Fred Munson likes his job as a traffic cop. He’s good at it. It’s his personal life that could use some improvement. With no friends, and being too shy to talk to anyone while out of uniform, when Fred is forced to use some of his vacation time, he has nothing to fill his days. At least not until he comes home to find his driveway blocked by a stranger with car troubles. A month after losing his father, Zen Zeppelin Cave has also lost his place in the world. The only thing holding him together is focusing on a charity junk car race to raise money for cancer research. And he's crossing that finish line even if he ends up replacing every part of the car along the way. Zen had planned on completing the race on his own, but a spur-of-the-moment decision changes that when he invites the adorable, blushing police officer whose driveway he’s blocking to tag along. Going with a stranger on a road trip is completely out of Fred’s comfort zone, so when he accepts the invitation, no one is more surprised than himself. Together, Zen and Fred head south. But will the old junk car hold together long enough to reach their destination? And will crossing the finish line mean the end of the road for a budding romance, or will they find there’s more to their journey?

Banger Challenge

“It’s okay. I don’t want you to change or have to think about what you’re doing. It’s just…scary.” Fred avoided his gaze and dropped his hand as they neared the car.


Scary?Zen had been lucky, his family had never treated him differently for being gay, he’d never had to come out, they’d always known. As for friends—he’d always surrounded himself with people who didn’t care. Sure there had been some comments throughout the years, some idiots who couldn’t keep their mouths shut, but he’d never been afraid of showing who he was.


Fred stared at him for a long while. “People will treat you differently.”


Zen shrugged. “Then you’re hanging around the wrong people.”


With a laugh, Fred yanked the car door open. Why was he laughing? It was the truth.


To be able to breathe, Zen rolled the windows down, the wind roaring as he accelerated on the narrow road. After a while, he closed the windows again. While the cool air was nice, he wanted to be able to talk to Fred.


Chapter 23