Page 20 of Away We Go

“I’ll see you later,” I tell Cherry, lingering for several seconds before walking away. Backwards, so I can stilllook at her.

“Nicky.” Jack’s voice is an octave lower than the average person, and it makes him sound like he’s always serious. Right now, though, his expression matches his voice, so I know to give him my undivided attention. Almost impossible to do with Cherry giggling away with Patrick somewhere behind me.

“Hey, man.” His gaze bounces from me and something behind me. Or someone. “You good?”

My lips thin. Between Paul and now Jack questioning my dedication, it’s grating on me. My attention may stray to Cherry now and then; that doesn’t mean I’m not on top of my game. That I’m not as hungry for that championship title as I was at the start of the season.

“Yes.” My answer comes out clipped and he frowns in response.

“Good. We’ve got a job ahead of us in these conditions. We need to be focussed.”

A clap of thunder drowns out my curt response and we both glance out of the garage to the deluge of rain soaking the track. The radar has the rain clearing in time for the start of the race, but that won’t make the conditions any less tricky to navigate.

“This isn’t my first rodeo,” I remind him. “I’m starting in P1 and that’s where I’ll finish.”

He stares at me, hard, like he’s trying to read my mind. “Fine. That’s all I’m asking for.”

Not asking for much, I think as he walks away. Our team principal isn’t a bad guy; he’s just intense and expects perfection. Kinda like I was before a certain someone joined the team.

And speaking of. I turn back to find Patrick tugging on one of her curls. My stomach tenses and I force a breath out through my nose and in through my mouth to steady myself. This is good; she’s making friends and coming out of her shell again. It’s what Mattwanted when he asked me for this favour. It’s what I should want for her.

“She’s doing a great job.”

I turn to find Serena watching me watch Cherry. Her gaze is a little too knowing for my comfort and I shift on my feet, wondering what my face is giving away.

“I know,” I reply.

In the weeks since she joined the team, the photos Cherry had posted on our official Instagram page had gained a lot of traction. Serena, being a marketing genius, had quickly seen the potential and made a separate page calledCherry’s Corner, which had already gained a faithful following. By all reports, everyone loves the work that she’s doing.

She’s been a great addition to the team. If not my mental state.

“And thanks for looking out for her,” I say, breathing a sigh of relief when my teammate walks past solo. He’s finally stopped flirting and is finding something else to do. The kid needs to be more focussed on the race and less focussed on the red-haired goddess taking photos.

Hello, Pot. Meet Kettle.

“It’s been easy. I feel like we’ve been friends forever.”

That’s how she makes everyone feel. Like they are special. Like she’s invested in them. It’s how she makes me feel.

“We’d better get going. We need to set up.”

I nod and watch Serena tap Cherry on the shoulder, the two of them whispering together before glancing at me with matching smiles. I can’t help it; I smile back at them.

“Good luck today,” Cherry murmurs as she passes by me.

The smile grows on my face and without my permission, my fingers are tugging on the same curl that had fascinated Patrickso much.

“Thanks.”

She stops and peers up at me through her long sooty lashes, and I hold my breath, waiting for more. We stand and stare at each other until Serena pulls her away, looking between the two of us with her eyebrows raised.

“He only smiles like that at you,” I hear her whisper as they walk up the stairs to the media spot above the pit lane.

Uncomfortable with how much I’m giving away, I rub my jaw, the prickles from my stubble bringing me back to Earth.

“Get it together, Nicky,” I mutter, frowning at the rain being chucked down in front of me. “This race is going to be messy.”

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