#Rev (GearShark #2)(53)

As if.

With Drew, sleep was always the last thing on my mind.





Drew

A single touch.

It contained enough power to move mountains.

Enough power to rip apart families.





Trent

I’d never seen him like this.

While I welcomed all the firsts I experienced with Drew, I wished this didn’t have to be one of them.

In some ways, I’d grown used to living in the moment with him. It seemed for a while, it was all we had. Stolen moments, shared looks. Minutes of unrestrained feeling and unbridled chemistry. Ever since he sat beside me in Screamerz that first time, our relationship was defined by moments.

Moments were fleeting… weren’t they?

Not really.

Because the feelings and impressions single moments left as imprints stayed long, long after the moments were gone. It was those imprints we carried into future moments. They shaped us, influenced us. Conditioned us.

I was afraid.

Not really a new feeling, I know, but just because I knew it didn’t mean it was any easier. If anything, the fear got harder. I was in so deep, tangled so tight, I’d never get out, and that’s what scared me. Because if today went terribly wrong, I’d be twisted in a lot of upcoming moments that would break me.

I didn’t know Drew’s father, not enough to make any kind of guess on how he’d react to us. Sure, I’d met his parents a couple times when they came to town, but it was never more than a casual introduction.

I knew they were good people. Of course they were; they raised Drew and Ivy, who were both awesome. They’d been strict as parents, and they had remarkable ideals. They loved their kids, though, and to me, that was most important.

Still, the closer we got to Drew’s North Carolina home, the more I began to doubt love was enough. I knew firsthand sometimes all love did was complicate things and hurt people more.

By the time we stepped off the plane and climbed into a rental car, Drew became more withdrawn as the miles between us and his childhood dwindled. Though it worried me, I knew it wasn’t me he was withdrawing from. It was from the situation, from the emotions erupting inside him. Right now, all he could do was retreat inside his head; it was the only way he could try and process.

At first, it freaked me out. I’d asked him a question, and he didn’t reply. So I asked him again. When he still didn’t answer, I wondered what I’d done to piss him off. Nothing. Even if there were something, he wouldn’t give me the silent treatment.

No offense to the ladies, but men didn’t operate like that.

Fine, that was a broad generalization. Drew and I didn’t operate like that.

He simply hadn’t heard me. He was deep in the confines of his busy mind. So I left him there. Trying to pull him out would be like waking a sleepwalker.

I used the time to think. What would I say if they didn’t accept us? What would I say if they did? Would this be awkward? Would they look at me as someone looks at a stranger when Drew told them he loved me?

That’s what I feared the most.

Becoming a stranger to people to whom I would have otherwise just been me. It’s like everything I was, the college student, the athlete, the friend, the son… the man—all of that would somehow be cancelled out when people found out where the heart inside my body lay.

I was still the same.

Drew was still the same.

So far, we’d been lucky. We’d yet to become strangers to people we knew. How long would it last? How much luck did one man get?

Surely I’d used up my lifetime allowance. I had Drew; he was like the jackpot of luck.

After our meeting at Gamble Speedway, we’d driven to the airport for the quick flight to North Carolina. The Fastback was parked at headquarters where the pros kept their cars. There was no way we’d leave the car in the long-term lot at the airport, so Joey had driven us, dropping us off right at the curb near the terminal.

It wasn’t going to be a long trip. We were catching a plane back tomorrow night. I had classes Monday morning and frat shit all next week.

GearShark jumped on the interview when we called. Well, technically, Emily, the journalist, jumped on the interview. Even though we didn’t say what it was about, she knew, and of course she wanted the scoop. I wasn’t surprised. I expected it. I was surprised she wanted me as the main feature of the article. I wasn’t the racing star. But it was what we’d all discussed Friday night at dinner, and it was what Drew wanted.

I was waiting on a call back from her on the schedule and details. However, the interview would be soon. Emily didn’t want any chance one of us would get cold feet.

I glanced at Drew and frowned. Is he getting cold feet right now?

Drew grew up in the mountains of North Carolina where the trees were tall and thick, the landscape was green, and the dialect was unmistakable. His parents were well off, not millionaires or anything, but they lived a comfortable life. They didn’t live in a totally secluded area; it was definitely within driving distance of a more populated area, but the land they owned and the fact their home sat deep on the property made a man forget they didn’t have to drive hours for a gallon of milk or a pizza.

I wouldn’t necessarily call where they lived a farm because there weren’t livestock roaming around and tractors in the field, but there was a definite feel of country here.