Page 92 of Game on, Love
“Since your brother gave me a crash course on it?”
“That was like three years ago,” His gaze narrowed on me. “You couldn’t even sit through the whole race when we went to Silverstone both times because you complained about how long it was. And now suddenly you care about it enough to not just watch the race but sit through 45 minutes of the pre-race show where they talk about strategy for the race?”
I pressed my lips, lifting a shoulder as I feigned nonchalance.“I changed my mind.”
As Vedant appeared on the screen, he got distracted at how Raina had let the others take over the questioning when it came to their brother. My guess was that Vedant still hadn’t realised his mistake, which was strange, considering he’d been the one who I assumed was the closest to her.
Once the grid line up appeared on the screen, I grabbed my phone to text her.
Me:Solid Pre-race show, particularly enjoyed watching Vedant squirm.
Me:Should I expect the same treatment when you move over to cricket?
Her reply came back instantly.
Raina:Thanks! Ha, he deserved it.
Raina:That depends on whether or not you’re planning to keep me out of the loop when you make big career decisions?
Me:Would you like me to sign a contract that says you would always be the first one to know about anything for the rest of the time?
Raina:Hm, sounds appealing.
Raina:Though, I wonder what Sam would have to say to that… considering she currently holds the exclusive rights to all things Oliver King.
Noticing Rihaan’s gaze on me, I held back my laugh before focusing on the screen as the formation lap was over. Though my mind was still focused on how she’d watched my interviews—not just the ones from game days—but others to realise that Sam had been the one to interview me for most if not all of them. It wasn’tanything personal, I’d been around her enough from the start to create a long relationship that felt easy, especially when it came to breaking news when joining the main squad—be it for under 19s or the ODI squad.
Just as the lights went out, I typed back my response.
Me:all things to my career.*
Me:But doesn’t matter, because she’ll just have to accept that there’s only one person I want to have exclusive rights to me.
Me:Though it’s good to know I’m not the only one who did the snooping.
A minute later, her reply came through.
Raina:Just evening out our playing field.
I turned my attention to the screen before my phone buzzed again. She’d liked the second message, making me think she’d thought about doing it at first but thought better of it before rereading it and doing it anyway. My heart warmed up.
Twenty Two laps in to the race, a red flag was waved after a car retired on track due to some engine leak and Rihaan turned to me again.
“So.” Rihaan paused as Milo straightened at his voice. Once he was back in to his resting position, Rihaan started again. “This new interest in F1 is all because you changed your mind?”
I cleared my throat before nodding. It wasn’t the truth, but technically it wasn’t a lie a either.
Ihadchanged my mind, I just wasn’t offering how or why I had.
“Cool, cool.”
I looked at him, and he was wearing a slightly irritated expression. I couldn’t tell if it was because I wasn’t being honest, or if it was because I was being vague.
“What did you and Raina do when we were doing horror night?”
I tilted my head. “Can you still call it horror night if you start watching the movies before noon?”
“It’s a made-up day we created as kids, I don’t really think the naming police will come fine us for using the wrong term.”