Racing Hearts | F1 Romance|

Chapter 2 - Louis

She got taller.

Or maybe her height on the floor was shorter in my head. But she got taller. And prettier. An almost impossible statement.

Alejandro was like a father to me, even though we were only six years apart. He was my mentor during academy, and once I finally got out to drive alongside him, he died. The third race of the season.

After finding Araceli in that bathroom at the funeral, I couldn't get that face out of my mind. Her tear-soaked face hid behind her arms and knees. And the flash of freckles I got a view of. Alejandro talked nonstop about her. He was always on the phone before we boarded the plane, and I could hear him telling her the schedule for the upcoming weeks.

I remembered once I questioned him, asking him why he told her the schedule when she can easily look them up online. He told me she hated seeing videos or comments of people talking about us like we aren't human. I didn't understand that because I was just in academy and wasn't out there yet. But now, he isn't wrong. I wouldn't want my little sister to watch the videos of people booing me as I walk on the podium.

"Louis, ready to check out the cars?" One of my favorite crew members said. Her short silver hair was always in braids, with a few strands pulled out. Reminded me of the summers I'd visit my grandma in the countryside when I was younger.

At the beginning of the season, they line up the cars and have all the guys look at them. We sometimes try to hide the jealousy of liking someone's car better. But most of the time it's to laugh at Aurora GT's latest 'redesign.' Code word for; not having a shot at championship this year.

Every team hasn't had a shot at a championship ever since I joined. Three times in a row, about to go to four. In my first year, I won, honoring it to Alejandro. The second year—probably the worst year of my life—I couldn't think of the championship and lost. After that though, my racing has never been better. I guess you do need to hit a roadblock or two to find your true talent.

I smiled at Liliana, the crew member, and walked over to where the filming crew was. I said hello to a few of the other guys, noticing Eduardo Altorez by me. We were. . . Friendly. I have him a brief head nod before going to my car.

Everyone was still laughing at Aurora's latest shit show. I felt bad for Ricky and Eli, who drove for Aurora. I found my car, the stunning dark blue and black. I ran my hand down the smooth metal, touching the logo.

The feeling sent electric shocks down my body. I think this year's car is probably my favorite.

"Damn, I'm switching to Alveni!" Riccardo, Ricky, announced. Now all the guys huddled around me, mesmerized by the car, while the camera crew zeroed in on the vehicle. Ollie really did have to put a lot of trust into the designers when it came to the new cars. And thank god he did.

Ollie is a little bit of a control freak. So this part of the racing process is probably his least favorite.

We broke, getting ready to do our warmup laps and pre-game routines. Mine involved a mental break, and lots of music to get me into the right head space.

I used to smoke about two packs a day in the off-season, having to buy them in bulk at one point, all to deal with the stress of not driving. It was almost impossible to handle the urges while on the road, so Ollie forced me to quit. It really messed with me the first two years, I gained weight, my appetite fluctuated like crazy. And I felt like shit every morning.

So now, I go for a bike ride before every race. I'll scope out the area, and set aside an hour or two, to bike for about thirty minutes before the race. Once I had the clear to go, I ran over to a special rack Ollie had installed for me, and began to bike out of the arena and into a small trail in the city I found the first time I came here, all those years back.