A girl chasing her dream. A boy looking for the light.
When Florence Nyx started her internship at a Formula 1 paddock, she expected a lot. Fast cars. Exclusive impressions most people could only dream of. An entire array of skills she'd acquire...
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I was trying to keep my distance. I really was.
But that proved to be hard when Florence stayed sat the same hotel with her family, always threatening to bump right into me. I'd watched them a few times over the course of last week, while I was trying to sort my mind. They'd seemed like a happy family; pretty standard, almost. If it weren't for the fact that half the family were race drivers, and that the other half was energetic enough to fill up a room with their aura, you would've thought they were just the typical family next door.
Florence, weirdly enough, fit right into that. Even though she was neither standard nor the girl next door. She was vibrant, exhilarating, and so damn present that it was hard not to notice her wherever she went.
Her not seeming to shy away from a challenge also didn't help matters. Because that stubborn and fiery attitude, combined with her incessant need to be the best at whatever she did, surely amounted to an entire arsenal of skills I wasn't yet aware of.
"Ugh..." Florence's groan followed by a quiet yawn made me glance to my right, where she occupied the window seat she fought pretty hard for. She insisted she wanted to watch the landscape during the ride. That I specifically chose the window seat when we booked the tickets didn't matter, for whatever reason.
It all ended in an argument that entertained too many people for my liking, and so I gave in, knowing she'd probably enjoy it way more than I could, anyway.
Or at least I thought so, given her eyes fell shut the second the train left the station.
"Tired?" I asked, shifting in my seat to watch her properly.
"You have no idea." She cuddled against the glass, squishing her scarf into a makeshift-pillow which then got wedged between her temple and the windowpane.
Seeing her like this was confusing, because as electric and stormy as she usually was, right now her entire being emanated calm and warmth. The way the evening sun kissed her skin, even beneath the hoodie she'd been wearing the whole ride, portrayed her in a gentle light that made it so much harder to breathe evenly.
"I think I do," I whispered, keeping in mind that I lost a lot of sleep just thinking about this damn woman over the past days.
"Fine, smartass..." I could practically see how she rolled her eyes beneath her lids. "Just let me sleep, even if I snore."
"You mean when you snore."
Her eyes flew open and she glared at me, though I recognized the amusement glimmering in her irises. She regarded me for a moment, hidden suspicion now evolving into flat-out admission. "I think I liked you more when you said less."
"Didn't think you'd liked me, to begin with."
Florence blinked a few times, her green-blue eyes dancing a whole waltz of emotions until she gave in, and a proper smirk curled onto her lips. "Damn." She laughed. "No need to be smug about it, McCoy."
