Good Boy by Megan Lowe

Chapter 35

“You ready for this?” Thomas asks as he massages my shoulders as we stand at the start line of tonight’s race.

“Eh.” I shrug.

He leans in closer, wrapping himself around me. “And when you win, we can celebrate.” He bites my earlobe for good measure. He has toned down some, but every now and then has a tendency to get overexcited. I’m trying to go with it, keeping the bigger picture in mind, but it’s a ride for sure.

I turn so I can see his face. “You sure you’re ready for that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asks.

“I dunno. It’s a big step.” One I honestly didn’t think he’d be ready for, or prepared to take.

“But it’s the next step in a relationship, so of course I’m ready for it. That’s what you do when you’re in a relationship, you show your love for each other, so that’s what I’m going to do, I’m going to show you, and everyone else, that I’m in this, that I’m doing this, that I can do this, ’cause I can, and I will, and it’s going to be fucking epic and I’m going to blow your mind and you’ll never want to be with anyone else besides me.” He says all this without taking a breath.

I reach and cup his cheek. “Hey, remember what we talked about?”

He nods.

“Just take a breath and calm down a little, for me.”

He does as I ask.

“Good, that’s good.”

He shakes out the tension in his arms. “Okay, I’m good.” He looks down at me. “I’m good about… being with you too.”

“We don’t have to. We can take things slow, I’m more than okay if that’s what you want to do.”

He shakes his head. “No. I need to. I want to.”

“How about we just see how things go, huh? That way there’s no pressure and if it happens, it happens. If not, then it’s no big deal.”

He grabs onto my hips. “Fine, but I will be having you tonight, or you having me, whichever way we do this.”

I give him a smile. “We’ll figure it out.”

He leans down and gives me a chaste kiss. “Yes, we will.”

I’m just about to say something, probably pushing my luck and disrupting the calm, when Jase walks over.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” I ask. I rarely let Jase come when I race. He can’t be in the car with me, not that I’d ever allow it, and I don’t trust anyone else to look after him in case the meets gets busted up by the cops.

“Cav brought me.”

“He what?” I ask, straightening and out of Thomas’s hold.

Jase shrugs. “He brought me. He knows I wanted to watch you race, so we came.”

“And did you tell him I don’t let you come to meets when I’m racing?”

“Only because I don’t have someone to ‘look after me.’ Well, I’ll stay with him, so it won’t be a problem.”

“It’s already a problem, Jase.”

“Give the kid a break,” Cav says, coming over to us. “You can’t keep him locked at home like a prisoner or some shit.”

“Better a prisoner at home than one stuck in juvie,” I tell him.

Cav rolls his eyes. “So dramatic.”

“Hey,” I say, going over to him. “He’s my kid brother, my responsibility. If something happens to him, that’s on me.”

“Chill, dude, I got him.”

“Yeah?” I ask. “What else you got?”

“Hey,” Thomas says, “It’ll be fine.”

I raise an eyebrow.

“I’ll be right here with them, I promise. Two sets of eyes are better than one, right?”

“Anything even looks like it might be going south, you get him out of here,” I tell him.

He smiles his soft, only-for-me smile. “I solemnly swear,” he says before kissing me.

“If you two are done?” Cav says.

We break apart. “It’ll be fine,” Thomas says, taking my hand, threading his fingers through mine.

“Look after him,” I plead.

He cups my face. “I will.”

“You ready?” Kevin says, coming over to us.

I nod. “Yeah.”

“It’s a straight quarter-mile drag,” he tells me. “First one to cross the finish line wins.”

I nod. “And I’ll be able to race next meet?”

“If you win.”

“When I win,” I correct.

He chuckles. “Just worry about the ten seconds it’ll take you to finish first.”

“I was aiming for nine, but ten will do,” I tell him, casting another eye over my competition.

He claps me on the shoulder. “I’ll see you at the finish line.”

“Good luck, babe,” Thomas says, coming over to me once Kevin has walked away.

“Thanks.”

“I know you need to concentrate on the race, but don’t forget about what’s going to happen once you win.”

I chuckle and give his hand a squeeze. He grabs me by the back of my neck, taking my lips with his, devouring my mouth.

“Just a preview for tonight,” he says when we break apart, his hand sliding to my ass and giving it a squeeze.

“Come on, you fags,” Cav calls. “We’re waiting here.”

“Watch Jase,” I tell Thomas as I get in the car.

He nods, leaning in after me. “I will.” He kisses me again and shuts the door.

Ahead of me is an empty stretch of road, probably about a mile or more, long, a thick yellow line painted 1320 feet from here.

I start the car and look across to the other two guys in the race with me. Their cars, a Honda and a Lexus, are impressive, but nothing can compare to the R-SPEC purring beneath me.

My phone, currently in the cup holder, buzzes.

Jase: Kill it bro!

James: Be careful.

A third message comes in before I put it down.

James: But good luck.

I look over at him; his face gives nothing away. I shake my head. This guy….

But at the moment, none of that matters. All that matters is the open road in front of me and the two cars beside me.

Ihave to give it to them, the Honda and the Lexus stayed with me… for a second. A brief second. But when the R-SPEC found her gear, that was it, end of story.

“Holy shit!” Thomas bounces around when he gets to me. “That was incredible, babe! I’m gonna do you so hard tonight.”

I throw my head back and laugh, the adrenaline still coursing through my body.

“Seriously.” He grabs my hand and puts it on his crotch. “You made me so hard. I feel like I’m about to punch through these jeans.”

I blush and laugh.

God, I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be in a race, to have nothing but the open road in front of you, a monster of a car beneath you, ready, and willing to respond to your every demand. It’s a rush like nothing else and I missed it. The rush, it’s almost enough to make me forget what Thomas said before the race and what he promises is going to happen now.

“Ahem.”

We break apart to find Kevin watching. “That was some race,” he says.

I shrug. “I told you.”

He laughs as Cav and Jase come up, both of them with faces like thunder.

“Hey, guys!” I say, going over to them. “How good was that?”

“Yeah, woo,” Jase replies, his voice flat.

“Oooookay, who pissed in your Cheerios?” I ask.

“No one. That was great, Con, really.”

“Uh-huh.” I turn to Cav. “And what do you have to say?”

He just shrugs, his fists clenched.

“All right then.” I turn back to Kevin. “So does this mean I can race now?”

He nods. “You did good, kid.”

“When’s the next one?” I ask. I know the date probably hasn’t been set, but I’m hooked. I want in.

He looks to Cav.

“I, ah, I’m not sure, I’ll have to check.”

“Have to check?”

“Yeah, see if there’s a spot for you.”

“You mean see if he’ll allow me to race,” I say, pointing to Cav, whom Kevin is still looking at. “I thought this was your organization.”

“It is.”

“But you’re letting him dictate things?”

“It’s his race.”

“It’s your organization,” I hit back. “You said I can race, so I want to race.”

“No,” Cav says.

I throw my hands up. “What the fuck, dude? I did your little test, which I smoked by the way, and you’re still denying me?”

“Come on, Cav,” Kevin says. “You saw how he handled tonight. Think of the side action we’d get with you two going head-to-head.”

I chuckle. “Of course you’re getting a piece of the side action.”

“Whatever, man,” Cav says. “Race, don’t race, see if I give a shit.”

“Yes!” Thomas says, engulfing me in a hug from behind. “Man, are we gonna celebrate tonight!”

Cav clenches his fists tighter before stalking off.

“Dude,” Jase says, shaking his head.

“I don’t know what’s the problem with you two,” I tell him. “I won the race. Isn’t that a good thing? I thought at the very least you’d be happy for me.”

“I am,” he insists.

“Uh-huh, ’cause the reaction I got at first screamed of you being happy.”

“You know what my problem is,” he tells me.

“And you know how I feel about that.”

While we’ve been talking, Thomas has been getting increasingly handsy, kissing my neck, hands roaming all over my body. He’s just slipped them under my T-shirt, rubbing my abs. “Can this family spat wait until tomorrow?” he asks.

Jase shakes his head. “Don’t worry, I’m done here,” he says before walking off.

“That was rude,” I tell Thomas.

“So is keeping me waiting with this.” He thrusts his boner into my back.

“A little waiting never killed anybody.”

“Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabe,” he whines.

“Fine,” I sigh. “Let’s go.”

“Best idea you’ve had all night.” He kisses me quickly. “Meet you at mine. Don’t make me wait any longer.”