When we reach the hall, I head to the door on the right. “That one’ll be Oliver’s room one of these days,” I say, pushing open the closed door. “I had planned to use it as a home office, but never really got around to putting it together,” I tell her, noting the boxes and random crap that’s been piled in the room. It’s where I had planned to put a trophy case, but just haven’t gotten around to buying or building anything for it.
“It’ll be a great room,” she tells me, glancing around at the plain white walls and basic beige carpet.
“I guess I’ll be getting a jump on his room sooner, rather than later,” I say, pulling the door shut behind me.
Lena shrugs. “You have time. Most parents put their babies in their room with them for the first few months. At least, that’s what I was reading on some of the parenting blogs. As long as you keep him in his own bed and don’t plan to co-sleep.”
“Oh, hell no. I’m an active sleeper,” I say.
The look on her face lets me know she remembers exactly how fitful I’d always slept back when we shared a bed. “I do recall,” she whispers with a sly grin.
My cock jumps in my shorts, and I do my best to keep her from noticing the sudden appearance of another Lena-fan in the room. Images of her lying in bed—no, don’t go there, man. Picturing her naked and tangled up in the sheets won’t help the situation in your pants.
Like now.
“This one’s yours,” I say, and love the way it feels so damn good to say that. Opening the door, she steps inside the guest room. Fish uses this room when he crashes here, so at least it’s in better shape than the other room. “Fish threw clean sheets on the bed this morning. I think he keeps some clothes in one of the drawers, but you’re welcome to the other ones. The bathroom’s through there. Make yourself at home.” I set her suitcase down on top of the mattress so she has easy access.
“Thanks,” she replies, glancing around.
“Well, I’ll let you get settled. Just call out if you need me.”
She turns back, our eyes meeting once more. “I should be fine.”
And she will be. I leave her in peace to unpack, wondering if this is really a good idea. I could have easily called an agency to send someone to help me. I probably could have hired a nanny by end of day today and not bothered Lena, but when the going got tough, that’s not what I did. Right or wrong, we’re in this together, at least for now.
Until she heads back to Kansas.
***
“Where have ya been?” one of the members of my pit crew, Johnny, says as I enter the gym at CD Enterprises.
“Around,” I reply with a head nod as I make my way to the locker room to change. Most of my crew is already in the gym, but my crew chief, Ben Cooper, is still hanging near the sinks. “Hey, man,” I say, heading for my locker.
Coop turns his gray eyes on me. He’s nearly ten years older than I am, with two young kids and a wife. I’ve always looked up to Coop and leaned on his expertise when I was a rookie. Now, I not only listen to him as a valuable part of my team, but as my friend. “You holding up?” he asks, the concern evident on his face.
When all this shit went down with social services showing up and handing me my baby, Ben was the first call I made after Fish. He listened, offered his support, and promised we’d get through this together. He’s also the one who made the call to the big boss, Colton. This isn’t exactly something you try to hide from those you’re closest to.
“Not too bad. Got a little more sleep last night than the night before,” I tell him, as I shuck my sweatpants and retie the drawstring on the shorts underneath.
“And the girl?”
I close my locker and turn to face the man who runs my team like a seasoned ship captain. “A huge help. She agreed to stay and help, at least for a handful of weeks.”
Together, we head for the door. Before we push through, Coop grabs my arm and stops me. My eyebrows shoot upward in question. “Is she going to be a problem?” he asks.
Instantly, I stiffen my spine and pull back, on edge. “No.”
Coop watches me for several seconds, as if trying to figure out if I’m shitting him or not. “Okay,” he finally replies, releasing my arm. “Promise me, Mack, if she becomes a problem, you tell me. I need to know what’s going on in your head at all times, okay? We can deal with it together.”
Frustrated, I huff, “Lena’s not a problem to deal with, Coop. She’s an old friend, and she’s helping me figure out how to adjust to suddenly becoming a full-time dad.”
Coop doesn’t miss a beat. “An old friend you’ve been in love with forever.” I open my mouth to refute, but nothing comes out. “I’m not trying to give you a hard time, Mack, but I do know how problems with the fairer sex can wreak havoc on a guy’s mojo, and the last thing I want is for problems to arise with our team. That’s all.”
I get it. Truly, I do. He’s concerned about me as his driver, as his friend. But he also has a lot of other concerns to consider. The team, my sponsors, my status as a CD Enterprise driver, and to him, Lena is a huge unknown. She’s a new development, a mysterious factor that’s suddenly thrown into the mix.
Sighing, I turn to one of my oldest and closest friends in Los Angeles. “Thank you. I promise to let you know if she poses a problem.”
He nods his head.
“But just so you know, you don’t have to worry about Lena.”
Coop gives me a sad smile. “I’m not worried about Lena, friend.” And then he pushes through the door and enters the loud gym.
The music is pulsing when I enter and quickly go over that day’s workout schedule. It’s leg day, which always sucks. I’ll be sore as hell later. Half the time, after a leg workout, I crash on the sofa so I don’t have to use the stairs. Now that I have Oliver to take care of, I’m not so sure this workout is in my best interest. But I also know it’s what I need right now. The release. So I tuck in my fucking skirt and get to work with my team.
An hour later, I’m covered in sweat and ready to cry uncle. With my hands on my knees, I suck in greedy gulps of sweet oxygen and glance to Jones, lying on the ground beside me. “You alive?” I ask.
“Everything hurts,” he pants.
“Quit your belly aching,” Coop hollers from across the room, a sadistic grin on his face. Coop leads by example and works out right alongside us, but he has the stamina of a teenager when it comes to running, and thinks everyone should be able to run five miles on a treadmill every other day like it’s nothing.
“No belly aching here, Coop. I was just telling Cruz how great I feel,” Jones wheezes, making us all laugh.
“I think because Fish is missing these important workouts, he has to do double when he gets back,” my gasman, Chief, adds. He’s lying on a bench, his hands in his wet hair.
“Pssh,” I snort. “The only double in Fish’s vocabulary is a cheeseburger.”
We all have a good laugh, at my friend’s expense, until Coop breaks it up. “All right, guys, let’s get showered and ready for the team meeting. I hear they’re bringing in Italian for lunch.”
After a quick shower, I take a seat on the bench in front of my locker and fire off a text to Lena.