Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
For someone who’s about to ride a rocket, I always sleep well the night before a race. So I’m deep in dreamland when my phone erupts with four texts from Cin, Claudia, Dad, and Kelley in that order:
Well. Someone had an interesting evening run.
DON’T react. DON’T comment. DON’T even blink. Heading to your room now.
You OK? Also RM’s handling KHM. Focus on the race.
Oh, my baby has such GREAT taste in men!
Oh no.
A fourth message pops up, this one from Bowie:
Technical briefing @ 09:30. Also ignore the internet.
Shit. No.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
I don’t need to check social media to know what’s happened. Don’t need to see whatever photos someone managed to capture of what we thought was a private moment.
My phone buzzes again.
It’s Reece:
FWIW, you’ve got better taste than my mom.
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 Talk is being respectful, of course. MotoMouth is running with the championship angle.” She wrinkles her nose.
“PAD and the tabloids are being pricks, as usual.” PAD is Paddock 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 about that because 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.
I finish my left hand and start on the right. “Can we do something for the Honeys? I want to show them how much I appreciate their support.”
Claudia’s already typing. “What are you thinking?”
“Well, how about a special meet and greet? Through official channels, obviously. Show them the same support they’re showing me.”
“I’ll coordinate with hospitality.” Claudia’s smile turns warm. “Maybe after the race? A private function.”
“And no press.” The last thing I need is Kelley trying to crash another photo op. “Just the Honeys and me.”
“On it.” Claudia’s fingers fly over her phone. “Nitro hospitality says they can make this work. Security’s already vetted most of the regular Honeys anyway—they’ve been bringing our engineers breakfast since dawn.”
Another text arrives from Zara:
They have a coffee rotation for the mechs. Athol might cry. They’re teaching the crew the “Tenacious P” chant.
“Oh. Caspita!” Claudia stops scrolling suddenly, letting out a surprised laugh. “Las Conejitas have joined forces with the Hayter Honeys.”
Finished with the right hand, I stand and peer over her shoulder while blowing my war paint dry. “Nico’s female fan club?”
“Yes. They’re rebranding to the Honey Bunnies.” She shows me her tablet.
Posts flood the screen, pink streaks mixed with rabbit ear headbands:
Honeys + Bunnies = true love!
Fast cars, clean racing, perfect match! #honeybunnies #SpeedDating
?El Conejo y Tenaz P para siempre! #honeybunnies #SpeedDating
“They’re coordinating support rallies.” Cin’s reading from her own phone. “The Honeys are teaching them our chants. They’re teaching the Honeys racing terms in Spanish. This is so cool.”
Another text from Zara:
Nico’s fans brought breakfast burritos. Pretty sure our mechanics would die for both fan clubs.
Something about this unexpected alliance and the surge of excited support makes my throat tight.
“Can we include Las Conejitas in the meet and greet too?”
Claudia’s smile turns sly. “Already ahead of you. Nitro hospitality is coordinating with WolfBett’s. Apparently, both fan clubs have been exemplary in their behavior, unlike certain other people we could name.”
There are so many people who could fit that bill.