somewhere || George Russell

thirty-nine

January 3rd, 2020
New York City, New York

Christmas and New Year passed by, with no great things to report. Holidays was the same as every single year: diner in Mexico with Sofía's family at their hacienda, where they produce an alcoholic Mexican beverage called mezcal and well, they drink a lot.

But well, holidays came to an end and everyone came back to the United States to continue with their respective jobs.

Laurel pulled her head out to the surface and gasped for air, breathing in the smell of chlorine in the pool water. She finally came back to the swimming classes. New year, new Laurel.

She put her feet on the pool's floor and shook her head, having the feeling of water on her ear. Great. She rolled her eyes and looked at the edge of the pool. She saw a pair of long male legs with some joggers on and shrieked, getting startled.

"What are you doing here?" she yelled, pulling her body out of the pool and sitting on the edge.

Emilio laughed. "Mum and dad wanted to do a quick check up on you," he shrugged. "Just to make sure you are fulfilling you New Year's wishes."

Laurel took the swim cap out of her head and ran her fingers through her wet hair. "Very funny," she rolled her eyes.

He raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "I just came to see you," he shrugged. Laurel tilted her head. "Fine, I just came to see some stuff with David. Everything else was claptrap."

Laurel nodded, finally getting the real reason. "How did they let you enter to the club?"

"This sports club is a chain and I am a member of the one in Miami," he explained, frowning. That is basic information.

"I know that, donkey," she muttered. "I mean dressed like that and not in a swimsuit if you are in the pool area."

"I'm sure nobody noticed it," Emilio chuckled and stood up, extending his hand to help Laurel to stand up.

They went back to the dressing rooms area, Emilio to the males and Laurel to the females. She entered the shower and just let the water fall on her body to remove the chlorine from her skin.

She changed the swimsuit to her underwear and put a pair of jeans, a pink puff sleeve sweater and her white sneakers. She brushed her wet hair and picked up her stuff. There's no time for her to dry her hair today, Emilio is waiting.

She took her bag and her light grey coat and locked the small locker. She went out of the dressing room and found Emilio out.

Both walked through the gym and scanned their club ID to check out for the day.

Laurel was driven by the chauffeur to the club because every time she comes to swim, she ends up so exhausted that hates to drive back home and even feels like she will fall asleep any minute. Swimming is her relaxing activity.

Not surprisingly, Emilio was driving her red Camry. She entered the co-pilot seat and he started to drive out.

They spent the whole road talking about nonsense and making clumsy jokes, it even felt like when they were in college and he would pick her up from the school or vice versa. Laurel shook her head. It is probably time to realize that all of that is gone and will never be back. They are different than they were in college. The past is past.

"I love this song," Emilio turned up the volume. "Seasons change, and our love went cold, feed the flame cause we can't let it go..."

"Runaway but we're running in circles, runaway, runaway," Laurel continued. "You are projecting yourself."

"I know," he laughed. "I think everyone projects with this song."

And so, they started to talk about his ex-girlfriend Vanessa who didn't want to break up with Emilio despite him telling her a million times that he wasn't in love with her anymore. She is from Miami and they dated since high school. They really spent the three years while Emilio was in Boston being a couple and facing a long-distance relationship that in the end didn't work, it was just becoming toxic, with Vanessa being all over Emilio all the time, calling him on the phone because she wasn't willing to break up with him for some reason.

Suddenly it hit Laurel. "Oh, dear god," she mumbled. "Vanessa and you were in a long-distance relationship and it didn't work even though you were in the same country..."

"No, no," he interrupted when realized where her words headed. "That's not going to happen to you."

"You can't know that," she yelled. "I haven't got the best references, either. Rafael broke up with Amara because she moved to Oklahoma or wherever the hell..."

"Akron," Emilio muttered the right answer.

"Yeah, Ohio," Laurel frowned and remembered the whole story of why Rafael had a spare ticket for Abu Dhabi last year.

Emilio nodded. "It's fine, it won't happen to you, okay?"

"You are not being objective," she muttered. "For now the Formula One season is over, but what will happen when the next season begins? George is going to be in Oceania, and the next weekend in Asia and the next in Europe, and I am stuck in New York with the show because I have to do eight shows a week and..."

Emilio bit the inside of his cheek. He shouldn't have brought this subject up, because it just made Laurel unquiet. She wasn't even able to say anything else. She doesn't even understand herself why she gets so restless with the thought of losing George.

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Do you have that feeling that you listen to a song and it automatically seems to transport you to a specific time?

Lol, that happens to me with the song I used in this chapter. I remember it was super trendy when I started to like Formula 1, right after the Mexican Grand Prix.

I remember listening to this song day and night, when driving to school and coming back, singing so emotionally through the streets of my city, and while following the last three Grand Prixes of the year: USA, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

Listening to it again still gives me chills, haha, and I even get the feeling on being back then, listening to Circles by Post Malone non-stop and reading about my favorite driver, that back then was only Alex Albon after I saw him on a YouTube video making tacos with a Mexican YouTuber my friends follow 😂 I found Alex so nice and then I met the other drivers, specifically George, whose this story is all about.

Sorry for that huge anecdote, I really felt the need to express it 😂

Enjoy the chapter, anyway, and thanks for reading!