Incumbent(43)

“Okay, what’s up? Is it Drake?” He bit into an apple he’d pulled from his backpack. “Do you want a bite?” He extended the apple to me.

“No, thanks.” I laughed. “Things are good; really good, in fact. It’s just something he said to me that has me on edge, and my mind is racing.”

“What did he say?” He took another bite, and my stomach growled. “You sure you don’t want any?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Biting my bottom lip, I said, “He’s slipping in the polls.”

Mason furrowed his brow. “Isn’t it a bit early for that?”

“Apparently not.” My shoulders slumped. “It’s because of me.”

“Okay, now you’re being paranoid.”

I began to explain what Ben had told Drake, but we were interrupted by the bell. We agreed to talk about it later.

After my class, I went to the office to confirm I had a vacation day available so I could go to the Outer Banks with Drake for Memorial Day weekend. Thankfully, I did, and I arranged for a sub to cover my classes on that Friday.

? ? ?

On my drive home that afternoon, I called Drake to tell him I had the time off, but my call went to voice mail, so I just left a message. This was the first day in a long time I hadn’t received a text message or a phone call from him during the day. It made me a little nervous, but I was sure he was busy. He was a US senator, for God’s sake.

When my phone rang a few minutes later, I snagged it from the passenger seat to answer it, but it wasn’t Drake.

“Hey, Mace.”

“Hi. I’m stopping at Five Guys. Want to have dinner with me? I’ll bring it over.”

“Who can pass up a greasy burger and fries? Yes. I’ll see you soon.”

When I got home, I threw on my favorite yoga pants and a hoodie, and pulled my hair into a high ponytail. Mason had a key, so when I walked into my kitchen, he was there setting our food on the table.

He glanced up at me and smirked. “You’re the only woman I know who looks great without makeup.”

Once we finished eating, Mason told me he had an early day the next day, so he took off.

With no papers or tests to grade that night, I curled up on the sofa with a romance novel. I was so engrossed, I lost track of time. When I glanced at my phone later, I was surprised to find it after eleven. Also surprising was there were no calls or texts. Not wanting to be too clingy, I decided not to call Drake and went to bed instead.

Just as I was about to set up my phone to recharge, it buzzed.



DRAKE: Hi. I’m so sorry I haven’t called you. We’ve been in strategy meetings all day.



LUCY: Oh. Glad you’re okay.



DRAKE: I am. How are you?



LUCY: Better now that I know you’re all right.



DRAKE: I got your voice mail. I can’t wait to get away with you.



LUCY: I’m looking forward to it.





The truth was, I was dreading it. Not spending time with him, of course, but I’d decided it would be a good time to tell him how and why I ended up in Virginia. My stomach rolled at the thought of it, but he needed to know and I needed to tell him.



DRAKE: Can I come over? I want to hold you.



LUCY: Please.



DRAKE: See you in a few. I’m leaving now.





About twenty-five minutes later, my doorbell rang. When I swung the door open, my heart skipped a little faster. Drake seemed to get better-looking every time I saw him. But today, his scruff was thicker, his hair messier, and that combined with his worn jeans and white T-shirt made me melt.

He stepped inside, shut the door, and pulled me against him, squeezing me as if his life depended on it. His head dropped onto my shoulder, but still he said nothing.

Something was definitely off. Not knowing what else to do, I rubbed his back in a soothing motion.

When he stepped back, he cupped my cheeks and kissed me hard. He wasn’t himself. The kiss wasn’t tender, it was lip crushing, teeth banging, tongue thrusting, and filled with lust. He slipped his hands under my arms and effortlessly lifted me, forcing my legs to wrap around his waist. We ended up in my bedroom, where he sat me on the bed.

Finally breaking our mouths apart, he stared at me. “Hi.”

“Hi, yourself,” I said in a small voice.

“I missed you today.”

“I see that.” I smiled as he gently tucked errant strands of my hair behind my ears.

We lay down on my comforter, facing each other, and I tucked my hand under my cheek as my heart raced.

“What’s wrong, Drake?” I had no idea what he was going to say, but I had a pretty good feeling it wasn’t going to be good.

After a long pause, he said, “I need to tell you what happened today, and I don’t want you to get upset.”

I froze at that, and I was pretty sure I stopped breathing. “Okay. You can tell me anything.”

“I went out for drinks tonight with Ben to try and smooth things over from the other night. It was his idea.”

Just the mention of that man’s name told me this wasn’t going to be a good story.

Nodding to encourage him to continue, I asked, “And did you?”