Chapter 4

“I’m going to be able to make it after all,” Allison said over the phone to the event organizer.

“Oh, Allison that is so wonderful. The girls would have missed you horribly. I hadn’t announced that you canceled yet because I was hoping to find someone else to fill your spot, but I haven’t had any luck.”

“I’ll be there within the hour, is that enough time to rehearse?” Allison asked as she pulled her gown out of the bag she had it in.

“No, but it doesn’t matter. You can wing it; the girls won’t care. We are just so excited that you are coming.”

“Me too! I’m going to bring Drake Leblanc with me. Is that alright?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone and Allison knew exactly what was going on. The organizer of the event was probably jumping up and down going crazy with excitement over the news. Drake was probably a bigger deal amount the volunteers at the event than the girls that were there.

“Susanna?” Allison asked.

“Oh, yes. That would be just fine.”

Allison laughed a little as she thought she heard her friend Susanna a little out of breath. It was so fun to get to surprise them and their group and Allison was devastated when she didn’t think she was going to be able to make it.

“We will have a special table there for you and can’t wait to see you,” Susanna said as the women hung up their phones.

Allison knew that her conversation with Susanna had probably cost her the winning moment of getting ready faster than Drake, but it was alright. She took her time and pulled her dress on and then added a touch of makeup and pulled her hair up into a messy bun. The girls at this event weren’t’ going to be too concerned about Allison’s hair and makeup, they were just going to be excited to see her there

She descended the stairs slowly and looked around the living room for Drake. She expected to see him there and ready to gloat at how quickly he had gotten ready, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Then she looked around the corner at the base of the stairs and saw Drake laying on the couch and pretending to sleep. He started to snore loudly when she reached the bottom of the stairs and Allison couldn’t hold it together. She burst out laughing so hard that she had to cover her mouth so she didn’t spit all over the place.

“Oh, hey, that was a great nap,” Drake teased as he got up and stretched his arms.

“You weren’t down here that long, don’t even try it!”

“I am well rested at least,” Drake said as he put his arm out for Allison to hold onto while they walked down the steps toward his vehicle. “Are you alright with me driving?”

“Um, I don’t have a driver’s license so you’ll have to drive.”

Drake stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Allison with his eyes about as big as they could get. He had never met a grown person who didn’t have a driver’s license. Allison was 24-years old he couldn’t fathom why she didn’t have a license.

Allison had seen that look of wonder on people's faces before. She knew it was unusual not to have a license, but she had been a model since she was a teenager and people always sent cars to pick her up. She just never got around to studying for the test or going into the DMV and taking it. She used UBER, taxis, or had a car service everywhere she went.

She had vacillated between wanting a license and not needing one for many years. But the opportunity never presented itself for her to get her license. She never had the time to go wait at the DMV or to try and take the test. Although she felt like she probably could drive, she had watched others do it for so many years; how hard could it really be?

“It’s ok, I’m not a leper, I just don’t drive,” she laughed.

“I would offer to teach you, but I’m not that great at it myself. I’ve had a few tickets this year alone.”

“I don’t really feel like I need it right now in my life. I’ve always got a way around. This is the age of UBER, we don’t need licenses anymore.”

“You keep telling yourself that,” Drake joked as he opened the door for Allison to get into his SUV.

Allison just laughed. She knew that people didn’t understand her choice about a driver’s license. It wasn’t something new to her. Even her own mother hounded her to get her license. Someday she probably would, but for the time being she was just going to let Drake do all the driving.

“If you take Interstate 5 north I’ll let you know where we need to get off.” Allison leaned toward Drake and kissed his cheek “You do want me to tell you where to get off don’t you? Or would you prefer to MapQuest it?”

Drake felt his cock throb at Allison’s words and the idea of her getting him off. He knew she was talking about directions but his body just loved having her so close to him. She was a tantalizing beauty with a hilarious sense of humor. Drake wouldn’t put it past her if she were bringing him to some weird alternative movie premiere or something like that.

His driving was fast, but that was how Allison liked it. She never felt uncomfortable when people drove fast. It was a rush that she couldn’t get anywhere else. She leaned back in her seat and enjoyed the drive as they made their way north toward the event venue.

“What kind of charity work do you do?” Allison asked.

“Not nearly enough,” Drake said. Embarrassed to admit that he hardly did any. Only when Samantha arranged something and practically placed him at the event did Drake participate in any charity events. He did, however, donate a lot of money to charities that he thought were doing a great job. “Mostly financial donations.”

“It’s alright. I wasn’t asking to make you feel bad. I know you’re busy.”

“I really would like to do more events. I just get so caught up with work. I need a partner that I can do things with. Show up to events together and have a little date night while we do good.”

Allison reached over and held onto Drake’s hand. His words were like they had been taken right out of her mind. That was exactly why she had wanted to meet Drake. She thought it would be great to attend charity events, and other events, together as a team.

“Get off here and then turn toward the Chinese Theater,” Allison said as she pointed to the huge theater surrounded by cars and paparazzi.

“What is it?”

“It’s a beauty pageant, I’m the MC for the night,” Allison said with a huge smile on her face.

She could have told him that the event was a beauty pageant for girls with disabilities, but she didn’t want to take the fun out of it for him. Allison still remembered the first Miss Amazing pageant that she had watched and how exciting it was to see the women as they walked across the stage.

The girls were between the ages of 5 and 55 and all had significant mental or physical disabilities. The Miss Amazing pageant made it possible for them to feel beautiful and participate in a program that built them up. It was near and dear to Allison’s heart.

Drake smiled an awkward smile as they parked and made their way quickly through the crowd behind the building and to the stage. Allison didn’t have time to practice at all and was just handed her cue cards and pushed up onto the stage.

The stage manager grabbed Drake and brought him out into the audience so he could sit in the front row and watch the show up close. He looked around the audience and saw a lot of families there. They all looked so excited.

It was cute to see all the mothers and fathers dressed in their best clothes. Drake was happy to see that he wasn’t the only person wearing a tuxedo though, as many of the men in the audience had one on also.

As the lights dimmed and Allison came onto the stage, the audience erupted in applause. They were so excited to see her that they stood up and Drake did too. He couldn’t believe just how excited everyone was to see her.

“Hello everyone,” Allison began. “I’m so excited to be here hosting the Miss Amazing pageant today. You know it was six years ago that I first became a fan of this amazing organization and I’m a changed person because of all the wonderful girls I’ve met. Today, we are going to start with the little princesses.”

Drake looked to the edge of the stage where he saw a little girl about five or six years old standing near the curtain with a walker. There was a woman standing next to her and talking to her.

“First up we have Miss Abigail. This is her first year with Miss Amazing, let’s all give her a big applause.”

Drake felt his eyes start to water as the sweet little blonde-haired girl pushed her walker onto the stage. She stood in one pose and then moved her walker so she could make another pose. It was the most precious thing he had seen. Even as a guy, Drake felt his heart clench as the little girl moved across the stage and the audience clapped for her. She was so excited to be up there that her face literally beamed with light.

“Next up we have Ronna, she’s an old pro at this pageant and is ready to show us a little sass today.”

Ronna walked on the stage with the help of a man that appeared to be her father. He guided her to the center of the stage and then whispered something before he took a step back so she could do a few poses. When she was done, Ronna reached out for her father and his arm was instantly there for her to hold onto and walk back to the spot on the stage where she would stand while the other contestants did their walks.

Drake felt the tears pouring down his face by the time the fifth girl was brought out on stage in a wheelchair and unable to lift her arms or head. She was dressed in a beautiful dress and had a huge smile on her face as her mother twirled her chair around the stage. Drake couldn’t stop himself from crying. He wasn’t sure why the little girls had touched his heart strings so much, but he just couldn’t stop himself.

Crying and emotions weren’t something that Drake normally gave in to. Most of his life he had been the tough guy who didn’t cry, not even when he fell and broke his arm as a child. But as an adult, Drake was open to crying a lot more. He found himself sometimes watching an emotional commercial and tears rolling down his face. But tears, and emotions, were certainly something that was new to him as he approached forty years of age. He definitely wouldn’t have been crying in that audience when he was in his twenties; no matter how cute the girls were.

As the first group of girls left the stage and Allison prepared to read the names of the next group, he caught her focus and wiped his tears away. She playfully mocked him by pretending to wipe her own tears away and then brought him a small container of Kleenex that she had under the podium.

“I’m always prepared at this event. Sorry, I should have given you some of these before you sat down,” Allison said as she kissed Drake on the cheek and then went back up on stage.