“Fine, fine. You win.”
He dropped onto the edge of the bed and groaned into his hands. I sat next to him, trying to ignore the flare of discomfort up my spine and into my shoulders as I rubbed his back, smilingsadly. I reached for my phone to check the time. It buzzed the second I picked it up.
Group FaceTime call from Marco, Kimi
I froze. “Shit. Don’t they have anything better to do?”
Callum lifted his head. “Answer it.”
“Absolutely not?—”
Too late. He swiped to accept and propped the phone on the nightstand, full body still gloriously naked.
Marco’s face filled the screen. “Good morning, lovers.”
Kimi popped into frame beside him. “Did you at least hydrate? You both look sweaty.”
I launched myself across the bed, yanking the sheet up to cover Callum and smacking him in the chest. “What the fuck?—”
“Oh, don’t mind us,” Marco said. “We’re just checking in. Thought we’d see if you two are still on track for Barcelona after your big night last night.”
“Yep,” I said, overly chipper. “Totally normal. Two different flights. Nothing to see here.”
“Is that yourbrain the background?” Kimi asked.
My head whipped around to find one of my sports bras hanging from the corner of Callum’s dresser. How the hell did that even get there? Wait—whendid that get there? I squinted until I realized it was the one I wore yesterday for the race.
Callum smirked. “She was doing laundry.”
I slapped a hand over his mouth.
Marco folded his arms. “Look. We don’t care. Truly. Butmaybedon’t have your secret rendezvous in Monaco where every other driver lives, and maybe don’t answer FaceTime calls while one of you is clearly redressing and trying to flee.”
“I’m not fleeing,” I snapped. “I’m beingprofessional.”
“Uh-huh.” Kimi sipped his coffee. “In a bed, naked, on a Monday morning is very professional. So, are you two done now?”
Callum glanced at me. “Yeah. We’re waiting until the end of the season. No distractions or trying to sneak around.” He said it so casually, even though we both loved to sneak around. It was in all those seldom private moments and knowing conversations in public that drew us together like magnets.
I nodded. “It’s just sex—I mean, itwassex. But not anymore. We’re back to being rivals.”
“Friends,” Callum added, still too smug.
“Friendly rivals with healthy mutual respect and… history.”
Kimi blinked. “History?”
I pointed. “Don’t make it weird.”
Marco sighed. “Just don’t get caught, alright? And if you do, lie better.Please. You guys are so bad at this, it’s comical.”
“Not lying. You two are just annoying.” I reached up to pull my tangled hair into a ponytail, my shoulders burning with the effort. “Besides, we’ve only slept together a few times. It was a convenient way to blow off steam. That, and he’s an easy lay.”
Marco and Kimi burst out laughing while Callum’s jaw dropped.
“She’s not wrong, Fraser,” Marco said, wiping at his eyes.
“Yeah, mate, she’s got you there. No wonder you’re just friends. You put out before the first date.”
