I draped my arm over his side, across his chest and he let go of the blanket so it could fall back in to place. His hand reached for mine and we loosely linked them together.
“You gonna stop avoiding me?” he asked.
I guess I deserved that. The excuses I kept sending via text were pretty weak. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I just… It’s been a long week.”
“Ain’t that the truth?”
“Everything going okay with Joey?” I asked, wondering how much I missed.
“You should give her a chance. She’s a really good driver. She’s actually taught me some stuff.”
“Well, now that I know you’re not sleeping with her, I like her a little more.”
He laughed, then said, “Gamble’s her father.”
“No shit?” I swore.
He nodded against my leg. “Yeah, it kind of works against her, though. That and being a girl and all.”
“It must be hard being a woman in the world of racing,” I murmured, feeling like a dick for not giving her more of a chance. Truth was the second she stepped out of the Fastback, I was jealous of her.
Drew made a sound of agreement. “Having a father who could practically buy anything doesn’t help either.”
“How much longer is she hanging out?” I asked, mentally promising to spend some time with her, actually give her a chance.
“Not sure,” he replied. “She doesn’t seem in too big a hurry to leave. ‘Course that was before I took her to a street race that ended in a car chase.”
“Fucking Lorhaven,” I spat.
Drew jostled the cushions when he rolled onto his back to look up and me. Our hands stayed linked, and he rested them on his stomach. “I beat him again.” The rueful smile on his face made me grin.
“Hells yeah.” I released his hand to smack him in the chest. “That’s my guy.”
We were both caught off guard by what I said. I called him mine. But we’d never actually discussed that. I had no idea what we were.
Reluctantly, my eyes turned down to his face. The smile he was wearing was deep and proud. I was tired of resisting the dimple, so I ran my finger over it, caressing it softly.
“I like this dimple,” I explained, my voice low and deep.
“I like how your left front tooth is slightly crooked.”
I returned his smile and chuckled a little. “That drives my mother crazy. All that money on braces and my tooth still won’t do what it’s told.”
Drew covered my hand with his beneath the blanket and glanced away. I shouldn’t have brought up my mother. It intruded upon us. Somehow, we’d slipped into some private world tonight, where it felt safer to be how we really wanted to be together. The outside world, anything beyond what Drew and I shared, didn’t seem welcome.
I worried for quiet moments I’d burst our bubble and it was going to end prematurely.
“So guess what?” he said, looking up at me once more.
All my worries instantly melted away. “What?”
“I have a photo shoot and interview with GearShark on Monday.”
“No shit!” I exclaimed for the second time tonight.
Excitement sparked in his blue eyes. “Yeah, apparently, the calls Gamble has been making have seriously caused a stir in the racing world.”
“Well, in the world of speed, word travels fast.”
“Hopper might also have said some things to Gamble’s other drivers and dropped a few major hints to all the headquarter staff… People are talking.”
“The pro world is going to be steamed the indies are stealing their thunder,” I mused.
“This interview is basically going to be the first official announcement of the new racing division. Alongside my piece, Gamble is releasing a statement, and some of the sponsors he’s already got interested are all going to be mentioned.”
“Free press for them.” I nodded, thinking how smart Ron Gamble really was. “So where and when is the interview?”
“GearShark is sending a crew here to me. The guys down at the speedway are opening up the track for us, ten a.m. We’re going to do the shoot there at the track, and then I’ll sit down and answer some questions.”
“Pick me up early so we can get coffee on the way,” I said. Then I thought better of it. “No, I’ll just pick you up. I’ll probably have to drag your ass out of bed.”
“Yeah?” he seemed mildly surprised. “Don’t you have class?”
“Fuck class,” I drawled. “This is more important. Your first big interview and it’s with GearShark, no less. It’s a national magazine, dude. A bible to all drivers.”
“I’m so pumped.” I could hear the excitement in his voice. “That magazine is the bomb. My first interview and your first official job as my manager.”
“You ready to be famous?” I asked.
He scoffed at the idea, but I knew it was only a matter of time. The realization made my stomach twist, but I ignored it.
“So what’s been going on with you?” Drew asked.
“Con tried to get me tossed out of the frat.”
My hand was ripped away from his when he jackknifed up off my lap and slammed his feet onto the floor. “What?”
It was kinda cute the way he was all outraged. But it was unnecessary.
“What a douche,” I cracked. “Of course, it didn’t work.”
“He was that pissed you didn’t back him as the new president?”