Chapter forty-eight Round Thirteen Race
Chapter forty-eight
Round Thirteen Race
Tyler wiped his sweaty hands down the front of his jeans for the fifth time.
He had no idea why this meeting had him so nervous.
He didn't like the idea of Cole Lindt coming to the RV.
It felt like an invasion of his privacy.
The rig had become home away from home for him throughout the season, and he had met Davey here.
It held ample memories, but he certainly didn't want to add meeting Cole here to the list.
Davey sat next to him on the couch and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together. "Baby, this is for the best."
"I know." Ending the feud with Cole had to happen.
Everyone including Angel, Apex, and the race officials agreed that they should try to smooth things over.
Cole's suspension had ended and there had been no more incidents on the track.
Of course, Parker Shannon still wasn't racing.
He'd made a reputation as a troublemaker for himself and no other teams wanted him.
It highlighted the difference between Davey and Shannon.
When Princeton dropped Davey, it only took one independent race before he'd rung in a new sponsor.
Davey may be gay, but everyone still loved the All-American kid with his clean-cut looks and winning attitude. Tyler couldn't be more proud of him.
Tapping at the door brought Tyler's head up and had his heart racing. Davey let go of his hand and crossed the living room. "Hey, come in."
When he backed up and sat next to Tyler again, Cole followed him. Davey gestured for him to sit at the table, and he did without a word.
"So, you know why you're here," Davey said, softly, reassuringly.
Cole swallowed hard and stared at the table. "Uh, I know. Look," he lifted his head and met Davey's gaze, "I'm sorry. I let things go too far. I should never have tried to hurt you on or off the track. I was a kind of a dick. Sorry."
"Kind of a dick?" Tyler asked. "That's like saying you kind of like Supercross and I don't believe either of it."
"Tyler." Davey nudged him.
Cole huffed. "I said sorry. What more do you want?"
"I want you to mean it. I want you to stop being a dick. I want you to tell me why the hell you have it in for me so badly." As he spoke, Tyler's tone got louder and he almost stood up. The pressure around his temples increased, making him want to punch Cole all over again.
Cole looked down at the table again and bit his bottom lip.
"Look. You're young and outgoing. Successful without trying.
Everyone loves Tyler Whitmore. I've had to work hard and scrap for everything I've gotten, but you.
You? Fucking everyone just hands you everything like you deserve it for just being you. "
Tyler wondered where the hell Cole had gotten that impression. "That's so not true."
"It is," Cole whined. "You're all blond hair and cute smile. You look like a fucking angel and everyone treats you that way."
Tyler started to protest, opening his mouth, but he wasn't sure what to even say to that.
Cole continued, "Hell. You can do no wrong. You even come out as gay and look at you. You land the number one rider in Supercross, pick up a fabulous sponsor. You're now the darling of all Supercross, not just one team."
"I'm not anyone's darling. Well, except Davey's."
Cole laughed, but it wasn't humorous at all. "You just don't get it. I had to compete with you on my own team. My team. I hated you because of it. So, when you came out—"
"We were outed. I didn't come out."
"Whatever, dude. You know what I mean. I used it as an excuse. Tried to get rid of you. I got you off KTM quick enough, but that didn't get Tyler Whitmore out of Supercross. No. You jumped all over Davey's team. Again. Everything just handed to you."
"You know what?" Tyler asked. This time he did stand up.
"You don't know a god damned thing about me.
" Tyler leaned into the table, planting his palms in front of Cole's.
"I've worked hard. As hard as anyone. No one has handed me shit.
I've earned this. But here's a lesson for you Cole.
You get a lot more out of life by being nice.
By sharing with others. Your dick moves aren't ever going to get you anywhere except sitting beside Parker fucking Shannon.
On the bench. Is that what you want? Because KTM won't keep you around if you keep this shit up. "
Cole leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. He made eye contact with Tyler for the first time since he walked in to the RV. "I said sorry. I let it go too far. I'm not going to keep being aggressive to either of you, on or off the track. But, that will never make us friends, Tyler."
Davey pulled Tyler away from the table and back to sitting on the couch. "Thanks, Cole. We truly don't want trouble from you or anyone. Vandalizing the RV and making death threats is never okay."
"What? I didn't do that." Cole held up his hands. "I wouldn't put it past Parker, but I didn't. I swear I had nothing to do with that. All I did was bad mouth you, and shove you around. You know, the fight."
"And wreck him on the track," Tyler growled. He wasn't anywhere ready to forgive Cole. Not for hurting Davey.
"That was Shannon too. He seriously had it in for you guys. Honestly, he thought you were trying to turn everyone in Supercross gay or something."
Tyler and Davey burst out laughing and spoke at the same time. "As if," Tyler said.
"Like that's possible," Davey said.
Cole threw his hands up. "I said Parker thought that, not me," then Cole laughed a little too. "Anyway, like I said. I'm done with that."
"You'd do better to focus on racing and not on what you have or don't have compared to others. That's just a waste of time, Cole," Davey said, standing up and reaching his hand out to Cole.
Cole hesitated just a brief second before taking it and shaking Davey's hand with a quick pump. "You know that's hard to take from the millionaire orphan."
"I'd trade all the millions in the world just to have my dad back for one more day."
Cole hung his head.
"Just think about it," Davey added.
Cole nodded and left without acknowledging Tyler at all. He was right about one thing: they still weren't friends. "That guy's a dick. That's all."
"Yeah, but he's going to leave us alone now."
"How can you be sure?"
Davey pulled Tyler into his arms and ran his hands up and down Tyler's back. "Because your law suit is still hanging over their heads and ultimately KTM will kick him to the curb if he fucks up again."
"That shouldn't be the only thing," Tyler mumbled, nuzzling his face into Davey's chest.
"I know, but it is what it is. I'll take what we got from him."
After a few quick kisses, they made their way to the pits.
The Main Event was going to start soon, and they had to get ready.
Mickey had the bike cleaned up and the tires changed by the time they got there.
"What's up Mickey?" Tyler wandered over to where he squatted next to the bike, adding a sponsor decal.
"Just finishing up Mai Tai."
Tyler groaned. "I told you not to call me that, dude."
Mickey just laughed. "You ready, Davey? This bike is going to be screaming on that track."
"Yeah. I plan on winning."
Tyler loved Davey's confidence. It helped him feel more confident too, because despite what Cole had said earlier, nothing had ever come easy in Tyler's life.
He grew up the gay boy in a small town. He'd been picked on and pushed around.
He knew what that was like and he'd hid his sexuality in his professional life because of it.
That made him resent people like Cole even more.
Cole was nothing but a bully, jealous over what other people had, when he should have been enjoying what he had.
Tyler didn't get how one of the top Supercross racers could be jealous of a mechanic.
Tyler had learned early in life to be thankful for what you have.
Davey had learned that too, obviously, because he wasn't a spoiled brat at all.
"Thanks, Mickey. Good work," he said, wanting to let his friend know he was appreciated.
"No problem, boss man."
"Boss man?"
"Well, you didn't like Mai Tai."
Tyler growled and popped Mickey lightly on the shoulder. "How would you like it if I called you Mickey Mouse?"
"Whatever. But not very original."
They were still cutting up when Angel and Stewart came around the corner. "News!" Angel called out. "Princeton let Stewart out of his contract."
Tyler hooted and jumped up and down. Davey gave Stewart a big hug. "Welcome back, old man!"
Angel had been working with the Apex lawyers all season to get him out of the non-compete contract early so he could officially be on the team.
He'd moved in with Angel and sold his house to offset the lack of income, but now they could put him on payroll.
Although, he probably would continue living with Angel.
They were just genuinely good together. "This is great.
What happened to change their minds?" Tyler asked.
Angel shrugged. "I guess they saw how we were handling KTM and not backing down from anything. Maybe they just wanted to focus on other things. Who knows?"
After a little more celebrating, Angel asked about Cole and Davey gave her the quick version of what happened.
They all agreed to be satisfied with that.
Tyler didn't know if he felt satisfied, but he didn't intend to push the issue unless Cole broke his word.
With Davey sitting first in points and only five more races after this one, he chose to focus on what was important, Davey and the bike.