Wow I guess I'm back now.
Although I'm not sure there's anyone left to read the rest of the story, I'll finish this anyway, haha :) This chapter is short, full of fluff and cuteness, just to rewarm ourselves a bit.
However, just know there was a smile on my face every time I got notifications!
I had a slight uneasy feeling on the plane. Maybe it was too much, too soon - coming with Daniel to his home even for a few days. I chewed the inside of my cheeks, and barely touched the meals. I was constantly thinking about his family, and the possible downfalls that could mean the end of this thing between us.
However the second I saw little Isaac running towards Daniel at Perth Airport, screaming "uncle Danny!" and Michelle beaming at us, waving like crazy - I felt the slightest chance that maybe, maybe this weekend can be also survivable.
"Jesus, you came," Daniel smiled like crazy, reaching down to hug his little niece. "Boy, you are like twice as tall as last month!"
"Of course we came, I couldn't risk Isaac wandering alone through Perth to find his favourite uncle," Michelle giggled.
"Good that I am his only uncle then," Daniel gave me a cheeky smile, then introduced me to his sister.
"Nice to finally meet you, Clara," she nodded. "I'm glad my pea headed brother didn't scare you away yet."
"Well, he takes his time," I smiled, but got a side nodge from Daniel.
The car ride to the Ricciardo house was light and full of laughter. It was nice of Michelle to make me comfortable, and include me in the conversation from time to time.
I was watching the road, and so far hasn't seen any gigantic spiders nor rabid cangaroos on the way.
Must be a safe neighbourhood then.
"Mum is head over heels," said Michelle as a matter of factly, her eyes still on the road. "Since word got out about you coming, you can't talk to her."
Daniel snorted at the backseat, but I only blinked at the younger Ricciardo beside me.
"I really don't want to cause any inconvin..." I started, but Michelle looked at me with a face that stopped me.
"Oh please, do some. Last time my brother flew home, he was so miserable I didn't even bring Isaac. It was too bad for a baby to see," she shook her head. "Took us hours to get some sense in him," she looked at the rear-view mirror, but her brother just got really busy reading a kids book with Isaac. I couldn't suppress my smile so I also turned away, to look further for some wild, deadly animals on the roadside.
Grace and Joe Ricciardo hugged me long on the porch of their house. It was dusk but the weather was still warm with a slight breeze. Grace was dashing - barefoot, wore a simple, white tunic and her brown, crazy locks along with her piercing eyes were just like her son's. Joe beside her seemed like a big child who just was taught to behave like an adult. He seemed restless and always full of thoughts.
"Oh sweetie I couldn't be happier you're here, come on in, dinner is waiting," Grace placed her hand on my shoulder and gently directed me inside. I took a peek behind me and I saw Daniel smile. It was priceless. He wasn't smiling at me though - he shared a look with his sister, who returned his expression like a secret confidant.
Suddenly, I had the strangest feeling. It felt like I arrived home.
"You also should do a long walk on the beach!" Grace said what felt the hundredth idea for us to do while we spend the weekend here in Perth. "I bet you enjoy the sun and the waves!" She winked at me.
"Yeah, we might linger around a bit," Daniel grimaced. "But Clara is more of a snowboarding girl. Not fancying the heath!"
I looked at him and blinked. I was taken aback by the fact that he actually remembered a conversation we had months ago in Barcelona. Plus, it was a mere exaggeration - I didn't fancy the idea of just laying around on the beach, but if there's some fun like playing volleyball, swimming or sailing then it is my place too.
"Well, that is more or less true," I smiled at him. "But I won't say no to a great day at the beach!"
Daniel rolled his eyes but his father clapped happily.
"Ha! Look, Daniel can't stand the thought of the water, but if you'd like I could show you around," he spoke so enthusiastically like we finally arrived at his comfort zone.
"Dad, there's no need...," Daniel sighed but his father hushed him down once more as he saw my grin.
"I have never tried surfing before," I admitted with a blush. "I've read it's a great place for it, and I really want to try it someday."
"Fantastic!" Joe couldn't be happier. "Tomorrow morning we go out and I show you how we do it in Straya," he put down his fork as to seal the deal.
"Oh, Joe is an excellent teacher," Grace smiled at me. "He taught me as well back in the days!"
"And me too," said Michelle, and looked at Daniel with a little accusation in his voice.
"I know, I know," he nodded. "But I just can't stand the thought of being pushed around in the waves! It's cold and so deep." I saw a shiver running through him. I needed to gently touch his arm beneath the table.
"It's okay, I'll be back before you get up."
"Or he could accompany his mother to do the shopping for the party," Grace said and judging by her tone, we knew there's no place for a plea.
After dinner I offered to help clear the table and do the dishes but the two Ricciardo girls were already full on tidying up and ordered us to have a rest - which we needed badly. I yawned long as we entered the guest bedroom.
"Aww, how cute you were," I smiled and I stepped closer to the family photograph hanging on the wall. It showed little Michelle and little Daniel feeding a donkey with some carrots. The little guy held a carrot nearly as big as he was and you could already see those crazy curls in the making I loved so much.
"So," he stepped behind me, and continued to whisper in my ear. Now, it was me who got shivers feeling his warm breath on my skin. I didn't need to see his mischievous smile to know it is there. "You think I am not cute anymore?"
I giggled and turned to face him. His hands immediately found my waist.
I had enough of the talking for the night, so I just kissed him long, and let him guide me to the bathroom to get a hot shower.
~~~
It was still dark when I heard Joe knocking on our door.
"Clara, it's time! The waves are waiting for you!"
I grunted, and tried to snuggle closer to Daniel, though it wasn't possible.
"Now you can feel the torture as well," he murmured into my hair. "Go, and get wet and chilled."
I sighed, and snuck out of the warmth. I tried to think about the fun I was about to have but at that moment Daniel still laying in the bed, looking incredible seemed very much fun. He was peeking at me hugging his pillow now - instead of me.
I giggled on the sigh and threw him a goodbye kiss.
"Clara."
I turned back from the doorway hearing my name.
"Take care, please." He said quietly.
"Oh I will," I nodded and left him.
Joe was much more fun than I thought based on my experiences at dinner. He was funny and had amazing stories he shared with me on our way to the beach. It took us some time to get there since Joe wanted to take me to a safer part - the beach close to the Ricciardo house was pretty rough and only advised to surf by experienced people. So we took the road and spent an hour talking about our lives. I also told him about my life in England before Formula 1.
"It might be so different for you now," he was thinking loudly. "All the rush and excitement from before is switched to airport lounges and giving mandatory vaccinations to crew members."
"Well it has its perks," I smiled but said no more. If I thought about all the people I got to know in this circus, I was sure I wouldn't trade it to anything else. I saw Joe smirked to himself and took a last turn to the beach. As I saw the waves and the people riding them my stomach flipped and I took a deep breath.
Joe not only was a great talking partner but was a great teacher too. He was patient and explained what I should have done pretty well. I tried so bad but failed to stand on the board countless times. But I enjoyed every minute of our multiple hours long session. The feeling of the sliding surfboard beneath me was incredible. Also was the big splash that came after, as I fell off. Every time I surfaced with a loud laugh.
"Okay, I think we had enough fun for today," Joe said as he checked his watch. "We should be getting ready for the party."
"Sure," I agreed. "It was incredible, thank you Joe!" I thanked him cheerfully, as I turned to leave.
"We can continue next time you're here," he winked. I honestly got surprised, since it never occured to me - this place, with Daniel, is something I could and might be glad to come back to. I was missing this thought for a long time now, honestly I never felt like that when I was with Charles, nor with my previous boyfriend.
"Lost in thought, eh?" Joe dragged me back to Earth from daydreaming. He was driving like his son, overtaking every car we came across, but seemed easy and cheerful at the same time. I nodded still a bit absentmindedly. I examined my dried yet sunkissed skin on my arms, and my now wavy hair. God bless beach waves! I smiled, and turned back to the scenery. The silence between the two of us for the rest of the way wasn't heavy at all.
We got back nearly the same time as Daniel and Grace were finished with the shopping. He was helping to bring in all the groceries, but completely forgot about the remaining bags when he saw his father's car parking down.
"Hey," he was at the door in a millisecond, and opened it just to examine me throughly with his eyes.
"Hello," I smiled. "Don't worry, I am in one piece."
"She's a natural! Did wonderfully," Joe barked behind me, and I saw some proudness taking over the worry in Daniel's look.
"I'm not..."
"Awesome," he grinned, and even helped me out of the car, his hands never leaving mine. "I...," he started and leaned closer. "I missed you," he murmured into my hair and hugged me long.
I thought this morning couldn't be nicer, but now, it was perfect.
~~~
"I don't know Max," I heard the conversation behind the bathroom door. I was almost ready, only my lipstick and mascara was missing. I wore a cute colorful summer dress - it was the perfect piece to wear for a barbecue party if you ask me. I blessed my wit to pack things like that. I couldn't help but my head snapped to the direction of Daniel's voice when I heard my friend's name being mentioned.
"I don't think it means a lot. But you know how it is with the chicks!" Daniel continued with an easy giggle. "Just go and ask! Hey man, you were more open with these things before, what happened?"
I scoffed, and closed my eyes in disbelief - which just ruined my mascara. Fuck.
Is this how guys try to help each other? Unbelievable! No surprise Max always asks me for advice. Wait a minute, he didn't ask me - why not? It sounded like he had some problems with a girl. I definitely need to call him later...
"I could always ask her," Daniel offered playfully as I stepped out of the bathroom, but it seemed he wasn't much help. "Right, then do as you wish. But I can assure you, constant fighting won't seal the deal," he turned, and just saw that I've left the bathroom. He swallowed then his voice became a little more official. "Right. Yes. I'll call you later," he said and hung up. I was sure Max was still talking on the other end of the line.
I stepped closer to the Australian, and presented my outfit.
"Do I look OK?" I asked. A wide grin appeared on his face as he nodded.
"You look gorgeous Clara," he said and stepped closer. "In fact, you smell gorgeous too," he sniffed into my neck, then turned his head to kiss me. I could only avoid him in the last second.
"Oh no," I scoffed. "We can't do this, Ricciardo. Not again! We are late as it is, and it's only because you wanted to snuggle!" I wanted to step back, but he reached for my hand faster.
Of course, he with his damn reflexes!
"It's your mother's birthday party for christ' sake!" I loud-whispered. He could only grin like a foul, and closed the distance between us again.
"I know," he nodded. "And I still can't believe you're here."
I scoffed again, reached up to ruffle his hair, then walked away from him to finally leave. From the doorway I turned back and still found him watching me in awe.
I reached out with my arm.
"Come on, let's do this."
~~~
As I was sure of, we were a bit late. Not a bit - we were the last ones to appear. There were only a few people from our age, they were mainly Grace's friends and colleagues. I could already smell the roasting barbecue. Searching for the source of the smell I saw Joe waving at me for afar. He was wearing an apron, and flipped the meat professionally.
"God, finally!" Michelle stomped out of nowhere and ordered Daniel to look after Isaac - the little boy was playing on a slide - then she grabbed me by my arm. "Come on, I need you to meet someone."
She led me to an old lady, who was resting in an armchair, enjoying a cup of tea. She was honestly looking like any other old British lady on a Sunday afternoon tea party. She couldn't be...? Oh God.
"Grandma, I told you about Clara," Michelle started, and I knew I needed to sit down. Meeting his parents was one thing, but the grandma too? It is a more dangerous area than a fully stocked minefield! I took the deepest breath, as the lady took down her sunglasses - maybe to see me better. God, I felt like a dog on a showcase.
Her eyes appeared, and she gave me the most heartwarming smile. The knot in my stomach loosened a bit.
"Hello darling," she greeted me.
"Hello, uhm..." Fuck, I don't even know if she was Joe's or Grace's mother. Jesus Christ, what do I say now?
The old lady laughed, as she waved.
"You can call me Esther. I'm Joe's mother, and the only grandparent Daniel has, so you've met us all!"
I nodded, but I couldn't decide if it was appropriate to laugh or not, so I just asked some basic small talk questions. She seemed fun - in this family it was not a surprise now - and easy to talk to. She told me she was watching all the races, most of the time with Joe, because Grace could never watch it.
"She is too afraid, you know? I always say you can't do anything to protect him, so why not root for our boy with all my heart?" She asked, with sparkles in her eyes.
"Well, you're right," I smiled back.
"I saw you on the TV though," she started, and I got caught a little off guard. I blinked at her. "I saw how you worked on saving those boys. It is amazing what you do darling, please, please for the love of God, continue what you do," she even put her hands together, as if she was asking it that hard. I blushed, and could only nod.
"I will, Esther. I will."
Soon, other people got over to start chatting with her, so I wandered back to Daniel and Isaac. They were still playing on the slide, and I couldn't help but notice that my heart got a little warmer from the sight.
"Hey," Daniel got up immediately as he saw me. "How'd it go?"
I frowned.
"You knew I was meeting your grandma?"
"Well, yes, she's here after all," he blushed.
"Did you meet my grangran?" Isaac asked curiously standing on the top of the slide. I frowned and looked at Daniel for help - and he was nodding.
"Yeah, that's her. Great-grandmother was a bit too much for him," he grimaced.
"I love her, and she always gives me chocolate!" Isaac laughed as he took the slide.
"Sure, she gives them to me too," Daniel giggled then he turned back to me. "I told her about you, so I knew it'd be smooth. She always calls me after each race, so we could say she's pretty updated," he winked.
I rolled my eyes at the absurd thought of him calling his grandma right after stopping his car, but at the same time I couldn't imagine anything cuter at that moment.
~~~
After dinner - which was delicious - Grace stood up and thanked everyone for attending. She got a loud cheer, and a kiss from her husband. Then the crowd insisted they dance with loud chanting. Joe led his wife to the middle of the place and began to swing to the rhythm.
I watched them with a smile on my face.
"Come on, let's dance a bit," Daniel stood up, and took my hand. As we started to feel easy, and more into the music, he got more touchy than I thought was okay for casual dancing partners. I looked at him with a frown.
"I don't think anyone here would be offended to see me hug my girlfriend," he shrugged, and turned me out once more.
Girlfriend? I haven't drunk enough alcohol for this. In fact, I haven't drank anything - I wanted to make the best impression possible. Well, now I wasn't braced for this at all.
For the rest of the evening, Daniel barely touched me - he seemed to understand my reasons or maybe decided to leave it for later. Hence, I was a little off, thinking about how good I was feeling, and how much I wanted to be by his side freely.
It was frightening.
Close to midnight, we said goodbye to the rest of the guests. Grace and Joe walked into the house and I took a seat next to Daniel. He was half laying on a deckchair by the pool.
I smirked to myself.
"Do you remember when in Barcelona..." I started to ask the question but as Daniel lowered his chocolate gaze from the stars to me, I stopped.
"I do remember everything from Barcelona," he nodded. I blushed, and couldn't hold his stare any longer. I started to fiddle with the hem of my skirt.
Daniel laid back in the chair then took a deep breath.
"I'll always regret not kissing you in that damn park. It was all I could think about for the rest of the weekend," he said in a surprisingly casual way. He wasn't even looking at me, he was stargazing as if he was speaking about this as a matter of factly. I gulped. Please, please continue...
But he didn't continue. I knew I should be the next one to speak.
"Sorry for earlier," I said quietly. "It was just..."
"Too early?" he asked. "I thought so."
"Yeah," I sighed. "Listen, you also broke up with Daniela only a few weeks ago, and bringing her here..."
Once again, he interrupted me with his look.
"I never brought her here," he said. My eyes went wide in surprise. "She was not even close to that."
"So then it is definitely early for us to come out," I mumbled.
"As you wish," he shrugged. "But it's the most foolish thing for you to compare this to the thing I had with Daniela. It was much more on the first day we met, Clara."
I could only blink at him. After a while, I snuggled closer and laid next to him on the sunbed.
~~~
The next day was the last one of our rapid visit in Perth, so Daniel decided to take me to one of his favourite places. We went on a hike in John Forrest National Park. It was smoking hot, and no matter how much sunscreen I've put on, I got a little sunburn. But it was worth it, since the place was amazing, with a breathtaking scenery, and I even got to see some kangaroos, which I loved! Only sad thing was that I got so tired by the end of the day I was literally waiting for us to get into the flight in the evening, and fall asleep half laying on Daniel. He was watching a film, and continuously caressing my back and hair. It soothed me so nice I didn't care a bit about my twisted neck and already aching back muscles.
If only the flight from Perth to Suzuka was longer than twelve hours!