She folds her arms. ‘Wasn’t.’
‘Ah, but I know you so well.’
She leans forward to whisper in my ear, ‘I know you better,’ and marches off with both our beers.
‘Oi!’
She grins over her shoulder, heading towards Kurt’s performance coach. What a mother hen.
Despite the bar being a tight squeeze, I notice a familiar luscious blonde at the far end. The bar’s lit in Tenzing’s trademark ice blue and it reflects off her, making her curly hair glow. The straps of her dress are as thin as dental floss, and I imagine snapping them with my teeth and watching the material cascade down her body.
She’s talking to one of the Tenzing drivers. An interesting choice since he’s an entitled knob, not to mention a pathetic driver. Maybe she’s into guys who cause chaos. Shrapnel could do it for her.
I’m about to leave her to it – probably for the best anyway – when I notice he’s sloping towards her, and she’s leaning away. I’m no one’s knight in shining armour but my feet are marching towards them of their own accord.
‘Beautyandbrains, eh?’ he’s saying as I stop around the corner.
What. A. Line.
‘Sure,’ Minnie replies, like she’s also unimpressed.
‘Some race today, huh?’ he tries again. I’ll give him points for persistence. That’s more than he won on track.
‘Not for you,’ she cuts back.
I suppress a snort. Girl’s got sass. I like it.
He opens and closes his mouth a couple of times, unsure how to spin it in a way that’ll flatter him. It’s unspinnable, mate.You took out a Leoneanda safety car.
‘Well, the track was…’ He peters out. The track wasn’t the issue. The track demands extreme precision in shifting, braking and steering, but it’s doable for someone with, you know, skill.
‘Where are you from?’ he pivots. ‘Your accent is so?—’
Time for him to go. I ready to step into view when she stops me by saying to him, ‘Sorry, did you want something?’
My jaw falls open. Thiswoman.
A group of girls are edging close to me, talking loudly about my race. They must think my ears don’t work because they keep looking over their shoulders to make sure I’m listening. I know what they want, but I pretend to be on the phone instead.
When I can finally tune back into Minnie’s conversation, Casanova’s walking away, his expression as confused as his ice sculpture behind the bar. Georgie will die when I tell her.
‘That. Was.Cold,’ I say.
If Minnie’s surprised to see me, she doesn’t let on. She looks indifferent, but I can see she’s itching to smile. ‘Have you come to hit on me too?’
Woah. I was not expectingthat.
I hold my hands up. ‘I wouldn’t dare. I’m not half brave enough.’
Her I-eat-drivers-for-breakfast act falters. ‘I wasn’t that bad… was I?’
‘You were brutal, Roberts.’
‘I wasn’t brutal.’ She seems to replay it in her mind. ‘I was polite!’
‘Sure you were.’
‘Did you come with anyone?’ she deflects.
