Chapter Twenty-Eight

Andy

I woke up gasping for air in the backseat of Dad's car. I tried to blink the sleep away, pushing the nightmare I was having down with it. Right, we were driving to Pennsylvania. It was Dad's last-minute suggestion that we travel to the race, and it had seemed like a great idea at the time. Until our flight was canceled due to the horrible weather they were having. Then Ezra—because of course he had to come with us—mentioned that we should drive there, and the five of us of piled into the car. The five of us being Dad, Ezra, Ford, Felix, Lucas, and me.

My legs were cramped from sitting in the same position for so long, and my neck felt like a pretzel from the weird angle I had fallen asleep in. Good times. I turned my gaze to find Ford snoring softly, his head on my shoulder and drool dampening my shirt.

"Dude, gross." I shoved at him.

"What?" Ford stared up at me with confused hazel eyes. He brushed his palm over his mouth and his cheeks pinkened. "Sorry." He elbowed his twin. "Wake up."

Lucas snorted and shook his head, barely glancing up from his phone. He had been unusually quiet during this trip. Keeping to himself instead of being his obnoxious self. It was kind of weird. Nice, though. Quiet.

Ezra spun around to stare at us from the front seat, his dark eyes glittering with mischief. It always amazed me how put together he always was. Even on a road trip, he looked flawless, while my mouth tasted like ass. I needed a shower and to brush my teeth.

"You four are so adorable. Like Goldilocks and the three Bears." He winked. "I'm Goldilocks, of course." He grinned.

Because that made sense. There were four of us back here.

"Ezra, behave." Dad scoffed from the driver's side of the car, and then giggled. The two of them, I swear. Dad glanced in the rearview mirror and winked when I caught his eye. "Sleep good?"

I shrugged. "I guess. Sleeping on the tour bus wasn't too much different from this. We were practically on top of one another." And at least Ford wasn't having those migraines that he sometimes got. I groaned as I tried to wiggle my legs. "I need to stretch."

"We're almost there," Dad assured me, then turned his attention back to the road.

My heart thumped in my chest. It felt like forty-eight days instead of forty-eight hours since I last held Leo. Maybe it was a bit independent, but I missed him. I looked at the twins again. They were busy checking their phones. Which reminded me that I hadn't bothered with mine. I slipped it from my pocket to check it, but it was dead. I wanted to surprise Leo, but I hoped he didn't think that I was ghosting him again.

"We can stop." Dad was talking to me again. "If you need a break."

Felix squealed with excitement, but when I tried to peek at his phone, he yanked it away.

"Rude." Ford shoved at my arm.

I flicked his forehead with my finger. "Happy for you. Both of you."

Ford's brows dipped, and his gaze traveled to my mouth for just a second before he looked away. It wasn't the first time I had caught him watching me like that, but I chose to ignore it. And now wasn't the time to bring it up. Not with the WAGs gossip queen in the front seat. And Lucas. He would never shut up if I asked Ford if he was into me or just curious.

"Even though I would like to freshen up and pee, we're not too far away." Felix wiggled in his seat. "I want to look my best when we get there, so I can get ready at the Carey RV."

Ford nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I mean, I'd like to not have fuzzy teeth when I kiss RJ again." He slapped his hand over his mouth, and his ears burned pink.

"Wait, what?" Ezra was staring at us again. "I thought Felix wanted RJ." He wiggled his brows suggestively.

Felix snorted. "We're going to make ourselves an RJ cookie. He'll just be the cream in the middle."

"Felix!" Dad exclaimed, and this time, he was the one turning red.

Lucas roared with laughter, putting his phone down and grinning. "That's something I've never tried. You might be on to something."

Felix shrugged. "Sorry, Dad." He grinned at me. " Not sorry ," he mouthed at me.

"So..." Ezra looked like he was ready to climb into the backseat with us. "How does this work?" He pointed a finger between the twins. "Fill me in. I need the deets."

Ford folded his arms over his chest. "No, I don't think so."

"No?" Ezra's brows shot up. "Ford, darling, you wound me." He stuck out his tongue and turned back around. "Felix, text me, boo, and tell me."

"Don't you dare," Ford hissed at his brother.

Why was he being so weird about this? It wasn't like we didn't know he was queer. He and Felix were incredibly open about it. Almost more than Ezra.

Felix slapped a hand over his mouth, winked at his brother, and leaned against him. Ford grunted but slid his arm around his twin's shoulders.

"Boring," Ezra teased us and then shot back around to stare at us. "Does Leo know?"

Ford narrowed his eyes. "Why do you care? You have a husband you're madly in love with and bone on the regular. What does it matter who either of us is screwing?"

"All of that is true, but I'm just curious. We all thought RJ was straight, and now he's having some sort of bisexual awakening with not one but two men. I'm sorry if I upset you. That wasn't my intention." Ezra gave them a brief smile. "Truly, and if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. I'm just impressed. Very WAGs of you."

Ford's mouth dropped. "Does that mean we're both WAGs now? I mean, you let Felix in before, and now he's back in."

"Do you want to be a WAG, Ford? What about you, Lucas?" Ezra held out his hand. "All you had to do was ask."

Ford stared at Ezra's outstretched fingers before he clasped his own around them. "Can I be a WAG?" His voice was barely a whisper.

"Of course!" Ezra winked. "Fe, go ahead and add your brother to our chat."

He raised his brows at Ford, who shook his head. I hoped that Leo wouldn't be too upset about it. I figured he hadn't told Ezra about the reason we'd broken up, otherwise he wouldn't be inviting Ford right now.

Ford's lips twisted into a smile. He glanced at me for a second and then dropped his gaze to his hands. Did he think that I cared if he was a WAG or not? Or maybe he thought I was uncomfortable with him going after the same guy as his brother. I didn't. I wanted my friends, foster brothers, and bandmates to be happy. That was all there was to it. I opened my mouth to tell him, but we pulled up at the track and all I wanted to do was see Leo.

***

"You look handsome." Ezra patted my chest with the palm of his hand. "Leo is going to be so excited when he sees you. Decked out in his shirt and everything."

After I showered, Dad had produced the t-shirt I was currently wearing out of thin air. The one that had Leo's name and car plastered on the front of it. We had gotten to the track and Ezra rushed us to Carson's RV, where we all freshened up. It was still raining, and the word around the track was that the race was going to get pushed until tomorrow. I was wearing a pair of my favorite blue jeans, ripped and torn in all the right places.

I swallowed nervously. "I hope so."

Ezra hummed happily. "Andy, about before—"

I shook my head. "It's okay, Ezra. I know you were just looking out for Leo. I respect that, too. I don't blame you for not trusting me. I took the most precious thing I was ever given, his heart, and broke it. I don't deserve a second chance, but for some reason, Leo's willing to give it to me." I tried to push down the bile that threatened to rise up my throat. "I promise I won't fuck it up this time. I love him too much."

"I know, boo." Ezra winked. "Which is why I invited him over to the RV."

Wait, what? "You did? I thought I would just walk over to his and surprise him." I gasped. I didn't want a crowd watching us.

"Where's the romance in that, huh?" Ezra hooked his arm through mine. "I told him I had a bestie emergency, which is why I was suddenly here at the track, and he should be here..." There was a knock at the door. "Right about now."

Dad was sitting on the couch next to Carson, and he gave me a thumbs up. The twins had taken off the second they had finished getting ready. I figured they had gone off to visit RJ, but then maybe not. I wasn't sure where Lucas had disappeared to.

Ezra motioned to the door as Leo knocked again. "Go on, boo. He's all yours. Go get your man."

I wasn't sure why I was so nervous. This was Leo. The love of my life and the one person who knew me better than anyone else. I took a deep breath, unlocked the door, and watched Leo's face as it morphed from confused, to surprised, and then—

"Andy!" He threw himself at me, dropping the umbrella he held. "What are you...I can't believe..." Leo hugged me tightly. "I missed you."

Warmth swirled inside my belly. "I missed you, too, Ricky."

"I got worried."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to surprise you. We were supposed to fly out and get here earlier, but the weather is absolute shit."

Leo nodded. "You're here now."

I didn't let him say anything else. I hooked my fingers into the belt loops of his pants and tugged him closer. I brushed my lips over Leo's and listened to the soft sigh he released, his hands finding purchase on my waist.

"It was Dad's idea," I murmured, breathing him in, soaking in the familiar sweet scent of cinnamon and the honey vanilla shampoo he always used.

Leo wrapped his arms around me. "Remind me to thank him later."

"No need to thank me," Dad called, and Leo giggled. "Surprise, I'm here, too, but this is more about you and Andy."

Leo rested his chin on my chest, his big blue eyes full of love and unshed tears. "I'm glad you're here. I was disappointed when the rain started, and I knew that I wasn't going to get back to you as soon as I planned."

"Can we go to your place? Have a little alone time?"

I didn't care if my father heard me. I wanted to touch my boyfriend. All the soft planes of his skin and body that I needed to re-familiarize myself with.

Leo smiled. "Yeah, hon, we totally can."