Chapter 28 #2
Reid puts me down and shoves me towards the camera. “Go soak in the limelight, Blondie.”
Helmet free, I do my best to look into the camera and smile. The lights are blinding me.
“Addie, did you hear the good news?”
I don’t reply, just shake my head. My camera presence could definitely use some work.
“You’re officially invited to Red Bull Rampage!”
My heart stops. There’s no fucking way. I have no words.
Champagne sprays from behind me and soaks the top of my head. It splatters right onto the cameraman, and Reid steps over to apologize. The guy brushes it off and immediately turns the camera on Reid. “How proud of your girlfriend are you, Hasty?”
Reid pulls me into a side hug. “I couldn’t be prouder of my little Blondie.”
I’m a deer in the headlights, frozen, standing there staring back at the camera. Reid didn’t deny the girlfriend accusation. Surely he’s just keeping up his charismatic presence. Won’t this negatively affect his prospects for the weekend?
He shoves a microphone in my face, and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say.
“That’s the dream,” I say, scrambling for something intelligible.
Why did I say that? It sounds so cocky. This is fucking Red Bull. The Superbowl of freeride mountain biking, but I’m stone. Why is talking to the camera somehow harder than being upside-down thirty feet in the air?
They take pity on me and lead me to the podium, where I sit and awkwardly wait for the other riders to finish. A bunch of people come up to me, shaking my hand and telling me they’ll be rooting for me in Utah.
A guy named Steve comes over to let me know he’ll be one of my diggers once we get to Utah.
Apparently I get a whole team behind me.
You have to build out your own trails at Rampage.
I know the guys get full teams, but I never actually pictured myself with one.
It’s hard to comprehend that I actually made it.
Reid didn’t have the same luck. For the first time in his life, he froze up the same way I usually do.
His invitation to Red Bull was officially revoked. Everyone was respectful about it, but the disappointment was palpable. You could almost smell it.
“A bummer for Reid Hastings.”
“Yeah, he was a real shoo-in. I’m not sure what’s gotten into him.”
The camera pans over to Reid with his helmet resting on his handlebars. He looks downright defeated, and suddenly the medal swinging around my neck feels like a noose.
Reid is the one who deserves this. The one who’s been hitting massive jumps and forcing us to train all season. I just got lucky.
He rolls his bike right past all of the press with his right hand up in the air, ignoring me in the process.
For a few minutes, I wait. I can’t even begin to imagine what he’s feeling right now.
A little girl and her mom approach me. She’s maybe six or seven, and she’s holding out a picture of me and a pen.
It hits me—this little girl wants my autograph.
It’s sobering to realize people are actually watching me, feeling inspired by me.
My heart swells as I mark up the picture of myself with a scribbled version of my name and give the little girl a hug.
The mom mouths, “Thank you.” I want to tell her I’m the one who should be saying thank you. Her little girl approaching me is all the motivation I need to do my best to conquer Red Bull.
I finally catch up to Reid where he’s sitting in the back of Willa. “Addie, I’m sorry.”
“What in the world are you sorry for?”
“For being such a dick. You just rode better than you have in your entire life, and I’m here sulking instead of celebrating you.”
He’s really beating himself up over this—even his brows are furrowed. “Reid.” I pause to brush his sweaty hair out of his eyes. “You’re allowed to be upset.”
“I’m being selfish.”
I sit down next to him. “You are not. You just lost something important to you. You’re allowed to sulk. In fact, I encourage it.”
“Just drop me off back at the campsite and then go celebrate. I’m not going to be great company tonight.”
“You’re great company no matter the mood you’re in.”
His face is fallen, like he’s disappointed in himself for experiencing a negative emotion.
He slumps, letting himself fall against me, and I struggle to hold us both upright.
I sway on my feet and lead us towards the van.
His messy head of curls falls against my shoulder, and his musky shampoo fills my nose.
I shouldn’t be doing it, letting myself hold him like this, even if it is for his benefit. One hug, one minute of feigned intimacy, and I’m a goner again. All of the resilience I’ve been building up against Reid’s masculine wiles, forgotten in an instant.
Slowly, I push him off of me and lead him into the passenger side of the van. He’s moving like a zombie, as if each of his legs weighs a thousand pounds.
“You’re way too big for me to carry,” I groan as I heave him up, trying to shove him into Willa.
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was drunk by the way he’s looking at me as he says, “Oh Addie, you’re always there to take care of me.”
He slumps himself against the seat and reluctantly buckles himself in.
He fumbles with the audio system, and a small smile spreads across his face when he finally gets his phone to connect.
The lyrics to ‘Teardrops on My Guitar’ rumble through the speakers, and he starts dramatically singing along.
At least he’s still hanging onto his sense of humor.
Turning the key in the ignition, my eyes roll back in my head. “Whatever you need.”
I drive us back to camp as he continues performing. As challenging as it is to keep from laughing, I know better. This is all a facade. He’s trying to hide his real feelings from me, and I want to let him believe he’s succeeding.