Invisible string (lestappen)

Chapter 6 : Charles

As soon as I mark the decisive point, Max runs up to me to give me a hug in celebration of our victory.

'We did it !', he screams joyfully.

A totally normal move you make when you win but it caught me so off guard I didn't even realise what was happening at first.

Max is hugging me.

And like an idiot, I'm not even doing it back. So I do exactly that. Only because it would be mean to leave him hanging. Certainly not because I want to.

My arms surround him and I let my body dive into it. His embrace is so strong I should probably be suffocating right now. Instead, I feel...comfortable. I mean, he's definitely not a terrible hugger. It's actually quite nice.

More than I care to admit.

Next thing I know, we're two feet apart again. The coldness of not being in his arms anymore hitting me.

I feel Pierre's hand on my shoulder while I'm still recovering from the whole hug situation.

'Yeah, yeah. Congratulations guys'

His voice brings me out of my existential crisis.

'This was karma for not teaming up with me', I taunt.

Now I bet he's the one who's dying to erase the grin off my face. And it's not going to go away any time soon.

He raises his hands in surrender.

'Okay, I admit it. You were better than I thought and Lando was actually ten times worse'

'Hey, I heard that !', the one in question yells from across the court.

Pierre makes a fake apology face in his direction that makes me laugh.

'Come on, he wasn't that bad'

He whispers so that only I can hear.

'He wasn't, but don't tell him I said that'

I can't keep my serious at his comment. He and Lando together was bound to be a mess to be honest. I should've known that.

'Anyway', Pierre continues still at the same level.

'I was also wrong about you and Max. Guess you guys are in the honeymoon phase after all'

I don't even bother answering. Because a small part of me has to agree with him. Not on the honeymoon part obviously but on the fact that our duo worked surpinsingly well. We didn't even argue once. And God knows how competitive we both are. It's almost a miracle that it didn't happen.

Apparently, we understand each other much better than I thought.

•••

We all head to the locker room for a shower and a change of clothes. I put all my stuff on a bench and start taking my t-shirt off. I'm so sweaty, it's disgusting. I can't wait to be under hot water to get rid of this sticky feeling.

Lando and Pierre, who are the farthest from prude, get undressed in no time and jump in their respective shower. Were they strippers in their former lives ? Because why are they so comfortable walking around half-naked while I'm out here hiding my body and feeling as exposed as a newborn ?

I'm not normally shy when it comes to showing my body. I'm quite self-confident. Not in a cocky kind of way, but in the way I think everyone should be. I do a lot of exercise and try to be as healthy as possible for that specific reason. But somehow, I'm the furthest from relaxed right now.