Page 28 of Retrograde

Revolution Racing were at an event in Monaco for their sponsors, and they were all dressed up to the nines.

It was a fashion show for a luxury formalwear brand, and they had provided everyone’s outfits.

Lucie had chosen a strapless satin maxi dress in red which clung to her curves in all the right places, and the slit in the thigh was giving her an air of confidence that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Or maybe that was down to the way Brett had slipped his arm around her waist, leaned in close and told her she looked phenomenal before they left the hotel room.

It had sent a shiver down her spine in a way that almost made her pull him back towards the king-sized bed by his tie.

Which was also red, because that was their team colour, but it made her heart flutter that they matched.

This dress, and her hormones, had her acting out of control.

They hadn’t kissed again since their second night in Sydney, hadn’t even talked about it, but Lucie had been physically turning her head or her body so neither of them were tempted.

She had even started wearing an eye mask to bed and claiming she was exhausted, so they didn’t lay awake talking.

A pillow wall between them had been briefly discussed.

Lucie was one more intense moment of chemistry away from giving in to his suggestion of a friends-with-benefits situation. She was craving another taste of him regardless of the consequences.

Tonight was a big night for the team, and it was up to Lucie and Faith to hype it up across socials.

The sponsors wanted them to film everything they got up to and the team were thoroughly enjoying a chance to play fashion influencer for the evening.

The drivers had gone up on stage and modelled their suits themselves, much to Julien’s disgust. He hated attention unless it was for his efforts on the track.

Faith was yapping in Lucie’s ear about Jasmine’s school project and how she had created an exact replica of Jupiter with paint and papier maché.

‘That sounds cool,’ Lucie mumbled absentmindedly, pretending to be paying attention to every word she said. Brett eyed her from his table, and she thanked the heavens she was standing at the bar at the opposite end of the room. She turned away quickly, looking back at her friend.

Faith narrowed her eyes suspiciously. ‘Something’s changed between you two.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. We’re the same as we’ve always been.’

‘No, you keep looking at each other like you’re the only two people in the room. The energy feels different. Have you slept together or something?’

‘No!’ Lucie’s voice rose several octaves and her cheeks reddened.

‘ Nothing has happened? Nothing that would cause a shift in your behaviour now?’

‘Okay, so obviously there was the drunken almost-sex in Vegas… maybe we kissed in Sydney. Stone-cold sober.’

‘You’ve what? You’ve kissed? Just, a casual peck or like, a full-on, clothes thrown across the room, hard to resist taking it further kind of kiss?’

‘Uhhh… tipped my entire world on its axis. I laid awake for hours.’

‘Oh lord, those are the best kind.’

‘I know . But it’s Brett. This can’t be a thing.’

‘Why not? You two are soulmates, it’s frustrating watching you two not realise it.’

‘He’s a wild card. I don’t think anything could make him settle down.’

Faith frowned. ‘Hmm.’

‘What?’

‘I hate to admit it, but I think you have a point.’

‘Exactly. So, we need to rein it in.’

‘I don’t think you should completely close the door on it.’

‘Well, I can’t talk to him about it.’ Lucie widened her eyes as if the idea was ludicrous.

‘Of course you can.’

‘No way. That will make things awkward.’ She fidgeted with her bracelet, one that Brett had got her when her grandma passed away. It had her nonna’s birthstone, amethyst, in it.

‘Lucie, are you for real? If a one-night stand two years ago hasn’t made things awkward, neither will addressing said one-night stand.’

‘He did also offer a friends-with-benefits arrangement… I’m still not sure if he was joking. I laughed it off, anyway.’

‘He what? Girl, take it!’ Faith’s drink sloshed as she lurched forward and gripped Lucie’s arm. This was the most they’d gossiped about the guys since the IEC trip to Hawaii two seasons ago, when Faith had told her she and Julien had been secretly sort-of dating.

‘I can’t do that!’ She was already dangerously close, but right now, in this moment, logic was in control of her emotions.

‘Why not?’

Lucie chewed on her bottom lip, ruining her recent gloss application. ‘Because…’

‘Oh, shit! You’re in love with him!’ Faith whisper-yelled and caused the bartender to look their way. It was just as well nobody else was at the bar, because this would be all over social media before long if they weren’t careful.

‘Congrats, you worked it out.’

Faith’s jaw dropped, and Lucie became hyper-aware that Brett was likely still looking in their direction.

If they didn’t move this conversation elsewhere, or tone it down a notch, he’d be over here in a millisecond, trying to get in on the gossip.

What excuse would Lucie possibly give him if he did catch on to their top-secret exchange?

‘I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to figure it out.’ Faith sat there dumbfounded, like she had just uncovered the world’s greatest love story.

‘I’m not too sure when I figured it out, to be honest. It was almost like I didn’t have to.’

‘You’ve just kind of always felt it?’ she said, dreamily.

‘For as long as I can remember. But it’s like that night we spent together reignited the spark, and I can’t push it down any more.’

Faith’s entire demeanour softened as she took on the role of a concerned friend. ‘Luce, don’t you think you should tell him? Get it out in the open?’

‘Maybe. Even if it blows up in my face, I probably need to spit it out eventually. But not yet. He’s got too much going on in his head, I have to time it right. When I tell him, it could ruin our friendship for good. He needs me too much for me to be selfish at the moment.’

‘God, this is going to be painful.’

‘Oh, I’ll be fine. I’ve been doing this for years.’

‘Not for you, for me.’ Faith placed her hand over her heart. ‘I just want to know if he feels the same way. I’ve always thought he does, but that doesn’t mean he wants a happily ever after.’

‘I don’t even know if I do. I don’t know if we would work if we stepped over the line.

It’s one thing to love a person, but it’s another to actually be compatible or share the same hopes and dreams. Anyway, you’re being super unhelpful right now, Jensen,’ Lucie deadpanned.

‘Let’s head back over to the table. We’re starting to draw attention to ourselves and I do not want to deal with an interrogation… ’

Sitting back down with the team, Lucie’s attention was on glassware.

Each glass on the white tablecloth was filled with water.

Just plain old aqua. None of the team were drinking alcohol at the table, they would instead head to the bar and stand there until their drinks were finished, leaving Brett to mingle.

Even then, she didn’t think any of them had drunk more than two and they were already a few hours into their evening.

So far, Brett had kept quiet, not touched a drop of alcohol and accepted the situation for what it was, but slipped Lucie his credit card and insisted she let him treat her to something other than room temperature water.

His only complaint of the entire evening had been that an event catering to such high-class clientele should up their ice game.

As she leaned back in her chair, her dress seriously restricting her movements, she observed Brett while he turned to speak to Ricardo De La Rosa at the table behind.

The same De La Rosa they were supposed to hate since he’d broken up with Bea via a break-up announcement on social media instead of communicating with her directly.

The same De La Rosa who was making a poor effort at winning her back.

Nonetheless, Brett was happily chatting away. As loud as ever.

It wasn’t until he turned back around and knocked his drink over that doubt started to crawl up Lucie’s spine. Water spilled everywhere. On Brett’s phone and Marco’s, all over Brett’s suit trousers and on the silky material of Faith’s dress.

‘Anderson!’ Faith rolled her eyes and stood up, dabbing at the material with a napkin before sighing and hurrying away to the bathrooms.

Her dress belonged to the brand that was sponsoring them and if it was ruined, Faith would have to pay the costs. Lucie knew based on her own dress that her gorgeous floor-length gown was upwards of four grand.

‘Aw shit, sorry man, is your phone all right, De Luca?’ Brett frowned as Marco inspected the damage. Julien watched on in silence, concern etched across his features. His gaze didn’t even follow his wife out of the room like it usually would.

‘All good. Yours?’ Marco was typically unbothered.

‘Yeah, think I need to go get the hand dryer on my trousers though.’ Brett excused himself and left his friends sitting there in an awkward silence. Someone needed to say it, but who?

‘Luce, what’s in that glass? Give it a quick check before he comes back.’ Julien pointed at the half-empty glass of water that Brett had been drinking from.

Lucie picked it up, lifting it to her nose and inhaling before taking a hesitant sip for good measure.

It was plain water, no doubt about it. She felt guilty for them all accusing him of breaking his sobriety so soon, but she had a feeling that for now, this would be a regular thing.

They would constantly be suspicious of his every move.

At least for tonight, they could just put it down to Brett being clumsy.

He would no doubt receive a dry-cleaning bill from Julien’s wife, however.

Or Julien himself, who still looked monumentally pissed off.