The F1 Queen: A Women In A Man's World.

Part 22: Pre Australian Grand Prix

There was no doubt my head was a complete mess. Last night defiantly set the record straight about who was really there for me; I was still trying to get my head over the fact that Paul had confessed his love for me! Oh Paul....

I was so deep in thought about what magical and mind blowing events occurred last night, I was oblivious to Nico striding in the room, a stormy look upon his face. He seemed to show little interest that I was sitting mere metres away from him. I tried not to look at him as his anger became more apparent as he ordered a mechanic to stay out of his way. I tried once more to bury my head in my hands; blocking Nico from view, but unfortunately, not from earshot. I heard him slam the door shut behind the mechanic and march over towards the sofa, where I was sitting. I heard him slump himself downwards onto the sofa adjacent to mine. It was a while before he decided to open his mouth to speak. "So." He began sharply, poisoning his words with his lethal venom. "What happened last night between you and Paul?" His words suddenly became more demanding, with just a hint of jealously thrown in for good measure. I slowly lifted my head from my hands, feeling reluctant to answer that womaniser at all. What's it got to do with him anyway? It's not like he cared about me anymore, and even if he did, he was doing a terrible job showing it. "What's it got to do with you?" I finally replied bitterly, throwing back his jealously straight in his cutesy little face. It was obvious by his reaction that my choice of words could have been better. "It's got everything to do with me! We were still together! We were still a team! You lying little cheater!" He suddenly leaped off his seat in a fit of rage and went straight for me. I screamed in fear, leaping out of the way just in time for Nico to slam face first into the sofa where I had sat. He turned to face me, rage seeping from his eyes, ears, mouth and just about everywhere you could possibly think off. To my surprise, he didn't try attacking me again. Instead he forced himself up and stomped out of the lounge, slamming the door furiously behind him.

**************************

"20 minutes til the formation lap people! Lets get these cars shifted onto the track pronto! Come on! Move it! Move it!" Ross boomed from the pitwall, waving his arms all around the shop and making his apparent disapproval for our lack of organisation known to everyone in the garage. As I was making my way out to the track, Freddy slid up towards me, clutching hold of his headset nervously. "Er Nikki?" He wavered, making sure he had my attention first before proceeding. "What's up Fred? Something wrong?" "You do realise that tiff last night with Nico has fallen prey to Ross' ears..." Oh great. Just fantastic. Just what I needed. I sighed heavily, knowing I was defiantly in for a lecture later on. "Oh that's fantastic...To be honest Fred, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Nico was the one spreading this shit" I considered this as a possibility. It seemed like a plausible explanation, but I wasn't ready to point fingers just yet. "Well you just be careful...all I know is Ross is far from happy!" And before I could answer, Freddy sauntered towards the pitwall to join Ross and the remainder of the Mercedes pitwall crew.

*****************************

"Hey Nikki! Fancy seeing you round here!" I shot around, tearing my headphones out of my ears in the process. The familiar forest green shirt and the classic curved hat where a complete giveaway. I smiled sweetly. "Oh hey Davide! Well it is race day! What are you doing on the track?" I asked puzzled. I saw his cheeks burn up as he struggled to answer my seemingly straight forward question. "Oh I just wanted to see you again that's all..." His face had turned redder than Rudolph's nose, which made me smile with glee. "That's really nice of you! Well, why don't you watch the race from the Mercedes garage? I'll make sure they are keeping you comfortable" I grinned, gesturing him to follow me.

As we approached the garage once more, I bumped into Mick, a mechanic from Nico's half of the garage. "Hey Mick you wouldn't mind giving Davide a headset and making him feel comfortable would you? He is a guest of mine and I wouldn't want him to miss the race!" Davide was beaming next to me while Mick looked unimpressed but was inclined to comment. Instead he pointed towards the garage and led him away. As I turned around and headed towards the track again, he called "You wanna hang out after the race?". I didn't reply.