Chapter 14
Chapter
Fourteen
Salem
“I think I'm a sex addict,” Christian sighs.
I choke on my mouthful of coffee, spitting it to the RV floor with a scowl. “No shit, Sherlock. What gave you away?”
“Shut up. This is serious. Like I legit have a problem.”
Don't we all? For three days now, we've been in Ohio, and even though the fans are loving the two-person flip, I keep having to delete disgusting comments online sexualizing the guys. Even worse than that, it’s drawn the homophobes out of the woodwork.
God forbid two dudes hold each other on a dirt bike, right?
Shaking my head, I grab a cloth from the drawer to mop up my mess. “I hate to break it to you, buddy, but you've been this way since we were, like, fourteen. It's good you're recognizing it now, though.”
Christian's been a horny fuckboy since day one.
He frowns at me, dark brown locks falling around his shoulders. “How do I fix it? I don't wanna come anymore.”
For a long moment, I can only blink at him because, seriously? Then I burst into a fit of laughter.
Scowling, he flicks my forehead and crosses his inked arms. “Don't laugh at me, culo. My dick is ruining my life.”
Biting back a grin, I notice the worry in his bright hazel eyes. “What happened? Is it falling off?”
He doesn't respond, just gazes out the window in deep thought, jaw tight. Fuck, he actually looks upset.
I set my cup in the small sink and give him my full attention. “What's really going on? Did something happen with Arya?”
“No.” He pauses for a second. “Yes. And… Devon.”
Not surprising. Arya already talked my ear off about what they did last night. “Okay, and?”
Blowing out a breath, Christian collapses against the counter, eyes on the ceiling. “And I liked it, and stuff. Yeah?”
I snort, earning a glare in response. “Christian, buddy, mi amor, you know almost everyone on this trip is some form of queer, right? Huckslee is gay, Taylor is… well, Taylor. Arya and Dev are both bi. I'm not going to judge you for being a little curious.”
He tosses me a sidelong glance. “How about you and Logan? Any secrets to share?”
Something sharp twists in my chest, but I try to hide my reaction by running my fingers through my hair. “Logan and I aren't anything.”
“Besides married.”
“Stop deflecting.” I narrow my eyes and point a finger in his direction. “You asked me for advice, not the other way around. It's okay to experiment, and Devon is the perfect candidate.”
He tilts his head in confusion. “Why?”
Why, indeed? I grab my camera, thinking back to all the shit that happened with Xed last year; all those times Dev wanted us to suck his dick for a bump of coke.
I'm not proud of it. But what's done is done, and we can't change the past, right?
Only let it eat us alive. “Because he's incapable of feeling anything. Who better to test your queeriosity on?”
Christian doesn't respond, so I exit the RV and make my way across the campsite toward our home for the week: the Cleveland Fairgrounds.
Everyone's off doing their own thing, either relaxing or preparing for the show tonight. I intend on taking some pictures of the fair rides and maybe grabbing a funnel cake, but my eyes lock on Logan’s, in line at a hotdog stand.
As soon as he starts toward me, I turn the other way and duck into a narrow row of vendor tents.
My heart hammers like I’m sixteen again, hiding from a boy I don’t want to talk to.
I weave past booths selling kettle corn and T-shirts, past a cotton candy stand blasting country music, until I find a hidden spot behind a haunted house.
The rusted-out trailer is half-covered in ripped plastic and hand painted ghouls with googly eyes.
Slumping onto an overturned milk crate behind it, I finally let myself breathe out of sight, out of reach.
It's been days, but I haven't been able to get that damn horse ride with Logan out of my head.
The way he'd held me close, the hard press of his cock against my back.
His lips on my neck. Not even that ride on the bull with Cowboy Harper could distract me from how my body reacted, and the worst part is that I refuse to do anything about it.
Doesn't matter that I've been waking up in the truck every morning horny as hell, or that being in Logan's presence ever since makes me uncomfortably wet. I will not touch myself to thoughts of him. That ship has sailed.
Yet, the weight in my chest doesn’t budge.
I pull out my phone, feeling heated again and needing a distraction from the pressure between my thighs when Xed’s name pops up in a video call. Yes. Perfect.
Hesitating for half a second, I swipe to answer.
His usual scowl fills the screen, dark mohawk standing tall as he studies me with gold-flecked eyes.
“Either you just committed murder or got laid in a porta-potty,” he greets dryly.
I grimace at that image. “Gross. I'm hiding from Logan.”
“Ah.” His lips twitch as he nods in understanding. “Still won't sign the papers, huh?”
“Nope.” Blowing out a breath, my head thumps against the trailer. I don’t want to talk about it. “How's married life?”
Xed smirks. “Better than yours. I was calling to see if Tay's around. He keeps bugging me to video chat his damned bunny.”
“So call him, then.”
“Didn't answer.”
“Hm.” I shrug, leaning forward to rest my elbow on my thigh, summer heat making my skin damp. “He's not around. Probably riding his bike. Or Huck. Or both.”
Fuck, everyone's getting laid except me.
Unfair. Cowboy Harper had wanted to fuck me back in Louisville, but my damn conscience wouldn't let me go through with it.
Not that it mattered, because Logan's been a ghost since we left.
The entire five days in Kentucky, he ignored pretty much everyone, only stepping in when he needed to.
But I haven't been exactly eager to talk to him, either.
“Well, while I have you.” Xed reaches off-screen before pulling his daughter into the frame. “Someone wants to say hi.”
“Auntie Salem!” Hannah grins wide, her brown eyes brightening. How the hell does she look bigger than she did months ago?
“Hey, bug. What are you, six feet tall now?”
She giggles, burying her face in Xed’s shoulder. Watching her beam at me through the screen—her tiny gap-toothed smile and hair pulled up into a lopsided ponytail—melts something inside me I hadn’t realized was frozen.
“Where's your other dad?”
“At the gym,” Xed answers for her, rolling his eyes. “Training camp starts in a six weeks.”
Oh, shit. That's right. It's almost June. NFL season is close. That means Huck will be leaving soon, too.
Hannah steals the phone from his hands, bringing it close to her face. “When are you coming to visit? Is Uncle Tayto there?”
I smile at the nickname she has for Taylor. “He's busy, but I'll tell him to call you later. We should be coming your way in a few more weeks.”
Just five more states to get through.
“I’m making cupcakes for my friends,” she continues proudly. “With sprinkles and chocolate. I can make more when you come here.”
“I'd love that, bug. We can make them together.”
She giggles again, and it’s the kind of sound that makes everything else feel… less loud.
Less Logan, less past creeping up behind me. Just one bright, messy, uncomplicated thing.
“Alright, Creature.” Xed kisses her cheek before nudging her out of the frame. “Go check on the timer, but don't touch the oven.”
Hannah skips off, and then it’s just me and Xed again. His eyes keep scanning my face like he’s trying to see what I’m not saying.
“You look like you’re about five seconds from running away,” he says slowly.
A deep, heavy sigh leaves my lungs. “I already did. Everything followed me.”
“Well, how far are you willing to go?”
Something tells me we're not talking about running anymore.
He means the kind of distance you can't measure in miles, but honestly, I don’t have an answer.
Truth is, Logan’s the one who ran away first.