Mon Chéri

4

CL16:

I hadn't seen Nova since the night of the club but that doesn't mean she wasn't on my mind. She seemed like such a pure person. I hope Ferrari doesn't kill her spirit. Some photos had made it around of her at the club with all of us but everyone thought she was a girlfriend or friend of one of ours. No one thought she was a driver. Today Ferrari is revealing their car and their second driver.
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My phone dinged it was a text from a number I didn't know. The text told me that it was Nova and she was freaking out over the reveal. I told her to drop by so we could talk about it before and she agreed saying she was only staying ten minutes away and would be over soon. Ten minutes flew by and before long I heard a knock at my door. I walked over and opened it seeing Nova standing there in a Ferrari shirt with black jeans and her hair in a ponytail. "Hey, how are you?" She asked. "I'm okay how are you?" I asked and moved for her to step into my apartment. "Honestly shitting myself right now." She said with a dry laugh. "You got this. If people don't like you that's their fault. You seem like an amazing person and I'm sure you're an amazing driver. Be you. A fiery little thing." I said and she smiled. We hung out for a little bit just talking about life and racing. She was really cool actually. Soft-spoken most of the time unless she was very excited about something. Eventually, she left though having to get over to Ferrari. "Hey we're having a party tonight at Carlos's house, you should come." She said. "Text me the time and I'll be there." I replied. She nodded and walked down the hallway. I closed the door and sighed. Time to wait for the reveal and the reactions.
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"For the 2024 season, we will be making a lot of changes. Firstly with our cars and secondly with our second driver. As you may know, Charles Leclerc is no longer driving for us and we wish him the best of luck at Redbull. But we had to find a new driver. We decided on one and I'm sure SHE is not to disappoint. Please welcome Nova Daniels to Scuderia Ferrari." The crowd cheered and Nova smiled like a mad woman. "Here you go now you can introduce yourself." Frédéric said handing her a microphone. "Hello, my name is Nova Daniels, I'm from Louisville Kentucky U.S., I'm 21 years old and I'm an F2 champion." She said. The TV played for some time before I just shut it off. I heard what I wanted to and I didn't care about anything else. I had a flight tomorrow over to England for the Redbull reveal so I knew I needed to pack tonight.
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I had just finished packing and then heard a knock at my door. I remembered Nova was supposed to send me a time for the party but she never did so I was wondering who it was. I went over to the door and opened it and saw Nova. "Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked a little surprised. "Are you coming to the party or not sweetheart?" She asked. "You never sent me a time," I said. "Time is now so come on sunshine put some shoes on and let's go." She said with a smile. "Oh my goodness, give me a second." I said running back into my apartment to my bedroom. I grabbed and white button-up and threw my hoodie off to put it on. I then grabbed my phone and wallet and ran to the door. "Okay let's go." I said grabbing my keys off the hook by the door. She smiled and we walked down to the parking lot. "I was playing on getting an Uber but you can be my Uber instead." She said smiling like a child. I laughed and unlocked my car.
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The party was big but not huge. It was most of the driver grid that spent time in Italy during the break and their girlfriends and friends. Nova pulled me over to the kitchen and poured us both a drink. "What is this chérie?" I asked. She smiled a little at the name. "Rum and coke. And what does Cherie mean?" She replied. "Interesting, it means woman." I said. I lied but it won't kill her. She knows no French and it's adorable. She nodded and we went toward the crowd in the backyard. "Nova!" Pierre yelled and ran over to her. "Mr. Gasly." She said and fist-bumped him. After a while, she went off with a few of the girls and I stayed with the boys in the yard. "Charles, did you guys come together?" Lando asked. "Yea. She told me earlier about the party then just showed up and said her ready we're leaving. She was gonna Uber but that didn't go well." I said shrugging. "You like her don't you?" He asked me. "As a friend yes. She's pretty don't get me wrong but she's a racer. I don't know how a relationship would work like that." I said honestly. I needed to not get so involved with her. I need to win this season. Do not worry about the girl in red. "Look man if you don't go for it someone will. Don't lose that shot if you really do like her." He said and went back to conversing with Ocon.
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We were all pretty tipsy by the time Nova was ready to call it quits. She bid bye to everyone including me which surprised me. "Hey, I'll talk you back to your hotel. I'm done anyways." I said looking up at her as I was still sitting. "You don't have to if you wanna stay. I'm fine with an Uber." She said so softly I could barely hear her. "I'm good I promise. Come on let's go." I said and stood up. I said bye to everyone and we left. The ride back was mostly silent until a few minutes from the hotel Nova spoke up. "Can I tell you something?" She asked. "Of course." I said. "I'm sure I'm just another person in your mind but I hope you know I truly enjoy your company and I've loved watching you race since F2 and when we first met I was honestly terrified of you. But I really like you. And I really hope we can be friends." She said. "I like you too. Don't worry. You're really cool to be around and I enjoy your company as well." She smiled and nodded. "I'm glad you don't think I'm weird now." She laughed. I chuckled mf shook my head. "You're one of a kind chérie."