Ooop.
Looks like I just can't stay away. My life is falling apart, but this story lives. Not as long as a chapter I wanted it to be, but hey, it's still something.
Please, enjoy.
Oh, and keep in mind that only your feedbacks made me write this chapter before the next month. Thanks.
Bwoah.
When I woke up to a loud rumbling I had no idea where on Earth I was. It was semi-dark, and all I heard were the noises of the thunder.
However, despite the awful weather outside, I felt warm and cozy. I lowered my head back to the pillow as I was eager to go back to sleep. It was surely too early and too dark of a day to bother myself with waking up.
I had such a good dream to continue anyway.
That was the point when I felt a strong pull around my stomach - an arm sneaked around me and made sure I snug the closest possible to its owner.
"Why does it rain in England? All the time?"
I snapped my head back, and at the same moment all the memories flood back to my mind to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle.
It's Daniel. And his arm. Ricciardo. In my bed.
After we... God.
I looked at him, and he was smiling back with his crazy morning hair and warm brown eyes, with his head resting on my rose patterned pillow.
"Come on, let's just stay here for a little longer. Please?" He murmured while he continued to pull me.
I giggled, and wiggled closer to him.
"Hey," he smiled, and gave a small kiss on my forehead.
"Hello." I couldn't really believe if I was still dreaming or simply hallucinating on my own.
"What's wrong?" Daniel frowned slightly at me.
"I am trying to find out if it's a dream or not," I said wrinkling my nose.
Daniel laughed out and started to give me some ticklish pecks along my neck, emphasizing each of his words with one.
"I think yesterday was quite dreamy. But today, it seems pretty real so far."
He sneakily detoured to the direction of my cleavage, and looked at me again, maybe to check on my reaction.
I shut my eyes for a moment and thought back to the weekend we just left behind. So much changed in the last 48 hours I could barely believe. Some random moments kept flashing back to the back of my mind.
...
"We are gathered here to witness the marriage of these two wonderful people..."
...
"It was fine," Max summed up his opinion about the ceremony.
...
"Shall we?" Daniel reached out for my hand to lead me to the dance floor.
...
"Is this really how this goes from now on?" Max wrinkled his nose when he opened the bathroom door and caught Daniel and me in the middle of a full morning makeout session. I only came over to say goodbye...
...
"Are you going to be OK?" Max looked at me frowning. I looked over at Daniel who was saying goodbye to the just married couple. I smiled gently at the scene.
"Yes. We will be," I said and hugged him. "Thank you for taking care of my dumb head," I whispered to his ear.
My Dutch friend giggled out loud.
"Sure, someone has to be the adult one, right?"
...
"You are so beautiful. I know it's not what you want to hear first thing but you still are," Daniel whispered in my ear when I was looking for my keys in my bag. It wasn't helping as my hands started to shake from the feeling of his breath on my skin and the fact that we were standing just outside of my apartment.
I gave him a side look, but it turned out to be a fatal mistake. His lips captured mine so hungry I nearly dropped the keys I found last minute. He sneaked his arms around me, and leaned back to the wall of the building.
His kiss was soft yet so promising, a soft moan escaped my lips as he smiled into it.
"Come on," he breathed and tilted his head to the side with the cheekiest grin. "I'm dying here to see what's inside."
"God, Daniel," I sighed into my pillow. He was laying over me in less than two minutes, holding me firm on the bed.
He lowered his face down to give me a deep kiss, his hand slipping under my top. I noticed his hand was a bit shaky - it made me grin, but I managed to disguise it with another sigh.
He must have thought I enjoyed his touch that much - which I did, actually. So he grabbed my top and removed it with one move, tossing it to the floor behind him.
As he turned back, his eyes were the darkest I've ever seen them.
He sucked in his lower lip as he looked at my newly exposed bare skin.
"Fucking finally."
...
"Daniel," I murmured, dying to make a move to free my numb arm.
"Hhhmmpm?" All I could hear was a groan from behind me.
"I need to turn," I said. "I can't feel half of my body." I tried to turn over, as he finally raised his leg to let me.
"Do whatever you want," he said in a still sleepy tone. "But don't go, we can't be sure how long we have before Max shows up from somewhere."
I chuckled and looked up to face him.
"Why would he come here? He flew back to Monaco this morning" I frowned.
"Yeah, he did," Daniel nodded and buried his face in the crook of my neck as he hugged me again. "And he keeps messaging me ever since."
I scoffed, and closed my eyes.
Next time I woke up to the smell of fresh coffee. A large cup was placed on my nightstand, and I smirked.
It's a present that aims my soul directly. It was still raining outside and looked cold, I shivered just by the scene outside my window.
However, I remembered the coffee, so I reached for the cup. I saw 'Daniel' was written on it with a heart drawn on the side.
I just frowned, when the Australian driver walked to the room. He was dressed up and wet.
"Hi," he grinned, not really caring for the dripping from his jacket.
"Hello," I replied. "I, um..." I looked at the coffee.
"Oh, that! I brought it for you," he nodded. I was still frowning, but sipped some.
Daniel took off his coat then he sat down on the bed.
"You know I thought when I went into the coffee shop and was asked for the name, I thought it'd have said more than needed if I asked for a coffee with a name 'Clara' written on it," he explained.
"And what about the heart?" I pouted and turned the cup a bit for him to see. He shrugged, smirking.
"I don't know. Didn't really notice," he blushed.
I scoffed again and sipped some more coffee. Maybe that helps to cope with my moody existence.
Daniel took a deep breath and shifted next to me.
"You wouldn't want it, right?" He asked, and I blinked at him, not really knowing what he is referring to.
"Your name on that cup," he tilted his head towards my drink. "People getting all kinds of ideas."
I bit my lip, and shook my head.
No. I don't.
"Thought so. It's alright," Daniel accepted my choice with a somewhat disappointed look, that made me pout. I put down the cup I was holding, and hugged him.
"It's for both of our sakes, Daniel. I don't want the news being full of this love triangle with Charles and us," I grimaced. "Especially not about you being the breaker of that non-existent relationship."
He turned his head away, and the ever smiley look of his turned troubled. I observed his features carefully and tried to figure out what he was thinking.
He sighed briefly after half a minute and turned to me.
"I understand what you mean. I guess," he nodded.
I felt a rock fall off my chest and slipped my hand up from his nape to his brown curls.
"Don't worry," I whispered as I snuck even closer. "I will take care of this as soon as we are in Singapore."
He nodded again in agreement, but one definitely couldn't say he was cheerful as usual. I decided to lean closer, and change the subject.
"Did I say thank you for that coffee?"
He looked up to me and as he saw some half hidden lust in my eyes, the edge of his mouth curved upwards.
"No, I don't recon anything like that," he murmured on my lips.
"Then, the time has come," I giggled, and slipped my hands downwards on his torso. His face just lit up like Christmas was announced to be combined with his birthday.
In the end, Daniel hopped into his apartment and gathered his things only a couple hours before our flight left for Singapore, and we headed to the airport separately.
"I like this," Max casually positioned himself half laying on me in his seat. We decided to watch a movie simultaneously, so we can brag about it later.
"What?" I asked and stole another look in the direction of Daniel. He was sitting a little further to the front of the plane. I was desperate to ask for his hoodie, because the air was freezing cold and now, I knew how comfortable those things were.
"You know, keeping the healthy distance," Max sighed. That just made me frown. "Like that I am able to spend time with my best friend," he explained further, pouting like a three years old. "Finally."
"You are unbelievable, Max," I scolded him. "You should be happy for us. It's so simple. Even for you."
"Yeah, yeah," he waved me down. "I am, don't worry."
"You only need a girlfriend for yourself too," I said annoyed with a roll of my eyes. The Dutch looked at me with his blue orbs.
He was quietly thinking for a couple of seconds, blinking at me then crossed his arms on his chest, leaning to the window - the other side of his seat.
"I am completely fine like this," he murmured.
We then watched the movie in complete silence.
When I woke up, I blinked a couple times. It was warm and nicely snug, I was impressed I could sleep comfortably in that aircraft seat. Then, I looked down and I saw the source of my warmth - an oversized black hoodie with a fist shoving 3 on the front. I smiled and looked up. My eyes were looking for Daniel, who apparently was chatting with Christian a few seats over.
I decided not to give the item back, just put it on my bag and walked to the toilet. On my way there, as I passed my uncle and Daniel, I made sure I touched the latter's shoulder as gently as I could. He looked up to see who was that, and his expression softened as he saw it was me.
"Thank you," I mouthed and made sure I wore my most charming smile.
We landed in Singapore on Wednesday morning. Since it was an 8 hours time shift with considerable time of travelling behind us, we felt tired and weared out no matter how exciting it was to be in that dazzling metropolis.
I packed out and called my sister Greta, to let her know I'm fine and going to sleep.
The strategy in the entire F1 population was that we don't even try to accomodate to the distant time zone, so we sleep during the day and work at night.
I just settled when there was a knock on the door.
I'd lie if I said I didn't know who it was. I hurried to open it, and let Daniel in.
"G'day," he grinned, and not wasting any second, he hugged me by the waist. I automatically put my arms around his neck, and smiled at him, already waiting for the long missed kisses.
"So Michael made me promise we won't stay up," he grimaced playfully.
"Oh," I pouted, and released him. "Well, I am tired too," I mumbled and made a step towards the bed, determined to go to sleep.
But then I felt his arms circle around me again, holding me at one place.
"We will rest," he murmured against the flesh of my neck. "But first I need to remind you how amazing we are in bed," he said. His hands were even more determined than his tone.
And I knew why he said that. Today evening is supposed to be media "day", and I have to speak with Charles before it starts.
"So, are you two going to meet up?" Daniel asked me half an hour later. He tucked another pillow under his head and pulled me closer to his chest, while he was looking at me from below his long eyelashes.
I sighed. It will be the first time to meet the Monegasque since we parted 6 weeks ago in a Hungarian hospital.
"Yes, we are having breakfast at Ferrari." I murmured against him. His hand which was caressing my back stopped for only a second - then continued its way.
"I see."
A couple of hours later I woke up to Daniel's phone ringing.
He only groaned and hugged me closer.
The ringing kept on, so I reached out to hand it to Daniel.
"Don't," he breathed.
"But it's Michael," I said, looking at the display.
"Shhhh," he shushed me. "We are gonna keep quiet and maybe remain unnoticed."
I snorted and swiped my thumb to accept the call, putting it on speaker.
"Hey man. Up already?" The young Australian trainer's voice was fresh and cheerful.
Daniel turned to face me with a scolding grimace.
"G'day mate. Not really, would choose to block your number instead of getting up from this bed," he said.
There was a brief chuckle on the other end.
"And which bed is that exactly?" Michael asked, laughing. "Because I was knocking on your door for minutes and there wasn't really an answer. So can I say hi to Clara?"
I felt my face blush, but Daniel kept his hands on me, slowly stroking my arm to calm me down.
"Don't. Just wait for me, I'll be there in a sec," he said and ended the call while sitting up.
He shot me a questioning look but I just waved him down smiling.
"Go and do your things. I'll lurk around," I giggled.
"Alright. Just," he took a deep breath and exhaled long before continuing. "Take care, okay?"
"I will," I nodded, and kissed him. "There is no need to worry."
Daniel soon left to meet his trainer, and I got ready to meet Charles. I loved city circuits, because you could feel the atmosphere of the city and see people, not just a distant, closed down track in the middle of nowhere. It was humid and hot outside of the perfectly air-conditioned hotel, and there was a smell in the air that made me smile - making me remember all my adventures in Asia.
I struggled my way across some busy crossroads and after a few corners, I arrived at the entrance of the paddock.
I searched for the biggest red building on the strip - the Ferrari Home.
"Il mio dottore!" I heard as soon as I stepped over the threshold. I turned, and saw Charles' front wing mechanic, Luca waving at me.
I smiled at him, and stopped for a minute, asking some questions about his family. We chatted a couple times before when I spent a lot of time in their garage.
"Your man is at the back. Eagerly waiting," he winked and tilted his head to show me the direction.
I blushed, because god, it was strange. As I was walking and smiling around I felt so awkward inside.
I reached the glorious cafeteria, and the rich smell of the coffee actually made me dizzy.
"Clara," I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw Britta standing beside me.
"Hello," I said with a wide smile. "Good to see you! How is everything?"
"Good. Are you okay? Up for a coffee?"
"Always," I nodded.
I chatted with Sebastian's press officer for a few minutes, but my eyes were checking for Charles from time to time. Finally, he entered the cafeteria with his boss, Mattia. His eyes met mine the very first second, and my stomach flipped.
But I knew I came here to talk to him, so I excused myself and left Britta for the Monégasque.
"Good evening," I smiled politely at my ex boyfriend and his team principal. The later returned my greeting, and Charles stepped next to me immediately, turning to his boss.
"Grazie Mattia. Dobbiamo partire adesso. Ciao,"
The other man watched us with a sneaky grin and just waved.
Charles gestured to me to follow him, heading to his motorhome. I hurried to keep up, walking along the paddock strip.
Honestly, that was not the way I planned it. I imagined we would talk for a few minutes at an open space, like the cafeteria, then I am off, back to the Energy station.
But I could understand Charles as well, not wanting all his team to learn about our breakup evesdropping from the first row, drinking his morning espressos.
So I walked next to him quietly, and as our eyes met, I sent him an encouraging smile. After all, I didn't want our relationship to be bitter. I still liked him.
"So," he closed the door of his room as we entered. "I'm so happy to see you, Clara. Can I hug you?" He asked, and his cheeks turned a bit blush after the question.
"Sure," I nodded, and stepped closer to make that happen. He pulled me in his arms, and held me strong. I heard him inhaling deep. After a few, long seconds he released me.
"You wanted to talk," he murmured, and his eyes looked a shade more sad than before.
"Yes," I nodded. "You know, it's about our break up. How is it going to be managed?" I asked. He blinked at me , a bit surprised.
"Well, I don't know. We just don't get photographed together as much as before so rumours start to form and I just don't comment on it," he shrugged, but what he said made me frown.
"Is this how it usually gets handled?"
"I didn't plan to make a statement or anything," he explained, looking at me surprised. "Do you want that?" He asked. Now, he was the one frowning. "Why? If we say anything, rumours will haunt us again. And it's so tiring for me, honestly," he blinked at me, waiting for my answer. I took a deep breath.
Checkmate. I can't tell him about Daniel. it's too soon. But without him knowing it, this sounds quite logical...
"I just...," I took a deep breath. "Want to sort things out."
He smiled at me, slowly nodding.
"Don't worry, we sort this out."
After that completely pointless part of our conversation, we shifted the topic to Pierre and his rehabilitation, also his family. I sent my regards to them, I actually missed Arthur the most.
"He was so sad when I told him you are probably not coming over for Christmas," Charles snorted. "He was really enthusiastic for you, being around."
"I will call him up, asking for meeting," I grimaced, because I actually felt bad for ignoring the youngest Leclerc.
"Good. Just make sure I will be free too!" Charles smiled. "I couldn't survive if he won you over."
I chuckled at that extremely absurd fantasy and slowly, tried to guide the conversation towards the end.
In a few minutes, we stepped out of his room, and he offered to walk with me for a short distance. He actually had meeting with Sebastian, Britta and Mia, as the start of tonight's Media program.
"It was really nice to meet you Clara," he turned to face me, putting his hand on my shoulder.
"Yes, and I hope..." I wanted to say to him that I hope the realisation of the end of our relationship gets around quickly because it would be nice to remain friends. But before I could finish the sentence, he shushed me.
"I hope I see you around," he said quickly. "Come here," he said and slipped his hands around my waist, pulling me closer. I froze, because I didn't expect a hug so tight, especially after the last time when he asked for permission before doing just the same. But this time it was more like a desperate squeeze than a friendly hug. It felt strange.
"Hey, it's okay, it's not like I'm going anywhere now," I snorted playfully, looking up at him after we parted.
"I am relieved then," he nodded, with his eyes wandering in the distance. Then I saw him nodding curtly, like he was just greeting somebody. It made me turn automatically, but as soon as I did so, I regretted it entirely.
Maybe I even regretted getting out of the bed that day.
Because the ones Charles was nodding at, half smirking, half... well, still hugging me, were the best part of the Red Bull team - Max, Vicki, Aurelie and Daniel.
Fuck.
Of course the meeting Charles was heading was the press conference, and all the drivers and their press officers were walking there to give their usual interviews.
I saw Max and Vicki frowning at us, but Daniel freezed in the doorway. He looked at us for a moment, then stepped into the Media Center building, after letting Aurelie go ahead.
How on Earth can I be so. Utterly. Fucking. Dumb?