#Junkie (GearShark #1)(86)

Lots of decisions needed to be made, lots of promotion and interviews to do.

I was excited.

My life was suddenly on the brink of total epic, and it was going there in the fast lane. Not only was my career white hot, but my family was healthy and happy.

Trent was mine.

I wasn’t sure what was a bigger rush—driving at two hundred miles per hour or knowing T would be sneaking into my room at night. And no, it wasn’t just the orgasms. It wasn’t the blowjobs or even the magical shit he did with his hands.

It was him—plain and simple. It was having my best friend become my lover, my heart, and the center of my world.

I didn’t like sneaking around, and neither did he. But it was a decision we made together, and I knew it wouldn’t last forever. I loved him too much to hide it. I knew we’d face a lot of opposition. We’d face hate, and people we thought were friends might turn their backs.

I had to tell my father. That was probably the hardest thing to wrap my brain around.

Not only did I turn my back on the career he wanted for me, but now I was turning my back on the family he always thought I would have.

The thing was I didn’t want the perfect family he’d invented in his head. I wanted the one that lived in my heart. I couldn’t have that without Trent.

I didn’t know anything else yet. We were basically figuring it out as we went along, together. This was our time to do that, and not telling people about our relationship gave us the ability to do so without being under a microscope. It gave us a chance to be all about just each other before it would become each other and everyone else.

And yes. Maybe we were scared.

I didn’t want to tell my father and the rest of my family about us. He didn’t either. Being judged is something no person wants no matter who they love.

So for now, we enjoyed our stolen moments, holding hands in the car, and laughing silently in bed at night after we’d given each other pleasure unlike any I’d ever known.

Sometimes when we were in a room full of people, I could look up and meet his eyes for a split second, and that was all it took. I knew even though we weren’t right beside each other, he was thinking about me, and he knew I was thinking about him.

What we had wasn’t easy, but it was real and we were making it work.

On Saturday, I dragged myself out of bed early, which wasn’t even that hard because of where I was going, and went straight to Omega, where I picked up Trent. We grabbed some coffee and food and drove to a large car part shop about an hour away. We wanted to get some parts for the Fastback to experiment with the next time I went to Gamble Speedway.

When we got home, we spent the rest of the day with the family, and I helped Ivy with some computer stuff to make her YouTube channel even more popular. She showed me a pile of clothes she ordered for her race-inspired fashion piece.

I wasn’t into clothes (as we previously learned), but the stuff she picked out was pretty cool. My sister had a good eye. If anyone could help me form the right image—in the fashion sense—for my racing career, it was her.

I drove Trent back to Omega, feeling a little surly I had to bring him back at all. He was just going to drive back to the house later and sneak in anyway. He always left right before the sun came up. Something else that made me grouchy.

Just because we were making it work didn’t mean sometimes I wasn’t frustrated.

I pulled into the lot beside the house where a lot of the brothers parked but left the engine running. Trent’s Mustang was parked closest to the house in the spot designated for the president.

“If we told the family about us, we wouldn’t have to do this, me bringing you here so you can just turn around and drive back,” I said.

“You ready for that?” Trent stared at me from his seat.

I nodded. “Yeah, I think Ivy already suspects anyway,” I said. “It’s just the four of them. Maybe telling them will make it easier to think about telling other people.”

Like my father.

Trent nodded. “Sounds good. Maybe we can tell them tomorrow? Pancake Sunday?”

His quick acceptance was a little surprising. I smiled. “You agreed to that fast.”

“I’m tired of sneaking out at five a.m. I miss sleeping in,” he cracked.

“You know I’d do it if you didn’t live in a house full of jock straps,” I said, feeling shitty he was the one making all the sacrifices.

“I know.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “It’s not that bad. You’re worth it.”

“What do you think they’re gonna say?” I asked, nervous.

Trent’s white teeth flashed in the dark interior of the car. “Braeden will probably make a bunch of inappropriate jokes. Your sister will yell at him, and Rimmel will hug us.”

The corner of my mouth lifted. That sounded pretty accurate.

“What about Romeo?” I asked. For some reason, he was the one I was most nervous about. Probably because he really was like the head of the family. He was the one everyone looked to first when shit went down.

Romeo just had a way about him. He was definitely an alpha. Even though we didn’t need his support, we both wanted it, especially Trent.

He blew out a breath and leaned his head back. “I don’t know. He’s been riding me kinda hard about family lately.”

“I noticed,” I murmured.