Chapter 5

Lauren wrapped her arms tight around Drake as they walked out of the water, and it was like they were meant to be there together. Her touch felt so genuine that it surprised Drake at first. Lauren wasn’t a girl who was pretending to be happy, or pretending to be proud of someone, she genuine showed affection, something that many other women struggled with. Heck, Drake even felt like he struggled to show emotions and genuineness toward others.

“You did really good, Drake!”

“Thanks, but you did amazing.”

“I spend my whole life balancing on boards. It would have been bad if I wasn’t good at it. Now you, you did amazing.”

Lauren kept her arms wrapped around Drake and gently kissed him as they stood at the side of the water. She was tiny compared to him, and he lifted her off the ground so he could kiss her more easily. Lauren was excited for the next thing in her plan for the day. So far things had gone perfectly, and she hoped the rest of her date would go off just as well.

Of course, she was worried about Sophia. But the second she knew that her surgery was over, and her family was there, it was much easier not to worry. Lauren wasn’t used to all the drama like she had seen in the previous few days. Her life was calm and relaxed almost every day. Even when she had events to participate in, the vibe was so relaxed, and everyone got along with each other; it wasn’t like living in the house with the other women at all.

She understood why Drake was doing what he was doing. He wanted to find love. That was what everyone wanted. But Lauren was positive she wouldn’t be able to participate in another experiment like the one she was in. She liked Drake, and she thought he liked her, but all the other women were just getting in the way. After waiting six days to have her turn with him, Lauren wasn’t about to play it safe at all. She was going to show him how much he would like life with her.

“We are going to the beach,” Lauren said with a giggle when she saw the look on Drake’s face.

He didn’t look thrilled to be going to more water. Drake had tried valiantly with the Flyboard, but Lauren could see it in his eyes; he did not want to go surfing. She held back a giggle as he looked grimly at her and questioned what they would be doing at the beach.

“Surfing?” he asked.

“Maybe,” Lauren teased as she grabbed her surfboard.

Drake quickly pulled it from her hands, carried it to the waiting vehicle and strapped it to the top. His vehicles weren’t really designed for carrying large surfboards, but they were able to make it work as they headed the thirty minutes to the coast.

“Are we going to a specific beach?”

“Yep, head down to Huntington Beach. I’ve got a little something planned there.”

The drive to the coast and then south on the Pacific Coast Highway was beautiful, and they both took the opportunity to enjoy the view. It was clear that Lauren was a confident woman who didn’t need to fill the empty space with conversation, and Drake didn’t feel the need to fill it either. He did reach over and grabbed her hand. Holding it made him comfortable.

The soft touch of Lauren’s hand in his had Drake’s mind suddenly racing all over the place. He felt comfortable with her; she was funny, kind and a great kisser. But Drake had so many great women at his home, and his mind started replaying all of his other dates and wondering if he liked Lauren more than the other women. It was starting to drive him crazy. Every date seemed to go better than the last one, and he thought he liked each girl more and more. They all stuck out in his memory, but the one that was next to him seemed to always be his favorite. Drake knew that making a decision on the final day was going to be horrible.

“What’s on your mind?” Lauren asked with a serious tone.

“I’m just thinking.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty messed up.”

Drake pulled into the parking near the beach and turned to face Lauren. She seemed to know what he was thinking without him even saying a thing. Her eyes looked into his with a deep understanding that surprised him. Lauren seemed like the fun, carefree kind of girl, not the type who could understand the deep emotional turmoil he was feeling the closer it got to the end of the week.

“It was a bad idea to bring you all here. I know that to be here with me you all are developing feelings, and I’m going to have to break six women’s hearts. That’s not my thing. I have kept relationships casual simply because I didn’t want to hurt people. Now I have you all here, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Drake didn’t mind hurting people in business. He was often ruthless in that arena. But when it came to love, he was genuinely aware of women’s emotions and tried to steer clear of hurting anyone too much. Sometimes women would say they were fine with a one-night stand, but then clearly become attached. But overall, Drake was forward with his intentions and tried not to purposely make any woman feel bad.

“Stop it!” Lauren said firmly. “We are all grown women. We came here for a chance at making a connection. I know if it doesn’t work out I’ll be a little heartbroken, but I’ll get over it. So will the other girls. You go with your heart. After going through all this, don’t you dare second guess yourself! You have the opportunity to land an amazing woman … me,” Lauren joked.

“You’re pretty amazing.”

Drake leaned in and let his lips gently touch hers. Softly, they moved together as their mouths explored each other. The delicate nature of the kiss was exactly what Lauren loved about Drake. He knew when to push things hard and when to pull back and be sweet. He was a good man, and she could tell the stress of the week was starting to weigh on him.

“The sun is starting to set, we better get going,” Lauren said as she opened her door and climbed out.

“We aren’t surfing this late, are we?”

“Nope, I’m starving. We are going to eat.”

Drake wanted to ask more questions but figured it wasn’t any use. He was excited that they were leaving the surfboard on the car and weren’t going to be climbing into the cold water of the ocean. He just followed her out to the sand where there was a picnic set up and a young lady sitting on their blanket. Lauren hurried up to meet her, gave her a big hug then turned to introduce her to Drake.

“This is my best friend in the world. I thought you should meet her, just in case we hit it off. Ram, this is Drake, Drake, this is Ramsey.”

Lauren’s friend looked almost identical to her. It was clear that the two women spent a lot of time together; probably surfing together too. Drake reached his hand out to shake hers, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him instead. Ramsey seemed to be just as sweet and nice as Lauren was; Drake could see why the two women were friends.

As the two women stood in front of him, Drake couldn’t help thinking that Lauren was a good pick in her friends. This girl obviously cared about Lauren, and the two of them seemed to have remarkably similar personalities; at least from what Drake could tell in their short introduction. Drake liked knowing that Lauren had a good friend like this Ramsey girl.

“Man, it’s great to meet you. I hear you are like a rock star of the tech world. I love my technology. Great to meet you, man.”

“Thanks, it’s good to meet you too,” Drake said as he took a little step away from Lauren’s friend. “Are you eating dinner with us?”

“Oh, hell no. I’m not getting in between you and this kinky ass girl. Oh, by the way, Lauren; here are those handcuffs you wanted.”

Drake’s eyes got big as he looked at Lauren’s friend and then at Lauren. Her face was turning a deep shade of red, and Drake could tell her friend had just done that to embarrass her. But Lauren went along with it, grabbed the handcuffs and put them into her pocket.

“Thanks.” She giggled as she tried not to look at Drake.

“Yeah, we will use those later for sure,” Drake winked at Ramsey.

“Treat her right there, dude,” Ramsey said as she reached her hand out and shook Drake’s. “This girl is by far one of the most amazing people in the world.”

“I will treat her good, and I have no doubt she’s amazing.”

“Thanks for setting up our picnic,” Lauren said, hugging her friend.

As Ramsey took off down the beach, Drake and Lauren made themselves comfortable on the blanket. It wasn’t something Drake did very often, but he liked being there with Lauren. The sun was moving quickly down the horizon, and they were going to sip their wine and watch the sunset; it was rather romantic.

Lauren wasn’t normally a girl who valued romantic gestures. But the beach was her life, and it did seem to make sense to bring Drake there so they could spend the rest of their date talking and watching the sunset. Lauren had talked to the other women and knew a lot about Drake, but she wanted to give him the chance to get to know her a little bit more before he had to make his decision.

She had seen hundreds of sunsets on the beach, but never one so romantically as that moment. Drake was the perfect partner for her, and she knew it. His mix of business with her mix of fun would make them a super couple, and she just knew it. The problem was, she wasn’t able to fully let go and relax when she knew that there were six other women who had growing feelings for the same man.

“Do you want to have children?” Lauren blurted out before she could stop herself.

She didn’t want to ask him that question; she had just been thinking about it and it had come out. Lauren wanted children; she wanted a lot of them, though, and it was something that was very important to her in the man she chose. Even when she went on regular dates, she always got around to the question of if they wanted to have kids. It was no use continuing to date a guy if he wasn’t interested in having kids. Lauren was going to be a mother someday; she knew it and was excited for that part of her life.

“Yes, I do.”

She instantly smiled at his response. It was a relief. A man of Drake’s age could have easily decided he didn’t want to go down that path. But Lauren didn’t care that Drake was almost 40 years old. She would still like to get to know him more, and from what she knew so far, she thought he would make a pretty outstanding father.

“I do too. Family is really important to me. I can’t wait for that part of my life.”

“Well, you should wait. Have fun, do your career for a while. Kids will always be there.”

“Yeah, I mean I might wait for a couple of years. But I can’t wait to be a mother.”

Drake could see the happiness in Lauren’s eyes, and he certainly didn’t question that she would make a great mother. She was a kind soul that seemed to genuinely care for the people around her; those were traits of his own mother, so he knew they were good ones.

“When you pick the girl, do you plan on moving to where she lives? Or how is that all going to work when this week is done?” Drake hadn’t really thought about all of the specifics of picking the right woman. When he started the process, he really wasn’t sure he would find women that he even liked. The pure high level of women that were at his home had surprised him and picking one would have to be based on more than just her geographic location.

“I think it will work out no matter which woman I pick. If things are meant to be, they will be.”

“That’s a great way of thinking. I think that way also. If you find someone that you care enough for, you’ll make it work out, no matter where she lives. Plus, all of us women are pretty well traveled; a long-distance thing would certainly work.”

“Aren’t you located here in California?”

“Yes, but I mean if you picked someone else.”

There was a sudden sadness on Lauren’s face that felt like a knife going through Drake’s heart. He might not pick her, and that was the reality of the situation. It killed him to see that sadness in her eyes, though. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Lauren or any of the girls. He could see himself with Lauren, just as he could see himself with the other women. His heart was heavy as he tried to navigate what had turned into an awkward conversation.

“Well, this conversation has taken a turn for the worse,” Drake joked light-heartedly.

“Yes, let’s drink some more and have some sex,” Lauren said as she laughed and smiled.