Drifting Deception

Chapter Thirteen

HENRY 

I lay on my hotel bed, staring at the ceiling in silence. It was a very mundane thing to do, but for some reason, it was all I could do right now.

I'd finished fourth in today's race, just two-hundredths away from standing on the podium. It was better than my past few races, but it still wasn't good enough. I craved the day a podium with Santoro came. I knew it was going to be a hundred times better than the podiums with Astro Racing. It had to be.

The light of my phone lit up the dark room around me, the buzz on the cabinet indicating that it was a text. For some weird reason, I hoped it was Sydney. I didn't know why, but talking to her was easy, and after a day like this, that was exactly what I needed.

I also enjoyed the moments when we connected on a deeper level. I couldn't remember the last time I'd spoken to anyone about topics that didn't lightly graze the surface. When she opened up to me yesterday, it made me feel relieved. Relieved that someone was comfortable enough to share their secrets with...me.

I leaned over the bed to see who was psychotic enough to message me. Disappointment filled me the second I peered at the contact.

It wasn't Sydney. It was Emilia.

Emilia and I had been catching up behind closed doors for the past year. She was my date the first time I'd met Sydney, at the dinner to celebrate Theo's win. But we'd drifted ever since Sydney and I became official. I guess, the whole world thought we were dating, so I had to keep up the act with every person in my life. Emilia however was good at keeping secrets. She wouldn't dare reveal my lie to the world if it meant she could visit me in my bed.

Emilia: I heard you're in Canada. Funnily enough, so am I. Modelling gig.

Me: That's great to hear. Enjoy.

Emilia: Aren't you going to send me your address? I know your girl has gone back home.

I sighed. Sydney and I had agreed we could do anything we wanted with other people provided we kept it on the downlow. Emilia was likely staying in the city too. She could be in my room in the next twenty minutes. I hadn't had sex since our event after the Santoro dinner, and boy had I been craving it. A lot. But for some reason, I didn't want to see Emilia. Even if Sydney was seeing other people, it felt odd to get with someone else. It felt like a betrayal to sleep with other women while I called her my girlfriend. Fake-girlfriend, remember. 

I shook my head, wiping the sweat off my forehead that had appeared in the past minute.

Me: I have a girlfriend now.

Emilia: And? Don't you remember our night in Prague? We could recreate that tonight ;)

I had weirdly lost my respect for Emilia after that message. I wondered if she did this to all the guys who had girlfriends. The disrespect to Sydney made my blood boil in a way that clouded my vision. How dare she try and think she was above her.

Me: I think you misunderstood my message. I have a girlfriend. I'm not interested.

Emilia is typing...

I braced myself for the dramatic, rude insult that would come my way. Emilia wasn't used to rejection. She always had men and women at her feet, quite literally begging on their knees for her attention. That was what happened when you were a gorgeous woman who could have any person you wanted. Well, almost anyone.

Emilia: Okay. She's lucky to have you. All the best, Henry x

Huh. This was new. I thought I'd have to use my rude texting tone and unnecessarily explain myself for a few more minutes. I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling slightly better knowing I wasn't letting Sydney down.