Page 22 of Game on, Love

“Not too bad,” I said, hoping my voice was convincing enough.Thatwas another thing I had been avoiding. “Been busy, so I’ve mostly missed him. Seems nice, though.”

“He is,” Dev gave me one last squeeze before pulling back. “It’ll all work out, Rai. Believe it.”

And for the first time in a long time, I did.

THE SHIMMERING LIGHTSreflected off the wet surface of the track, the towering skyscrapers of Singapore creating a dramatic backdrop. The race was nothing short of a movie, and after a long time, the luck was on Vedant’s side.

The day started with unexpected rain, delaying the race start. After an hour of waiting for the circuit to dry, the race was on for a total of 10 seconds before it all went south. The track had dried up faster than anyone had anticipated, making the wait excessive, but then it was pure chaos. A car was aquaplaning,clipping two cars as it spun, and that triggered a chain reaction. Between spray and debris flying everywhere, a red flag was inevitable, but while everyone was frantic watching the stranded trio of the cars, my eyes went to the grid, which displayed that Vedant had managed to climb up to 9th, and they hadn’t even made it past turn one.

When the race resumed, the restart was nerve-wracking. Every corner looked like it was an invitation for disaster, but he didn’t seem to care as he made overtakes and capitalised on the mistakes ahead of him: from light taps and tyre lock-ups to drivers crashing into the tecpro barriers, there were two more safety cars. A mix of skill, luck, and, frankly, with some of the moves he had made—sheer audacity, Vedant was now in 3rd, and there were another 10 laps to go.

Six cars were already out of the race, and a part of me hoped that he would be more careful now.

But as the Ascari he had been chasing down runs straight on at Turn 15, my heart hammered in my chest. Vedant narrowly avoided the contact as he turned.

“This is carnage,” Dev whispered next to me, and I turned to look at him. His gaze was filled with a similar mix of fear for him and awe of the show Vedant had put on. But we both knew that even though he had put on a show for everyone, going from 15th to 2nd, it wouldn’t be enough for him.

The crowd was roaring, absolutely loving the energy of the race, but as Axel’s orange car sprinted down the straight in front of us, over 13 seconds ahead of Vedant, I knew that either we would see a recreation of last year or a race finish to one of the most amazing drives done by Vedant, even if he finished in P2.

Lap after Lap, he closed down the gap, making his way through the traffic. And then it was a last-lap showdown.

With every corner, Vedant was right on Axel’s gearbox, almost urging him to make a mistake. The commentators in myheadphones were losing their minds, but I had tuned everything out.

My breath caught as Vedant pulled alongside Axel, the two cars almost touching as they reached the finish line. Fireworks exploded, and the crowd cheered around me at the chequered flag.

My heart was in my throat as I started at the screen for confirmation.

“YES!” Dev yelled, as the graphic flashed on the screen.

RACE WINNER - VEDANT PATEL

He had done it.

Dev hugged me as everyone around us celebrated, but I couldn’t help the laugh that flew out of me. It was a relief, disbelief and pure joy.

I had seen him win races before, but to be here and watch him win the one race he had wanted to for the longest time ever, and that too from 15th in the grid? It was one of the most special things ever.

I watched as Vedant’s car slowly rolled into the pits, the crowd racing down the track to be near the podium. He climbed out of the car, the exhaustion and elation evident in his body, but as he took off his helmet and gave a once over to the camera. His eyes glistened, and I knew that it wasn’t just pride or relief in his eyes. It was something more, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it meant.

8

Oliver

I CURSED UNDER MYbreath,tugging at the stubborn fabric that was supposed to be a bow tie and looked like a toddler’s attempt at origami.

Tonight was supposed to be smooth, quick stop at the end-of-season gala.

Show my face, take some photos, and leave.

Instead, here I was, a full ten minutes behind schedule, standing in front of the full-length mirror we had in our reception room, trying and failing to make sense of the video playing in front of me.

Usually, I would ask Rihaan to help with this sort of thing. He strangely had the kind of patience needed to tie a bow tie, while I clearly… did not. But seeing as I was running late, and he was supposed to meet his Dad at the venue, he had already left.

I debated calling Sean and asking him to bring me a clip-on tie when I heard the front door open.

“Rihaan?” I called, already stepping away from the mirror and walking towards the entryway and hoping he forgot something and would save me instead. “Can you give me a hand—”

I stopped halfway through my request, surprised when I spotted her.