Good.
Would’ve been a lot better if they let me invite our biggest title rival
I hate that you’ve earned enough points for fuckin Andes to rival us
Celebrate when we get to the next race?
I’ll buy you 15 shots Saturday night
That’s not even subtle
Matt flips between Laurent’s texts and his social media. It’s the first time in years people actually have somethingpositiveto say about him. Instead of winding down for the night, he’s accidentally pumping himself up.
He likes this post and that post, and watches race clips and podium videos on repeat.
Winning’s addictive.
Matt scrolls through his new followers. He doesn’t even care that they’re all clout chasers—at least this time he’s benefitting from it. When he sees ‘following’ instead of ‘follow back’, he gasps.
Lucas Bauer followed me back
What kinda god are you praying to?
Rub some of your luck off on me
Thought I wasn’t your type
I’m laughing. Really.
A knock at Matt’s hotel door momentarily disorients him. Did he order something? Did his team send him more food? He checks the peephole before opening the door.
“How did you know which one was mine?”
Robert’s dressed down again, in a threadbare shirt and sweatpants. He didn’t even bother to put shoes on—his socked feet sink into the swirly patterned hallway carpet.
“We debriefed after practice on Thursday, remember?”
“Jesus, that was a lifetime ago.” Matt opens the door a little wider, grateful he’s already wearing a shirt and shorts this time. “Did you want to come in?”
“Oh yeah, thanks.”
Matt’s not sure what to expect—he and Robert don’t exactly wander into each other’s rooms to hang out anymore. While Robert looks around, Matt shoots off a quick message to Laurent.
Robert’s here?
Don’t rub all your luck off on him
He snorts and looks up to find Robert staring into his mini fridge. Matt hasn’t used the fridge all weekend, so he’s not even sure anything’s in it. Maybe the hotel stocked it?
“What are you doing here?” Matt asks. “Run out of tiny tequila bottles?”
He won eight points, after all.
“I dunno.” Robert closes the fridge door and wanders further into the room.
“You don’t know?”
“Well, I do know.” He stops at the foot of the bed, his eyes fixated on the view outside the window. It’s just a parking lot, Matt’s already checked. “I’m just nervous to ask. So, how are you?”
