"Pfft… Hahahaha… Cough, cough…"
Even though the powerful arrow was directed at the hearts of both of them, Tyler failed to hold it in, despite trying, and despite the water in his mouth.
"You!"
Lance glared at Tyler. Fortunately, the latter had managed to cover his mouth midway, making Lance avoid the fate of being totally drenched.
"Sorry, sorry."
He smiled apologetically, but without managing to wipe the amusement off his face, making Lance only feel more aggravated. He sighed, then took a tissue to wipe himself. He looked at his drink, and wrinkled his nose in disgust before pushing it over to Tyler while ignoring the insincere apologies.
After he was done, he glared at Alex:
"Aren't you also an idler like us?"
Still keeping his eyes on the screen of his phone, Alex replied:
"Maybe. Anyway, what are you guys doing here, instead of working to take over your families' businesses?"
Taking advantage of an interlude in the game, he raised his head to look at Lance:
"Does your father know?"
Then he turned to Tyler, and asked just as calmly:
"Does your mother know?"
Like magic, those words made the two young men clam up, bringing back the quiet their arrival had chased away.
Tyler drank his water in silence. After a while, Lance exhaled:
"You are as aggravating as always, Alex. I came here with Tyler because there will be a gathering of racers tonight. We want to see if you will be interested. Ron will be there, he is back."
"Oh?"
Alex stopped focusing on his phone and focused on his two friends, finally looking interested in them more than in what he had been doing.
Tyler put the glass in his hand on the table beside the drink Lance had abandoned. He waved his hand at Alex, and smiled calmly:
"I will not be competing, I will only be going as a spectator. Not being reckless anymore was part of my deal with my mother to get some more time for myself."
Alex looked at Tyler up and down, and seemed to get something from his observation. He nodded, then turned to Lance, seemingly wordlessly asking about the deal he had hashed on his side to be roaming free and unfettered.
Lance squirmed on his seat, and turned his head to the side. He muttered in a voice whose vigor had taken a dive:
"I didn't make any deal, I escaped. And I will be staying outside for the next few months."
Alex looked at the blonde from top to bottom, and asked:
"Aren't you afraid of having your support cut off?"
Lance leaned back in his seat with a defeated look, as he shook his head and replied:
"I know my father, he will not take drastic measures immediately. He will give me three months before doing anything."
Alex silently looked at his friend, then shook his head:
"You are hopeless."
The comment made a miserable smile appear on Lance's face.
"I know that he is doing it for my own good, and that I should start doing something productive with my life, but I just can't seem to find the motivation to live the same life as him."
Speaking till there, Lance raised his head and look at Alex:
"Can you take the first step and let me follow you?"
Alex looked at Lance. He leaned back, and returned his attention to his phone. It was only then that he replied to the blond in a calm tone:
"It has been twenty years since we first met. Until when will you keep following me?"
Lance passed his hand over his head and smiled sheepishly:
"Hehe… Maybe you were born a leader and I was born a follower?"
Alex simply rolled his eyes, and stopped pushing. He returned to what had started the subject:
"You want to race. Have you fixed the GT whose engine you wrecked last time? Or do you want to wreck another car?"
Tyler interjected with a laugh:
"I also don't understand. You have no talent in racing, but you insist on running on the circuit. Are you torturing yourself, your cars, or us who have to suffer from watching you every time?"
Lance turned to Tyler with a glare, and he sneered:
"You are the one to talk, now that you have let go of one thing to get another. How much talent do you have in racing?"
Tyler took the glass cold water and retorted as he looked away, before he took a sip:
"You said it, I let go already."
Lance gritted his teeth at the traitor. He was searching for words powerful enough to smash that smug mug apart when he was interrupted by the sound of Alex putting his cup down.
Alex stood up and stretched, before he went to pat Lance's shoulder, his back turned to the door:
"Alright, stop fighting. You two are just two poor souls struggling on the road of life. I will give you the honor of basking in my radiance tonight."
The other two's lips twitched and they gave their friend a speechless look. Before Alex could make his dashing exit, however, a voice came from behind him, calm, beautiful, but with a hint of chill inside:
"Oh, Alex Kenneth Lenner, can the chairman and I, us two poor souls, also bask in a bit of your radiance, then? Right now, not later."
Alex whose complete name had been called out almost jumped in surprise, and he turned around with shock on his face:
"Leyna, sis! What are you doing here?"
On his face, there was no feeling of embarrassment at having been busted during a showboating performance. His exclamation was filled with emotions of pure joy at a pleasant surprise, and nothing else.
He did not look like the one at the top of the food chain anymore, as he looked at Leyna, elegant in her work attire, before looking behind her.
The dark-haired woman rolled her eyes and snapped:
"The chairman is downstairs, waiting."
Alex flinched, and carefully looked at Leyna. Not spotting any alarming sign on her face, he relaxed, as it seemed that his adventure of the weekend had not been made public.
He exhaled, and his smile spread wider, burning brighter as he proactively stepped forward, taking her arm and locking it in the crook of his elbow, before turning to lead her out:
"Then come. Alex Kenneth Lenner will treat you for lunch. We will take the opportunity to speak of when you will be getting married, while you bask in my grandeur."