“Oh.” Matt wants to know what happened, but they’re probably not close enough for him to ask. “Sorry?”
“Nah, don’t be. She left when she saw what I did to you. So really, I deserved it.”
Matt’s not as elated as he would’ve been a few months ago. In fact, he kinda wishes he hadn’t said anything when Robert looks so pathetic. “Wanna sit?”
The larger man plops down next to Matt on the already-cramped mattress pad, his limbs everywhere.
Robert’s silent for a single breath before he asks, “D’you remember when Dad told us we’d miss the RV? That one day we’d call ’em the ‘good ole days’?”
Matt swallows as he nods. He’s been thinking about the good ole days more often lately.
“I keep imagining how pissed off I’d be if I went back in time and told my younger self that Dad was right.”
Matt smiles. “I swear these stupid-ass mattresses are harder than the ground ever was.”
“Right?!” Robert grasps the edge of the pad and squeezes it. He stares at the material in his hand when he says, “The old Bobby wouldn’t believe me if I told him everything.”
“That we’d get tired of plane rides and hotel rooms?”
“That both of us made it to Formation 1. That we even ended up on the same team.” Robert’s still picking at the mattress, not looking up. “That we hated each other.”
“I don’t hate you.” Not anymore, at least.
“Yeah, you’re okay, I guess.”
Robert exhales with a flourish, his head hanging back to stare up at the ceiling. His hair falls in soft waves at this angle, catching the light like a blond waterfall. He’s so effortlessly beautiful, it’s almost infuriating.
Matt assumes the same position, his neck stretching under the weight of his relaxed head as it hangs backwards.
Their driver’s rooms have no ceilings, so they stare up into the inner workings of the garage. There's pipes and wires and other things Matt knows nothing about. “It's not as pretty as a starry sky.”
“See?!” Robert exclaims. “That’s exactly what I mean. We’re in your driver’s room inside a Formation 1 garage. It's been our dream since we werefive!And yet, I haven’t seen stars in months and Imissthem. It’s always—” He waves his hand and gestures at the ceiling. “Or like, light pollution.”
“Well, you know,‘The stars at night are big and bright…’”
Robert barks a surprised laugh. Still, he sits up to clap and finish, “Deep in the heart of Texas.”
“Your singing could use some work.”
“Hey!”
Matt looks back up at the ceiling and tries to see it in a new light, to appreciate where he is. He has a career he loves, a seat at a new team next year, a fragile friendship with the boy he grew up with. Life is good. “Thank you for this.”
“For what?”
Matt snorts. “Pick anything. My life? I guess?”
“Oh. Sure thing.”
Sure thing. Like he held a door open or something.
Then again, in a way, he basically did.
Matt swallows, but it’s difficult with his head hanging backwards. “How much do I owe you, by the way?”
“Owe me? You don’t owe me anything.”
“Just humor me. How much was it all?”
