I wiped my face with a towel. “I’m fine.”
“Bullshit.” He crossed his arms. “You’ve been off all morning. And we’ve got FP1 in four hours.”
“Just tired.” I grabbed my water bottle, taking a long drink to buy myself time.
“Tired.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “In Singapore. During race week. When you’ve had a full week to acclimatize.”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t think of a good lie that he’d actually believe.
“Try again,” Liam said.
I sighed, unstrapping myself from the harness. My legs felt unsteady as I stood. I needed to say something. Anything. But putting it into words felt like admitting something I wasn’t ready to face.
“If you wanted someone you couldn’t have, what would you do?”
Liam blinked. “Hypothetically?”
“Yeah.”
“Like... off-limits how?”
I shrugged. “Like it would blow up your whole life if it went sideways.”
Liam studied me for a long moment. “Is this about someone on the team?”
“It’s hypothetical.”
“Right.” He didn’t sound convinced. “Depends. How badly do I want to fuck up my life?”
“Bad enough that you can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Then I’d ask her.” He crossed his arms. “But you haven’t, have you?”
I pressed the cold bottle to the back of my neck. “What if she tells me I’m an idiot?”
“Then you’re an idiot. At least you’ll know.”
I shot him a look. “You don’t even know who I’m talking about.”
“Don’t I?” Liam raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been living in a hotel suite with one person for a week. You’re distracted. You’re asking me about off-limits women. I’m not an idiot, Griff.”
Fuck.
I grabbed my gym bag, suddenly desperate to end this conversation. “Forget I said anything.”
“No.” Liam blocked my path. “You’re not getting away that easy.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. Nothing’s happened.”
“But you want it to.”
I clenched my jaw, refusing to confirm what we both already knew.
Liam sighed. “Does she know?”
“Know what?”
“That you’re into her.”
