“Yes.Old friends,” she says, starting to pace.“We can do this.”
“We can.”
I realize how silly we’re being and grab both her arms and catch her eyes to try to reassure her.Everything is okay.
“Right, Bug.If we’re going to work together, first thing we need to do is get out of here.”
“Right.”Chloe looks around the room and settles on something.“Fuck it,” she says, in a hoarse whisper.“Get that screwdriver.If Barry isn’t coming for us, we’re taking down the door.”
CHAPTER 9
Chloe
Iwant to get decently drunk, in this dive bar, with you.”
“You got it,” Keyla says, her face lighting up with a huge grin.
We’re at Donn’s Depot, downtown Austin, Texas.A frantically busy little dive bar with very cold beer, live music, and most important, a degree of anonymity from the F1 world, most of whom will be holing up in the big five-star hotels on the east side of the city near the circuit.
“You look like hell,” she says, motioning for me to sit.
Whereas Keyla looks gorgeous.Her braids wound in a bunch on her head, faded Rolling Stones T-shirt falling stylishly off her shoulder, her dark skin positively shimmering under the dim lighting above the bar.
“I’ve just traveled for twenty hours, after Barry locked me in a hot garagewith Mattand we had to remove the hinges from the door to escape.”
“Barry locked you in a room?”She drops her voice.“With Matt?”
“Yes, and it gets worse.He’s on his way here.”I look sheepishly at the floor.
“Hold up, what the hell’s going on?”Keyla cackles and slaps me on the arm.“I can’t keep up.”
“He saw me leaving the hotel and asked where I was going, and like the idiot I am, I word-vomited and told him.Then, in the spirit of us getting along and this new arrangement we made in Singapore, I invited him to tag along and he said yes.I’ve officially lost my mind.”
“Oh, girl, you better start at the beginning,” she says as she motions to the bartender for two shots of whiskey to go with our beers.
“Bring them on,” I say, rubbing my palms together.
We clink glasses and both down the whiskey on one, then I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.Keyla slams her glass on the bar.“Now.Matt Warner.Sexiest driver in F1.Spill.”
“Yes.Right.Okay.Matt Warner.”I breathe all the stale, boozy air into my lungs and blow a massive, overexaggerated raspberry.Because what exactly is going on?Was there something there in That Moment, with Matt?He looked just as rattled as I was, or did I misread it?I groan into my beer because I’ve been going round on this carousel since we boarded the jet in Singapore.
“Well, we had a rough start.The team noticed.Barry noticed.And there’s no doubt about our history being a little awkward, but we talked.”
“And...”Keyla squints at me, as though disbelieving.
“And we both agreed to try to make this work.He needs my help.And I could sure use his support.”
Keyla tips her head to the side, studying me hard.“Areyou sure you can put all your past feelings to bed like that?I know how much he meant to you way back when.Those feelings don’t just disappear.”
I feel a rush of emotion sweep through me, and like the mind reader she is, Keyla puts a hand on my arm and squeezes.“Okay.Let’s think positively.You probably just need to get used to being in each other’s orbits as adults.I mean, do you even reallyknowhim anymore?”
“I’m not sure,” I say, truthfully.
“Maybe once you get to know him again you’ll think he sucks now,” she suggests, taking a sip of her beer.
Maybe.The Matt I knew could be so unexpectedly sweet.A surprise lunch on a busy day.Sharing headphones while we waited trackside, when I forgot mine.And if any of the other guys ever said anything disparaging or, in later years, vaguely sexual to me, Matt could silence them with just one look.His attention made me feel so special.And so very confused.
Keyla leans in, a little tipsy now, and I realize I’m right there with her.“Maybe, Chloe, after a while you’ll wonder what you ever saw in him.”
