Page 30 of Eight Seconds to Ride

Her smile falters for a single beat. “Oh, gosh, what did he do now?”

Lead rocks drop into my gut and my body flushes hot as I try to figure out how to say all of this to her. It feels weird telling her now, since it originally happened so long ago. Like, is she going to be upset that I didn’t tell her right away? I don’t want to lose her friendship.

“Sterling?”

I shake that worry from my head. “I didn’t tell you about this before because I assumed it wouldn’t happen again… but then it did. And now, I just need to talk to someone about it, but I understand if it’s a little weird since he’s your brother, but you’re basically the only person here that I’d consider my—”

“Sterling,” she repeats, cutting me off with a hand to my shoulder. “Calm down. Whatever it is, just say it.”

“I hooked up with Shooter at a bar in Vegas after NFR last December.” The confession comes out in one large exhale.

Daisy’s eyes go wide. “Oh… my.”

I look away. “And then we made out again last week at Clem’s family’s house.”

“Alright.”

“Then he gave me a blow job last night.” Turning my head, I wince as I meet her gaze.

Blinking a few times, she asks, “Is that all?”

“Cope was in the camper and woke up during it, but he was half asleep and thinks I was just jacking off. Which is also kind of, equally, if not more, embarrassing than the truth.”

She stares at me for a moment, the silence between us daunting. Then, she throws her head back…and laughs. A loud, grab-your-stomach, can’t-catch-your-breath type of laugh. While I sit beside her, gawking, and wondering what on earth could be that funny. When she glances over at me, tears in her eyes, the sight of me makes her laugh even harder.

“I’m glad I can be a source of amusement for you,” I deadpan.

“I’m sorry,” she sputters, wiping a stray tear under her eye. “I don’t mean to laugh, but my gosh, that wasnotwhat I was expecting at all.”

“Well, what were you expecting?”

“I don’t know, maybe that he was a dick to you. Not that he wasgivinghis dick to you.” Laughter barks out of her before she adds, “Okay, ew. But you gotta admit, that was a good one.”

Daisy waggles her brows at me, and I can’t help but let go of some of the tension between my shoulders as I laugh with her, already feeling lighter having told her, even though she’s giving me shit about it. Truthfully, if the roles were reversed, I probably would do the same.

“Okay, okay.” She wipes her face one last time, returning her focus to me. “Let’s get serious. NFR—your first time meeting him, yes?”

I nod, cheeks heating.

She nods too. “Okay, that’s no biggie. One-night stands happen all the time, especially on the road.”

I glance away as I mutter under my breath, “Yeah, but not to me.”

“Not a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am—or I guesssir—kinda guy?”

“You could say that.”

“Do you like Shooter?” she asks gently. “Like, are you into him?”

“No way,” I blurt out. “Nope. It’s not like that.”

“So, then what’s the problem?”

There’s no judgement in her tone, and I appreciate that.

Picking at a very interesting piece of skin around my thumb, I shrug, not really knowing what to say. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just confused. He’s so hot and cold. One minute, it’s like he can’t stand me—and the feeling is quite mutual—but the next, he’s…I don’t know, flirty Shooter. And I’ve never done this, so I don’t—”

“Wait,” she cuts me off. “When you saynever done this, are we still talking about the one-night stand… or more?”

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