Away We Go • 2 • Formula One

Chapter 3

Testing seemed to be over as quickly as it started and before I knew it, I found myself getting ready for the party to celebrate the start of the new season. Last year, I had attended the event with my friend and former mechanic, Cal, however he hadn't been called out to work in Barcelona. I considered just attending alone to make a statement that I'm proud to be independent, however someone needed me. Kudzai was acting stressed because the baby still hadn't arrived by the time her due date rolled around and Esteban's presence wasn't helping the situation. He was instructed by his own mother, who had been looking after Kudzai whilst Esteban completed testing, to stay in Spain until he was originally due to come home (the day after the party). As a result, I took pity on my former teammate and offered to attend the event with him so he can try and not worry about his current situation.

There was a sharp rap against the bathroom door. I halted shaving my legs in annoyance as Esteban began to shout through the door. "I think I left my phone charger in there when I was shaving!"

I peered around the frosted glass to check the counter by the mirror. "I don't see it," I replied in a loud enough tone so that he could hear me over the stream of water slapping onto the floor of the shower. I did notice, however, that he had left his razors plugged in at the wall which was a very obvious safety hazard. My eyes seemed to roll on their own at the thought.

"I'm coming in to check!"

His words didn't register quick enough for me to protest. "What?! No-" I began to say, but he continued to push open the door. I instinctively backed up against the far wall. using my hands to cover myself. Luckily there was a pane in between us so he wouldn't be able to see anything in detail. My panic unfortunately resulted in my dropping my razor as my hands slipped for grip, leaving a lovely slice on my left mid-thigh. I swore under my breath, watching the blood immediately start to seep from the cut. The pain was only bad for a split moment before the water started to soothe it.

"I'm not looking!" Through the fogged glass, I could see his elbows jutted out in a way to prove that his hands were over his eyes.

"Dude! I'm fucking naked!"

"Just add me to the growing list of drivers who have been with you whilst you were nue," he cheekily commented, earning a bar of soap thrown over the panel. It hit him with a satisfying thunk, followed by an exclamation of pain. "Culotté!"

"Get me a towel!" I instructed. "Oh, and preferably not a white one."

"Aw, did someone start their womanly cycle?" I could hear the teasing in his voice and I wished I had another bar of soap to throw at him.

"Talk about my womanly cycle again and I'll put you in so much pain you'll think you're starting yours, got it?" I shot back. Esteban fell silent, unsurprisingly. When the towel appeared over the top of the frosted glass, I didn't hesitate to shut the shower off and wrap the fluffy, blue material tightly around my body.

"So, why did you need a blu-" he stopped mid sentence, eyes landing on my thigh. The water made the razor cut look significantly worse than what it was, and was already dripping down my leg. "Oh my god, you are dying."

"If someone hadn't just barged in," I glared at Esteban, "I wouldn't have accidentally cut myself, now, would I?"

Esteban hissed as he crouched down to examine it better, reaching out with his right hand as his left steadied him against the counter. I instinctively slapped his hand away, and took a step back. "Yep, sorry, forgot you're naked," he quickly said, standing back up to normal height. His cheeks flushed with the same pink colour as his team.

"Let me get my underwear on before you go looking at it, okay?" I brushed past Esteban to hobble into his bedroom, trying my hardest to stop the red liquid dripping down my leg and onto the cream-coloured carpet. He patiently waited on the doorway with his eyes tightly closed whilst I clipped on a bra and shimmied my pants up my leg (without getting any blood on the lacy fabric). I still felt exposed so wrapped Esteban's robe, which had been on his bed, around my body. "Okay, done."