diff --git a/src/client.rs b/src/client.rs
index 5e03f00..1d678aa 100644
--- a/src/client.rs
+++ b/src/client.rs
@@ -34,7 +34,11 @@ impl ClientCache {
             )
         });
 
-        f(client.1.clone()).await
+        // inner is ref-counted
+        let client_cloned = client.1.clone();
+        drop(client);
+
+        f(client_cloned).await
     }
 
     pub fn gc(&self, dur: std::time::Duration) {