“That’s not necessary. I’m sure my dad booked a hotel for us.” I shook my head and tried to pull my hand away.

“Alexa, don’t be hasty,” my dad said from behind me. His eyes were glued to Drake’s hand over mine. “I thought I taught you better than that. Never look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, it will give me a chance to get to know Drake here.”

“Yeah, Alexa. Don’t you want your dad to get to know me?” Drake asked. He didn’t let go of my hand. Instead, he pulled me towards the limousine waiting outside the hangar. A guest house, a charter flight for the weekend, and a limousine. Who was this guy?

My dad followed behind with our bags. Crap. I just couldn’t see any easy way out of this. And now I could expect a million questions from my dad about Drake, too.

chapter 5

Luckily, the car ride from the airport to Drake’s parents’ house was only supposed to be twenty minutes. He and my dad seemed to get along very well. They mostly talked about sports, and I learned that Drake was attending Blythe College mainly due to the rugby team. Drake explained that most colleges offered rugby as a club sport, but he’d transferred this year when his dad learned that Blythe had decided to go the varsity sport route. He’d thought it would improve Drake’s odds for making the Eagles, the US national rugby union sevens team. The Eagles were going to represent the US in the Summer Olympics in 2016, and his dad had high hopes that he would have the chance at a gold medal.

He kept possession of my hand all the way there as he argued the merits of adding new Olympic sports. My dad was old-school and didn’t think that activities like trampoline should be recognized as a sport. The conversation didn’t get too heated since he supported the idea of rugby as an Olympic sport, saying it was a real sport unlike badminton. But my body was burning up as Drake continued to rub his thumb across my palm and entwine my fingers with his. Every once in a while, his thumb would stroke between my fingers. Goose bumps pebbled across my skin each time his thumb moved. I struggled not to visibly shiver in reaction as I didn’t want him to know how much his touch affected me.

I stared out the window the whole time, wondering what was happening. Why the sudden interest in me after being so cold earlier? Was he bipolar or something? Our chemistry might have been through the roof, but I wasn’t sure it was worth the bother. I couldn’t really trust a guy who didn’t seem to know what he wanted, especially when girls must chase after him all the time. The last thing I needed was a repeat experience of the cheating boyfriend scenario, not that I thought we’d end up as boyfriend and girlfriend or anything. My mind just kept going around and around in circles.

I could feel Drake’s gaze on me, practically burning a hole in the back of my head. My dad was accustomed to my occasional brain-dead moments when I would daydream and left me to my thoughts without thinking twice. Drake’s hand squeezed mine as he tried to get my attention. We had turned onto a winding drive, lined by tall trees.

“Alexa, we’re here,” Drake said as we pulled up to a palatial farmhouse. This wasn’t a house—it was a country estate. And I hadn’t packed to see anything other than the inside of a hotel room, a couple local eateries with my dad, and the hotel swimming pool. Great. Another chance for me to look as unappealing as possible in front of Drake.

“Yeah, I kinda figured that one out myself when we pulled up to the house. Anything you forgot to mention about your parents, Drake?” I asked. Even though he could make me melt with the mere stroke of a finger against my skin, I was still pissed about what he had said earlier and wasn’t looking forward to meeting his parents while feeling woefully unprepared.

“We didn’t really have time to discuss much of anything. Did we, Alexa? I promise, you will love them. My mom will be excited to meet someone from school, and my sister will be thrilled to have another girl around the place for the day. You’ll be like a surprise present for them.”

My dad cleared his throat from behind us, reminding me that I kept forgetting he was here whenever Drake looked at me. Not a good sign at all. “Well, then I hope they think my dad’s a present, too.”

“Alexa, don’t be so worried. Drake’s father had offered to let me stay here when he booked the flight. I told him it would depend upon if I flew Drake up by myself or not. So we’ve both been invited to stay.”

“Dad! You never said anything about staying here when you asked me to come with you on the trip.” I glared at my dad since I probably would have packed a little differently if I had known that we would be around people while we waited for the return flight home. Not that my dad would understand—his packing would be the same no matter where we went or what we did.