It won’t be me, though. Confrontation isn’t good for the mental game, either. It doesn’t come easy when anxiety plagues the soul. Ash or Cole will fill him in. I trust them, they know what’s best for me.
I turn away from Harper and keep my mouth shut. He was clearly expecting a response, and the surprise is enough to keep him quiet for a couple minutes. To cover his confusion, he leans over one of the technicians, Kev, and immerses himself in the way the graphics are showing off how I’ve performed in the new car.
‘Don’t worry, man,’ Cole says quietly to me. ‘We’re already putting together your pre-season binder for you to look at later. Just let us know all your thoughts over the next couple of days.’ Cole doesn’t miss a trick – he’s been here almost as long as I have and I appreciate that every season he goes above and beyond to keep me happy.
‘You’re a star. Thanks, Cole.’ I clap him on the shoulder and grab my bag, rifling through to find my earbuds. With both in my ears and the noise cancelling mode on, I can leave behind the chaos for a bit. Visualisation has become everything for me when I can’t be on the track or in a simulator. I imagine every bend, I feel the sensation of the drag on the track and how my body responds when the G-force is stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced before.
I pick a guided meditation from my Spotify favourites and sink into a comfy chair. Controlling my breathing, feeling the tensing, and releasing of my muscles, I work from head to toe focusing and relaxing. It’s the ultimate calm and it’s exactly what I need after the adrenaline rush of the circuit.
Except the calm doesn’t last long because no more than a couple minutes into the track, I feel a big hand shaking my shoulder and know it can only belong to one person. I don’t even need to open my eyes to be sure it’s him. This seems to be his favourite mode of ambush.
‘Harper?’ I take out one earbud and crack open one eye.
‘Wow, sorry. I’ve been stood here for, like, three minutes and you didn’t even move. I thought you were in a trance or something.’ He’s like a kid, vibrating with energy and eager enthusiasm. I get it – it’s his first higher-category pre-season. But he also did three hundred laps this weekend and I thought he’d be a bit more burnt-out.
‘Just trying to have a bit of peace.’ The point does not hit home, though. Either he’s doing it intentionally or he doesn’t know how to read the room.
‘A couple of the guys are going to go get dinner and drinks tonight. Are you gonna join us?’ He’s changed out of his racing suit and into a pair of gym shorts and a thin vest which is cropped at his navel. I’ve never seen anything like it in the Hendersohm pit in my entire career.
I’m not quite sure who he’s talking about when he says ‘the guys’. I’ve seen him over the last couple of days becoming pally with drivers on other teams and I’m fairly sure I’ve seen a hundred pictures of him with Johannes from the Red Bull Ford team.
‘I’m good. Have a great night, though.’ My tone is dry and clearly indicates that I want to be left alone.
We have two weeks’free timein Bahrain till the first Grand Prix weekend, which gives the technicians time to make final adjustments on the cars and tweak the set-ups. The luxury of racing is that we aren’t stuck sharing a hotel suite like I know some other sports teams are when they’re travelling.
‘No worries. I’ll see you in an hour anyway for the Sports mag interview.’ He takes off after Ash, a torrent of questions about the choice to include a sidepod in our car falling from his mouth. I don’t envy Ash right now.
Then his words hit me. I quickly pull up my calendar and it’s right there:Sports UKmagazine interview with Harper. I don’t even know how I missed that this morning. Probably because breakfast consisted of nonstop yapping in my ear from a certain rookie rather than my normal routine of readying myself for the day.
Reluctantly, I heave myself out of the chair and track down Kelsey. She makes all the travel arrangements and I need to get back to the hotel to shower and change.
‘Looking good out there, Ki.’ She’s always full of compliments, though it’s me that should be complimenting her – all the travel and accommodation so far has been flawless.
‘Thanks, Kels. Could I trouble you for a ride back to the hotel?’
‘You’re in luck. I just called a car round for Harper. If you're quick you’ll catch him.’ I wrestle with the decision for a second. Kelsey’s great, and I don’t want to create double the work for her, but this is the last thing I want. Yet I still just smile and say a quick thank you before I turn and head in the same direction as Harper, groaning inwardly. Annoyingly, I’m just in time, despite dragging my heels. Harper is just opening the back door, and I wish it wouldn’t be rude of me to climb into the front.
‘Knew you couldn’t keep away,’ he says with a grin.
Did he…? Was his tone flirty?
The upheaval caused by Elijah’s medical emergency and Harper’s sudden arrival on this team is making me overthink everything. It’s one of my worst habits, and the reason I spend so much time meditating and developing my mental focus. I quickly shake it off.
‘Kels said she’d just organised a car for you and I wasn’t about to make her call me another one when we’re going to the same place.’
‘If that’s what you need to tell yourself, Kian. I know you’re excited to get to know me. Maybe you’ll come out for dinner after all?’ His teasing eyes are so bright and enthusiastic – and this close up, in the golden hour of daylight remaining, they shimmer a clear turquoise blue.
Mesmerising.
Reluctantly, I see why every man and his wife are so keen to bed him right now.
I turn away from his gaze, remembering how much he annoys me. Maybe his superpower is actually persistence. He never seems to take no for an answer.
‘Not really my thing. I need to get showered, do this interview and make it back in time for my class.’ He clearly isn’t good withsubtleso I try to shut him down clearly but firmly.
‘A class? What’re you studying?’ he asks, leaning into the conversation just as I’m trying to put an end to it.
‘Yoga.’ Flexibility is vital for athletes, and it’s not like my training activities aren’t already public knowledge, so I’m not sure why I feel so uncomfortable talking about this with him.
