Page 78 of Overtake
I laugh. Trust Reece to find the right note between support and snark. I reply:
FWIW, you have better sense than mine.
Then he adds:
If you need advice on handling this B.S. see me or Mai. Been there. Done that.
An insistent knock at the door gets me out of bed. It’s probably Claudia with damage control plans.
“Right then.” I square my shoulders and pick up the bottle of pink nail polish I put out on the bedside table last night. Time to touch up my nails, and face the wreckage. At least I got a good night’s sleep first.
She marches in like a hurricane. “The photo is actually quite good. Atmospheric lighting, nice composition. If it wasn’t causing absolute chaos, I’d compliment the photographer.”
“Good morning to you too. How bad is this?” A quick stroke of pink over both middle fingernails, then I gently blow on them.
“Depends on your definition.” She scrolls through pages on her tablet. “Floor Talkis being respectful, of course.MotoMouthis running with the championship angle.” She wrinkles her nose. “PADand the tabloids are being pricks, as usual.”PADisPaddock Access Daily, Graham’s daily online branch of his rubbish TV show.
“And the fans?”
“Are having the collective meltdown you’d expect.” She looks up. “Hashtag-speed-dating is trending worldwide, which would be cute if all of this weren’t complicating our race day.”
I snort despite myself. “Better than whatever Kelley’s calling it, I’m sure.” Time for the dark green polish.
Another knock at the door precedes Cin’s entrance. She’s here to help me warmup, stretch, and get ready to destroy my competition. She’s carrying what looks like every newspaper in Austin.
“The good news is that your biometrics are fantastic. Best sleep readings in weeks.” She grins wickedly. “The bad news is the whole world knows why.”
I give her a shiny pink morning middle finger. “I hate the paparazzi.” I shake the green bottle, open it, and start on the rest of my nails.
Claudia continues scrolling. “The Hayter Honeys are out in force. They’ve taken over all the social platforms defending you both.”
“Really? That warms my heart.” Almost as much as that kiss did, but I’m very much trying not to think aboutthatbecause it’s race day and I need my focus on one thing and one thing only. Winning.
She turns her tablet so I can see. Post after post from fans in their signature pink streaks:
Wait wait wait... are we srsly getting a championship battle AND a love story?? This is better than any TV series! #SpeedDating
If you think this affects her driving, you’ve never watched her race. #SpeedDating
Championship rivals-to-lovers trope FTW! #SpeedDating
And one that makes me laugh out loud:
Um. Anyone see the pic? Looks like The Rabbit died.
“They’ve organized a support rally at turn 1,” Cin adds. “Pink streaks everywhere. Lena—that karting student of yours—apparently started it with her mum.”
“Aw.” That makes me go all warm and fuzzy. Almost as warm and fuzzy as…
Shit. No. Stop thinking about him and that. And THAT.
“They’re drowning out the negative coverage.” Claudia sounds impressed. “Even better, Kelley’s interviews are getting ratioed by Hayter Honeys.”
Another text pops up and I glance at my phone. It’s from Zara:
The Honeys have adopted us — brought coffee & pastries 4 the nite crew.
That warm and fuzzy feeling swells inside my chest. Having fans is one thing. Having this kind of support is mega.
