Johannes is leaning against the bar, and I’m just about to let him know I’ll get the next round when he jumps in before I can speak.
‘They’re talking about going clubbing,’ Johannes says as I approach him. He’s already got the next round– shots and six bottles of beer and a glass of water. ‘I’m not gonna go as I’m getting a headache, but you should. Seems like you’re getting on well with Cole and Ash.’
‘Yeah, they seem like good guys, but I’m not someone who enjoys a club, if I’m honest. I’m not even sure I want that shot. I could do with getting up early tomorrow.’
If I can get a sunrise run in, I might be able to carve out three or four hours working on my PhD thesis before we have to pack up and meet with the team to fly to Belgium.
‘I’m exhausted, too,’ he says. ‘I know my brain will be up and ready to go at like 6 a.m. I want to try and get a run in, so I’ll probably be up and out before Nils is even home.’
I turn back to our table where Nils and Harper are dancing by the edge of the table.
‘You, uh, fancy a run together in the morning? I normally run around that time and I don’t think we’re staying too far apart.’ The words sound so casual coming out of my mouth, but my brain has been thrust into a vat of boiling anxiety as I overthink how he might take it.
Harper and Elijah are close enough with their race engineers to go out clubbing with them, surely we can be friendly enough to go for a run together? It’s nothing crazy. Nothing serious.
‘Yeah, sounds good. You wanna walk back tonight? It’s not too far and then I can see which apartment you’re in and knock for you in the morning.’
I’m nodding way too fast so I grab my beer bottle off the tray to give myself something to do other than nod. ‘Sounds good.’
‘Cool, let me know when you’re ready and we can head off. I’m just going to make sure Nils has got his key.’
He takes off with the tray of drinks, leaving me leaning against the bar with my beer. I’m ready to leave now, if I’m honest. Both the bar and restaurant side of the establishment have started to empty out as they wipe down tables and mop floors, but the music seems to have got louder. I bet the staff would like to go home, too, if they weren’t aware they have four drivers in here posting about what a great night they’ve had– which probably means a generous tip.
I down half of my beer and go back to the table to say my goodbyes.
‘Come dance with us,’ Nils says with stretched-out arms, but I’m quick to shake my head.
‘I’m good. You enjoy yourself, though. I’m heading out.’
‘With Johannes?’
‘Erm…’ I splutter a little and Nils winks at me, still dancing with Harper. ‘We’re going to walk back together, yeah. Have a good night.’ I tap Harper’s shoulder to get his attention. ‘Thanks for a great evening, man. Let me know who I owe for dinner. Enjoy the club. Keep him out of trouble.’ I gesture at Nils.
Nils flips me off as Harper tells me not to worry about it. He says dinner was his treat.
Elijah, Cole and Ash are deep in a debate about a soccer result as I reach into the booth to grab my jacket. ‘I’m heading off. Thanks for a great night.’ Ash claps me on the back as Elijah and Cole lean over the table to shake my hand.
‘Don’t be a stranger!’ Cole calls out. ‘You’ve got our numbers. Give us a shout if you want to hang out. We both get how demanding this job can be when it comes to your social life, plus it’s nice to have extra support to keep these guys in line when we’re out.’
I laugh, but I’m not sure even Harper needs keeping in line anymore. At some point he disappeared for half an hour to FaceTime his husband. He’s a changed man.
‘Thanks, guys. I appreciate that.’ I gesture to Johannes and Nils. ‘Is it weird that they sometimes feel like our children?’
‘Ha! We keep them alive. Isn’t that what parents do?’ I nod in agreement.
‘See you around. Enjoy the club.’ When I slide out of the booth, Johannes is waiting for me. ‘Ready?’
‘Yep, see you all later!’ he shouts over the music before we head towards the door.
After being in the warm bar for hours, it’s a shock when the chilly air hits my face, and I have to stop for a second to put my jacket on. It might be summer, but the evenings are colder than I expected.
‘You have a good night?’ he asks as we start the trek back to our accommodation.
‘I really did. Thank you for inviting me. For including me. You’ve got a great group of friends in there.’ And I really mean it. It’s hard to be friendly in this sport when even their own teammates are competition.
‘I was thinking exactly that earlier. Not to get too deep at midnight, but for so long I only had Harper. We were what therapists would probably call co-dependent.’
Yeah. For a long time, all I ever saw were headlines about the pair of them being thick as thieves, so that makes a lot of sense.
