5. Rocky Road

*Thanku for all your kind comments! x *

Hearing the incessant knocks becoming louder he blinked his eyes open slowly and brought his head up. Looking to the side of him Nicki had moved away and was laying on her side, probably because she got too hot being so close to him. Someone was at the door, feeling more than annoyed he stood up and looked at his watch. It was almost midnight, who the hell could it be? Peering through the peephole he saw Ashley shifting in the cold.

"The hell does she want now?" Pulling the door open quietly he stood there staring at her, making it perfectly clear that he had been asleep.

"Oh Drake, you're up! I thought you musta been sleepin' for a minute, you gon' let me in? it's freezin' out here!"

"Ashley, I'on wanna sound rude or nothin' but I'm tired, I wanna go back to sleep and I got a million and one things to do in the morning. I'll see you later." He attempted to shut the door again but her hand stopped him.

"Ohhh, I get it." She winked at him which made him frown in confusion.

"What are you talkin' about?" He shook his head and closed his eyes. "Actually it doesn't matter I gotta go. Goodnight Ashley, have fun on you're night out."

"Don't play Aubrey I know you got yo' girl in there!" She laughed as best she could, trying to hide the hurt she was feeling.

"Don't call me that and no I don't. Goodnight." Again trying to shut the door for the third time she stopped him.

"Whatever, grouchy ass. Can I use your bathroom before I leave you and your lady in peace?" He stalled from a moment, looking back at the lounge room Nicki was out of sight as she was still laying on the couch.

"Sure, just make it quick." Huffing in a temper he yanked the door open soundlessly and let her in as he looked out to the car, the driver looked angry at having to wait but that had nothing to do with him so he went back inside and shut the door. He decided to stay downstairs and make sure that she didn't come sniffing around. She'd been gone a good four minutes when he heard her starting to come down the stairs.

"I'm sad that you ain't comin' out again tonight Drizzy, you sure I can't change yo' mind?" She was fixing the hem of her tightly fitting dress as she made her way over to him.

"Nah, I'm good thanks. Now you go have fun, I'll catch you at work on Monday." As he started to show her out she opened her mouth, again.

"Oh wait! You got any money on you? I need a fare for a cab home, I'll pay you back I promise." She stared into his eyes pleadingly as he mentally cussed her out.

"Yeah, but wait here and don't go snoopin' 'round in my stuff." He pointed his finger at her as she held her hands up in surrender.

"Aight, keep yo' panties on. I'll stay right here." She called after him as he ran swiftly up the stairs. She kept her word whilst she stood and swayed as she waited. Hearing movement she looked back to the stairs but it wasn't him. As she followed where the sound was coming from she saw a little arm stretch up from the couch and the sound of a small yawn and a female voice follow.

"Drake?" Ashley stayed silent, waiting for this person to sit up so she could see her. As if willing her too Nicki sat herself up and jumped hearing something drop behind her, Ashley had dropped her purse realising where she'd seen this girl before. She couldn't believe it. "Uhm, who are you?" Holding on to her bump protectively she stood up and stared at this stranger.

"Aight I got your fare now leave, I wanna sleep-" He stopped dead on the stairway when he saw the two of them staring at one another. "Shit." It came out as a mere whisper but Ashley heard him.

"Yeah, shit Drake! The fuck are you playin' at?! I told you that this was gettin' way too personal! You could lose your job! Hell, you could end up in freaking prison! She's sixteen for fucks sake and if I'm right in thinkin' what's goin on here..." At this point she was screaming rather than yelling and Nicki was beginning to feel really uncomfortable. Descending the stairs Drake moved over to a fuming Ashley and handed her the money.

"I know, but nobody's gon' find out though. 'Specially not from your mouth, after all what kind of friend would you be if you did that?" He looked at her coldly as she kept changing her glance between Nicki and Drake.

"Whatever, y'know? Do whatever the fuck you want but like I said I am not gon' cover for you if this gets out!" Snatching her purse off the ground she looked at Nicki with disgust and gave Drake a similar look before storming out and slamming the door behind her. Turning to look at Nicki he sighed realising she'd gone.

Walking up to her room she felt the tears burning her eyes but couldn't do anything to stop them. She didn't usually cry much, which was weird considering how her life was. She just figured that maybe she was numb to feeling any type of pain now but the thought of ruining his life and his career that he obviously worked so hard for was killing her. At the same time though she couldn't bring herself to leave, he was the only person she had. Feeling the tears actually marking her face now she curled up on top of her quilt after turning her light off. She figured Drake would just go to bed and they'd talk in the morning but she heard a shy knock at her door a few minutes later. He knew she was awake because he could hear her crying on the other side of the door. Not waiting for a response he opened it slowly, letting the hallway light spill into her room momentarily before it was dark again.

"Nicki? Look, I'on want you bein' this upset, please come back downstairs so we can talk?" Even though his voice was incredibly soft and calm yet deep at the same time it didn't have the desired effect as he heard her still whimpering. She didn't answer, so following his initiative he felt around slowly and climbed on to her bed. She felt him getting nearer and then it went still but he knew what he was doing. Surely enough less than five minutes later her curiosity took over and she turned over slowly, both of them could only just see in the darkness but she could make out the outline of his face and the glint in his eyes as he lay directly behind her. They were so close their noses almost touched.

"This isn't gonna work Aubrey." She whispered quietly as she traced his lips lightly with her index finger.

"And why not?" He stopped her hand from moving, which made her look up at his eyes. They were both whispering which was so calming after hearing Ashley's screaming fit earlier.

"Everythin' your friend said down there is true and I'on wanna be the one to destroy your life."

"You wouldn't be destroyin' Nicki, I have never, ever felt like this before about anyone." Letting go of his soft grip on her wrist, she resumed the slow and gentle tracing movement he'd stopped her from doing. This was exactly what he was talking about, everything she did just drew him to her even more and it was the most difficult thing to explain but he just knew it was right. They were right with one another, and to be more cliché, they belonged with each other. Not wanting to give her any more time to answer pulled her hand away and kissed her delicately. It was a small but meaningful gesture and they both felt it. Repeating the action he moved even closer and did the same to her chin, nose and forehead. Her face was still stained with tears but he didn't care.

"I can't leave you though." She stopped to catch her breath as she continued to cry whilst he kept kissing her face. "You're the only person I have."

"Shhh. I'm not goin' anywhere and neither are you." He kept his voice to a whisper too as the tears kept rolling down her face.

After he'd finished decorating her face with kisses he looked at her sleepy eyes and pulled her to him. She gladly snuggled into him and settled with her face resting in the crook of his neck getting as close to him as her bump would allow. He listened to her uneven and shaky breaths as she tried to recover from almost three hours of crying until soon enough he could only hear the soft murmurs of her breathing as she slept. Following behind her he yawned and dozed off with her safely wrapped in his arms.

***

Hearing his alarm clock going off he reached behind himself without opening his eyes or moving any other part of his body, only to realise that it was his phone in his pocket. He and Nicki had fallen asleep in her room on top of the covers. Swiftly answering his phone he spoke groggily and quietly so as not to wake Nicki who was still fast asleep against his chest.

"Hello?"

"Aubrey it's your Mother."

"Oh, Mom, hi...How you doin'?" He tried to wake himself up some more as he talked.

"I'm fine, but I was just double checking that you know what time to pick me up from the airport?"

"Oh shoot, yeah what time do I have to be there?" He sat up swiftly causing Nicki to wake up in shock. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." she smiled sleepily and stayed where she was as he sat up some more to talk.

"Aubrey? Why are you sorry, I'm not even boarding the plane yet!" She laughed sweetly thinking that he was talking to her.

"Oh good, 'cause I got some things to sort out first." He played off her little mistake well as Nicki squinted at him knowingly.

"Yeah my plane's landing at 4pm so...Don't forget your dear old Mother will you?" They both laughed before he answered.

"I'll try not to Ma, I'll write it on my hand."

"Get out of here boy! I'll see you at four." With a slight chuckle and a discreet 'I Love You' they hung up. Nicki was watching him as he sat staring into space.

"What're you thinkin'?" He looked down at her as she kept her gaze on him.

"Nothin', but I gotta go run some errands before I go pick my Mom up. You need anythin' whilst I'm out?"

"No, I'm aight thanks."

"Y'know? What I said last night, I meant every word." She nodded before taking his hand in her own small grip.

"I know, and I feel the same way." He lay back down again so that he was facing her.

"I woke up and forget I was in here with you. Thought it was all a dream." She laughed tiredly making him smile back at her.

"Shut up, you don't dream 'bout me."

"I do actually, I did last night anyway."

"Oh? So what exactly happened in this lil' dream of yours then?" She inched closer to him as he started speaking.

"Actually it was 'bout both of you." Gently placing a hand on her stomach he watched her face closely.

"Really? So she was here?"

"Yep, you and her. Here with me. Where you both belong." He felt his heart grow warmer as she smiled genuinely.

"What was she like?"

"Beautiful, just like her Mom." He brought their hands up to his face as he kissed her soft skin. He wasn't lying either, he really did dream that and he really did mean it. Looking at the clock in her room he shifted a bit and groaned. "I gotta go otherwise I'mma leave no time to get everythin' done, you two gon' be ok here?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine. I got some work to catch up on before a take it in to school."

"Oh good, you keep yourself busy whilst I'm out and then when I bring Mom home y'all can get to know each other." Nicki knew that Drake's Mom had no idea that she was only sixteen or the fact that she and her son were starting a relationship but from what she had heard Sandi was a very kind-hearted lady and if she was anything like Drake then she would be fine. She was still super nervous though, understandably.

"Of course." She let her dimples make another appearance as she smiled again. He was so relieved to see her looking happy after all the crying she did last night. He rolled masterfully off of the bed before leaving her and her thoughts alone.

***

It was nearing 3pm and Nicki was done with school work and just about to shower when Drake came home. He had bags and bags of groceries as he made his way inside. Nicki had heard him come in and knocked the shower off before going down to see him.

"Wow, you get enough food?" She looked at all of the bags in amazement.

"Well, she's stayin' for at least two months, she always does so I figured I'd get what would last right now." She nodded understandingly.

"You want some help unpackin'?"

"No, no I'm good thanks babe-" He caught himself and looked at her blushing face as she smiled.

"Babe?"

"Sorry I ain't mean to say-"

"No, don't apologise...I liked it. Babe." She smiled at him now blushing instead of her. "I'mma go for a shower then." Smirking at his shy behaviour she went back upstairs to shower as he finished off putting everything away, silently dying at himself accidentally calling her 'Babe'. He was terrified about being too forward with her, she was so young and he didn't want to make her feel pressured or that she had to do anything that she was uncomfortable with, obviously she wasn't a virgin but that was not the point. Honestly he was happy to spend the rest of his life with her even if she didn't want to have sex or be touched in any way. As long as he was with her he felt complete. Snapping out of his corny thoughts he glanced at the time, he was going to be late. As soon as she came back downstairs he blurted out everything he'd finished doing and quickly but lovingly kissed her.

"I really gotta go, I'mma be mad late!"

"Aight, we'll be fine here." kissing him again she let him run out of the door as she laughed to herself, he was freaking out about being late. She was so nervous about meeting Sandi but she had Drake's words in her head "Be yourself and she'll see the girl I fell in love with." That 'L' word he used was another reason she was feeling so cheery, he said he loved her earlier that morning before he left. She honestly cannot remember anyone ever saying that to her. Ok, it was very early in their relationship but she could truthfully say she really did feel the same way. Sitting down as she smiled she rubbed her bump and talked to her baby for a while, feeling her kick and move. But her smile faded and she knew she'd have to tell him sooner or later.

...

*Ok I hope this is still keeping you interested! :/ Thank you so much for the comments you leave! I never expected any to be honest, so the reason I'm still going is all thanks to you guys! ^__^ xx *