Summary: Drake’s a little too interested in Riley’s relationship with Liam, and he finally starts to open up to her.
Riley felt exposed walking back to the group, like what just happened with Liam was written all over her face. In theory there was no reason for anyone to know she was with Liam, but what if they did? She walked past Drake on the way, making sure to avoid his gaze. She got a pit in her stomach wondering just how much Liam and Drake told each other. Would he find out, and would he care? This suddenly mattered to Riley more than it should. Regardless of whatever her newfound feelings for Drake meant, she was here for Liam, and she really was falling for him. Riley was sure this little crush she had on Drake would pass.
“Riley!” Hana called her over to the table where an she was already seated for dinner. “I saved you a seat. How did it go?”
“How did what go? Oh..right the incident report. Everything’s good. It’s just a liability thing.”
“That’s good. It’s looks like you got some sun today. Your cheeks are pretty pink.”
Riley felt her cheeks with her hands. They were still flushed and warm, but it wasn’t from the sun. “Oh, yeah…I forgot to re-apply sunscreen,” she lied. “Anyways, did I miss anything while I was gone?”
“No…nothing interesting at least. Liam was gone most of the time handling some business calls, so some of the ladies were complaining about that,” Hana replied.
“They can’t just expect the Crown Prince to ignore all of his duties during the social season,” Riley said, feeling only slightly guilty. “Well, I’m famished. Let’s eat!”
Liam arrived back a few minutes later and was directed by the crew to an open seat at a table at the opposite end from where Riley was sitting. Riley didn’t mind too much. She’d take her alone time with Liam over sitting next to him at a group dinner any day.
After dinner, Kat approached Riley. “Everyone else is riding back to the stables now, but I called a car for you since we can’t really shoot any footage of you riding an ATV with a crew member. You and Drake can head back together.
“Oh…” Riley wasn’t expecting that. “Okay, just let me know when it’s time.” She told herself it didn’t need to be awkward. Drake didn’t know what she did with Liam, nor did he know she was was having feelings for Drake. It would be fine.
The car arrived and Drake opened the door for Riley to get in and then got in himself. They sat in silence for the first few minutes for before Riley spoke up.
“You’re quiet this evening, Drake. Is everything okay?”
“Heh, I’m quiet? You should know by now I’m not one for small talk. You are the one that is usually yapping my ear off, Bennett. I should be asking you that question. Did something happen with Liam? Never mind…that’s none of my business”
She didn’t talk that much, did she? Okay, maybe she was always trying to get him to talk to her. And wait…Did he just ask her about Liam? Why would he say that?…unless he knew they had been together.
“Why would you ask about Liam? You were there with us the whole day.”
“I wasn’t with you in the cave.” Drake said with a straight face.
“How did you know–”
“Bennett, its my job to know where you are. And it is Bastien’s job to know where Liam is. And working together as a team, we cover for each other, so we kind of have to know where everyone is.”
“I see. Well nothing happened. Nothing bad anyway…er…not that anything good happened either…It was fine.”
Drake cocked an eyebrow. “Are you sure you are feeling okay? I’m pretty sure I caught you before your head hit the ground.”
“It’s just been a long day. Lots of sun, day drinking, a near death experience…Speaking of…I didn’t really get a chance to thank you. I really appreciate you being there for me. I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t.”
Drake looked away bashfully. “It was nothing. I was just doing my job.”
Riley wanted to tell him it meant something to her, and that it felt like he actually cared about her, but she thought better of it. “I guess then I’ll just say thank you for being so dedicated to your job…and since we are on the topic, how did you get involved with the King’s Guard? Did you just want an excuse to hang around Liam all the time?”
“Funny Bennett. I should have known your silence was too good to last,” Drake quipped.
“Hey!” Riley hit him playfully on the shoulder. “You’re trying to play it cool, but I know you’re going to cave in soon.“
“Fine. But if I’m going to start telling you my life story, I need a drink first. Are you in?”
“Wait…are you asking me to go get a drink with you somewhere? Is that in your job description?”
“I’m only going to ask once, so if you just want to go back to the palace Bennett, that’s fine with me.”
“No! I want to go. I just didn’t know Drake Walker was such a rebel. Aren’t you afraid we are going to get in trouble?”
“Something tells me you aren’t one to follow all the rules either. But like I said, we can just go back to the palace.”
“No, we’re going…wherever its is that we’re going,” Riley affirmed.
“Ok then.”
Drake alerted the Driver and gave him the address. Riley was quiet the rest of the drive. She didn’t want to annoy Drake too much and have him change his mind. She did notice that he seemed to be taking up a lot more space in his seat than he needed to, and maybe she had gravitated closer towards the center as well, to the point their legs were lightly brushing up against each other every so often. It was completely incidental of course. At least that is what Riley was pretending.
A few minutes later, they arrived outside a basic looking bar. The mood on the inside matched the outside. It looked similar to a typical neighborhood bar in New York. Nothing fancy, just a bar, some tables, and a pool table with a few neon bar signs. The bartender acknowledged Drake as if he knew him.
“So, do you come here often?” Riley asked. “Oh my god, that sounded like a cheesy pick-up line. How often do you frequent this establishment?”
Drake laughed. “I come here every once in a while. When I just need to get away and clear my head.” He turned to the bartender. “Hey Theo, we’ll take two. You do drink whiskey, right Bennett?”
“Um, sure. If my options are limited…I mean whiskey is fine.”
Theo handed Riley a glass of whiskey on the rocks and she took a sip and cleared her throat. “It burns a bit, but it’s not bad.”
“I’ll make a whiskey drinker out of you yet Bennett. This stuff is okay, no offense Theo, but they have the good stuff is back at the palace.”
“So you’ve decided to make a habit of hanging out with me?” Riley teased.
“No!…well…Liam seems to really like you, so I figure I’ll be stuck with you for a while. Might as well make the most of it.”
“Sure…So you promised me you’d tell me about yourself over drinks, so go ahead.”
“What do you want to know?” Drake asked.
“Well lets start with what I asked back in the car. How did you decide to join the King’s Guard?”
“It’s kind of a long story. Are you sure you really want to know?”
“I do,” Riley encouraged.
“Might as well start at the beginning. The reason I basically grew up in the palace is because my father was in the King’s guard.”
“Oh, is he retired now?”
“No…he died several years ago…protecting the royal family during an assassination attempt.”
“I’m so sorry Drake, I had no idea.”
“At least he died for what he believed in. I really looked up to him.”
“Is that why you joined the Guard then?”
“Actually, no. As much as I admired my father, the more I was around nobles, aside from Liam of course, the more I wanted to get away. I was in their world but never a part of it. It’s all about status and what other people have to offer you. I was always just a commoner with nothing to offer. I might have had certain uses for some of them at times, but I would never be one of them…And I guess that’s why I was kind of hard on you at first. I was conflicted because you are a noble, but you grew up as a commoner. I thought maybe you were just after Liam for his status and I wanted to protect him from you, but at the same time, I thought maybe you could have good intentions, and I felt a need to protect you from becoming one of them. It wasn’t my place, I know.”
“It’s okay, Drake. You know, we probably have more in common than you think. I didn’t grow up around nobles, but I grew up the daughter of a single mother around a bunch of spoiled rich kids. We had enough to get by, probably thanks to whatever money we were getting from Barthelemy, but I never felt like I fit in either. The only true friend I really had was my roommate Sarah. We grew up together and she remains my best friend to this day. I guess could say she is my Liam…And I also lost my mother a couple years ago.”
“Shit Bennett, here I was going on about losing my father and my sad life, and you have lost both of your parents, one of which you never even got to meet. I mean, I don’t really talk to my mother since things got hard for her and she went back to the U.S. after my dad died, but she’s still there at least. I’m so sorry.”
“That can almost be harder sometimes…when they choose to leave. I guess we both kind of had that in a way…but did you say your mom went back to the US? Does that mean she’s from there?”
“Yes, I’m half Cordonian and half American. I guess another similarity we have.”
“See, I’m too much like you for you to hate me….but maybe I’m a bit more optimistic, and a little less sarcastic.”
“And don’t forget that you never stop talking…”
“Okay, I get it, I annoy you,” Riley laughed. ”But lets get back to your story, you wanted to get away, yet here you still are.”
“I actually did get away for awhile. I went to college in the US. I was thinking of making a life for myself there…but then there was another assassination attempt on the royal family. Liam’s brother Leo flew out and asked me to come back. Liam was…not coping well at all. And for some reason, having me back was enough to help get Liam back to being himself. I eventually just gave in and joined the King’s Guard since I was still here anyway.”
“Aww Drake…” Riley put her hand out of Drake’s on instinct. When she realized, she was about to pull back, but Drake didn’t flinch. He stared into her eyes a long moment and then looked away.
“Yes I know, I’m totally soft inside…a complete marshmallow. Don’t tell anyone. I would like to retain my reputation as surly and unapproachable.”
Riley gave Drakes hand a soft squeeze and then let go. “I knew from the beginning there was more to you than meets the eye. I just didn’t think I’d be able to get it out of you in less than two weeks.”
“You wore me down Bennett. It usually takes a lot more than two drinks to get half that much out of me. You have a gift”
“People have always been able to open up to me. I guess that’s why I was going to grad school to become a psychotherapist.”
“That’s not fair! You were using your therapist tricks on me.”
“No tricks, I swear. It’s just how I am.”
“Whatever you say Bennett. I’m going to have to be more careful around you. On that note, we should probably get back to the palace before someone sends out a search party for you.”
~~~~
They got back to the palace, and Drake walked Riley back to her room. They went in through a side entrance and thankfully didn’t run into anyone on the way. Drake really didn’t want to get her, or himself in any trouble.
Riley opened up her door and turned back to Drake. “Thank you again Drake…for everything today. I had a good time with you tonight.”
“I actually had a good time too, even with you making me spill my secrets.”
“I know there’s more in there. I’ll get them out eventually. You know I like a challenge.”
Drake stared at Riley’s mouth as she talked. She paused and he didn’t look away. He felt an undeniable urge to kiss her. He leaned in closer, his face inches from hers.
“Bennett I…I will see you tomorrow.” He patted her on the shoulder. What was he doing? Liam was starting to fall in love with Riley. Drake had no business trying to make a move on her, and no reason to think she would want him over Liam.
“Oh..yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Drake.”
Drake walked quickly back to his room and turned in for the night. As he lay in bed trying to fall asleep, he couldn’t keep his thoughts off of Riley…Her falling into his arms, the little looks and touches they shared throughout the day, and how sexy she looked in her bathing suit. He really tried to think of anything and everything else, but he couldn’t help it. He felt his erection growing. It still seemed wrong to think about Riley this way, but he supposed masturbating to thoughts of her was nowhere near as bad as actually kissing her, or more. He started to move his hand up and down up his shaft and didn’t stop until he found release. He cleaned himself up and fell into a peaceful sleep.