My eyebrows lifted.“You want commentary?”
“I want your brain engaged instead of spiraling.So, yes, talk.”
I reached for the gearshift, paused, then looked at her.Really looked at her, dropping defenses enough to let her see the vulnerability.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.“For walking me through that.”
“Just remember, you’re not broken, Henri.”She squeezed my arm.“I believe you can do this.”
The smile that earned was small but genuine.
“Ready?”she asked.
No.Not even close.
I pulled back onto the track and immediately started narrating.
“Approaching Turn 3, braking late, letting it rotate.”My voice wavered but held.“Rear’s stepping out, catching it, powering through.”
“Perfect.Keep going.”
We carved through the remaining laps, my voice growing stronger with each corner completed.The panic hadn’t vanished, but talking helped.Lily’s presence helped.When we finally crossed the line in second place, my laugh was equal parts relief and disbelief.
“We did it,” I breathed.
“You did it,” Lily corrected.
I didn’t think, just reached over and pulled her into a hug, her forehead pressing against my shoulder.
“Thank you,” I whispered against her hair.
We both hopped out of the car, and my friends descended with whoops and a ridiculous plastic trophy that read “Second Place Loser” in glittery letters.
“About time you two stopped making out and finished the race!”Éliott shouted.
Heat flooded my face.“We were not—”
But they’d already moved on.
Eventually, as the sun descended and the celebrations wound down, the rain reduced to drizzle.I found my jacket and draped it over Lily’s shoulders without thinking.
She smiled at me, soft and dangerously close to something more than friendly, and we walked slowly back to our car, alone now in the gathering dusk.
“I know we didn’t win, but that felt like winning,” I said, stopping beside the Beetle.
“Second place is still a podium.Though maybe ‘winning’ isn’t the right word.”
“Well, you would know,” I said with deliberate lightness.
She smacked my shoulder, laughing.
“Non,” I clarified, my accent thickening.“I don’t mean the race.I mean being able to drive this car in the rain…” I paused.“That felt like winning something that matters more than any trophy.”
We stood in comfortable silence, rain droplets on my eyelashes, distant laughter fading.
“Henri,” Lily started, then she stopped.
I looked down at her, and something in her expression made my heart skip.Something warm and open and utterly honest.
