My stomach dipped at the last one. I didn’t want Noah to do poorly since he is my brother’s teammate, but he didn’t lose because I wasn’t there.
I pulled up a YouTube interview of Noah after the race, telling myself I did it to ease my curiosity.
Noah looked good in his red race suit with his sweaty hair plastered to his head. He rocked the messy look.
The reporter jammed the foam microphone in Noah’s face.
“What happened today out there on the track?”
“Just an off day. It happens. I’m happy for my teammate and my friends who did place.” His tight smile begged to differ.
“Have anything different planned for the next Prix?”
Noah glanced at the camera. His deep blue eyes looked hazy, blocking off any readable emotions.
“I think I need to change up my pre-race ritual. A couple things might not be working for me anymore. But more on that later. Don’t want to reveal my secrets.” He ended the interview with a lazy smile.
After watching his interview yesterday, I ignored his texts for a whole day. I lasted twenty-four hours before giving in to answering him, the image of him frowning into the camera plaguing my thoughts. Three thousand miles do nothing to ease the pull he has on me.
Maya （06/14 1:14 p.m.）： I’m sure you’ll place next time. You’re one of the best.
He Who Shall Not Be Fucked （06/14 1:16 p.m.）： Are you coming to that one? Did you get my earlier messages? I didn’t get a response.
I would never peg someone like him to question if I got his messages. Has he ever sent that to a woman before? The notion makes me take pity on him and answer quicker than usual.
Maya （06/14 1:30 p.m.）： I’ll be there. Needed a vacation from all the traveling.
I choose to ignore his second message because he crosses lines I’m not ready for yet.
He Who Shall Not Be Fucked （06/14 1:43 p.m.）： Good. See you then.
That went easier than I thought. I need to face him, but I need a game plan first, particularly a Sophie-made plan.
18
Noah
Is this what it feels like to be ghosted? I’ve done it to girls in the past, but I’ve never been on the receiving end. And to be honest, it totally sucks. Karma really is a bitch after all.
I haven’t seen Maya since Monaco. She barely answers any of my messages, which makes me second-guess if I kissed her too soon. Me, second-guessing. What a joke. Sometimes she seems in to me, but stuff she does makes me uncertain. A foreign sensation to say the least.
I land in Baku two days earlier to get acclimated to the city. That and I want to be around when Santi and his sister arrive because I want to catch Maya when he leaves.
Wednesday goes by without a sign of her during our sponsor meetings and ass-kissing specials. But Maya doesn’t come to any of them. I worry she wants to back out of coming to another race because of me.
I give in to my curiosity and ask Santi about her while we walk back to the hospitality suites after our press conference.
“Where’s your sister been?”
He turns his head slowly toward me, revealing squinted eyes and a tight jaw. I don’t get intimidated by him. His scary face comes off like a puppy dog, not threatening like his dad’s.
“Busy. She visited our parents back in Spain. Why?” He glares at me.
“Was curious why she didn’t come to the last Prix. Wondered how it would affect your racing.” My cocky grin seems to placate him. Back to our usually scheduled programming with one another—me being the cocky asshole and him taking it.
He scoffs. “I did fine. I raced without my sister by my side for years while she was in college. You’re the one who struggled this time.”
Santi has a fight in him. Good to know.
“Yup. You win some, you lose some.” I shrug. “Is she coming to this race?” I can’t tell if my voice sounds disinterested enough.
“Yeah. She’s already here.”
I follow Santi to the hospitality suite, disappointed when Maya isn’t there.
“Is Maya hanging out in there?”
He stares at me, his head tilting to the side as his lips press together in a tight line. “Nah, she went to hang out with Sophie. Said something about exploring the city for her vlog.”
My eyes nearly bug out of my head. They’re out alone in a random city they’ve never visited before where the people speak a different language. What if someone recognizes them?
“They should be more careful. Why do you let them go out by themselves? That’s irresponsible.”
Santi’s gaze hardens. “I can take care of my sister. It’s a safe city.”