Free Practice | Formula One

Chapter Fourteen: We Should Burn Some Sage

"It's a good way to let out my frustrations." I said, repeating what I mentioned to him by the pool.

"Any other reason?" He prompted and I bit my lip. There's always a reason when it comes to things like this and I'm sure every woman would attest to that.

"When Leone announced that I would be their reserved driver, there were a lot of comments." I could feel my entire body tensing at the memory of what I read last year, needing to pass all my social media accounts to Dom for a few months because of it. It's the main reason why I turned off the comments on my Instagram and no one can reply to my stories. "A lot of people weren't happy with the news. It wasn't surprising and I expected the negative words. What I didn't see coming was the other stuff. Before Dom and I made the decision that he'd handle my socials for a while, people took advantage of my comment section and messages. It was absolutely disgusting and maddening how people like them existed. Thankfully, I've never heard those kinds of words in person, but I wouldn't be so sure that no one has ever said them."

Fear was inherent when it came to things like this. I've heard a lot of things happen to female fans who would watch from the stands and it was maddening how in a place where all you wanted was to enjoy yourself, people can easily turn it into a shitshow with just a few words. Thankfully, organizers don't take those occurrences lightly and would ban fans who disrespected others.

Levi's face was hard as stone when I finished speaking and I had no idea what to make of it. I figured it was one of the reasons why he kept his family life private. I watched as Levi took a few steps forward and only stopped in front of me, making me look up. He held out one of his hands and I glanced at it before looking at him again. He didn't speak, only pushing his hand near me.

I placed my hand over his and he pulled on it to make me stand up. My eyes stayed glued on his face as his fingers moved, pushing my own so that they were against my palm before sticking out my thumb. "Make sure your thumb is placed outside or else you're going to break it." His fingers brushed against my knuckles, causing goosebumps to appear on my skin. "Hit with your knuckles so that it's stronger." His fingers left a trail on every inch of skin they touched, my body fighting the urge to pull away when they moved down my arm before settling on my elbow. "You could also use your elbow. The best place to hit would be the throat or their face." I let out a breath when Levi dropped my arm and took a step back as if doing so allowed all the air I needed to seep back in. "Of course, a kick in the balls would always do the trick."

"That's not boxing." I said, surprised my voice was steady despite the pounding in my chest.

"It's not, but it's something you need to remember. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"Alright." He clapped his hands together before grabbing his duffel bag and digging from it. "Wrap up your hands first and then we'll go through the basics." He pulled out a pair of dark blue wraps and I expected him to toss it to me. Instead, Levi put one in his pocket before unwrapping the other, grabbing my hand, and lifting it to hang between us.

Silence wrapped around us as he began looping the material through my hand, making sure that it was secure but not too tight. "I have a question."

"I know." He smirked, eyes glancing at me before they moved back to my hand.

"When are you going to give me answers that aren't vague?"

"I could give them to you right now for a price." I inclined my head to the side as he wrapped the velcro around my wrist before moving to my other hand. "It only seems fair that if I share something, you do the same."

"I could work with that." I said in agreement. "As long as you keep your mouth shut tight."

"Trust me, only a few people get the chance to receive such a high word count from me."