Drew
Being gay does not make you fashionable.
Just ask my sister.
I digress. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself gay. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t either. I just don’t want to be labeled.
Labels were for food, and while I’m mighty tasty, I did not qualify as food.
I never much thought about my clothing choices until I was standing in front of my closet, staring at its meager contents (because really, how many pairs of jeans does one guy need?) and realized I had no clue what to wear to my interview.
My sister told me more than once I needed to go shopping, but I never listened. Who the hell wanted to spend their free time at a mall?
Sure as hell not me. I had better things to do.
They’d have stylist people there. Right?
Trying to decide what to wear made me disgruntled. That and the fact I showered before I had my coffee.
Hell, if I hadn’t received a mind-blowing blowjob this morning, I’d probably be breathing fire right about now.
I was hoping he’d sneak in last night. When he didn’t, I tossed and turned more than usual. I told myself it was because I was anxious for today, but when my eyes kept wandering over to the blank space on T’s side of the bed, I couldn’t really keep telling myself it was the interview.
When he snuck in this morning, I’d known almost instantly. I might not be a morning person, but I was a Trent person. I’d always been kind of in tune with him, ever since we met. I credit that for the reason we became such fast friends. But it was different now. Deeper.
I felt him on a different level. I shied away from saying a soul-deep level even though that’s what I suspected. His energy charged mine. Kind of like a battery being plugged in. It was impossible not to feel his presence.
Giving up on the clothes, I pulled on a pair of ratty sweatpants and a T-shirt and left the bedroom barefoot. My hair was still wet and I hadn’t shaved.
I didn’t want to. Trent liked my scruff, so it was staying.
The voices and coffee in the kitchen drew me downstairs, and when I stepped into the room, all eyes turned on me.
My entire family was there. Romeo was at the island with Rimmel in his lap. Her hair was wet like mine, and I gave her a smile because that girl and I were kinda style soul mates. Neither of us cared.
Ivy was feeding Nova with a mug of coffee at her elbow, and Braeden was at the sliders, telling Prada to hurry up in the yard.
Even though my eyes swept over the fam, they only did so on their way to seek out Trent. Even though I’d seen him just a few minutes ago, I hadn’t really seen him.
He looked good in a pair of dark-colored Levis and a fitted grey sweater that made him look like he should be in a magazine instead of me. The sweater had navy trim on the hem and sleeves, which he had pushed up over his strong forearms. The neck of the sweater was in a V, also trimmed in navy, and there was this detail near the shoulders of navy trim with silver grommets or something studded along them. Beneath the sweater, he had on a collared polo in white, sticking out from beneath the V-neck.
At least he wasn’t wearing a tie and he’d paired it with jeans.
It made him look sexy, and I glanced at his lips. I couldn’t help but relive the feel of those very ones sliding down over my dick as he deep-throated me.
I forced my eyes up, and a knowing look flashed into his. They looked more green than hazel today. His sandy-brown hair fell over his forehead, making me want to run my fingers through it.
“Morning!” Ivy chirped, and I grunted. “Uncle Drew is his usual grumpy self this morning,” she told Nova.
The baby laughed like she didn’t care, so I backtracked a little and pressed a kiss to the soft, dark hair on her head. “Looking like the most beautiful girl in the whole room,” I told her.
She grinned and held out her arms.
“You have to finish your breakfast first,” Ivy told her.
Her lower lip wobbled, and I reached into her seat and pulled her out anyway.
“You can’t just give her everything she wants.” Ivy scolded me.
“Why not?” I asked. “That’s what Braeden does for you.”
“He’s got ya there, baby,” B said, coming up behind her to wrap his arm around her shoulders.
“Today’s the big day!” Rimmel said excitedly. Every time she got excited, she bounced around like she might float up to the ceiling.
Romeo tightened the arm at her waist because he knew, just like the rest of us, she was clumsy as hell and would probably fall off his lap if he didn’t hold her.
“So it is,” I said, making a beeline for the coffee pot.
Trent picked up a mug and held it out. I changed course and wrapped a hand around the warm cup and lifted it to my lips. Nova watched me the whole time, her huge blue eyes missing nothing.
“Gamble already has everyone talking,” Romeo said. “The entire team is talking about it and it’s still off-season.”
“Yeah?” I swung around, interested.
“Hells yeah,” B said. “I’ve been getting texts all week. Everyone wants us to get tickets for them for the first race of the new division.”
“We don’t even know when that is,” Trent said.
“The way Gamble works and the amount of interest he’s stirred up in this short amount of time?” Romeo scoffed. “It’s going to be soon. Gamble’s the kind of man to strike while the iron’s hot.”
That made me excited and nervous. I wanted to get in a lot of driving time before the season started. Just because I was a good driver didn’t mean I was the best. I wasn’t a guaranteed win. I needed to work hard just like everyone else.
It made me hate my day job even more. I could be spending that time driving instead of sitting behind a computer.
“What time is the interview?” Ivy asked, drinking her coffee.
“Ten.”
She gasped and leapt up. “Andrew Wayne Forrester!”
I glowered at her because she knew I hated when she used my middle name.
“It seems so obvious now why a Mustang would be your favorite car,” Braeden cracked. “Seeing is how you’re name has roots in the Wild West. Wayne.”
And this was why I hated when she used it. B always had something to say.
Trent laughed.
I glared at him. “What are you laughing at, frat boy?”
“We don’t have time for this,” Ivy demanded, standing up to put her hands on her hips. Blond hair fell around her shoulders in a sleek curtain. How the hell my sister always looked put together was beyond me. “Please tell me that is not what you’re wearing.” She gave my sweats the stink eye.
I was highly offended.
“Nova thinks I look good, don’t you?” I said to my niece. She gave me a toothless grin, then held her arms out to Trent. “You little traitor.”
Trent laughed and pulled the baby out of my arms. When he did, his hand brushed my arm and goose bumps raced down my spine. Before tucking the baby into his side, he gave me a quick look that told me he’d felt it, too.
“You gotta stop growing, midge,” Trent told her. He called her midge because she was a tiny combination of Braeden and Ivy.
“You need to be here more,” Romeo said.
Trent’s mouth thinned a little. I glanced at Romeo and gave him a WTF look. He was riding T’s ass lately about family time. Romeo met my stare almost in a challenge, and I bristled.
Trent had enough going on in his head without Romeo making him feel bad for not being around as much as usual. I was about to call him out right there in front of everyone, but Ivy grabbed my arm.
“Please tell me you aren’t wearing that.”
“They have stylists there, don’t they?”
She groaned like her life was over. “Probably, but you can’t go there looking like that. Have you no consideration for your image?”
“My image?” I echoed.
Ivy glanced at Rimmel, and the girls shared a look.
I groaned. “Not you, too, sis?” I asked Rim. “You’re supposed to be my un-fashionable soul mate.”
Rimmel snorted. “Sorry, I’ve had to learn all about public image. It’s your turn now.”
I gave her my best sorrowful look, and she laughed.
Since she was the wife of Maryland’s most popular athlete, she had graced the pages of a lot of national magazines, and had paparazzi following her all the time, I guessed she did have to learn about image. My sister was her personal stylist, so even though she preferred sweats and not combing her hair, she didn’t go out like that very often.
“Fine,” I muttered. I gave Trent a look, and he winked at me. The second he did, his gaze averted, embarrassed.
“I’m at your mercy, sis,” I said, bringing the attention back to me and my apparent state of mess.
It worked, and no one mentioned if they saw Trent wink.
“Trent, you’re on baby duty!” Ivy called while she towed me out of the kitchen.
Up in my bedroom, I sat on the bed and drank the coffee T made me while she dug through my closet and drawers.
“Ugh!” she hollered. “This is a disgrace, Andrew! I’m a stylist. I write a column for People for crying out loud. I run a YouTube fashion channel!”
“What does that have to do with me?” I wondered out loud.
“People are going to think I can’t even dress my own brother.”
“I’m pretty sure people will realize I’m a grown man who dresses himself,” I pointed out, highly amused she was so upset about my clothes.
“Well, no one would think I would pick this stuff out,” she muttered.
“They’ll have a stylist there, right?” I asked again.
“I’m sure. But you need to show up looking good. First impressions mean a lot. Especially when you’re dealing with the press. I wasn’t kidding when I said we need to think about your image.”
“I don’t have an image.”
“We’re going to fix that,” she declared as she pulled out clothes. “We need to go shopping.”
I drained the rest of my coffee and blanched. “Please, no.”
“Fine, then I’ll go shopping without you. You can try it all on when I get home.”
Well, it was better than going to the mall, so I agreed.
Ivy gasped and spun around to look at me. “I know! I’ll do a piece on racing-inspired looks. What to wear in the stands, out on the town, etc. It’s going to be awesome. The editor is going to love this!”
“Sounds good,” I said.
“I can even add some stuff about the new division and you! It will be extra press.” She gasped again.
“What now?” I asked.
“I can use you as a model on my YouTube channel for the racing segment. Double exposure.”
“No,” I said, flat.
“Yes,” she argued, absolutely stubborn. “It’s your job now. I have a lot of subscribers.”
“Fine, whatever,” I muttered. “Don’t spend too much on the clothes. I’m not a football player.”
She waved away my requests, and I knew that meant she’d do what she wanted.
Sisters.
“Here.” She tossed some clothes at me. “Put these on.”
When I didn’t start getting dressed, she glared at me. “Well?”
“You want me to get dressed in front of you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. Like I’ve never seen you in your boxers.”
“Turn around.” I motioned. “I need some privacy.”
“You’re an idiot,” she said but turned anyway.
I grinned at the back of her blond head. I loved annoying her.
“Hey, Drew?”
I looked up because of the sound of her voice. She’d been quiet as I pulled on the jeans, and she was no longer teasing me or gasping with ideas.
Something was up.
“Yeah, Ives?” I asked as I threaded the black belt through the black jeans.
“I’ve been wanting to ask you something.”
“Ask,” I drawled. My sister could ask me anything. Aside from Trent, she was my favorite person on this earth. I’d do anything for her.
Even so, I was suddenly nervous.
“You said something to me a long time ago. Something that has weighed on me since.” She began.
I felt my brow wrinkle.
I grasped her wrist and turned her around gently (We were all gentle with my sister. She was the kind of girl that deserved gentleness). I still wasn’t wearing a shirt, but as she pointed out, it wasn’t like I never walked around without one. “What is it?”
“You said this place totally changed you.” She looked up, blue eyes concerned. “There was something about the way you said it… What did you mean?”
Ah, I remembered that day. The day she asked me if I was disappointed in her when she got pregnant with Nova. We’d had a talk that day in the kitchen. Those words had tumbled out in the moment, and I regretted them instantly. I wished I could take them back, but I couldn’t. Thankfully, we’d been interrupted and never finished the conversation. Life took over, and she never brought it up.
Until now.
I’d been talking about Trent. About the way he made me feel, even back then. About how moving here had opened up so many sides of me I’d buried or even left locked. Being here made me feel like I was actually embracing the real me. At times, it was scary as hell.
“This…” I began. “Racing, chasing my dreams, and not living the life Dad always pushed on me. It’s been freeing, you know?”
She studied me for a long moment. I wondered what she was thinking.
“Is that all?” she finally asked.
“What else would there be?”
“I’m not sure.” Her eyes never left my face. It made me uncomfortable. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
Her voice was so genuine and sincere, the awkwardness I felt evaporated, and I felt bad for it being there at all. “Yeah, Ives, I know.”
She pushed up onto tiptoes and hugged me. I hugged her back as tight as I dared and held her for a few minutes. I wondered if she felt the pounding of my heart.
“I love you,” Ivy whispered. “No matter what.”
“I love you, too,” I echoed.
I swallowed past the lump suddenly lodged in my throat. It was almost like she was telling me. Saying she saw more than she let on, that she knew more than she said.
As if she somehow knew I was in love with Trent.
She loved me anyway.
Not one ounce of anything other than love came from my sister.
Something in me loosened a little. Kind of like a shoe that had been tied to tight and was finally unlaced.
I squeezed her just a little tighter before letting her go.
When she stepped back, she wiped her eye and smiled. “C’mon, we gotta get you dressed!”
I picked up some kind of vest I didn’t even know I owned, and she pulled it from my fingers. “The shirt first!”
I picked up a black T-shirt with long sleeves and put it on, taking care to tuck the speedometer necklace beneath the neck. Next, she handed me the black vest made of thick cotton that zipped up the front.
“Where the hell did this come from?” I wondered as I put it on.
“I gave it to you for Christmas last year.” She stuck her tongue out at me.
It was fitted close to my body and had this huge collar thing. The zipper went all the way to the top of the collar. “Who wears this? Giraffes? The neck is huge.”
“That’s the style.” Her voice was exasperated as she reached up and flipped the ends up. “See, the zipper adds a detail, and the neck turned up like this draws the eye to your face and jawline. It works well with the whole scruffy look you’ve been wearing lately, too.”
Next, she tucked the front of my T-shirt behind my belt buckle and adjusted the front of the vest, leaving it open. “Wear your leather jacket over this and leave the collar up. Add the black boots you have downstairs, the ones with the slight heel, because they will make you even taller.”
I was already six feet. Why I needed to be taller I wasn’t sure, but whatever.
“So all black?” I asked, totally digging the color but surprised she was.
“It’s edgy. Mysterious. It’s actually kinda badass.” She stepped back and studied her handiwork. “Sit on the bed.”
She rushed from the room and came back with that hair crap she bought me and put some on her fingers. Ivy stepped between my legs and styled my hair. I was glad, ‘cause it always looked better when she did it.
“Aren’t they going to have people there to do my hair?” I asked.
She made a sound, and I figured that meant I should shut up, so I did.
“There,” Ivy said and stepped back. “You’re ready.”
“Thanks, Ives. You saved my image.” I pressed a hand over my heart.
“Don’t you mock me, Andrew.” Her finger wagged in my face.
I grabbed my empty mug and kissed her on the head. “I need more coffee.”
At the bottom of the stairs, I headed for the kitchen, but I didn’t make it that far. I noticed Ivy hanging back near the archway, looking into the living room, and I stopped beside her.
I did a good job not physically reacting for a man who felt like he took a deft punch to the stomach. Trent was in the living room with Nova. They were on the floor, playing. There wasn’t anything unordinary about it.
Yet there was.
They were both on the floor with a blanket beneath them. Nova couldn’t sit up very long by herself yet, so she was propped up by this giant pillow-like thing that basically supported her weight but allowed her to sit up. Trent was in front of her, almost on his stomach but with his knees folded under him so his ass was in the air. On the floor between them was a toy car I’d bought her that played some girly song. On top of it was a stuffed lion. Trent was “driving” the car and the lion around in front of her, and she was smiling.
He was making the car sounds and everything, totally engrossed in whatever they were playing. Nova had her fist in her mouth, but her smile was obvious.
As I stood there and watched, Trent gently “crashed” the car into her tiny foot covered in a pink sock.
She laughed.
The sound of a baby’s laugh was probably the most innocent, pure thing I’d ever heard.
“Oh no,” Trent exaggerated. “There’s a pile-up in front of the couch!” His voice was quiet but entirely animated. “Hurry, Nova. He needs a hug.”
T held the lion out to her and wiggled it into her chubby little belly. Nova laughed and reached for the toy. When she had it in her grip, she stuck it in her mouth.
“He doesn’t need mouth to mouth,” Trent told her.
She kept chewing him.
He laughed and brushed his fingertips over the hair on her head.
He slayed me. In every possible way I could be slayed.
I didn’t know how it happened, but somehow, some way, he did. It started as a friendship and grew from there. And now…
Now, watching him, my chest swelled and expanded.
Something about his gentleness, the innocence and pureness with which interacted with Nova, told me exactly what kind of man he was.
A good one. Genuine.
I felt lucky to love him in that moment. I understood exactly why I could. I tucked that feeling deep down inside me, because I was sure I would need it later.
I felt a touch on my middle. I tore my eyes off the sight, and Ivy smiled at me. She patted my stomach and walked away, into the kitchen.
Judging from the way she looked at me, I knew. If she was thinking something about me and T, whatever she saw on my face just now confirmed it.
I walked into the room, and he looked up. “Hey, I see you survived Fashion 101.” He joked.
“Ivy has deemed me fashionably saved.”
He pushed back into a sitting position in front of Nova and looked at his phone lying nearby. “You got enough time to grab something to eat before we go.”
“Did you eat?” I asked, still watching him.
It was like my eyes were starved and he was food. Like the rest of the world was in black and white, but he was in color.
“Nah, I was hanging with midge.”
Ivy appeared with a mug and held it over my shoulder. “You forgot you wanted more coffee.”
Right. “Thanks.” I grabbed it and took a sip.
Ivy came into the room, and Nova’s eyes followed her. “Where’s your daddy?” she asked her.
“I told him to shower. He smelled,” Trent replied.
We all laughed, and Ivy plopped down next to her daughter. “He got up and trained with Romeo this morning.”
“Are you going to be at pancake Sunday this week?” Rimmel asked, coming into the room, Romeo right behind her.
Trent looked up. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”
“We missed you last week,” she said.
“Sorry. Drama at Omega.”
“What’s going on?” Romeo asked.
Trent shook his head once. “Nothing. Same old crap. I handled it.”
I didn’t think Con trying to toss him off of his throne was nothing, but I wasn’t going to say anything. He barely talked about the frat all weekend, other than to tell me what happened. I was starting to think there was more to it than he said.
“I know I don’t go there anymore, but I’ll still come over there and help you smash heads if I got to,” Romeo answered.
Trent smirked. “Thanks, man.”
“I have to go get ready for class.” Rimmel made a face. “Last semester ‘til we graduate!”
“Amen.” Trent replied and got up to hug Rim. She was swallowed by his size, but she didn’t seem to notice. She was used to it by now with Rome. “I’ll see ya later.”
“Yes, come hang out this week,” she insisted, pulled back, and went up the stairs, but Romeo hung back.
He held his fist out to me, and I pounded it out with him. “Good luck today.”
“Thanks.”
After a few more minutes of hanging with the fam, Trent and I grabbed a quick bite out of the kitchen and hit the road.
I had an interview to get to.