‘I’d like to see it for myself,’ she insists. ‘This really could help in developing a program, as I’ve said.’
I tilt my head. ‘You did say you wanted to go up to Cantagalo, didn’t you?’
‘Darien …’ Celina’s tone is warning. She obviously knows exactly what I’m about to do, and she’s not buying it.
Shantal is quick to notice. Her big brown eyes narrow, making the dark liner around them stand out. ‘What’s going on here?’
‘Let’s leave the matter where it is, Shantal,’ Afonso puts in with an awkward cough.
‘I’m kidding, anyway,’ I say with a laugh that earns me a sharp nudge of Celina’s elbow.
‘Yes.’ Shantal doesn’t look amused. ‘Darien, how about we have a bit of a chat, may we?’
I exchange a glance with Celina. She widens her eyes at me as if to yell,WHY?I just shrug and follow Shantal. We leave behind the monitors and headsets of the pits for the open garage, where Shantal stops. I mimic her.
She crosses her arms. ‘I’mnotjoking.’
I don’t know whether to laugh or yell at her. I settle for a fairly even tone, the most serious one I’ve got. ‘Listen, uh …’ I gulp. ‘I don’t know if this is the kind of thing I would want to have someone do, Shantal. I get that you want what’s best for the team, but I can’t offer you this. It’s dangerous, no matter which way you look at it.’
I know I’m not the most straitlaced of people, but I mean every word I say. This is beyond me poking fun at Shantal. I won’t have her in harm’s way.
‘You showed me around,’ she persists. ‘And besides, you do owe me this. For the massive lie you fed me.’
Okay, so that’s true. I probably do owe her. Just not this. Still, I don’t want to tell her point-blank that the activities I am referring to are the perfect way to land one’s ass either in hospital or behind bars, whichever gets to you first. But she’s adamant, standing toe to toe with me, determination all over her face. She won’t hear an argument. She keeps her arms crossed and gets comfortable, like she’d stay here the entire day if she had to. A tingling creeps into my chest as I realize just how close we are, just like when we were arguing over her vision for pre-season and testing. My line of sight sweeps over her subtle curves, perfectly tanned legs. If someone pushed me from behind, it wouldn’t take much for our bodies to collide, and honestly, part of me wants that more than anything right now.Dude. I shove that part into a box and duct-tape it twice around. There’s no way we’re doing that right now. Not at work.
‘Being in that car is a threat to your life,’ I amend my warning, fighting off an embarrassing crack of my voice to boot. ‘Driving the way I learned to drive. You could die.’
‘What, are we drag racing?’ Shantal prods.
I just continue to look at her with as much warning and/or pity as possible.
‘Stop.’ Her expression contorts into a semblance of what people look like when they see a car crash in real time. ‘No.’
‘You said you wanted to go!’ I protest. ‘And it’s not a straight shot or a race. I’d just take you through a favela, how I used to practise.’
‘I’m sorry – you took a car around corners through the favela, as in the neighbourhood that’s relying entirely on a hill to remainintact?’ Shantal gasps. That did it. She’s singing awhole different tune now. ‘Darien – forget me.Youabsolutely cannot be allowed to do that. We cannot haveanyinjuries before this season.’
‘We won’t if you back out of this.’
‘Funny, I recall even your trainer saying human error can happen,’ snaps Shantal, turning away.
I grit my teeth.Insufferable. ‘You know what? We’re both going. Tonight.’
She holds her hands up. ‘I never would have asked if I’d known what the hell this was!’
‘Oh, so now youdon’twant to find out how “all three of us could be absolutely deadly”?’ I throw on an especially whiny voice to parrot hers.
‘Ugh!’ Now it’s her turn to become so frazzled that she gives in. ‘Fine! Is there another set of gear I can wear or something?’
‘Gear?’
Shantal’s mouth falls open. ‘You have to bekiddingme.’
‘Who wears gear driving a damn passenger vehicle?’
‘Darien!’ she yelps. ‘Tell me now what the horsepower is on that passenger vehicle and then try to convince me we don’t need gear!’
‘You’ll find out,’ I reply plainly. ‘Meet me at the gym doors at ten tonight.’
