Chapter 50

Iris

We travelled to the spa in two cars. Jimmy, Emma, Drake and I in Drake's car, and Tim, Hana and Maxwell in Tim's car. I was sitting next to Drake as he was driving, and Jimmy and Emma were sitting in the back seat, arguing about the wedding.

Drake's eyebrows were raised amusedly as he turned to me. 'Usually, Jimmy's quite compliant, so I'm guessing he really doesn't agree on something.' I chuckled, and listened to their arguments. 'Emma, I can't do this again,' Jimmy said, his tone of voice slightly agitated. 'You did this last time, without even consulting me. I had to hear it from Maxwell!' I saw Drake grin in the corner of my eyes, so I looked at him quizzically. 'He's talking about the cake,' he replied. 'I sure am,' Jimmy said, and frowned as he folded his arms. Drake chuckled, 'he was really upset about this last time as well.' I grinned.

'Jimmy, I did that out of love!' Emma said, her voice thick of feigned insult. 'I asked Maxwell to arrange a cake you'd never forget.' Slowly, the corners of her lips drew a big grin. 'How could he not arrange an apple cake?' My eyes widened as I looked at Emma. 'An… apple… cake? Like…' I shook my head, 'apple flavoured or…' Emma grinned bigger. 'Apple-shaped.' Jimmy raised his eyebrows at me, and his expression almost screamed the words "do you get my point?" I pressed my lips to a thin line, right before bursting into laughter. 'You have GOT to be kidding me!' 'Iris!' Jimmy scolded, and folded his arms again, clearly not feeling supported by me. 'Come on Jimmy, you have to admit… that's hilarious,' I grinned. 'Cordonians have this weird obsession with apples.' Drake nodded agreeingly, 'that's true, the "rubies" aren't even good.' Jimmy's mouth fell open. 'Wha-' He shook his head and raised his hands. 'Fine, it's obviously three against one. Have your weird apple cake.'

Emma and I high-fived, causing Jimmy to roll his eyes. 'I don't even like apples, they make my stomach blow up, but hey Jimmy, good for you for trying to go against Emma. Proud of you,' I said, and grinned at him. He stared at me. 'I thought we had something, you know? A bond. Us against those whiskey drinking, sarcastic buggers.' I frowned, and looked at Drake and Emma. 'You're right!' I gasped, while folding my arms. 'I'm with Jimmy. Apple cake sucks!' Drake let out a laugh, and Emma's mouth fell open. 'YOU DIDN'T!' 'I DID,' I replied, 'come at me!' Jimmy and I started arguing with Emma, as Drake kept away from the bickering and focused on driving, yet his face looked amused.

'Children, hold your arguments until further notice,' he said, after about five minutes. 'We've arrived.' He parked the car, and Tim pulled up next to us. We got out, and Jimmy glared at Maxwell. 'Maxwell! This again?!' Maxwell looked up, surprised at first, and scared after. 'You found out about the cake,' he shrieked. 'What did I-' Jimmy started, but Maxwell looked down, and suddenly started shimmying on his feet. 'Maxwell…' Hana started, her voice surprised. 'Are you…' I frowned, and looked at his moving feet. 'Stress-dancing?' I asked confused. 'No… I… well… maybe?' Maxwell said, his face flushed. Tim, Hana and I began to laugh, Emma and Drake grinned big, and Jimmy folded his arms, having a really difficult time to keep his face straight. 'Damn it Maxwell, I…' Maxwell looked up, his face like a puppy, causing Jimmy to break down into laughter. 'Fine. You guys win. Iris, we have to surrender. The guy is actually stress-dancing.' I giggled and nodded. 'Fine. Apple cake it is.'

Emma and Maxwell cheered, and did some sort of happy dance. 'Yeah… let's go, before this goes any further,' Drake said, wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me with him quickly. I chuckled, 'you're pulling me with you so I can't start doing a happy dance either, aren't you?' He raised an eyebrow at me. 'We've been married for what, two seconds, and suddenly you read my mind?' I chuckled. 'Basically.' He shook his head sighed, then kissed the side of my head as he pulled open the door to the spa and let me in. I smiled at him, and looked around, in awe as I saw how big the place was.

'Well damn,' Drake said, his facial expression impressed. I nodded agreeingly, and Hana shrieked softly. 'This is going to be so much fun!' Tim grinned, his face adoring. 'It totally is!' Maxwell agreed, and peeked behind the counter, his face growing slightly rosy. I caught Jimmy's eyes, and raised my eyebrows. He smiled knowingly.
That's why Maxwell wanted to call.

I walked over to Maxwell and wrapped my arm around his shoulder, putting my head against his. 'So, who's the girl?' I whispered. 'What? There's no girl!' He hissed, but his face grew red hot. 'Tell me, or I'll keep my arms around you,' I threatened, sporting a sweet face. 'Does Drake know that you're this evil?' He asked, glaring at me. I smiled angelic and shook my head. 'Not yet, he will, once he's stuck with me.' I poked him. 'Now tell me!' He chuckled and let out an exasperated sigh. 'Fine.' He took a deep breath. 'Her name is Isabelle. She used to be our classmate in middle school.' Before I could answer, a girl walked towards the front desk coming from the, supposedly, staff room. I quickly retracted my arm and almost jumped aside. 'Smooth,' Maxwell grumbled, and walked over to the front desk.

'Maxwell!' Isabelle gasped, and smiled big. 'It's been forever!' She looked around and spotted Jimmy and Drake. 'The three musketeers,' she chuckled, 'it's great to see you all again.' I grinned at Drake, who raised his eyebrows at me. 'Drop it,' he warned. 'Which one are you? Aramis… Porthos…' I asked, grinning. He rolled his eyes, yet he looked amused. 'Valentine.' 'No, that's me…' I replied. 'And me,' Tim added. I nodded agreeingly, and the both of us folded our arms at Drake. He sighed and smiled, knowing he'd never win. 'Fine. Athos, okay? Good to see you again Isabelle. This is my terrible fiancée Iris and her horrible twin brother Tim,' he grumbled.

'Still as happy as always!' She joked. I bit my lower lip to contain my smile. Isabelle chuckled and waved at us. When she looked at me, she saw the bruises on my face, and hers fell. She looked like she wanted to gasp, but she didn't, on my behalf. She didn't say anything about what she'd heard on the news, so she quickly moved on to Jimmy, not commenting on what had happened to him either. 'Congrats on becoming King, and your engagement to Lady Emma of course!' Jimmy smiled big and wrapped his arm around Emma, who nodded thankful. 'Thanks, Isabelle. Good to see you again.' He eyed Maxwell for a second, then looked at Isabelle again. 'How are you doing?'
He was going to be a wingman. Good job, Jimmy!

'I've been good! I'm working to put myself through college at the moment,' she answered. 'Expensive, isn't it? Do you still live at home to save up?' He asked. I hid a smile behind my hand, and Drake caught on to it, eyeing me confused. I shook my head and nodded at Maxwell, then at Isabelle. I saw a spark of recognition in his eyes, and I could almost hear it click inside his brain. A smile crept onto his face, and I elbowed him quickly. 'No, I have my own apartment in the city. Nothing like the palace, I'm sure,' Isabelle said with a giggle, 'or your manor, Maxwell. I remember it being incredibly beautiful!'

Maxwell nodded, almost stuttering to get the words out. 'It really was. Is. I ehh.' Isabelle let out a soft laugh and swept her brown hair onto her back. Isabelle was a pretty girl, she really was. Big blue eyes, long brown hair, and quite petite against Maxwell's sturdy body. 'How about we catch up?' She asked Maxwell, causing his cheeks to colour up. 'Yeah, sure,' he said, trying to keep his cool. I coughed, and shot him a look. His tough act wasn't fooling anyone. He rubbed his neck and smiled at Isabelle. 'I'd love that.' She smiled big and nodded. 'Okay! Everyone, get dressed into your swimsuits and towels, and I'll meet you in the common room in ten minutes.'

I swung my bag over my shoulder, and was about to walk away, when Drake pulled me back for a quick kiss, causing my legs to tremble. 'I'll see you in a few… fiancée.' I grinned and nodded, recognising the teasing spark in his eyes. 'See you in a few, future husband.' Emma rolled her eyes. 'Ew,' Tim agreed. I giggled, and followed Hana and Emma to the changing room.

'Oh my god, Maxwell's smitten!' Hana said happily as she put her bag down on one of the wooden benches in the changing room. Emma and I nodded, 'I know right!' She called, and sat down, taking her shoes off. 'She's pretty too, and she seems quite taken with the guys… would she like Maxwell too?' I bit my lip and smiled. 'I hope so, have never seen Maxwell act this way with a girl before!' Hana shook her head happily.

We quickly undressed and put a white towel around our bikinis, towels that had been put out for us already, and went to the common area. We were sitting on a few benches when the guys walked in, laughing about something one of them had said, and I couldn't help but be mesmerized. Hana and Emma were dealing with the same thing, I noticed in the corner of my eyes.

Drake, Jimmy, Maxwell and Tim walked in with towels around their waists, looking tough and sturdy. All four of them were muscled, and I couldn't even help but feel like I'd stepped into a movie, in which the girls were basically drooling all over the hot guys. And I had to admit… we totally were, but come on! How often does it happen that all guys in a group of friends are terribly hot?

And one of them was my husband.

Who totally caught me staring, causing him to grin at me. I bit my lip and felt my cheeks grow hot. 'Like what you see, Valentine?' He asked me as he pulled me up, into his arms. 'You caught me,' I said, and smiled seductively. His grip on my hips tightened slightly as his eyes grew darker. I knew he was still aching for me, and frantically, I was still aching for him too, especially after having seen him walk in like that. I let my hand slide down his abs when the others weren't watching, and frowned. 'I always said that guys with abs like these never do it for themselves… they do it for the attention,' I said, jokingly, and leaned towards him. 'You definitely got my attention.' His cheeks coloured, and he tried to cover it up by looking sensual. 'Attention seeker or… ranch worker?' He flexed his arm and looked amused as I was thrown off my game by the looks of his muscles.

I shook my head, 'that's really unfair.' He smiled, pretty smugly I might add, and raised his eyebrows. 'What are you going to do about it?' I smiled, and untied my towel, wrapping it around my waist as well. He could now see my bikini top, which I knew he'd find torture. 'Valentine,' he sighed, and looked up into my eyes. His eyes did have that well known glow, which told me he really wanted me. 'Do you also have a saying about women that look like you?' He asked, hoarsely. I nodded, 'definitely.' I leaned towards his ear. 'They do it to make their man go crazy.' His fingers dug into my skin, and his eyes now gained the well known I need you now glow. I smiled and kissed his cheek.

Isabelle walked in, and told the guys to sit on one bench and the girls on the other, the separate experience would now commence. 'Have fun, baby. I hope it'll relax you,' Drake said, softly, as he put his hand on the back of my head and kissed me. I smiled, cupped his cheeks and tiptoed to reach him. 'Thank you, my love. Same goes for you.' He smiled, and kissed me one last time before heading off to the guy bench. 'Well fuck don't they all look delicious,' Emma whispered in my ear as I sat down. I let out a laugh and nodded. 'I know right.' Hana leaned closer. 'Please tell me that this is about their bodies, because… well… excuse me for staring at your fiancés but…' Emma and I giggled. 'Excuse me for also staring at your boyfriend, Han,' Emma said, raising her eyebrows. I shook my head quickly. 'Gross.' Both girls laughed. 'He's hot, though,' Emma said. I sighed. 'I can see that his body's pretty okay. Can we drop it? It's freaking me out.' Both of them giggled and dropped the issue.

Isabelle was about to start explaining what we would be doing the entire afternoon, when her work phone beeped. 'Oh, excuse me, I have something to solve apparently,' she said, and frowned. 'My associate will be coming to help you soon!' She walked away quickly, and left us alone. At first we were all silent, then, of course, jumped on Maxwell. 'She's cute!' Emma and I said happily. Maxwell's eyes widened, 'I'm not willing to discuss this, here!' Jimmy chuckled and nodded. 'Sure, we'll discuss it when you're ready.' Maxwell's face fell, 'which will be never? She's way too cute for me.'

'Besides that being true,' Tim joked, 'you have a hippo tattooed on your chest. I think you guys were made for each other.' Hana giggled, and I let out a laugh, grinning at my brother. 'Tim's right, Maxwell. You could try to flirt with her,' I agreed. 'How would I even…' Maxwell started, but then a few of Isabelle's associates walked in, and Maxwell was about to see how flirting worked. It was a girl, and the moment she walked in, her gaze was fixated on Drake. He seemed slightly startled by it, and leaned back, folding his arms. I thought back of my remark only a few minutes ago, and smiled. Drake never did anything for attention, if even, he hated getting it.

The guys grinned at Drake, teasing him, knowing he'd glare at them. 'Hi, my name is Alice, I'll be explaining the concept of this afternoon's activities!' She looked at all of us, and made some small talk first, asking us where we were from. 'How refreshing, she has no idea who we are,' Hana whispered into my ear. I smiled, last time no one knew who I was, was when I'd just moved to Cordonia. When I moved into Piloude however, all tabloids covered the tale of Cordonia's newest Duchess. All stories made up and fake, by the way.

Alice made some flirty remarks to Drake, and he'd replied to some, quite dryly. I could hardly keep myself from laughing, his face just said it all. As Alice started explaining about all the activities, I noticed her gaze, more often than not, sliding back to Drake. I got it, I mean… damn he looked good, I'd probably do the same thing. But the more uncomfortable he grew, the ruder he was going to be. I knew my husband pretty well by then.

Poor girl seemed distracted by all the guys, and Emma and I exchanged amused looks. 'This is hilarious,' she whispered. I grinned behind my hand, and looked at my brother, who raised his eyebrows at me. I pressed my lips together and he shook his head, also amused. He nodded his head at Drake, and pretended to look angry. I laughed soundlessly, and nodded at him, agreeing. It seemed like Drake was growing really uncomfortable now. When an associate of Alice's appeared in the doorway, and she looked away for a few seconds, I whistled at Drake softly, causing him to look up. I shot him a look that said "be nice." He frowned and sighed, folding his arms. Jimmy and Maxwell chuckled and grinned at him. He glared at them, causing them to laugh harder.

Once the associate had gone, and Alice finished her explanation, asked us all to stand, and she walked over to us, handing over a pass to everyone. 'With this pass, you can get to all the exclusive areas!' She explained, and looked at us. 'Is there something I should know before sending you out?' I raised my eyebrows at Emma, 'what kind of question is that?' I mumbled, but Hana already pointed at me. 'She's pregnant, she's not going into the sauna.' Alice smiled happily. 'Congratulations! How far along are you?'

I frowned, jeez… I'd been distracted by so many things lately, how far along was I? I put my hand on my belly, knowing I didn't have a baby bump yet, but it felt like the right thing to do. 'Eh…' I started, but Drake already answered. 'About ten weeks, right?' I looked at him and smiled, 'you're right!' He winked at me. Alice's cheeks grew a little red, as she realised Drake was the father of my baby, and she'd flirted with him. Instinctively, she backed off slightly, and pointed towards the doors. 'Girls go through there, guys go through there, have fun!' She walked away quickly, and once she'd gone, everyone started laughing.

'Very funny,' Drake growled, and grabbed my waist, pulling me towards him. 'You have to admit, your face is funny when you're being hit on,' I said, teasingly. He raised his eyebrows. 'Well would it kill you to be more jealous?' I giggled. 'It wouldn't, but your face just makes that impossible. You scare anyone off by looking so angry.' He looked amused, 'achieved my goal.' I smiled. 'Trust me, she'd be dead if she'd tried anything.' His eyes darkened, a little turned on by my words. 'There's my wife,' he whispered extremely softly. I bit my lip before I kissed him, and winked. 'Now have fun, sexy.' He smiled, and pulled me very close before kissing me deeply. 'See you later, Valentine.' We let go of each other, and followed the others through the doors.

Drake

'That was priceless, you know that?' Maxwell grinned as he put his hand on my shoulder. 'Yeah, I don't think I'll ever have to give the brotherly "don't cheat on my sister" talk,' Tim added, teasingly. I raised my eyebrows. 'You really don't.' Jimmy smiled. 'You don't see anyone but her, do you?' I shook my head and let out a soft laugh. 'Girls? What are those?' I stuck my index finger in the air. 'Scratch that. If our baby turns out to be a girl, I'll have to see her. Otherwise diaper changing will get kind of tricky.'

'What are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?' Tim asked, as he took off his towel and stepped into one of the pools. He shrieked. The cold pool it was. I frowned, and took off my towel. 'I'm not sure. I don't think I have a preference.' For a second, I imagined both, and shook my head. 'You know what, I hope to have one of each one day.' Jimmy smiled. 'You soft centred Texan.' I chuckled and whipped him with my towel. He grinned, and jumped into the pool next to Tim. 'That's cold!' He gasped, and shook his head, shaking off the water like a dog.

'Great,' I said, and dove into the pool. I loved the cold. Maxwell, however, was standing on the edge, yet again shimmying on his feet. 'Get in, Beaumont!' Tim called, and Jimmy and I nodded agreeingly. 'There's no way I'm heading in there,' Maxwell groaned, and folded his arms. 'Come on, Maxwell, don't you want to impress Isabelle?' I said, teasingly. 'Damn it,' Maxwell sighed, and jumped in.

Damn, he liked her more than I'd imagined.

'You know Drake was teasing you, right?' Jimmy grinned, 'Isabelle's not even here.' Maxwell's face fell, and his mouth fell open. 'DAMN IT!' He repeated, and splashed me with a little water. He jumped onto the edge of the pool, and sat down. 'Too cold, not doing it!' Tim chuckled. 'I imagine my sister sitting about the same right now.' I frowned, 'don't tell me she hates cold water.' Tim chuckled and shook his head. 'She hates swimming all together, but if she has to, the water needs to be warm.'

Jimmy and I laughed, and I shook my head. 'Pathetic. I thought she was a tough Valentine!' Tim grinned. 'Don't say that to her. I remember her ex-boyfriend saying such a thing. He came to regret it.' Maxwell chuckled, 'what did she do?' 'She punched him.' Tim smiled, thinking back of the memory. 'Guy was a loser anyway.' 'Why?' Jimmy asked, intrigued. 'Cheated on her. Broke her heart back then.' I looked up and frowned. She'd never told me that.

Tim looked at me, and shrugged his shoulders. 'She's not keen on talking about it, left its wounds, I guess.' 'Dumbass,' Maxwell said, and folded his arms. Jimmy and I nodded agreeingly. I suddenly thought back of the night before her abduction, when we were about to elope and I told her I couldn't marry her yet. The way her eyes had widened, asking me whether I'd cheated on her. My heart skipped a beat… the bastard really had left his marks on her heart.

I sighed and shook my head. 'What did he do?' Tim's eyes grew darker as he raised himself onto edge of the pool, next to Maxwell. He ruffled his dark hair and shook it slightly. 'She was about twenty-one back then, it was about three years ago… anyway,' he rubbed his neck and shook his head. 'She met Justin, a colleague from the school where she was teaching. He was a geography teacher, seemed pretty normal. Iris had told him she didn't want to date a colleague, but he started showing up on our doorstep daily, leaving bouquets of flowers. Even my parents were impressed with his persistence. I, however, wasn't. I found him a creepy guy. Looked good and all, but something was wrong, you know? Which guy shows up every day?' He paused and frowned.

'Finally, they started dating, and I had to take back my words. They seemed pretty happy, all their students loved seeing them together. After about one year, Iris told me about their plans to move in together, and somehow I just…' he frowned deeper. 'I didn't trust it… so I started following him. Jason.' 'Pretty cool though,' Maxwell interrupted. Tim smiled half-heartedly. 'I felt cool at first, yeah. Until I saw him, coming out of some other girl's apartment.' I clenched my fists. 'What?' I asked, almost startled by how low my voice was.

'I know,' Tim sighed. 'I stepped out of my car, and walked up to him. He wasn't impressed by me back then, I was quite slender, and I could hardly defend my sister. Jason denied everything I said, and I was stupid, not having made any footage. He was smart enough not to go to the girl during the weeks after that, but I decided to tell Iris anyway.' He folded his arms. 'Jason denied everything again, and at first, Iris seemed completely shocked. She pretended to believe Jason, so when he let down his guard, she punched him in the face and told him to go. Jason acted like he had no idea what I was talking about, but she told him off and told him she'd always believe me,' he said, his face saddened. 'In the end, he admitted to having slept with four other girls during the year they'd been together.'

My mouth fell open, and my heart rate accelerated. Valentine… 'She must have been heartbroken,' Jimmy said, his face worried. Tim nodded. 'Yeah, she totally was.' He smiled half-heartedly. 'She was a trooper, though. She moved on, and even though Jason tried to get back with her many times, I'd started working out in the meantime, and finally got back at him.' He smiled bigger, and more genuinely. 'Punched him in the face.' Maxwell, Jimmy and I chuckled. 'Good for you, Tim,' Maxwell said, and nodded agreeingly.

I was already moving on in my mind, thinking about what I'd said to her before we parted ways. 'Hell, I'm such a jerk,' I said, and rubbed my neck. Tim raised his eyebrows. 'You saved her ass from assassins, yesterday, about to marry her and raise a baby with her. How are you the jerk in this story?' I shook my head. 'I just asked her whether it would kill her to act more jealous when I'm being hit on,' I said sheepishly, then gasped. 'TIM, YOU ASS! YOU TOTALLY LET ME HIT ON ELAINE IN VEGAS, AND YOU SHOWED IRIS THE FUCKING PICTURE!' Tim looked up, and his eyes widened. 'Oh jeez, I hadn't even thought of that.' He paused. 'Here I am, training to defend her honour… and mess up like that.' He burst out into laughter and shook his head. 'She doesn't hate me, so I'm guessing we're cool.' I shook my head, a half-heartedly smile on my face. 'Drake, it's okay, you're fine. She's moved on!' Maxwell said, and nodded at me. 'She was laughing the entire time while you were being hit on.' A grin spread on my face slowly. 'Yeah, she said it had something to do with my face.' The guys laughed, 'she's right. You look hilarious when someone's trying,' Jimmy agreed. Maxwell and Tim laughed even harder, and so we started cracking jokes for a while.

Slowly, we moved from pool to pool, ending in the hottest one, which I could hardly handle. Maxwell was having a terrific time, and so was Jimmy, Tim and I were sporting red cheeks, and sighed. 'This is torture,' Tim groaned, as he jumped onto the edge. I nodded and followed his example, 'terrible.' 'Hana loves the hot tub too, Tim,' Jimmy grinned. Tim sighed and looked at me. 'The things we do for love.' I chuckled and nodded.

The overhead bell rang, indicating that we could move on to the next hall. All warm, we went into the next room, and found a wellness room. Massages, steam room, sauna's, jacuzzi, body treatments… jeez. 'BODY PEELING!' Maxwell cheered, and looked at us. 'I mean. Cool, jacuzzi.' I chuckled and shook my head. 'Whatever floats your boat, man.' He sighed. 'I'm never going to live this down, am I?' Tim shook his head and put his hand on Maxwell's shoulder. 'Not a chance. Who wants to go get a massage?'

We had a couple of hours to entertain ourselves in the room, and after about two hours, we heard the girls laugh in the room next to ours. Jimmy and I caught each other's eyes, and he seemed to be thinking the same thing. Could we sneak into their room? Tim eyed us. 'What are you guys plotting?' I looked around, and spotted a door to the other room. I grinned and nodded at the door. 'I'm plotting a surprise massage.'

I walked over to the door, and checked whether it was unlocked. It was. I peeked inside, and saw the girls walking, still laughing about something. 'They're going to the massage parlour,' Tim said, as he peeked over my shoulder. 'Come on, then!' Jimmy hissed, and we wanted to walk inside when we heard Isabelle's voice behind us. 'Hey, Maxwell! Ready to catch up?' We almost jumped up, and Isabelle laughed. 'I'll pretend not to have seen you guys sneaking towards the girls.' I grinned, and quickly snuck in the other room. Jimmy and Tim followed me, Maxwell stayed behind with a flushed expression on his face.

We snuck into the massage parlour and saw the girls on beds in different rooms. Oh I was going to get Iris back for teasing me.

And teasing I did.