Sorry to have kept you waiting after last chapter, but I hope you like this part :)
'You're going out with fucking Alonso?!' Seb yelled with an incredibly hurt look on his face. There was no hint of a smile visible anymore and his mouth had set in a hard line.
Keira only looked down at the ground, observing the cracks that had appeared over the years. Abby was now looking at Seb, clearly not expecting him to be this angry. She appeared a bit uncomfortable with the situation and wanted to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth.
The silence was enough confirmation for Seb, he first had thought he had heard them incorrectly. However them not objecting to what he had just said was enough to show him that they indeed meant Fernando. Of all the people in the paddock it had to be fucking Fernando, great. He looked at Keira, but she was still looking down at the ground, clearly not wanting to look at him. Her long brown hair was covering her face and her hat was now even more noticeable. Forza Alonso, fucking great again.
'So that's why you're wearing that hat?' Seb said pointing at Keira's head.
Keira now finally had found enough courage to look up. 'No, it isn't,' she said timidly and she quickly took of the hat, stuffing it into her bag.
'I thought you were wearing it as a joke, but clearly there's more going on,' he sounded bitter and he was now staring at the bag the hat had disappeared to.
How had this even happened? She never even mentioned Fernando and he didn't know how she did know him. Clearly she did know him, because they were going out, the two of them. He felt his stomach lurch when he imagined them sitting close together and Keira laughing at a joke Fernando had just made. It was because he was his biggest rival that he didn't want her to go out with him, he told himself when he felt that sickening feeling in his stomach. They were supposed to be friends and now she was suddenly consorting with the enemy. An image in his head had appeared where Fernando was holding Keira's hand and was pushing her hair out of her face, while looking at her with that cocky smile of his. He felt nauseous and it felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. It was just because they were friends, he told himself, it had nothing to do with her looking at someone else with her beautiful eyes. Clearly not, he didn't mind her going out with someone, it was just that he felt this way because it was Fernando.
'I had this hat before all of this happened,' Keira said with a small voice and she was tugging on her hair what showed that she was nervous.
'That's true,' Abby agreed and she nodded. 'Also it was just intended as a joke,' she tried to help her friend. She had created this situation, so she also needed to fix this. Seb had taken it much worse than she had expected him to do, clearly there was something going on between him and Keira.
'I just don't understand how you could do this to me, you could have chosen anyone but him!' Seb yelled again and sadness clouded his features. He was never able to look at Fernando again in the same way as before, this was another reason to beat his Spanish butt on track.
'I didn't think about it,' Keira said and guilt was visible on her face. Her eyes glistened and the confidence that had built up when Alonso had been talking to her had completely disappeared. She looked smaller and she was squeezing her hands.
Seb's eyes narrowed and he bit his lip angrily. 'It's good to hear how important your friends are to you,' he spat and he almost pulled out a chunk of his hair when he ran his fingers angrily through it.
'I'm sorry,' Keira said pleadingly and her green eyes were now fixed on Seb's blue ones.
'I'll see you tomorrow at the race,' Seb said with a surprisingly soft voice. The anger had disappeared from his face and what was left was hurt and disappointment. He felt the knot in his stomach tighten again when she looked at him like this. He knew he couldn't stay angry with her, even if he wanted to, but he was still not ready to forgive her. The feeling when he thought about her spending tonight with Fernando and knowing how direct he was with girls made him want to punch Fernando in the face. Luckily he was nowhere to be seen and that made him keep his composure, for now.
'Good luck in qualifying,' with still those pleading eyes Keira tried to make contact with Seb.
The others also wished him luck and Keira felt Abby's arm around her shoulders. Seb only nodded in reply and turned around to go back inside the Red Bull garage.
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Keira was currently trying to figure out where exactly she had to go, Fernando had explained where she had to go, but her Italian wasn't that brilliant unfortunately. Walking through the streets of the small town made her appreciate the Italian culture even more, they were welcoming to everyone and they just seemed like nice people. All the small streets looked the same however and luckily a helpful local had pointed her into the right direction so she had to be close now. Walking in heels was not ideal on these small stones, but the more she walked on them the better it went. She switched her bag to her other hand, so that she was able to grab her phone. Sadly there were no new messages and although she hadn't expected Seb to text her at all, she still was disappointed by the lack of communication. She knew she had hurt him, but he hadn't given her an opportunity to fix the situation and now she was still feeling guilty.
When she put her phone away she thought about Fernando's message she had received before she had left the hotel again. He had sent her a photo of himself with the caption that he was thinking about her and looking forward to tonight. She had been staring at the photo for at least a few minutes and he had been looking hot, clearly fresh out of the shower and not wearing a shirt. She wasn't used to get photos like this and she made sure to never show it to Abby or anyone else for that matter. Fernando kept surprising her as he was so different from any guy she had been with, but his eyes and smile weren't on the same level as Seb's. She found herself comparing Fernando to Seb once again and she was irritated with herself for doing that. It was time to stop thinking about Seb and focusing on Fernando and enjoying this night.
'You came,' Fernando said with a smile when Keira had made her way to the bar where he was sitting already. 'I was getting worried,' he grinned and he winked when he saw her looking startled.
'I got lost,' she tried to explain herself and she took of her jacket. Making sure her dress was still covering everything that it needed to she sat down next to Fernando. Still a bit nervous she turned her head to him and smiled.
'I can understand that, I have done that myself many times,' he said and he signed to the barman to order some drinks. 'Complications of the job, travelling all over the world to unknown destinations,' he added while putting his hand on Keira's.
She felt herself blush at his touch and she didn't pull her hand away, instead she looked at Fernando ordering drinks. He hadn't asked her what she wanted, so she just had to guess what she would get. She didn't really mind, as long as he wasn't getting her drunk, she would be happy. Her eyes were still lingering on his face, but she quickly looked at the rest of his body before he could catch her staring at him. He was wearing light jeans and a burgundy coloured shirt, what looked better on him than the bright red from Ferrari. His clothes were a lot tighter than the ones Seb wore and therefore it was hard not to notice his body shape.
'You like what you see?' Fernando had noticed her staring at him and he stretched to show even more of himself. His sly smile was back on his face and he nonchalantly ruffled his hair.
Instantly turning red she tried to laugh it off. 'We're never able to really see all of you when you're wearing your race suits,' she said to explain herself.
'Luckily you're able to see it now,' he winked and he passed her one of the drinks he had ordered. 'Which other drivers are you looking at then? I was hoping it's only me,' he said flirtatiously and he picked up his own non-alcoholic drink.
'Just you,' she grinned while images of Seb were popping up in her head. She felt herself blushing again, but she wasn't going to tell him that she knew Seb, because he probably also wouldn't like to hear that.
'Good,' he nodded appreciatively and he leaned his arms on the bar. 'Did you enjoy qualifying?' he asked.
'Yes,' she smiled when she remembered the session. 'Although it was a pity that you had car problems, I was sure you would have been on pole otherwise,' she said sympathetically before she took a sip of her drink. The alcohol was burning her throat, but at least it made her feel more confident than she normally was.
His smile faded slightly, but he quickly plastered one back on when he caught her eyes. 'Not ideal, but the race is tomorrow. I'm sure I can fight back from tenth,' he sounded confident and a fire was visible in his eyes. 'We Spaniards do not give up,' he added with a grin.
'I'm sure you can, let's hope it all works out tomorrow,' she said in an attempt to encourage him.
'At least Vettel is starting sixth, that means I can beat him easily this race. That's the most important thing this race, I need to increase my lead again,' this time his voice sounded a bit harder and his eyes had darkened a bit.
Keira felt her stomach lurch when he mentioned Seb, it was strange to hear someone talk about Seb in this way. Of course Seb had done the same when talking about Fernando, but somehow it stung when Fernando did it. Trying to hide her feelings she just nodded and smiled.
'I will definitely beat him this year, don't worry,' he interpreted her smile wrongly and he clenched his fist to show he was ready to take on the fight. His eyes were now resting on Keira's chest and he made no effort to hide it.
She felt a bit uncomfortable when she noticed him staring, Seb never did something like this and David had stopped doing that a long time ago. With that smile still on her face she moved on her seat so that she was now facing the bar, hiding her body from Fernando.
'Tell me something about yourself,' he asked. 'I know you're beautiful, so something else please,' he added with a mischievous smile and it was clear that he was trying to flirt.
What was she going to tell him? Not about Seb and not about David, so what else was left to say, she thought. She played with her hair while being in thought and stared at the barman who was preparing one of many drinks.
'Start with where you're from, because your accent is funny,' he tried to start the conversation again and he was now looking at her eyes again. His head was leaning on his arm and he glowed with confidence.
'Northern Ireland,' she grinned. Not many people could place her accent, they knew she wasn't from England, but they couldn't guess what else it could be.
'Never been there,' he answered and his white teeth were visible when he smiled
'I've never been to Spain,' she admitted while playing with the empty glass on the bar.
'You haven't?' he had raised his eyebrows and shook his head. 'It's the best country in the world, you should visit some time.'
'I would love to, sadly the opportunity never came up,' she shrugged her shoulders apologetically.
Fernando took the next hour to tell her about Spain and all the places Keira should visit. His eyes lit up when he talked about his home country and he surprisingly knew a lot about the history. Being temperamental he used his hands a lot when talking and he was doing a good job at making Keira laugh and enjoy the evening. On her turn she told him about her own country, how it was basically still at war, although violence was at its lowest point right now. Of course there were still killings every week, especially in her hometown Belfast, but they had grown up with it and were so kind of used to it.
Keira had always been interested in the Troubles (the name they gave to the war in Northern Ireland) as her parents grew up during the most violent years. Her parents also were an example that love could overcome anything, because they were both on opposite sides. Her father was a catholic and her mother a protestant and therefore were not allowed to see each other. It had taken them a lot of courage and disapproval of their families to stay in their relationship, but they always stuck together and that had resulted in their family. Despite the killings and terrorist attacks, which had brought her parents so much fear, they had chosen to fight for what they believed was important. It was because of this war that her parents had swore off religion and had given their children the opportunity to choose for themselves. Keira was thankful to be given that opportunity and always saw her parents as people to look up to, she wished she could be like them one day.
'Look at the time!' Keira checked her watch and saw that is was already very late. She had promised Abby and Tom to be back on time and she didn't want to upset her friends anymore than she had already done today.
'You're right,' Fernando said when he checked his own, very expensive, watch. 'I have a race to win tomorrow,' he grinned and he tried to fix his hair.
'Yes, so I'm going back to the hotel then,' Keira said and she searched for her bag. She located it under her chair and picked it up.
'I'll walk you out then,' he offered his hand for Keira to grab and stood up himself.
With slight hesitation she took his hand and let him lead her to the exit. She was still not comfortable with people touching her, David's face always came up and she was fighting to get that image out of her head. She had started over and not everyone was like David, she thought. Other people should at least be given an opportunity to gain her trust.
When they stood outside they were alone for the first time this evening. It made Keira feel a bit uncomfortable and she darted her eyes around the street to spot someone else. However there was no one and the silence made her turn back to Fernando.
'I had a good time this evening,' Fernando began and he was still holding Keira's hand. He took a step closer to her and he was now so close that he could feel her breathing on his skin. His eyes locked with hers and he made sure not to look away.
'Me too,' she stammered, not knowing what to do when he was standing this close to her. Her heart was racing once again and she could only focus on his lips, which he had just licked and were very close to hers right now.
'Would you mind if I-,' he took another step closer to her and used his hand to cup her face, 'kiss you,' he finished his sentence and his lips were now dangerously close to Keira's.
Before she could process his words his lips had brushed against hers and the touch made her shiver. She almost forgot to breath and when he pressed his lips very gently against hers she really forgot to breath. It took her a few seconds to realise what was happening but then kissed him back cautiously. His lips were very soft and when his tongue pushed against hers she went along with what he wanted. He had wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her closer against his body, which resulted in Keira placing her hands on his back. The kiss was gentle and they both didn't feel the need to rush it, but also didn't feel the need to let go. Keira's heart was pounding in her chest and when she finally let go she felt lightheaded. They locked eyes and his signature sly smile was playing on Fernando's lips again. He stroke her cheek slowly and then moved his fingers up to run them through Keira's hair before he leant in to kiss her again.