Chapter 39
Vox
When we got back to my condo after meeting my dad, I marched Connor to my front door, flipping the bird to the men I knew were there, but couldn’t see, and Connor made me pull up my contract with Patterson again, so he could scour it for loopholes.
Mostly, we just rediscovered how shitty Grey has been to me.
After everything, I shouldn’t have been surprised.
But I was. And it still hurts like a sonofabitch.
There was one question we thought of that had me making a call to my dad, though, and I’m praying it’ll be enough.
Other than that one call, yesterday was eerily quiet from a communication perspective, and I did my best to get into a race-day mindset after helping Connor grab his things from his cabin and getting him settled into my condo.
Grey sent a text saying he was needed elsewhere, and our chat would have to wait.
At this point, I’m just not sure he can say anything to repair the damage.
The time for that was two days ago, when I silently begged him on the phone to tell me I had it wrong.
When he didn’t, there was a definitive shift in my allegiance, and today, I’m racing for my teammates.
I’m racing for Connor. I’m racing for my dad. And I’m racing for me.
Race day is finally here, so despite the lack of sleep, I wake up to a three-course meal of adrenaline filling my veins.
As I stir, Connor throws an arm across my waist, pulling me into him. God, I love having him in my bed.
“Good morning, baby,” I whisper into his hair as he moves his head to my armpit, inhaling and kissing me there once, twice, three times.
“Morning, hotshot,” Connor says, and I feel his lips curl into a smile against my skin. “You ready to get your ass kicked today?”
I poke him in the side, making him exhale a sleepy chuckle as he squirms.
“We’ll see whose ass takes the beating. Which reminds me, you should probably make sure you’re prepped. Winning makes me horny as fuck.”
We take our time rolling out of bed, but I don’t even have a chance to finish my first cup of coffee before there’s a knock on my door.
I’m fully expecting it to be Grey, but I’m shocked to see Renner standing on my threshold.
“Is it true?” he asks with more than a little bite to his words.
“Ren, it’s five-thirty in the morning. What the fuck are you doing here, and what are you talking about?”
“Are you fucking Coach Lang?”
Okay, so either we aren’t done with his homophobic issues, or he thinks I’m somehow getting insider tips from Connor’s ass.
“Why are you asking that?”
“Answer the fucking question, Vox!”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” I reply, trying to stay calm.
“How the fuck is it not my business when we’re supposed to be teammates? You’re going to let us all get fucked in this competition just because you want to bend over for him?”
I’m still trying to process his words when a deep voice answers from behind me. “Bold of you to make assumptions about his position in bed, Mr. Gentry,” Connor says, shrugging into a hunter-green robe.
Grinding his teeth, Renner says, “So, that’s a yes, then. This is such bullshit.”
“Ren, come inside. I’m letting all my heat out,” I say, grabbing his arm. I take it as a sign that he’s willing to talk when he allows me to touch him and steps into my condo.
Once we’re all standing in the living room, me in sweatpants and no shirt, Connor in boxers, a T-shirt, and his robe, and Renner fully dressed in snow pants and his Patterson jacket, Renner runs a hand through his hair and starts talking.
“I was really looking forward to riding with you,” he says to me, confusing me further.
“Renner, what the fuck are you talking about? We are riding together. I mean, we’re in different heats, but that’s always been the case,” I clarify.
His brows pinch together as he narrows his gaze at me.
“What are you talking about? Vox, Grey pulled you from the race.”
“HE WHAT?!” I yell, not caring if I wake all my neighbors.
“Yeah, he did it as a last-minute withdrawal yesterday before the drop/add deadline at five p.m. Told us all at the team meeting you missed.”
My head whips to Connor. “Can he do that?”
“Unfortunately, if your entry was through Patterson Performance and not you as an individual racer, then yes.”
“FUCK!” I slam my hand on my Formica bar top.
“I hope it was worth it,” Renner says sadly.
“I didn’t know he was going to do that, Ren. You have to believe me,” I plead, hating that I’m letting him down.
“Grey was pretty fucking clear about the rules, Vox.” Then, just to kick me while I’m down, he adds, “Guess even the favorite child has to play by them sometimes.”
Suddenly, my patience for this entire conversation goes out the window, and I get in Renner’s face.
“You think you know everything, but you don’t know shit.
Happy just to race, you’ve never had the pressure on you to perform the way I have.
I bet you have a perfect, supportive family, a plan for life after you get tired of boarding, and probably a cushy trust fund to fall back on, too.
But you know what, Renner? I don’t. Boarding is all I know, and on top of that, I just found out that our beloved Grey has been isolating me from my own father for seven years.
So, while Grey’s out there going behind my back to pull me from the only competition he allowed me to compete in all year, my chance to make a living wage, all I’m doing is trying to make time for the one person who makes me feel not so fucking alone in this world.
” I take a deep breath before continuing my argument.
“Grey hired Connor to stay in my good graces after choosing this competition, forcing me onto a team I didn’t want, and preventing me from competing anywhere else.
And when I got too close to Connor, threatening the power Grey had over me, Grey fired him, has apparently turned my team against me, and now pulled me from the competition I’ve spent months training for.
How fucking fair does that sound, Ren? Hmm? ”
Renner’s mouth is hanging open.
“What do you mean he’s been keeping you from your dad?”
I motion toward the living room as I move to flop onto the couch. Renner takes the recliner, and Connor sits next to me.
“My dad peaced-out when I was six. I was raised by my grandma. Apparently, my dad tried to get back in touch after I turned eighteen, and the Patterson Performance team stopped him from being able to reach out to me. He showed up at some of my events, too, but Grey would never let him get close. I had no idea he was even looking for me until two days ago.”
“Holy shit,” Renner whispers. “Why would Grey do that?”
I shrug, still not sure enough to say anything out loud. Connor doesn’t feel the same, though.
“Money,” he declares, reducing everything I built with Grey Patterson down to dollar signs.
Looking back at me, Renner asks, “Is that true? Is he really that greedy?”
“I guess so. My contract was negotiated when I was an eleven-year-old kid. I’ve always trusted Grey, and legal jargon isn’t really my forté, so I always just signed the papers.
All I wanted to do was board. And I honestly never thought Grey would take advantage of me like that, but looking over my latest contract with Connor, I finally realize how terrible it is. ”
“Bro, I don’t even know what to say,” Renner says, rubbing his eyes.
“Yeah, that makes two of us,” I point out.
“Well, Gibson was pretty excited. Douchebag figured he stood a chance now, with you out of the slalom competition, too.”
Connor scoffs. “No way. He doesn’t have near the speed he needs to keep up with that team from Colorado.”
“I know this probably sounds bad, but I was really hoping you’d knock him down a peg,” Renner smiles. Before I can answer, he looks back and forth between Connor and me. “So, uh, it’s serious then?”
My eyes flash to Connor before answering.
“Yeah, it’s serious.”
He stands. “That’s cool. I hope it works out. Anyway, I should probably go get ready. I have to be at check-in at seven. Are you guys still going to come watch?”
“We’ll be there, don’t you worry,” I tell Renner with a smirk he doesn’t understand.
Once Renner is gone, I turn to Connor.
“That fucking asshole is trying to turn this whole thing around on us.”
“We still have a couple cards left to play; one of which is the ace of spades,” Connor reminds me with a grin.