Game on, Love (Pitch and Pits #1)

25

Raina

MY PHONE SCREEN LIT up, and Oliver’s name flashed across. Fighting a small smile, I answered the call, and to my surprise, Milo’s little frame filled the screen; he was lying down on the backrest of the couch next to Oliver’s head.

“Oh, Hello, troublemaker. I wasn’t expecting you,” I said, and Milo lifted his head and blinked, trying to figure out where my voice was coming from. Although, I was more focused on the way my heart fluttered at the small gesture. I had the same plan as always to ask Kaira to look after them while I travelled to Austin, but instead, Oliver had insisted that he’d take care of them and like Milo understood everything, he had purred at him like he was his saviour. But he’d gone a step further because here he was, calling me and showing me my cats like he understood what they meant to me.

“Bet you didn’t expect this,” Oliver’s voice filled my hotel’s bathroom as he moved his phone from Milo to Lilli, who was sitting on his lap.

My eyes widened. “What did you do?”

“I have no clue,” Oliver replied as his face filled the screen. “I was chilling here with Milo when she just entered the room and decided to sit on my lap. Maybe she finally realised I’m not that bad.”

“Huh,” My mind raced as wariness ran through me.

“I’m not complaining,” He grinned. His hair was damp, strands falling seamlessly around his face like he’d just gotten out of a photo shoot. “Looking sharp there, love. Big plans for the day?”

I glanced down, and heat ran up to my face. I was so caught off guard by him calling me that I had forgotten I’d been doing my make-up in my robe. I was planning to wear a white dress, and getting a smudge of foundation or powder was a no-go, but now here I was, tongue-tied at the way his eyes darkened at a glimpse of me like this. “You called me mid-way as I was getting ready. I didn’t want to ruin my dress.”

“Hmm,” He made a non-committal sound, and I cleared my throat, my heart still racing at the glimmer in his eyes.

“Did you call for a reason or just to commentate on my wardrobe?”

“I can multi-task.”

“Can you, though?”

“Yes, you’re just very distracting.”

“What did I do?”

“Answered your phone wearing that.”

“What?” I raised a brow in challenge. “You think I can’t pull it off?”

“I think if you’d decided to style up and step out in a gunny sack, you’d still be the most beautiful person I’d ever seen.”

My lips parted as I stared at him through my phone and he smirked.

“Cat got your tongue, Gorgeous?

“One day, you’re going to give me toothache with all of your sweet talk.”

“Just being honest.”

I huffed, and he laughed openly, sending a shiver down each nerve in my body. My eyes landed at the time on the top of my screen, and my eyes widened. “Give me a minute. I need to change into my dress; otherwise, I’ll get late.”

I walked out of my room without giving him an option, but his voice followed me.

“Take your time, I’ll be here.”

I carefully stepped into my dress. It was a simple bodycon that hugged my body, and as I zipped the side, I glanced at myself in the full-length mirror to adjust it. Once I was happy, I stepped back into the bathroom, and all traces of playfulness dropped from his face as his eyes trailed my body.

I bit my lip to hide my smirk as I plugged in my curler.

“Cat got your tongue, King?” I asked, meeting his eyes. There was attraction, sure, but today, it was mixed with a hint of something more primal that unbalanced me in a way I hadn’t expected.

“No, just….” His eyes softened as they met mine before he let out a low whistle. “that dress.”

I laughed softly, thankful that he wouldn’t be able to find any evidence of my blood rushing to my cheeks. “Thank you.”

Though my stomach was still somersaulting at how easy it was for him to make sure I knew that he was sincere while also making sure his obvious attraction for me was always at the front of my mind. It was strange yet thrilling all at once.

“By the way, I got us tickets to this new experience they’ve opened up where you can use Virtual Reality to try and play a match,” He grinned as he leaned back on the couch. “That is why I wanted to call you.”

“How is that different from us going to a park or even the nets to try and play cricket?” I asked as I parted my hair.

“You can choose different players to play with, and almost be them, and it breaks downs different moves and actions they make. This way, I can show exactly what happens on the field instead of trying to break it down in notes.”

“That sounds cool.”

His grin widened, clearly pleased. “It does, doesn’t it? We did a whole shoot for it last year, recording bits and pieces, but the way they’ve pulled it off is more than what I expected. I got the tickets for when you are back.”

I paused when my phone buzzed with a notification, the word Breaking News in all capitals, making my heart drop. But it was what followed after I had my eyes widened.

brEAKING NEWS: PATEL TO JOIN MONTCLAIR RACING FROM 2024

“What’s wrong?” Oliver’s voice pulled me out of my trance, and I opened my mouth before he cut me off. “Careful with your curler, love.”

“Oh… thanks.” I moved it away from my face, unplugging it and dropping the idea of using it because, well, priorities. I was sure I wouldn’t be able to do it without burning myself now that my mind was going to be distracted.

I picked up my phone, and the call still connected as I clicked on the notification, my eyes quickly going over the article.

“Raina,” Oliver tried again, gently, and I took a deep breath.

“Sorry, sorry. Nothing’s wrong. Vedant just…” I trailed off, reading the article further.

The reigning world champion revealed that the deal was finalised in Singapore after he took his career-best win from P15 on one of the most unforgiving tracks on the calendar.

I tried my best not to let my feelings be hurt, but it stung regardless.

I was there with him and he still didn’t tell me?

“Oliver, I need to go.”

“Tell me what happened first, please.” His voice was soft, but my throat felt tight regardless.

I closed my eyes.

Deep breath.

Opening up the app again, his face filled my screen again. I swallowed as I met his worried gaze, but my phone buzzed again. This is time with a message from Hazel.

“Just F1 stuff… Hey, my manager is calling me. I’ll talk to you later,” I gave him a small smile but didn’t give him a chance to reply before I hung up.

THE AIR AT THE Circuit of the Americas buzzed with energy, a mix of roaring engines and energetic fans, as the Texas sun bathed the track.

I tugged at the strap of my bag, looking for my media pass, when a familiar voice called out to me. “Raina!”

Looking over my shoulder, I spotted Axel walking down the paddock entry, stopping to take pictures with some fans as I pulled out my lanyard. Scanning it, I quickly walked through the barrier, not in the mood to be in any of his media shots, but as he raced through to reach me, I knew that was a failed attempt at best.

“Hey, Rain? When someone calls your name, you’re supposed to stop,” Axel said, matching my pace.

I gave him a side-eye, annoyance running through me. “You, out of everyone, are literally not allowed to say that.”

We’d passed over a dozen fans by now, all calling his name, and yet he just gave small smiles as he walked next to me. It wasn’t anything new or different for him, but today I was already upset over one driver and the way he was walking; something in me told me that another one was about to join my shit list.

“Okay, the pissed look on your face tells me you didn’t know about the deal until an hour ago,” He muttered, and I frowned. Maybe it was because I’d already been overthinking it, but the way he had said…

“Did you know before that?” When Axel hesitated, I came to an abrupt stop to look at him, and the look he wore was enough of an answer. “Un-fucking-believable.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but I ignored him as I walked towards the makeshift base my crew had created since Thursday. I was in work mode this weekend, and the last thing I was going to do was let my feelings come in the way. The Austin Grand Prix was a spectacle in itself, and where Saturdays were always chaotic, a sprint weekend added a whole new layer of intensity and juggling around to stick to the schedule. Especially, knowing there was a chance it could be my last one, I wanted to make the most of my time.

I reached the table, which was littered with camera equipment, laptops and pages of notes, and they looked up at me expectantly.

“Nope, I didn’t know before this morning and nor do I plan to make it easy for him when he steps for his post-sprint interview,” I began, and all of them gave me a thin smile.

“Okay, now that’s out of the way. Josh, you’re with me this morning—I want to film some pit lane content before the sprint; Noor and the rest of you, please focus on the list that I’d shared before the weekend. I know you’ve all made some good progress on it already, but the conditions are different to yesterday, so maybe try some creative shots for the b-roll? We can regroup afterwards and see who’s in the mood to tag along with me for the interviews.”

They all nodded, and I continued. “Remember, it’s not just about capturing what looks good; we’re telling a story, and each frame needs to have a meaning. If you catch yourself wondering if something will work in the bigger picture, capture it anyway, you never know when a clip can be valuable and if anything, we can always bin it later. Better to have it than miss it!”

One final nod, and we all scattered to our places.

The pit lane was its usual vibrant mess of activities as the paddock club guests trailed down for their tour. Engineers darted around the garages as the teams began their pit stop practices. Josh trailed behind me with my camera, as I looked around me for the perfect background, my gaze stopping on the Hillcrest Garage a couple feet from me as I spotted Dev in a conversation, but I didn’t linger. Once I found the spot and looked around to make sure I was out of the way, I gave Josh a nod and waited for his signal. He gave me a thumbs up and I began my introduction and tuned out the noise behind me.

“I THINK WE GOT everything,” Josh said, as we neared the end of the pit lane. “I want to run back up to take a shot of the practice, though; it’ll be a cool transition for the intro.”

I nodded, my throat dry from speaking non-stop.

When he rushed down, I took my time to walk back through. Pulling out my phone to capture some shots, I realised Oliver had texted me.

Oliver: Rihaan just told me what happened. Was that when you found out?

Me: Yes.

I chewed on my lower lip, unsure if I should even ask.

Me: When did Vedant tell him?

The reply came almost instantly.

Oliver: I’ll ask.

A minute. Two.

Oliver: He told him when they did horror night.

My shoulders dropped, hating that my instinct was right. No matter the small steps we took, I’d never stop feeling like an outsider in their group. A voice in my head tried to reason that he was used to relying on them, sharing things he couldn’t because of how distant I’d been, but the stubborn voice was louder.

He didn’t try either.

Thankfully, Josh had decided to stay back at Ascari, the iconic shade of red contrasting well with the colours of COTA, so I gave him a wave to let him know I was leaving before walking down the narrow lane and back into the paddock, with a tightness in my chest that refused to leave.

AFTER THE SPRINT RACE, the media pen was a hive of activity. One by one, the drivers filtered in, each taking turns as they answered the same dozen variations of ‘How do you feel about the result?’ and ‘Was there anything more you could’ve done today?’ and I tried my best to listen in where possible, and pick apart their responses to build a different kind of question.

I was going through my notes for the last remaining drivers when the familiar colours of navy blue filled my periphery. Glancing up, Vedant took his place in front of me, his suit was slightly rumpled as he ran a hand through his hair. He’d won the race, and I should’ve felt more pride than anything—which I did—I just couldn’t help but still feel the twinge of hurt that laced my throat as he stood in front of me so when he tried to make eye contact before I gave the heads up to my crew, I avoided it.

“Vedant, Congratulations on the win and the new contract,” I began, keeping my tone professional and calm. “How did you feel about the car today? You seem to be in much more control today from the outside compared to yesterday. What was it like from the inside?”

He cleared his throat before tugging on his collar once. “Thank you, and yes, we made some changes to the set-up, and it clearly worked, though if you look at the race overall, there are still some things we need to work on.”

I nodded, “Anything in particular you noticed that was a surprise in those short laps?”

“Just that tyre management will be crucial tomorrow. The fronts tend to go quick, which is why, in the end, there were times when the Ascari’s were catching me because once the tyres are gone, it takes more out your time than you’d expect.”

“Thank you. And again, congratulations on your new contract with Montclair. Were you in discussions with them since before Singapore, or was that an unexpected call for you?”

He met my gaze briefly, but I kept any trace of emotions hidden as he gave me a perfectly poised response. “We’ve been in discussions for a while, but it was about getting everything aligned, and after that win, it felt right, so we decided to move forward.”

“And in terms of the championship, how does it feel like you’re going to be teammates with your current title rival? Is it like a full circle moment for you two from your junior championships?”

He paused, as a flicker ran through his eyes before he nodded. “I’ll be honest, my focus right now is this season and to defend my championship. Next year will definitely be interesting and, in many ways, a full circle moment, including racing for the team I was a junior driver for, so it will be fun to see what else awaits.”

I nodded, thanking him before he gave me a final look, staying in his place for longer than required before walking away to the next journalist.

I spent the rest of the day working behind the scenes, popping out to grab lunch with Leah—who was equally as quiet as me, but somehow I’d managed to escape my brothers and Axel, who was also on the hunt for me after I decided to grill him more than a little for his mistakes during qualifying. Though, unlike Vedant—who had given me extra polished and sharp answers after getting pole, Axel managed to keep his humour alive in his responses before ending his interview with a look that told me I was extra brave today.

Maybe I was, but I knew I’d kept it clean when Hazel dropped me a note. She was happy with my work, and that was enough for me.