Kissing in front of the fam was one thing; letting them hear him moan my name was another.
“Stop it,” he said, turning toward me.
“What?”
“Thinking about being inside me. You’re making me crazy.”
“I can’t help it. I want more.”
“Me, too.” His voice dropped.
It still kind of amazed me that he felt the same way I did, that his body responded to my touch like mine did his. What were the odds really? What were the odds I’d meet someone who not only was a friend, but then had the capacity and the open heart to become my everything else?
Without thinking, I crossed the room and snatched him to me. Our bodies pressed tight, and I knew he could feel my erection between us. I smiled against his head because I could feel his, too.
“Later.” I promised myself out loud.
“Tonight?” Drew lifted his head.
I kissed him again even though I wasn’t supposed to.
I mean, really, our entire relationship was a giant “wasn’t supposed to.” We did it anyway, and it was the best decision I ever made.
“Tonight.” I promised and then let him go.
“I’m gonna jump in the shower. I’ll be down in a minute.”
I nodded. “I still haven’t told you what happened this morning at the frat.”
He turned from the door, grinning. “Oh, I know what happened.”
My eyes narrowed. “You heard all the shouting?”
“That, too.”
Realization dawned. Holy shit balls. Drew totally set Con up. Mr. Computer Savvy himself.
“How the hell did you pull that off, and how did you put the five hundred in his bank account?”
Drew sniffed and looked smug. It was sexy. “Don’t ever piss off a hacker,” he said. “And especially don’t go after the person a hacker is in love with.”
I laughed. “You sneaky bastard.”
His smile was sly.
“You covered your tracks, didn’t you?” I worried. If this was somehow discovered…
“Taken care of.”
“How?” I pressed, still concerned. I started imagining ways I could take the blame if he got caught and make it sound like I actually knew how to hack.
“I used computers with IP addresses not linked to me or you. Internet cafés, libraries, even a hotel in North Carolina—not the one we stayed at. I used one in Maryland, too.”
I grinned. He was smart.
“Plus, I know how to move around a computer undetected. I know how to do things without leaving a trace. I might not like my day job, but I do it very, very well.”
“I fucking love you,” I told him.
“How bad did Con come down on you?” he asked.
“Not very. He couldn’t.” Which was exactly why he never said anything to me about his plan. I had nothing to do with this.
Drew nodded. “Good.”
“Should I assume there’s more involved than just Hog Heaven?” I inquired.
“You shouldn’t assume things.”
I took that as a yes.
Drew
The media came to the football game.
I don’t know why I was surprised about it, but I was. I really should have been used to them being around, especially since the new racing division was set to blow up at any minute.
I had two endorsement deals with the ink dry, a magazine cover under my belt, and very soon, T and I would likely become a major media interest.
Maybe that’s why I was surprised. Well, not surprised as much as cautious. The press didn’t know about Trent and me yet. I knew we agreed to tell them, to basically “come out,” but we hadn’t yet.
We were going to have to be careful today.
Careful how we interacted, how we looked at each other. How we were together.
I hated it.
Yet I understood.
Ah, the paradox that was Trent and my relationship reared its ugly head.
I wanted to be free to love him, but I didn’t want to make it a thing. I just wanted to be. It wouldn’t be a thing if I were with a girl. No one would bat an eye.
I could sit here and think about how unfair it all was, how frustrating it was, and how sometimes it hurt, but really, what would it change?
Nothing today.
Tomorrow? Maybe. The interview with GearShark had the potential to maybe change a few things.
So today it was what it was. We would be careful. We would have been anyway because the frat didn’t know; the Wolves didn’t know.
But my parents knew. I could still taste their reaction in the back of my mouth. It tasted like rotten eggs and barf.
I knew what that shit tasted like. I’ve played the game Bean Boozled.
Bean Boozled = that disgusting game of jelly bean roulette where you had no idea what disgusting flavor you’d eat until it was exploding across your tongue.
Their reaction and even sometimes looking at Arrow made me feel incredibly insecure to tell anyone else about my relationship.
But then I looked at Trent.
The doubt didn’t go away; it would probably always be there, but it no longer seemed like something I would allow to hold me back.
The game was Omega versus the football team. I was playing with the football team. Yeah, the scrawny racer was playing with a bunch of literal pro athletes.