Title: Around, Surround (Caught Up in You)
companion piece to Over and Under (Tangled Up in You)
Rating: hard T
Word Count: 1332
Pairings: Drake/Mindy, a little Josh/Mindy
Disclaimer/Notes: I do not own any of the characters, I'm just borrowing. / Reviews = love! :-)
I. Confused
A game of Spin the Bottle/Seven Minutes in Heaven at a party not too long after Josh and Mindy's relationship dissolves into friendship turns Drake's world on its head. The torture of being trapped in a dark closet with Mindy Crenshaw for seven unholy minutes; they spend the first minute in silence, the next three they hurl hushed insults back and forth, followed by twenty seconds of tense silence. And then it's like the striking of a match: forty seconds that's a blur of their lips crashing together. Drake inexplicably spends the last two minutes with his tongue in her mouth, her back pressed against the wall, one of her legs hooked around his, her arms around his neck. They break apart, as if doused with water, at the sound of someone banging on the door in warning.
"Don't you dare tell Josh," Mindy hisses, smoothing out her skirt.
Before he can snap back that she shouldn't flatter herself, he'd never tell anyone, the door swings open and she rushes out, out of the closet, out of the basement, out of the house.
II. Impressed
Drake wonders if Josh would accuse him of corrupting Mindy if he had any clue that the two of them had fallen into a pattern of insults and kisses, loosened clothing and roaming hands when no one is looking. She's letting him go further than he ever would have expected, further than Josh tried to get, and she never tells him to stop pushing at her boundaries.
Every rendezvous is just a few minutes here, maybe several minutes there. It doesn't take long for Mindy to begin strategically planning their encounters at home and at school, merely scheduling all others. Drake prefers to be more in control when it comes to the physical aspect of his hook-ups but he's not going to argue with Mindy about it when she's climbing onto his lap in the backseat of his car.
III. Jealous
As if it's not bad enough that he's got a black-eye, plus the rumors that he's a jackass who got beat-up by a dork, and the new phenomenon of being rebuffed by every girl he approaches, Drake has to watch Mindy fawning over some walking-talking Ken doll she's parading around town. And then there's Josh practically foaming at the mouth over Mindy being with another guy even though they're "just friends."
Drake doesn't care if Mindy dates someone, he's dated numerous someones since they started getting all hot and heavy, but he's not okay with the possibility of her getting hot and heavy with someone else while he's left hanging out to dry.
IV. Nervous
The fact that they make it up the stairs and into the room Drake shares with Josh without his parents or Megan checking to see what all the ruckus is about is surprising. They're banging into walls the entire way, desperate, noisy kisses, moving blindly. Drake's hand is under Mindy's blouse, snaking around her back to unhook her bra when they both realize that the surface they tumbled onto it Josh's bed. The sensation of his calloused fingertips grazing the side of her breast causes Mindy to bolt upright, pushing his hand from under her shirt.
She sucks in a breath, "We can't do this."
Drake pushes himself up and off the bed, trying to mask his disappointment because he doesn't want to be that guy, "Yeah, I know. It's cool, you're not ready."
"No, I meant, we can't do this on Josh's bed."
V. Enthralled
Drake finds Mindy attractive, he has to or she wouldn't be able to tease him past the point of frustration. He has an epiphany one night when she slips out of his bed, a sheet wrapped around her, and starts searching for her clothes. She's kneeling, her head cocked to the side, her hair is a little wild and falling in her face as she's plucking a sock from under the coffee table and then he sees it for the first time: she's beautiful.
He watches her float around the room, dressing as she gathers each discarded article. She must feel his eyes on her because she stops buttoning her blouse after the third button and looks at him.
She fidgets for a moment, combing her fingers through her hair, "What?"
"Nothing," he says with a shake of his head, trying to figure out if she's always been this pretty or if it's just an illusion. "I, uh, I think your other shoe is under Josh's bed."
VI. Thoughtful
He makes the mistake of climbing through her bedroom window one night, much to her surprise. Their movements are slow and tender because Mindy's brother is a light sleeper and his room is across the hall from hers so they have to be quiet. It's weird not having to rush because that's what they do, it's what this is. Quickies—smoldering, burning brightly, taking and giving, needing and wanting.
But this. Languid kisses and equally as languid strokes, thrusts, with Mindy clinging to him in a way she never has before, her nails digging into his flesh, scraping down his back. This feels like something different.
It feels like goodbye.
VII. Indifferent
Drake can see the strings drawing Josh and Mindy back together, pulling them closer. It's partially his own fault. He doesn't have time for their fling, he barely has time to dream about her, to fantasize. It's always only been a matter of time before this whole thing imploded. And it's not like Mindy's making much of an effort to continue feeding the flames.
He would care about having to watch Josh shove his tongue down Mindy's throat but she's far from complaining and caring would meant that he had feelings for her and not just some insatiable lust.
Whatever. He's got a record deal; he's a hot musician. The last thing he needs is Mindy Crenshaw to ruin his game.
VIII. Determined
Mindy and Josh are in the honeymoon stage of their relationship again and Drake knows that it's in everyone's best interest that he stays as far away from her as possible. It would be too tempting to reach out and touch her, to grab her and pull her into a quiet spot with just the two of them. He hates that he misses her, that he still wants her, and that she's moved back on to Josh as if nothing ever happened.
He can feel his emotions stirring. It's not that he wants what he can no longer have, but dammit, he wants her back.
IX. Pleased
It takes more days than he would have liked to get Mindy alone. She's pissed at him for how things ended and blames him. Getting her under the mistletoe was genius on his part because her resolve isn't nearly as strong, she's willing to talk to him, she's willing to let him in.
Drake knows that he's won her over when she rests her head against his chest, relaxing in his arms.
"You know that I'm not going to make this easy on you, don't you?" she asks as she extracts herself from his hold.
He gives her a cheeky grin, "You like making things hard on me."
X. Optimistic
It's the first time that Drake has ever been in a real committed relationship and it's nowhere near as bad as he expected it to be. Mindy doesn't suffocate him and he isn't tired of her yet. Even though the dynamics have changed, the passion is still there. It's not saccharine sweet, it's sugar and spice, lots of spice, and it's not always nice but it is never boring.
He'd never tell her so but he loves watching her stare down girls who stand too close to him and girls who giggle too loud—like they don't see his girlfriend standing just a few feet away. If any other girl did that, he'd dump her in a heartbeat.
Mindy's not just any girl, though. She's his girl. And he's hers.
Until one of them comes to their senses—if they ever do.
***FINIS***