Page 44 of Ride With Me

“Ooh yeah, I’m Marie Kondo level of organized. I—” He cuts me offagain. Man, that’s annoying.

“Good with computers?”

“Sure, like any millennial, I suppose.” My answer comes as fast as Derek’s questions.

“How would you feel about being my assistant?”

The question shocks me to the core. The dude just met me like three seconds ago and he’s offering me ajob?!

“Hey!” Hawk snaps at his boyfriend and half-heartedly slaps his shoulder before I can come up with anything to say. “If he’s gonna be anyone’s assistant, it’ll be mine. I’ve known him almost all my life.”

“He has epilepsy,” Derek says in a deadpan tone without taking his eyes away from the road. “He can’t go to your shows with all the stupid flashing lights and everything.”

“He can be my assistant and not see the shows,” Hawk grumbles, and the amusement warring inside me with shock and offense at being talked about like I’m not here, wins.

“Well, I call dibs.” Derek straightens in his seat and juts his chin out, just like I did a few minutes ago. Okay, so I might have one thing in common with the bull—who’s probably a football player, though I wouldn’t know because my parents never let me try and watch a game—but that doesn’t mean I would make a good assistant for him. Or for anyone...

“Uh, do I get a say?” I decide to pipe up before they can keep discussing my employment situation without any input from me.

“No,” they say in unison, Derek’s gaze still unwavering from the road and Hawk staring daggers at the side of his boyfriend’s face.

My mouth hangs open for a long second at their outright refusal, before they both seem to realize what they just said.

“I mean, of course you do,” Derek corrects, at the same time as Hawk.

“Sorry, yes you do.”

I can’t help but snort. These two are kind of dorks. I mean, I knew Hawk was secretly a dork, no matter how cool he looks on stage or on those fancy photo shoots he and his brother do, but the bull being a dork, that’s surprising. “I’ll think about it. Let me just text my parents before this goes any further.”

“Yes.” I smile when I hear Derek whisper while I take my phone out and craft a simple, detached, informative text to my parents. “He’s mine.” I raise my eyes to see him preening a bit, and I can’t say it doesn’t feel nice to be wanted. Even though it’s very clearly only for a job, no one’s ever fought over me like this.Then he glares at Hawk in a mock-threatening way that makes my heart melt with tenderness and envy.

“You’re going down, Johnson.”

“We’ll see about that, Storm.”

These two are fuckinggoals, and even though it might make me feel the most single a virgin can ever feel, I can’t wait to work for them.

And that’s how I decide.

I’ll be both their assistants, even though I have no idea what assistantsdo. I can learn.

I will learn, and I’ll be the best assistant I can possibly be.

I’ll get my shit together, find a place to live, maybe I’ll even make new friends.

So, as I write and send the message, I feel in my gut that my life will never be the same ever again.

Ollie

I’m moving to LA with Hawk Storm. I don’t really want to talk to you, so please don’t call me.

I’m safe and I have my pills. Everything will be okay.

The last bit is more for me than for them, but I send it like that anyway. It can’t hurt for them to have that extra bit of assurance, right?

CHAPTER 2

HUGH

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