Crash

Press

Compared to ice skating, this was a whole other world of sport. As she walked the strip, hand in hand with her boyfriend, the next thing she noticed was the lack of women. In her sport, especially in the pair aspect, it was pretty much fifty-fifty. She'd worked hard throughout her career to achieve equal opportunities for women in her industry, and it was something that she was fully passionate about. But as she looked around, it struck her just how far off they were outside of her wheelhouse. 

With gritted teeth, she tried to keep her eyes focused ahead. "Are they staring at me because I'm famous, because I'm with you or because I'm the only woman within a hundred feet of this place?"

Charles looked amused as he shrugged, kissing her knuckles. "Honestly? Probably all of the above."

"I feel like I'm in high school," she grumbled, trying to keep her expression relaxed, overtly away of the mass of cameras still following them. "All these boys staring at me."

"Most of them are probably fans," he assured. "The rest? Probably jealous."

In front of them, a red building adorned with the Ferrari sign loomed. Charles's teammate and friend, Carlos Sainz, was stood out front, talking to a blonde-haired woman with a clipboard and a camera. There was a mic hanging overhead and a small team standing around them, like they were filming for something important. 

"Do you guys film everything?" she asked with genuine interest, noting the signature Netflix N on the camera. 

"It's for the documentary," he explained. "The lady there, that's Sally. She asks us questions and follows us with the camera. Each of the teams has a producer, gets their own story line. It's, ah, how do you say..."

"Invasive?"

"Yes. Invasive."

Penelope smiled in greeting as they met Carlos, Sally and the crew. Charles and Carlos called out a warm hello as they embraced, and immediately she could tell there was a bond between them. 

"Hola, my friend!" Carlos grinned, patting Charles on the cheek as he squirmed. "You're late, like always! But today you bring your pretty friend, so I can forgive this."

"Penelope, this is my teammate Carlos," Charles said, dodging as Carlos tried to sweep his feet out from under him. "Carlos, this is my girlfriend Penelope."

Something about that word made Penelope's insides turn to mush. That was the first time she'd heard him refer to her as his girlfriend before. It felt right, like the next natural step in their relationship. Sure, she missed the privacy they had before they went public, but the way his eyes glittered with pride as he spoke about her was a different feeling altogether. 

"Hola Carlos," Penelope said, giving him a friendly hug. "Encantada de conocerte."

Carlos regarded her with bright eyes, nodding in approval. "Tú spico español?"

"Si." 

"Okay, you two," Charles grumbled. "English please. No talking about me in Spanish, either."

Penelope and Carlos laughed as the camera crew came up behind them. The blonde producer, Sally, nodded in greeting. 

"Hi, Penelope," she said in a warm, professional tone. "I'm Sally, I work for Netflix. I'm a big fan, by the way."

"Thank you," she blushed, waving to the crew standing behind Sally. "Hi everyone. Thanks for having me."

"Our pleasure. Just to check, you happy to be on camera? I can have my guys send the paperwork over to your team as soon as needed."

Penelope shrugged. Having a camera in her face wasn't new. Alongside her acting career, she'd participated in more interviews than she could count. Being in a few minutes of a Netflix documentary wasn't going to make or break her career. 

"Sure. I don't mind."

"Great. Charles, it okay if we follow you guys around today?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Awesome. You guys get going whenever you're ready. Won't even realise we're there."

Charles and Penelope said goodbye to Carlos, who to Penelope's disappointment was heading off to a meeting on the track. She had been looking forward to having another Spanish speaker around, but also and perhaps more importantly, to get to know one of her boyfriend's closest friends a little better. 

Together, they walked hand in hand into the headquarters, the cameras following a good distance behind. Charles talked the whole way, pointing out memorabilia and important rooms, chatting about the history of the team and past victories. His love for the sport was so vibrant that it made her heart swell.  

"You really love this stuff, don't you?" she asked quietly as he knocked on the door at the end of the hall that was marked 'MATTIA'S OFFICE.' 

"Yeah...makes me feel close to my dad, you know? That's important to me."

Penelope squeezed his hand as the door opened, revealing a smiling Mattia who welcomed them with opened arms. "Benvenuti, amici!" he announced, pushing his glasses up his nose. "You ready? We have an big day today Charles, my boy, no? And Penelope, we are so honoured to have you here! Come, come, you are with me today. We will watch Charles together."

Penelope was excited, of course she was, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. It wasn't normal to give special treatment to the driver's girlfriends. Maybe she was being too cynical, but as she followed Mattia back towards the track, the inkling of doubt started to grow stronger and stronger in the pit of her stomach. She trusted Charles, of course she did, but could she trust everyone else?

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