She looks around for crew that have made themselves scarce. I knew they would. Between me and my brothers, this isn’t their first rodeo.
‘Wait, what’s that in the sea?’ I lean over the edge. ‘I think it’s a dolphin!’
Her footsteps quicken. ‘What?’
‘Psych!’ I push her over the side and she tumbles into the sea with a strangled yelp. I’m in hysterics as I leap in after her.
‘Are you crazy?’ she says, treading water, but her smile belies her tone. The cool water’s almost shocked her back to full strength. ‘What if the boat leaves us here?’
‘Jules, it’s my boat, and it’s stationary.’
I can’t stop looking at her. Hair slicked back, droplets clinging to her eyelashes, not a single smear of makeup. I really want to kiss her but I don’t think the addendum covers kissing outside sex.
‘We’renaked,’ she impresses, like I hadn’t noticed.
I shake the hair out of my face. ‘What’s your thing about nakedness?’
‘What if a fish gets interested?’
‘Then it’s not the only thing in this ocean that’s interested in you.’ I splash her and she splashes back, harder.
I launch on top of her, trapping her in arm jail. She wriggles out, plants both hands on the top of my head and dunks me under. We squirm around, splashing and laughing and fighting until we’re even more spent.
‘What did Leone say after your result last weekend?’ she asks, bobbing with the current.
‘They’re over the freaking moon. You’d have thought we’d won the Championship.’
She grins. ‘You deserve it; that was some feat. No one’s ever placed in a Leone before.’
I agree, watching the ripples my hand makes.
‘Does it make you more inclined to stay?’ she says.
‘What? No, I…’ Where did that even come from? The whole reason we have any relationship at all is because of Volare. ‘Volare are my team. I’m just helping these guys out in the meantime.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ she asks slowly. ‘You haven’t mentioned Volare in weeks.’
‘I’m… focused on trying to prove myself. It doesn’t mean anything.’ Her sceptical expression has me second-guessing myself. ‘What, are you saying I should stay?’
Her fingers dance on the water’s surface. ‘The more I hear about Volare and your time there, the more I wonder why you’d go back to somewhere you were treated like that.’
‘It was mostly me. I don’t really blame them.’
‘Your behaviour wasn’t any different to the previous four years. I admit it didn’t reflect well on a sporting brand, and I don’t doubt it was a contributing factor, but they handled itappallingly. They didn’t even tell you themselves – you found out second-hand.’
Third-hand. It was in an article that Isa found and showed me.
‘F1 schedules are tight,’ I mutter. ‘Anyway, they’re different now. There’s been a lot of change in the leadership.’
Her eyes tighten. ‘A Volare graduate wins P2 at the British Grand Prix, and they don’t even message you or congratulate you on social media?’
‘Politics.’ I shrug even though I was thinking the same thing. ‘Wait, where’s this coming from? They’re my dream.’
The injustice of it burns through my veins. If she wants to talk about unworthy goals, I can go right now. How’s Tom doing? How’s getting over Damian going? How’s transitioning to self-growth content?
‘I just want what’s best for you,’ she says, and it’s so damn sincere my aggravation ebbs away.
‘They are what’s best for me.’
