"Smile, don't look so nervous." Seb nudged into Chloe with his shoulder. They were under cover while they waited for the cars to be ready for the drivers parade and every time he'd looked at his fiancee she'd either been nibbling on a nail or biting her bottom lip.
"It's raining." She mumbled with the tip of her thumb between her lips.
"I know, good isn't it?" He grinned. "Should mix things up a bit."
"Or it could turn it into complete carnage."
"It'll be fun."
"Tell my stomach that."
"You need to relax, you're not the one starting at the back of the grid. Do you see me being nervous? No, I can't wait to get racing." They both looked towards the exit as the other drivers started to file out. "I'll meet you in my room. Please, don't still be worrying when I get back." He walked away, her nerves before a race annoyed him at times, he didn't need her being like this, it didn't help and she should be used to it by now.
"Come on, let's go." Antti pressed his hand to her back to move her along. "I know what'll help with your nerves."
"Vodka?" She looked at him as she walked beside him.
"What else do you love besides alcohol?" He chuckled at her answer.
"Chocolate?"
"Nope."
"Sex?"
"With me?" He shot her an amused look and she blushed bright red. "You'll see." After a few minutes they entered Seb's room at the back of his garage and she sat down on the massage table. "Guessed yet?" Antti closed the door and then walked over to Seb's large bluetooth speaker.
"Music!" She clapped her hands together as he connected his phone to it.
"Loud music." He grinned as a thumping dance track began to play and then nodded his head as he turned it up.
"I'm not dancing!" She yelled so that he could hear her above the music.
"You want to though, don't you." He leant back against the wall.
"Maybe." She smiled shyly. "But I'm happy just to chill and listen. Do you work out to this?"
"I run." He looked at her, he was savouring this time with her, as he always did on a race day. She was now swinging her legs along with the beat and was looking more relaxed already, he loved that he'd been able to help her relax and was sure that Seb would appreciate it too. For a newly engaged woman, she'd been in a strange mood ever since Hannah had arrived and he wondered if she still felt threatened by the presence of Seb's ex. She nodded in reply to his answer and began to scroll through something on her phone. "Not still reading those bullshit news stories are you? Seb told me how upset you were."
"I'm trying not to, he's got someone back in Italy taking care of it now so that I don't have to do it. I just wish he could catch an actual break, that for once things could go his way on the track." She locked her phone as Antti walked over and stopped beside her, leaning on the massage table.
"Yeah, yesterday was shit wasn't it." He thought back to Seb's disastrous qualifying when a turbo issue had ended his session before it had barely began. He had just started an out lap when he was on the radio reporting a loss of power and came straight back in, ending his hopes for a front row grid slot, pole had been possible after a great performance during the Friday practice sessions.
"Yeah, extremely."
"Today's going to better though." He leant closer to her as he spoke, he could feel her mood dipping.
"I hope you're right." She looked at him, worry was once again etched onto her features.
"Seb's ace in the rain, trust me, he'll do well today, I can feel it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I daren't bloody look." Chloe turned around to face the back of the garage as the lights went out while Antti stood next to her watching as Seb got a good start. While he had a headset on to listen in to Seb's radio transmissions, she had elected not to, she didn't want hear his voice when it all started to go wrong. She pressed her hands to the counter top, feeling as though she needed to grip on to something. After a confusing two or three laps following the safety car, the race was finally underway, this was going to be a long afternoon.
"He's passed six already!" Antti tapped her arm and she turned back, forcing herself to look.
"I can't look!" She exclaimed, turning away again as an onboard shot showed Seb getting way too close to a Williams car.
"Chloe, come on!" He tapped her arm, urging her to turn around. "He's up to thirteenth." He could sense her turning around and he glanced at her, shooting her a quick smile. She looked back at him, he wasn't nervous at all, he never was, right now he looked excited, as if this was the first race he'd ever been to.
"Perez!!" She gasped pointing to the screen as it showed a shot of the pink Racing Point car that had left the track.
"Safety car, this is good." Antti folded his arms across his chest. "Seb's coming in for tyres." He relayed to her what he could hear from his headset.
"Already?" She looked worried again.
"Why not, it's essentially a free stop." They both looked to the front as the familiar sound of Lina filled the garage while she was surrounded very briefly by a sea of red, in the blink of an eye the car had gone and not long after that the safety car came back in. Looking back to the screens, it wasn't long before Seb was up to eighth after a flurry of pit stops and some a good passes. Soon he was reeling in Kevin Magnussen and Kimi as they battled for sixth place. Again, Chloe's nerves began to flutter wildly in her stomach only this time she couldn't look away. Antti glanced at her again and smiled to himself, this was more like it!
"Yes!!! He's got him!!" She pressed her hands together as Seb passed Magnussen to take seventh, she knew that Kimi wouldn't be an easy pass, even though he was a friend, on track he was just another rival. They continued to watch, neither of them uttered a word or barely blinked for the next few laps, they could hear gasps and then groans of relief in Charles' side as he nearly lost the car but then somehow saved himself from going off. Suddenly Antti's head went down and he rubbed his forehead. "What is it?" She put a hand on the top of his arm.
"He's dropping time behind Kimi, and they're talking in Italian over the radio, it's not usually good when they do that."
"Fuck. I knew it." She let out a big breath and let her head fall back as she leaned back against the counter.
"I'm not sure what they're telling him, I could ask?"
"I don't think I want to know." She muttered.
"Well he's still going, they could have just been telling him to make some adjustments on the steering wheel." He added after a few minutes of tense silence that included Daniel's engine letting go and a virtual safety car while it was removed. By lap twenty-four Seb was in again, this time switching to soft slicks but with rain coming down in places and the car looking very twitchy neither Chloe or Antti thought he'd stay on them for long.
"I don't think I can bare to keep looking if he stays on those." She turned to face Antti.
"Have a little faith." He smiled and lightly put his hands on her arms to turn her back around. What he really wanted to do was to put his arms around her and hold her close to him for the entire race, but with cameras possibly watching them, it wouldn't be possible. Media interest had been heightened since news of her engagement to Seb had surfaced after pictures of the ring on her left hand had quickly spread. He knew that now Seb had got a ring on her finger, she would never belong to him, he would never get another chance like the one he'd had that night when she was drunk and temporarily single. By lap twenty-seven there was another virtual safety car after Lando Norris' McLaren lost power and pulled off of the track, it was another chance to breathe and regroup. Just two laps later it all went wrong, for Charles.
"Oh fuck, no!" She groaned and instantly gripped on to Antti's bicep, the whole garage filled with gasps and expressions of shock as the sister Ferrari left the track, slid on the smooth, slippery surface of the drag strip, went into the gravel and then the barrier. At first she had mistakenly thought it was Seb who had gone off, relief quickly followed as she saw that it was actually Charles and she immediately felt a little guilty and then sad for him. Now, the whole team's hopes for any kind of success were pinned on Seb. Cheers, outside and in, erupted as the screen suddenly switched to Lewis, he'd gone off too! Chloe put her hand in front of her mouth to try and stifle a laugh as the Mercedes damaged it's front wing but managed to rejoin the track and make it to the pit lane while under safety car conditions. She knew it was wrong to laugh or cheer despite everyone else doing so, it could easily be her driver going off next. She looked at the lap counter, they were only half way and had been going for an hour but she was actually starting to enjoy this race, especially when Lewis got handed a five second penalty for missing the bollard that denotes where the correct entry point is to the pit lane. She smiled, thinking that hopefully people would stop believing that the sun shines out of his backside. Hitting lap forty-one, there were groans of disbelief and frustration as Nico Hulkenberg's Renault went off at the same place as Charles, the safety car was back out again. "Jesus fuck, they might as well give that car a number and let it race." She moaned.
"You're enjoying this though aren't you?" Antti playfully nudged her. "It's good to see."
"Yeah, I am, it's exciting." She smiled as there was a flurry of activity in front of them and moments later Seb came in, switching back on to intermediate tyres. "I don't know if I want to see another safety car." She added a short while after while seeing it coming back in to the pit lane.
"Oh come on, one more won't hurt." He gave her a wicked grin as she rolled her eyes at his comment. By lap fifty-two Seb was back on soft tyres and was now carving his way through the field, he was back up to seventh after his stop and was currently the fastest out there. Antti could see pride written all over her face. "He'll be loving it out there."
"You think so?"
"He's flying, I'm telling you, he'll be in his element." Even he felt proud of his driver right now and by lap fifty-six Seb had moved up to sixth. "You should hear him on the radio, he's been asking about the rain on virtually every lap."
"Oh my fucking god!" Chloe's mouth fell open as she and Antti turned to face each other, more cheers erupted as Valtteri Bottas spun off the track, damaging his car and ending his race, that meant Seb was now in fifth and the safety car was out yet again. Three laps later and it was green flags once more, the atmosphere in the garage suddenly shifted, it was electric, intense and hopeful. It hung heavily in the air, it made everyone go quiet and she had never felt anything like it before. Nerves started to flutter once more, but not the usual ones, this felt different, like something good was going to happen. She glanced at Antti and he glanced at her, their eyes met, he could feel it too. Seb had gained quickly on Carlos Sainz in the remaining McLaren, he was on a serious mission now, he was really flying. Chloe stepped forward away from the counter, her eyes were fixed, unblinking, at the screen as Sainz tried to hold off Seb, she crossed everything internally, willing him on, praying that he didn't make a mistake. "Oh yes!! Get in!!" She punched the air as cheers erupted from Seb's pit crew, he'd passed Sainz, he was now fourth, tantalisingly close to a podium. From last on the grid to a podium finish, it wasn't possible, was it? She got her answer on the next lap as Seb made the pass on Lance Stroll's Racing Point car look easy, now he was third! "Yes!!" She squealed as another cheer erupted from in front of her and a few smiling faces looked her way, this was a result beyond what any of them had expected. But Seb wasn't going to stop there, he was quickly gaining on Kvyat's Torro Rosso in the next lap, hunting him down, he wanted that second place finish. He wanted to do it for Chloe, to give her a high after all the lows. On the penultimate lap, he smashed Kvyat on the straight, passing him with ease, she could hear the crowds outside going wild, Seb's crew were applauding and cheering loudly, along with Antti, while she let out an excited squeal and punched the air with her fist. "Come on Seb!" She yelled, almost screaming. "Fuck the haters!!!" Her heart felt as though it was going to burst with pride and she began to feel emotional as he started the last lap. Antti looked at her, he could already see her eyes brimming with tears and her face was illuminated by a beaming smile. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and she put her arm around his waist, neither of them dared to look away from the screen, Seb was closing in on Max Verstappen but the gap between them meant that a win was unlikely unless Max made a mistake. It didn't matter though, it still felt like a victory as Seb crossed the line in second place four seconds after Max. The garage erupted, Seb's crew went nuts, jumping up from their seats, cheering loudly, applauding, embracing each other and punching the air. Chloe let out a cry of relief, causing Antti to pull her close, without thinking she buried her face against his chest, Seb had done it! From twentieth to second place! All the criticisms and all the pressures he'd endured, all those negative headlines and the issues he'd had with the car from it's handling to it's recent unreliability as well as the mistakes that must have been in the back of his mind, he'd overcome them all. He'd well and truly buried the ghost that was last year's race losing error.
"You're crying again." Antti murmured, his voice rumbled in his chest, making her look up at him. He could feel her shaking in his arms.
"Happy tears." She smiled. "Uhm, sorry." She stepped back, looking a little sheepish. "God, I'm shaking!" She shook her hands in an effort to stop it.
"It's ok, that'll be the adrenaline. Let's go and wait for him." He smiled and watched as she slipped a jacket on and grabbed Seb's cap and sunglasses from the counter behind her. "Ready?"
"Ready." She wiped her eyes and smiled happily. Patting her pockets to check she had her phone and dictaphone, she followed Antti out into the already bustling pit lane, team members from Red Bull and Torro Rosso ran along with Ferrari team members to reach Parc Fermé as quickly as they could, all wanting to welcome and congratulate their drivers.
"Chloe." Mattia appeared among the throng of people, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Enjoy it, he deserves this, you all do."
"Thank you." She nodded, giving a tearful smile. "I'm so proud of him." She felt Antti take her hand and give it a gentle tug so she let him lead her at a brisk pace the rest of the way. Once they got to Parc Fermé, they stayed just inside an FIA garage, away from where the cars would arrive, she wanted to keep out of camera shot, she didn't want her red, puffy eyes to be broadcast worldwide. Seb finally arrived after what felt like an eternity and swiftly got out of the car, putting his steering wheel back in place before heading over to his team. He looked briefly for Chloe before he was engulfed in hugs by his team and he brushed away the pang of disappointment that he felt when he couldn't see her, he knew she'd be waiting for him somewhere in the building behind him but it still would have been good to see her here with his crew. As he let himself be swept along by his team he savoured their hugs, pats on his back and head and their praise, he felt euphoric, it felt like a win and it could have been if the race had been a few laps longer, it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was a big confidence booster. Chloe watched proudly as he removed his helmet and balaclava while Max was being interviewed and then listened as he was interviewed himself by Martin Brundle before he went to be weighed. It was then when she got her first chance to see him as she followed Antti to the weigh bridge. She waited patiently as he stood while he was weighed and then moved to one side, pausing to check the timing screen, she knew he'd be looking to see where Lewis had finished. He turned around and their eyes met as he walked towards them, he was smiling broadly, he didn't look like someone who had just driven a two hour grand prix, he looked great.
"Well done Seb, that was an awesome drive." Antti grinned as he took his helmet and balaclava from him.
"That was some race." He grinned back, barely taking his eyes off of Chloe, Antti looked from Seb to her and back again, it was clear that they were both itching to hold each other but with cameras watching them they both seemed hesitant and she seemed almost shy.
"You were amazing out there." She said breathily.
"If you two just pop through there...." Antti pointed to an area where a shutter door was down, shielding it from onlookers.
"Thanks Antti. We'll just take a moment." He looked back at Chloe and motioned with his head for her to follow. The second they were out of sight of any cameras she launched herself at him and he laughed as he caught her, letting her wrap her legs and arms around him. He could feel her shaking with adrenaline and it gave him a rush to know that it was watching him race that had done that to her.
"Hey superstar!! I'm so fucking proud of you!! So fucking proud!!!" Her voice shook with emotion as she felt Seb holding her as tight as she was holding him. "You showed them Seb! You were fucking stunning out there!"
"Thanks liebe, this was all for you!" He looked into her eyes, he could feel her love and pride pouring out and he basked in it, letting it wash over him. Their small moment together was more than making up for her not being outside amongst his crew. "I love you so much!"
"I love you too." She rewarded his words with a fiercely passionate kiss that he instantly reciprocated as her tongue sought his, making everything around him fade away. He could feel her hands on the backs of his shoulders, bunching up his race overall into her fists as she tightened her already strong hold on him, pressing herself to him. Breaking their kiss, she buried her face against his neck, placing little kisses against his skin and for a second he leant his head to one side to give her more access.
"Chloe." He had to stop her, he couldn't let her continue, even though he really wanted her to.
"Sorry." She stopped, desire was starting to pump through her veins, replacing the adrenaline. Remembering that he was supposed to be in the cool down room now before heading to the podium, she reluctantly released him from her whole body embrace and slid back down to her feet.
"I promise we'll continue this when we celebrate later." He kissed her once more before taking her hand and leading her back out until he was ushered away. She didn't mind, she'd be waiting to collect him from the cool down room after the podium ceremony so she hadn't got long until she saw him again. She leant against the wall for a moment, giving herself a few seconds. She felt as though he'd won, he was her winner and he always would be. He'd answered his critics and she couldn't be more proud.