Consumed: A Driven World Novel (The Driven World)

by Elizabeth Knox

  Gemma stops sucking on my clit and flicks her tongue up and down, making me more sensitive. Out of nowhere she plunges another finger inside me and I come collapsing around her, my orgasm rushing through me like a stampede of wild mustangs. “Gemma, oh my god!” I scream, digging my nails into her shoulders.

  She giggles while still continuing to draw my orgasm out. She pumps into me without relenting, so much so that my legs thrash around her from the intensity of my release. Finally, she eases up and looks directly into my eyes.

  “I’ve been thinking about doing that since the first time I met you.”

  “I hope it was worth the wait,” I rasp out, trying to catch my breath.

  “Oh, it was. But hopefully I don’t have to wait so long next time.”

  “No, you won’t.” She confirms, causing me to smile.

  “Good. I might look like I’m patient, but I’m really not.” I admit with a laugh.

  Gemma rises, takes my hand in hers and leads me into the kitchen.

  “God, this smells wonderful. What’re you making?”

  Gemma wiggles her eyebrows, “Steak with stuffed lobster and veggies. Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes or so.”

  “Good, I’m starving.” I admit, though I won’t tell her I was so busy at work today that I forgot to eat lunch. She’ll probably only get annoyed by it, so it’s pretty pointless if you ask me.

  “Great. I’m glad you brought an appetite. I love to cook, so I hope you’ll get used to being my taste tester.”

  “Oh, rest assured. That’s something I can do. I’m hungry most of the time.” Gemma smiles at my response while her cheeks flush with a soft pink.

  “Good, I’m so glad to hear that.” She replies, smiling sweetly.

  I smile in response before speaking up, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “With dinner, or?”

  I cock my head at her smartass reply, “I meant dinner, but what else do you need?”

  “Well, I’d really like to know if you’d want to come to an event with me. I have a pretty big announcement happening and I’d like for my . . . girlfriend to attend with me, if that’s okay.”

  Girlfriend. Did she just say girlfriend? Holy crap. Holy freaking crap!

  “So, we’re going steady now, are we?” I joke with her.

  “Considering I just had my mouth practically inside you, I’d say yes.” She comments back with a wink.

  “When is the event? I’ll have to make sure I don’t have to work. Stuff has been so crazy lately.” I know there is an event coming up, but I might be able to make an appearance at both if they happen to fall on the same night. The important thing is I show up for the work one and donate money, that I make a point of showing up.

  “It’s on Friday night. Starts at eight in the evening, I believe. I could come pick you up and we could ride together if you’d like.”

  “Yeah, I think that would be great.” I tell her, looking forward to a public outing with her more than I care to admit. I don’t want her to know how excited I am. Otherwise I might ruin our newfound relationship before it’s even had a second to blossom.

  “Perfect. I’m so excited!” She claps her hands together, making me feel a bit better about my own excitement. “There’s going to be a huge announcement being made, so I can’t wait for everyone to hear about it. This could change my career as I know it.”

  I wonder what could be changing Gemma’s life so dramatically since she owns a gym, but I don’t ask. Regardless, it looks like I’m going to find out in a couple days anyway. While patience isn’t my strong suit, I can wait just like everyone else.

  “Is anyone from your family going to be there?”

  Gemma nods, “Yeah, I invited my father and my brothers, and sister. It’s a big deal, and speaking of that, I do need to tell you something that I didn’t say yet.”

  “Okay . . . is everything alright?” I ask while furrowing my brows.

  “Yeah, it is. I just,” Gemma closes her eyes, acting like she’s struggling to come up with what to say. I give her a few moments to gather her thoughts and finally she starts speaking again. “Keira, you’re one of a couple people who know I’m a lesbian. Most people in my family don’t have a clue.”

  I stand here blinking in shock, not fully processing what she’s telling me in this moment. Good god. How can this be real? How can Gemma be my perfect woman, but she can’t tell the ones who mean the most to her that she’s a lesbian?

  I’m not looking to get into an experimental relationship, but it already looks like I have.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Gemma

  With the way her eyes widen in shock, I know this isn’t something she wanted to hear. After all, how could it be? Isn’t this someone’s worst fear, to start falling for someone who hasn’t stepped out of the closet. I feel like I might have a toe out of it, but I’m so scared to tell people, for people to see me for who I truly am. It’s not that I’m ashamed of myself, or I’m embarrassed about liking Keira as much as I do, because I do like her so very much. I’m just afraid I’m not going to please my father. Hell, when my mom passed away my dad put us in therapy. It went on for years, maybe until I was thirteen or fourteen? It got to the point where I remember being told I was a people pleaser, that underneath it all I felt a need to make sure other people were happy. For a while it meant hiding my own grief, not talking about my mom because my dad would make everyone hush up the moment anyone said her name. I guess in a way I’ve never stopped being a people pleaser.

  “Are you okay?” I finally ask when she doesn’t say anything. I figured by this point she might speak up, tell me what’s on her mind, or even start cursing at me, but instead she’s been tight-lipped.

  “I . . .” Keira struggles finding the words, “I’m surprised. I figured you had told people.”

  I take a step back and give Keira some room to breathe, sure this is overwhelming her. Taking in a deep breath, I try and find the words that’ll make her feel better about this. “My brother, Brax’, knows, but no one else in my family does. Brax’ is the first one I’ve told.”

  “Why haven’t you told anyone?” She finally asks, and I go back down the rabbit hole of being a people pleaser.

  Shrugging my shoulders, I answer her. “I’m worried about disappointing them, maybe. You hear those horror stories about when people tell their families and get disowned. Maybe I’m afraid of that. I’m . . . I’m not really sure to be honest.”

  Keira closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath, shaking her head. “I know it’s an incredibly hard thing to do, but, it’s something you need to do, Gemma. You can’t keep living a lie. At the end of the day your family will either support you or they won’t. The only way you’re going to find out is if you rip the band-aid off and tell them.”

  “You sound like someone who had a positive experience,” I reply, hoping this will give me more insight on what her life was like around the time she told her friends and family. Plus, I’m hoping what we have will be salvageable. I can’t imagine what this is like in her shoes right now, finding out I haven’t said a thing to anyone.

  Keira chuckles lightly and scoffs at the end. “No, I wish. My mother slapped me across the face when she found out I was dating a woman after my ex and I finalized our divorce. She called me an abomination and said she wanted nothing to do with me.”

  “Oh my god. I’m so sorry. Has she come around?”

  Keira’s expression falters to a look of sadness. She shakes her head. “No, she had a stroke a few weeks later which rendered her braindead. She passed away, hating the type of woman I am. I’ve . . . I’ve had to make peace with it, that not everyone will accept me for the way I choose to live my life. And that’s okay, I wish nothing but the best for them as long as they’re not being hateful toward me.”

  “I’m so sorry. That sounds horrible.”

  Keira nods lightly, “Yeah, it sucked knowing the last interaction she had was her telling me how m
uch of a disappointment I was to her because of my sexual preferences. But, at the end of the day it was her cross to bear, not mine.”

  “So . . . what do you think about what I’ve told you?”

  Keira closes her eyes for a moment before opening them again. “Gemma, I really like you. I like you so damn much, but if this is ever going to work you can’t expect me to act like we’re just friends. I know you’re about to ask me to act like we’re friends at your work thing, because let’s face it, you aren’t ready to come out to the world, and that’s okay . . . but out of respect for both of us, we can’t continue this.”

  A lump forms in my throat and I’m rendered speechless. I don’t know what to say, how to act, or even if there’s a way to fix this. “I don’t want to lose you, Keira.”

  She smiles briefly before it fades away. “Gemma, I don’t want to lose you either. I know we’ve just started this, but somehow you’ve been chipping away at the walls I’ve put up. But even with that being said, I can’t just stand back in the shadows and hide what we are. You just called me your girlfriend, Gemma. Now why would you say that if you aren’t ready to tell everyone who you are, and be loud and proud about it? I know you’re not the type of woman to ever lead me on . . . but you need to figure stuff out.”

  “What’re you saying?” I hope I’m wrong. I really hope the unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach is leading me in the wrong direction right now, though my gut has never led me astray.

  “Take the next couple of weeks and figure out what you want. At the end of the day if you aren’t ready, you aren’t ready, but I don’t deserve to be forced to stand in the shadows, Gemma. Until you’ve made your decision, I think it’s best if we don’t communicate. You need a clear head, as do I.” Keira mutters, avoiding all eye contact with me. She walks past me and heads straight for the door. I hear the click of the lock coming undone and the door rattling against the frame as it’s shut.

  God. What have I done?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Keira

  I haven’t heard from Gemma for a couple of days now, but in hindsight I gave her a couple weeks to let me know where we stand. But even though I’m the one who made the timeline, I’m really struggling right now. While we haven’t seen each other very often, I’d be lying if I said she didn’t make a huge impact in my life already.

  We went from communicating every single day to going radio silent and that’s been a hard pill for me to swallow, especially after she called me her girlfriend. Hell, I turned down going out with Bailey because I genuinely believe Gemma and I have something special. But no matter how special it is, I can’t just turn a blind eye to what she confessed.

  Her family doesn’t know she’s a lesbian, and it’s obvious she’s still hiding it because she’s afraid. I’ve been through this rodeo once before and I don’t want to go through it again. It was agonizingly painful, and in the end my heart was broken.

  Now it’s Friday, the day she asked me to go with her to an event. Something I would’ve loved to do, but I guess it’s good I’m not going. I have my own work event I needed to attend. One I totally forgot about until Rylee stopped by my office to give me a personal reminder. And when she comes by to remind you, it’s not something you say you can’t go to. Eh, whatever. I would’ve been sulking around the apartment anyway since I don’t have Kaia until Sunday morning when Vic gets back into town.

  We’re having a charity event tonight which has become an annual thing for Corporate Cares. The event where Rylee and Colton met all those years ago, actually. A black tie event meant to bring in thousands of dollars for the kids, so I’m going to plaster on a fake smile, do my makeup really well, and slide into a dress I’ve been holding onto in my closet. I’ve been saving it for a grand occasion and this might be it.

  In a matter of thirty minutes I’m ready and am in the back of an Uber, waiting for my driver to take me to the event. Opting for a full-coverage look with a soft pink matte lip. I didn’t want to go overboard with my makeup considering my dress is a statement in itself. I’ve already slid into my optical illusion dress by Jovani. If you look at it from one angle it’ll look silver, but another it’ll look like a vibrant gold.

  The ride proceeds to go smoothly and before I know it, I’m at the entrance of the venue where the event is being held. I open my door with my clutch in hand and walk in through the lobby, heading to the ballroom. The room is packed with people. One glance and I figure there must be two or three hundred in here, but it could be more. Music plays in the background while drinks clink together and the sounds of laughter can be heard from all around.

  “Did Rylee guilt you into attending as well?” Mason, one of my co-workers asks, as he comes up beside me.

  I release a laugh, “No guilt needed, she simply reminded me about something I’d almost forgotten about. I’m glad she did though. These events are always fun.”

  He nods before taking a sip of the scotch in his hand, “While you’re right about that, they often squeeze my pocket for every penny.”

  “It’s because you’re a softie who loves helping the kids. If you didn’t you wouldn’t work at Corporate Cares.”

  Mason laughs in defeat, “You’re damn right about that. Thankfully, I make enough to put a good bit back into the pot. The silent auction might be taking a good bit of cash from me tonight. They have that new gaming system my niece has been begging for.”

  “And it’s totally okay if you buy it as long as it’s for charity, huh?” I wiggle my eyebrows.

  “Well, yeah. Then my sister can’t get pissed at me.” Mason chuckles, causing me to release a giggle as well.

  “Ah, good plan.” I mutter, seeing a crowd of people swarming to one area of the ballroom. “What’s going on over there?” I ask.

  “Eh, I know Colton sold some tickets to some racers. Pretty sure some other high-profile people are coming like him.” Mason says, just as I land my eyes on a familiar blonde. One I happen to not be speaking to at the moment.

  “Holy shit, that’s the Storm family.”

  “Storm family?” I question, tearing my eyes away from Gemma to look at Mason.

  Mason nods, “Yeah. Ricky Storm is the guy in the middle with the slicked back hair in the black suit. I’m pretty sure Clayton is the guy standing beside him with the ponytail. He has that thick beard, and . . . the woman must be one of his daughters, Poppy or . . . Jenna I think?”

  “Gemma,” I correct him.

  “Oh, so you know about them?”

  I shake my head, “No, I don’t know about them. Her and I have crossed paths a couple times before. Are they a big deal? The family I mean.”

  “Yeah, they’re as big as the Earnhardts. Racing royalty. I think his other two sons are there too, Braxton and Trenton. One of them does motocross racing I’m pretty sure, while the others stick to cars.”

  “Ah, cool.”

  Now it all makes sense, why she’s so fucking afraid. Gemma doesn’t come from some plain-Jane family. She’s essentially royalty, and everything could come crumbling from underneath her feet. In all honesty, it makes me more empathetic. But at the end of the day I’m still going to pray she doesn’t want to hide what we have. I like her far too much to push her away, and if it comes down to it, I’m not sure I could even go through with it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Gemma

  “You’re what?” My father questions, looking at me with widened eyes after Colton just told him he’s sponsoring me.

  “You seem shocked, Ricky. It’s a bit surprising if I must say. Gemma is a Storm, one of you, and yet I can’t shake the feeling you don’t want her out on the track.” Colton stares at my father, baiting him into telling the truth.

  Meanwhile, I hear someone off in the distance gossiping about overhearing the conversation. There’s no doubt in my mind the media will have this story by the end of the hour.

  My father scoffs, “The track is no place for Gemma.”

  “No place for Gemm
a, or no place for women?”

  “No place for Gemma. Her mother died on the track, Colton. Do you honestly think that’s where she needs to be?”

  Colton blinks blankly at my father. “It’s her right to make that decision, not anyone else’s. I can only imagine the pain you feel whenever you have to head out to Florida for a race, but Ricky . . . so many years have passed. Gemma is a talented woman. I’ve seen footage of her running laps at tracks out in Texas when Clayton was practicing. Of which, I’m sure she was only there to have a fun day, but I won’t apologize for sponsoring her and her cause. She has it in her bones, man. She could be the leader for all the little girls who want to come into racing, but never thought they could. She’s going to be a pioneer.”

  My father shakes his head, “No, she won’t be taking one step on that track.”

  Clay’ puts a hand on our father’s shoulder. “Dad, relax. Everything is fine.”

  “It isn’t fine! Colton is here telling me how Gemma has been running laps at your training track in Texas, how she’s good, how he’s going to fucking sponsor her and get her name out there?! Do you think we need any more women in our family dying at the track? It’s too risky. I won’t have it. I won’t let this happen.”

  I start to open my mouth when Trent’ cuts in. “All due respect, it’s not your decision, Dad. Gemma and Poppy both have the right to live their own lives. Poppy wants to be at the gym, and Gemma wants to be on the track. It’s their right. And let’s be honest, nothing you say is gonna deter Gemma from doing what she wants. She’s too stubborn like Mom was in that sense.” Trent’ chuckles at the end, giving me a wink.