head. I only have eyes for you.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a text. I couldn’t see who it was. It didn’t really matter because I trusted him completely.

“I know you do, Sweets.”

“Sweets?”

“Yes sweets, because you are so sweet.” His eyes narrowed. “Hey if you call me Peaches then I am going to call you Sweets. It just took me awhile to come up with one, but I think it is fitting.” He just smiled. Our food arrived and the aroma filled my nose and made me super hungry.

“Could we have an extra plate please, Cynthia?”

“Coming right up.” She was just too happy to know he called her by her first name.

“If you don’t know her then how did you know her first name?” my voice raised a little bit out of agitation. Was he lying to me?

“Calm down. It’s on her name tag.” His eyes widened a little and he raised his hands up trying to reassure me. I felt like a complete ass for assuming the worst in him.

“I’m sorry. I don’t like how she has been looking at you. You are mine and no one else can have you.”

“No problem baby, I know I belong to you and you belong to me just as the song says.” Cynthia came back with the plate and Drake scooped some of his pasta onto the plate. I did the same. He took my plate from me and set it in front of him.

He scooted the half and half over to me. “Now you can have the best of both worlds.”

I took my fork and dug into the Pasta Primavera first. I had never had it and it smelled amazing. I took one bite and fell in love. How do you fall in love with food? The sauce was creamy and the noodles tasted like they were made fresh that day.

“Lord this is good. I had no idea food could taste like this.” I scooped up some of the spaghetti and meatballs and stuffed it into my mouth. I savored the meat. I knew I should be acting all prim and proper because it was our first date, but I didn’t care.

Drake was laughing at me so hard that there were tears in his eyes. “Slow down Misty, the food isn’t going anywhere,” he said, wiping his eyes.

“I know it’s just sooo good.” My mouth was full but again I didn’t care.

We talked and ate our food. I ate every last bite of the pasta. I was really enjoying myself and didn’t want to leave, but I had an early morning coming.

“Can you give me one more hour?” Drake whispered.  

“I can. It’s only ten thirty. I need to be home by midnight.”

“I was just asking because you look exhausted.” I was feeling a little sluggish due to being on the go all day. I had very little sleep and rest between the events of the day.

“I’m good. What do you have in mind lover boy?”

“You’ll see.” He motioned Cynthia, the waitress, over to pay the check. I tried to peek to see how much it was, but Blake moved the check out of the way. We walked out with our hands laced together. When I looked up there was a beautiful white Clydesdale horse with a carriage attached to its back.

“Is this for us?” I was surprised to see this, when did he have time to come up with all of this? I was totally blown away.

“Yes,” he said kissing my hand. “I wanted to do something special. This is going to take us around the lake.” I was just in complete awe of him. I didn’t think I deserved him. He helped me up into the carriage. He followed close behind and the driver took off. The scenery around the lake was breathtaking. The moon was beaming off the lake and the white swans were floating like leaves in the water. The trampling sound of the horse’s hooves was a soothing feeling. The carriage was decorated with red velvet with white trimming running along the seat. I was so relaxed and could have easily fallen asleep wrapped up in the arms of the man I love.

“This has been the most perfect night, Drake. Thank you so much for everything,” I said as I laid my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into him.

“I’ll do anything for you. You deserve the world, Misty, and I insist on giving it to you. I promise you, if you trust me, I will not fail you.”

The driver took us around the lake and back to Drake’s truck. I was feeling really sleepy by the time we got back. Drake got out of the carriage first. I was beginning to step down when he scooped me up and carried me to the car. He settled me into my seat.

“Be right back. I need to go pay him.” He shut the door and jogged over to the driver. He was back in two seconds.

I must have fallen asleep on the way home because the next thing I knew we were at my house. “Come on baby, let’s get you inside.” He scooped me up again.

“I can walk you know.” He didn’t speak but just kept walking.

“Where are your keys?” I dug in my purse and handed them to him. He opened the door and proceeded to go in and shut it quietly behind him.

 “What are you doing? You can’t come in this late.” Again he said nothing. He carried me up the stairs.

“Which one is yours?” I pointed to the last door on the left. He entered and laid me gently on the bed. He took my shoes off.

“You can’t be in here! They will be furious.” I groaned because I really didn’t want him to leave me. 

“Shhhhh. Just let me take care of you. Where are your pajamas?” He said softly.

“First drawer.” He opened it and took out my pink t-shirt with matching shorts.

“Take off your dress.” It was an order not a question. I slipped the dress off over my head and unhooked my strapless bra. I held onto the cups so as to not expose my bare breasts.

“Let it go. I’ve already seen you.” I complied.

“Lift your arms.” I did as he asked. Drake slid my t-shirt over my head. He put my shorts on me. He walked around me and pulled the covers down.

“Get in.” I crawled from the edge of the bed and got in.

“When I make you my wife, this is how I will care for you. I will be your feet, I will be your eyes, and I will be your back. You will want for nothing. I will love you with my whole heart until I take my last breath of air on this earth.” With that he kissed my forehead and crawled into bed with me.

“I’m going to take care of you. No more nightmares, Misty, not ever.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him. Before I could even think I was fast asleep.

Chapter 20

Drake

I hadn’t told Misty, but I spoke to her aunt about what happened at the gas station. She reluctantly agreed to let me stay with her tonight. I couldn’t let her have any more nightmares, especially the night before she was supposed to start her new job. She looked so peaceful as I watched her sleep well into the night. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, not even Sara, and quite frankly it scared the shit out of me. I was so protective of her that I wanted to keep her in a bubble and not let the world at her. When I saw her sleeping, I knew she was at peace. Her Aunt needed to know what happened. I was hoping that she wouldn’t be too upset with me for telling her. She agreed to help Misty find a therapist when the time came. The time would come for her, even as strong as she was. There was no way she would get through it on her own. I set my alarm for eight in the morning, so I could make sure she had plenty of time to get ready for work. She was so excited to work. I finally fell asleep after several hours of thinking. I was afraid of what was happening to me. I was more focused on Misty’s needs than on my own. My father told me this would happen and I didn’t believe him. I needed to find some sort of balance. My internship would be starting soon and I needed to focus on making a good impression. I wanted to move out of my parents’ house by spring. That would require me to have full time employment because I didn’t want to use my inheritance money.

I woke up to my alarm clock blaring at me. I picked it up to shut it off and noticed Misty was gone. Just as I started to panic she came back into the room wrapped in a towel.

“Good Morning. I didn’t want to wake you and I needed to start getting ready. Does my aunt know that you are here? I have a feeling that she does.”

“Morning, you should’ve woke me up. I was here to make sure you slept well. And yes, they both know that I am here. Don’t be upset please, but I told Silvia about what happened at the gas station. I told her about your nightmares. She agreed to let me stay with you so you could get some rest. I know you wanted to tell her, but you needed sleep and I knew you wouldn’t do it right off.” I hoped she wasn’t too pissed.

Misty stormed towards me. “Drake, you had no right to tell her! But at the same time I am glad that you did. I need you here with me. I needed sleep so badly last night because I have become afraid to close my eyes at night. All I see his face. I’ll talk to Silvia about this when I get off work.” She kissed me on the forehead and proceeded to put on her uniform that she looked very sexy in.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t be too pissed at me. Silvia’s condition for letting me stay was that the kids don’t see me leave. So you will have to help sneak me out.”

“Believe me I am mad, but I know where your heart is. Why don’t we just throw you out the window,” she said with a huge grin on her face.

“Oh, so you just want to kill me, is that it?” I grabbed her and pulled her on top of me. She gave a light squeal and was giggling.

“Kiss me before I die.” Before I could breathe another breath her lips crashed down on mine. She kissed me hard and long and it felt good. My pants began to feel tight.

“Baby, I could do this all day, but you need to finish getting ready. You don’t want to be late on your first day.” She got up and gave me a little pouty look.

“Hurry up and I will drop you off,” I said, slapping that nice plump butt of hers.

“Ow. I can drive myself,” she said while rubbing her bottom. I had almost forgotten that she had a car now and didn’t need me dropping her off. My girl was always trying to be so independent.

“I forgot you have a car now. Get ready and help sneak me out of here then. I don’t want to be caught by the kiddies. By the way, have you noticed how much Lizzy looks like you?” It was really uncanny how much they resembled each other. You could almost say that Lizzy was Misty’s child.