Chapter 7

“So, it’s almost over,” Lauren said with a bright smile as Drake made his way back into the house.

It was nice to be alone with her, for a few minutes at least. before Samantha and Scarlett came back from their walk. Lauren was fun and light-hearted to be with. It felt natural when they were together, and Drake wanted to see if there were any clues that would give him an idea if he should pick Lauren or Scarlett.

The truth was that Drake hadn’t even slept with Scarlett yet, but he felt chemistry with her that was stronger than with Lauren. But Drake had slept with Lauren, and the sexual chemistry had been pretty damn good between them. He drew in a deep breath as the decision weighed heavy on him.

“Yes, it’s been a long day for sure. I’m glad you and I get a moment to talk before the ladies get back.”

“You know, this whole exercise was pretty amazing. Like something out of a television show. I’m glad I got to be a part of it. Even if you don’t pick me, this was a great week and a really fun opportunity.”

It was as if Lauren was giving Drake the out he needed if he wasn’t going to choose her, but the thing about it was … Drake might choose Lauren. He could see what his life would be like with Lauren, and Drake really liked it.

Lauren was relaxed and spent a lot of her time outdoors. She was certainly one of the happiest women he had ever met. She was successful in her industry and got to have fun surfing as part of her job. Drake admired Lauren’s life, and he really thought that he could make his life and hers blend well together.

“I know some of the ladies don’t get it, but I really did need to meet you all. I needed to grow these intimate relationships as I searched for a little more meaning in my life. I’m so glad you came here and glad the other women came as well.”

Drake plopped himself onto the couch and closed his eyes out of utter exhaustion. He wanted to just sleep for hours and hours as soon as the final decision was made. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen either. After the final girl was left there with him, Drake was going to want her in his bed for fun all night long.

His thoughts drifted to Scarlett. He hadn’t actually made love to her on their date, but Drake had tasted her, he had touched her, he wanted to feel Scarlett’s naked body under him as he thrust inside of her. Even as Lauren sat down next to him on the couch, Drake felt himself being drawn to thinking about Scarlett.

He wasn’t sure if it was enough of a draw to choose Scarlett over Lauren, though. As soon as Scarlett got back from her walk, Drake was going to pull her aside and talk to her. He needed to talk to her before he made his decision. Maybe during their conversation, he would feel something that told him which woman he should pick.

“I’m exhausted too,” Lauren said as she cuddled up next to Drake. “I guess we need to wait for Scarlett to get back for you to make your final decision.”

“Yeah, let’s just close our eyes and rest,” Drake joked, although he was totally serious.

“I’m game if you are.”

Lauren and Drake both closed their eyes as they waited for Scarlett and Samantha to get back. The level of exhaustion that Drake felt from his week was beyond overwhelming. He couldn’t imagine even being able to stay awake past ten o’clock, but he imagined there would be a surge of energy after he made his final decision.

What had started as a quick closing of their eyes, turned into Lauren and Drake being totally asleep when Scarlett and Samantha arrived back at the house about twenty minutes later. The two women came in loudly, unaware that it was apparently naptime.

“I’m starving, we should make some smoothies,” Samantha said when she flung the door open.

Drake and Lauren quickly woke up and tried to pretend like they hadn’t been sleeping, but it was no use. They had sleepy eyes and messy hair from their short nap.

“Well, at least you got a nap.” Scarlett laughed as she followed Samantha into the kitchen.

“How was your walk?” Drake asked.

“It was good. It’s a beautiful day out.”

“Could I steal you away for a little bit?” Drake asked Scarlett.

The look on her face surprised him, and he felt like she didn’t really want to talk with him at all. His gut spun with sickness as he looked from Scarlett to Samantha. He didn’t want to be that jealous jerk who always thought something was going on, but there definitely seemed to be something going on between Samantha and Scarlett.

“Of course,” Scarlett said as her sweet facial expression reappeared.

The two of them went out to the pool and grabbed a couple of lounge chairs near the water. Drake felt nervous as he sat there with Scarlett. She was beautiful and sexy and made him want to be the best man he could be. Hell, being around Scarlett made him want to be a better man than he was.

“I had a great time with you yesterday,” Drake said as he let his hand slide up and down her bare legs.

“Yes, I did too. I’m so glad we got a chance to have time for just the two of us. I’m also glad I got that building.”

Drake saw Scarlett light up as she talked about her new office in Los Angeles. It was absolutely perfect to think that she would be opening up a firm right there in his town. She didn’t travel as much as Lauren, and Scarlett was a business professional like he was.

“When do you think you’ll start the new firm out here?”

“I’m not sure, probably in a few months. I’m not in a big hurry; now that I own the building, I’ll take my time with the scheduling. Can I ask you something?” Scarlett said somberly.

“Of course, anything.”

“Did you and Samantha kiss?”

Drake felt his worse fear getting close to coming true. Scarlett and Samantha had talked about him, he just knew it. But there was no use in arguing. He didn’t want to start anything off as a lie.

“Yes, we have been working together for a long time. It wasn’t meant to be, though. We are better as co-workers. Nothing more.”

Scarlett looked at Drake with her big brown eyes, and he melted into her. She was beautiful and sexy in her white sundress. He wanted to kiss her and moved close as he got ready to, but Scarlett moved away from him just as he leaned in.

“Let’s just talk for a little bit, is that alright with you?”

“Sure,” Drake said in a disappointed tone. “What would you like to talk about?”

“How did your week go? Was it everything you had hoped for?”

Drake had to think about her question for a moment. The week had been very good, he had enjoyed almost every aspect of it. But as he sat there with Scarlett, he could think of at least one thing that hadn’t gone very well. He hadn’t gotten to have his way with her. He certainly couldn’t tell Scarlett what he really thought, though.

“It was a good week. I think everything went better than I had thought it was going to. I certainly thought everyone was going to be fighting all week long. So it was nice that you girls were able to get along at least a little bit. It was also sad that Sofia had her appendix rupture, of course, I couldn’t have expected that.”

Scarlett just nodded her head in agreement as Drake talked. There seemed to be something on her mind, something that she was trying to say but didn’t get out at all.

“I really enjoyed meeting all the women; it was a good week. And I enjoyed our date yesterday too.”

“Do you think you’ll end up living out here while you set up your new office?”

“Yeah, I really like it out here, and I think Sam and I will be friends, so it will be nice to have her around.”

“I’m sorry for everything that went down earlier. I really do want you guys to be friends. Samantha had just put some weird ideas in my head, and I ran with them.”

“It’s okay; I know how men are,” Scarlett said slyly as she glanced at Drake out of the corner of her eyes.

Scarlett moved a little closer to Drake, and he felt that familiar chemistry light up between them. Her leg gently touched his, and he wanted to slide her on top of him and fuck her right there. His desire to be with her was so strong that he didn’t even care that Lauren and Samantha were right inside the house.

“There was one thing you and I didn’t quite get to.” Drake winked.

“Oh, yeah, what’s that?”

“You know; don’t play totally innocent with me.”

Scarlett just laughed off Drake’s comment and moved a little closer to him. She looked at him with wide eyes and seemed to be waiting for him to say or do something. He wasn’t exactly sure what she was waiting for, but he decided to lean in and kiss her.

His lips pressed gently to Scarlett’s, and he moved on and off her skin in the smallest of movements. Drake wanted to feel that amazing spark like he had felt on his date, but something seemed to be missing. Or maybe Scarlett was mad at him because of the kiss with Samantha? He wasn’t sure, but something wasn’t quite right.

Drake wasn’t ready to give up on Scarlett, though. He continued kissing her and placed his hand gently on her cheek as he stroked it in motion with their kisses. Scarlett was kissing him; she certainly wasn’t pulling away, and Drake started to think that everything was really in his head, and she was absolutely fine.

Their tender kisses continued for several minutes. Sometimes they let their tongues slide into each other and other times they sweetly pecked at each other’s lips. Drake wanted to talk more to Scarlett, but he wasn’t about to give up the kissing that was going on.

Finally, when both of their lips were chapped, Scarlett pulled away from him and sweetly suggested they go back inside. It was getting cold out, and Drake was fine with the idea, but he knew it meant that he would have to make his decision soon.

Scarlett was the whole package, though; he didn’t care if things seemed a little awkward between them at that moment. He knew they had passion for each other. He knew that Scarlett would make him happy. As they walked through the doors and saw Samantha and Lauren sitting on the couch together, Drake was resolute in his plan. He was going to announce that Scarlett was the woman he picked.

Drake just had to figure out his wording so Lauren wouldn’t feel horrible. But then as he looked at Lauren, Drake started to second guess his decision. Lauren didn’t have any awkwardness at all. The two of them got along great and had sexual chemistry.