“Oh hun, you’re here ten hours early,” the agent cooed.
“Yeah.” Mateo didn’t have enough energy to think of a reason why that might be the case. “Do you have anything for earlier?”
“I’m sure we do.”
Minutes later, Mateo sat in his new terminal with his new plane ticket and stared at his text thread with Bobby.
He needed to say something. He needed to explain himself.
Obviously, he needed to explain himself, but it was hard to find words that could encompass everything. Nothing could make his decision sound any better.
“I’m sorry,” he typed, because he was. “I have to choose racing.”
That’s what it was, wasn’t it? A choice between racing and Bobby.
And Mateo loved Bobby—he knew that, he wasn’t stupid—but no human could replace the thrill he got with every overtake on the track, with every victory. Even the crashes were something he yearned for in a way his soulneeded.
He couldn’t jeopardize his racing just because the person he fell in love with was a boy.
Mateo sent the message and turned his phone off. Without the device to distract him, he watched the clock above the gate tick by and tried not to think about everything he was leaving behind.
Matt wakes up in the middle of the night with the sudden urge to piss. He carefully extracts himself from under a heavy arm and pads into his en suite. As he washes his hands, he catches his reflection in the mirror.
He looks happy for the first time in a long time.
When Matt ventures back out into the room, he’s surprised the room is lit. The blanket has been removed from the lamp on the side table, and warm light floods the area with a calming glow.
Robert sits upright in the bed, against the headboard. His head is propped up with an arm braced on his knee.
“I’m sorry,” Matt says. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I’m a light sleeper.”
“Didn’t used to be.” Matt pulls the covers back and slips inside, grateful the sheets are still warm. “You used to sleep anywhere. Was such a pain to try and wake you up.”
“Yeah.” Robert switches the lamp off and shuffles himself downwards until he’s laying again. “The last time we fell asleep together, I didn’t wake up until after it was too late. Changes things.”
They stare at each other in the dark until Robert throws a heavy arm over Matt’s middle and drags him over into his embrace.
Matt squawks in surprise, but he hasn’t laid skin to skin with anyone in years and he’s secretly giddy with it. Everywhere they touch is so hot, he just might melt.
“I’m not leaving this time,” Matt mutters into the bare skin of Robert’s shoulder.
Robert squeezes him in response. “I’ll still wake up—just in case.”
BREAKING: This weekend will be Matthew Hernandez’s final race with Andes Racing. The team will release the American driver one weekend before the end of the season so he can participate in testing with his new team, Kaas. This decision has been met with both shock and confusion from several notable people in the sport who were quick to point out that just last weekend, Matthew had earned the team’s first ever podium finish. Replacing him will be Andes’s reserve driver, Hugo Tremblay.
Matt’s completely hollow by the time he sets foot in the paddock. He already cycled through any emotions he could possibly experience in the days after the first article hit. Now he’s just… dried out.
He dodges reporters and photographers as best as he can, and avoids eye contact from any other people milling about.
Matt doesn’t need their pity. He’s pitiful enough all by himself.
When he shuts his driver’s room door behind him, he finally exhales.
Just one weekend. Just one more weekend and he’ll be a Kaas driver and all of this Andes drama will be far behind him.
After changing, he scrolls on his phone. His suit puddles around his waist as he lounges in his driver’s room. He should probably be out there in the garage, savoring every moment with a team he knows so well, but he can’t bring himself to leave his safe space.
