I let out a low grunt, grimacing.
“Good morning you gorgeous ray of fucking sunshine.” Dad greets me as I stride into the store.
I yawn the words out, “Good morning, gray fox.”
“How was the race?” he fixes Mom’s containers clumsily and I bet she would fix them right after him. “I had an emergency yesterday, one of the riders was dehydrated so I told everyone to make sure they drink a lot and I ordered more water packs we can distribute.”
“Good call, I won.”
“Never doubted you.” His eyes study me for a second. “Why do you look so beaten though?”
I stretch my arms to the side, “The time differences, I guess.”
That’s a lie. I’m used to it by now.
It’s Blakely taking over every cell in my brain.
“At least you fly first class so you get some quiet and you can sleep on the way over.” He finally finishes the mess he made inside those containers and moves to the next task, filling the empty cooler with more Pepsi.
She’s everywhere.
Her delicious body and her moans blur everything.
“Private plane actually,” I correct, focusing on his face.
His eyebrows turn in question.
“My agent got us on a private flight with a famous super fan, he was going to the race and had some business there anyway.”
“That’s nice.”
“Yeah, it was okay. At least cut us some flight hours back and forth.”
“So he got you back here as well?”
“He sent us with his crew back, and I had to wear a helmet all the time to keep the secret away.”
He hums in approval. “Small price to pay.”
I nod to confirm.
“Meadow,” he pauses in front of me, “You know you don’t have to keep your identity a secret anymore.”
“I do. I’m getting all these messed up phone calls and messages but at least I can keep you away from that and myself. This is my job but not my entire life. Besides, you know that they will ruin this place if they find out you’re my parents.”
He goes to say something, cutting himself off, and then says, “I know this will make things hard.”
“They only care about news coverage, they don’t care about us. We care about us. And I will never let them ruin what matters to me.”
It’s not just the racing. I took jobs as a stunt performer in movies and gained more fans there as well and I can’t let that affect everything I worked so hard for. My private life is separate from my job and the media will have to deal with it.
I love my privacy and I need this place to be my escape.
He curves his palm around my neck and pulls me into a hug, “I love you, son.”
My throat clogs as I whisper in his ear. “I love you too, Dad.” I tap on his back and tighten our embrace.
We pull away and I say, “I got some new streetwear like hoodies and jeans with protection that my sponsors send me every month. I requested them to send me a baby-size suit for Dean and Lennon’s baby girl.”
