“Ren, come inside. I’m letting all my heat out,” I say, grabbing his arm. I take it as a sign that he’s willing to talk when he allows me to touch him and steps into my condo.
Once we’re all standing in the living room, me in sweatpants and no shirt, Connor in boxers, a T-shirt, and his robe, and Renner fully dressed in snow pants and his Patterson jacket, Renner runs a hand through his hair and starts talking.
“I was really looking forward to riding with you,” he says to me, confusing me further.
“Renner, what the fuck are you talking about? Weareriding together. I mean, we’re in different heats, but that’s always been the case,” I clarify.
His brows pinch together as he narrows his gaze at me.
“What are you talking about? Vox, Grey pulled you from the race.”
“HE WHAT?!”I yell, not caring if I wake all my neighbors.
“Yeah, he did it as a last-minute withdrawal yesterday before the drop/add deadline at five p.m. Told us all at the team meeting you missed.”
My head whips to Connor. “Can he do that?”
“Unfortunately, if your entry was through Patterson Performance and not you as an individual racer, then yes.”
“FUCK!”I slam my hand on my Formica bar top.
“I hope it was worth it,” Renner says sadly.
“I didn’t know he was going to do that, Ren. You have to believe me,” I plead, hating that I’m letting him down.
“Grey was pretty fucking clear about the rules, Vox.” Then, just to kick me while I’m down, he adds, “Guess even the favorite child has to play by them sometimes.”
Suddenly, my patience for this entire conversation goes out the window, and I get in Renner’s face.
“You think you know everything, but you don’t knowshit.Happy just to race, you’ve never had the pressure on you to perform the way I have. I bet you have a perfect, supportive family, a plan for life after you get tired of boarding, and probably a cushy trust fund to fall back on, too. But you know what, Renner?I don’t.Boarding is all I know, and on top of that, I just found out that our belovedGreyhas been isolating me from my own father forseven years. So, while Grey’s out there going behindmyback to pull me from the only competition heallowed meto compete in all year, my chance to make a living wage, allI’mdoing is trying to make time for the one person who makes me feel not so fucking alone in this world.” I take a deep breath before continuing my argument. “Grey hired Connor to stay in my good graces after choosing this competition, forcing me onto a team I didn’t want, and preventing me from competing anywhere else. And when I got too close to Connor, threatening the power Grey had over me, Grey fired him, has apparently turned my team against me, and now pulled me from the competition I’ve spentmonthstraining for. How fucking fair does that sound, Ren?Hmm?”
Renner’s mouth is hanging open.
“What do you mean he’s been keeping you from your dad?”
I motion toward the living room as I move to flop onto the couch. Renner takes the recliner, and Connor sits next to me.
“My dad peaced-out when I was six. I was raised by my grandma. Apparently, my dad tried to get back in touch after Iturned eighteen, and the Patterson Performance team stopped him from being able to reach out to me. He showed up at some of my events, too, but Grey would never let him get close. I had no idea he was even looking for me until two days ago.”
“Holy shit,” Renner whispers. “Why would Grey do that?”
I shrug, still not sure enough to say anything out loud. Connor doesn’t feel the same, though.
“Money,” he declares, reducing everything I built with Grey Patterson down to dollar signs.
Looking back at me, Renner asks, “Is that true? Is he really that greedy?”
“I guess so. My contract was negotiated when I was an eleven-year-old kid. I’ve always trusted Grey, and legal jargon isn’t really my forté, so I always just signed the papers. All I wanted to do was board. And I honestly never thought Grey would take advantage of me like that, but looking over my latest contract with Connor, I finally realize how terrible it is.”
“Bro, I don’t even know what to say,” Renner says, rubbing his eyes.
“Yeah, that makes two of us,” I point out.
“Well, Gibson was pretty excited. Douchebag figured he stood a chance now, with you out of the slalom competition, too.”
Connor scoffs. “No way. He doesn’t have near the speed he needs to keep up with that team from Colorado.”
“I know this probably sounds bad, but I was really hoping you’d knock him down a peg,” Renner smiles. Before I can answer, he looks back and forth between Connor and me. “So, uh, it’s serious then?”
