Chapter thirty-eight
They had all regrouped late Monday afternoon at The Ranch.
Davey sat on the couch, Tyler was on the floor between his legs.
Angel sat on the other side of the couch, watching Stewart pace in front of the fireplace.
Davey nibbled nervously at an errant cuticle.
They all waited for the call from Princeton saying they were dropping Davey. It seemed surreal.
Brad sat in the chair opposite the couch.
He had his laptop open, scanning the media for anything else that could be damaging, but it had been too quiet.
No other photos came out, and Davey felt certain they hadn't been in any other compromising positions or places.
Overall, they had been exceedingly careful.
It pissed him off that their one and only single lapse in decorum had been so thoroughly exploited.
Angel seemed to think it came from Cole Lindt's team, but Tyler thought she was wrong.
Cole had seemed honestly surprised when he found out.
The rest of the team genuinely liked Tyler.
Tyler failed to understand that it wasn't about Tyler at all; it was about taking Davey down.
"Hey, Angel!" Davey sat up straight. "Bet this came from Regal's team.
They had the most to gain from me loosing sponsors. "
"I'm already checking on that," she said. "I have a few contacts I'm waiting to hear from. But, yeah, I thought about that. Checking on Tate Jordan also."
"He's gay. I doubt he had anything to do with it."
"I hope you're right, but I'm not going to be sure until I clear him myself."
Davey nodded. What else could he say? He was certain Tate was clean. He'd been supportive, but that didn't mean someone else on his team didn't want to take Davey down.
"What does it matter?" Tyler muttered. "What's done is done.
Doesn't matter what comes out now. Everybody knows.
" He still sounded so sullen. They'd discussed it at length.
It would ultimately be better for them regardless of losing sponsors, because now they could be in a genuine relationship, which was what they had both wanted.
The only bad thing was Tyler's career. If Davey had his way, he'd take care of that too.
He'd do anything to make Tyler's life better.
He couldn't stand Tyler's misery; he needed Tyler to be happy more than he needed to breathe, more than he needed to race.
He ran his fingers through Tyler's silky blond hair. "It's just better to know which enemy would be that desperate."
"Whatever." He pulled away, drawing his knees up and resting his head against them.
Stewart's phone rang. "Jessop," he answered. "Yeah? Yes. Shit!" He walked out the front door with the cell still at his ear.
"That didn't sound good," Davey said.
Angel pulled her feet up under her and leaned over, touching Davey's shoulder. "It's going to be okay."
"I'm not worried about losing Princeton. I'm worried about losing Stewart. He works for them not me." Davey realized Stewart walking away would be like losing his dad all over again.
"But he loves you," she said.
That meant a lot to Davey. He had never heard Stewart claim such, but they had been very close.
No matter what, Stewart had been in his corner.
He never even flinched when he found out Davey was in a relationship with Tyler.
That went a long way, but he still worried Stewart would walk back in that door just to say goodbye.
His hands sought out Tyler's hair again. This time, Tyler leaned back into the touch. Davey leaned over and planted a kiss on his forehead. Tyler's hand snaked up the side of his leg, and Davey grabbed it, lacing their fingers together, reassuring them both.
A few quiet moments later, the door opened. Stewart had a pained look on his face. He came in and dropped down into the other chair beside Brad.
"Well?" Davey asked.
"They're dropping you. And me. And Angel, of course."
"They fired you?" Davey was surprised. He hadn't expected that, hadn't let himself think of that possibility.
"Well, it was fucking mutual. Dick heads," Stewart grumbled.
Davey was perplexed. He didn't want to lose Stewart as his manager, but it didn't seem right that Stewart lost his job because of Davey's issues, especially if Davey could save it. "Don't fucking quit for me, man."
Stewart waved his hand. "What's done is done. Question is, what now?"
Brad cleared his throat. "Seems like several smaller sponsors have announced they're sticking with you. That's something. Camtop is out. Zahr is in if you stick with Kawasaki."
"The bike is mine, not Princeton's, plus I have a backup.
Ty's bike, if I need it." He'd given Tyler his other 450.
Tyler didn't even flinch when he said he could use it as a backup.
He loved that man so much. "So, it's just a matter of getting my bike from Shorty.
The RV is mine, too. Some of the advantages of not being on a factory team like Cole. "
Brad nodded. "Yeah, but you can't afford to pay me or Tim, let alone Tony to drive the damn thing.
" Tony was currently driving the RV to the next race site.
That was as much as he could afford until they got another sponsor, but he needed the RV to be in Phoenix.
He was just glad the first few races were all on the West Coast. He should be able to pay for the gas out of his own pocket.
He put his head in his hands, exasperated already.
Davey leaned back and sighed. "Not for long anyway."
"Okay, so we need to find another main sponsor," Stewart said. "Angel, think you can help with that? Maybe if we can get a few more of the smaller sponsorships, we can combine enough to pay some bills." He gestured toward Angel with his phone.
"I've got some contacts. Let me see what I can come up with."
At least with Princeton making it official, they could act, get a plan together.
Stewart looked at Davey and Tyler, waiving his phone at them. "Why don't you guys go swim or something? Nothing you can do right now."
Tyler got up and left the room, heading to the bedroom without a word. Davey didn't like the feel of that. He growled to himself and followed.