Slept bad? Or they fucked too hard after Rafael specifically said they needed to be careful with it?
Julien ducks his head and chooses the German circuit while everyone else is distracted.
“By the way, good job on the podium, Julien.”
Julien scoffs. “Coulda been one step better.”
“See?”Mick says.“We were arguing last night over whether that move was strategy or racing.”
“It was racing, but there were some shady strategies involved.” And not from Julien’s side.
“Julien.” Rafael’s voice has the rumble of a warning, but whatever.
“What? I’d say it to his face.” Julien leans past his computer screen and faces his sleeping brother directly. “That was some shady-ass strategy. It was pathetic and weak and you don’t evencare.”
Thomas didn’t order a replica trophy. That’s how little the win meant to him. He doesn’t even want to remember it.
“What’s happening right now?”
“Thomas is here too.” Julien nods to the curled-up driver, though the camera can’t see him. “Instead of racing me like a man, he played mind games and won. Sucks, but that’s what it takes to be a champion, I guess.”
Again, Rafael hits him with a“Julien.”
“What?” Julien is the last to pick a car and he chooses an Andes just to spice things up. “This is a private conversation between my friends and I andwhoa—” And thousands more viewers than normal. “It’s fine.”
“You know we’re gonna ask?—”
“What did he say?!”
“What could Thomas say that’s worse than the shit we say?”
Julien snorts. “No way. You guys’ll ride my ass for being such a fuckin’ sap.”
“You’ve always been a sap, Romeo.”
“Touché.” Julien sighs as he oversteers the very first turn. Guess the lap is scrapped. He wasn’t paying attention anyway. “He said no reserve driver has ever won before—that it was my record to beat. Told me he was proud of me. Fucking stupid.”
“Doesn’t sound stupid to me.”
Julien startles and has to drag the car out of the grass. He already forgot Rafael can hear him.
“It’s stupid that I fell for it,” Julien amends. “Youspecificallytold me he’d say something, and I still fell for it. That’s what I regret.”
“Well, get over it.”
Julien barks out a laugh. “Yeah, okay. Done.”
“I’m serious. Andes is bad, but you’re not even on the track anymore.”
“This is just practice!” As he gestures to the screen, Julien forgets to let up on the gas. He hits a gravel trap and beaches the car.
Maybe Wilhelms would be better.
“I doubt your laps went likethatbefore this weekend.” Rafael knocks into him with a sway, pressing his good shoulder against Julien’s. “If you keep looking back and replaying the mistakes and the ‘what if’s, then you’ll never beat Thomas. You have three more chances, so get over it and focus on what’s next.”
When he says it so simply it makes sense, but it’s hard to justget over it. It’s hard to ignore the betrayal.
Julien doesn’t have an answer, so he just stares at Rafael until the Brazilian smiles.
