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Fuck, fuck, fuck,I kept saying to myself as I tried to loosen the seatbelt, but it didn’t budge. I was stuck.
I knew I needed to keep calm while I waited for the emergency crews. They would already be on their way. I just needed to distract myself and think about something –anything– to get my mind off of the fire that was rapidly increasing.
My thoughts immediately went to Georgia and our last conversation. She had called me ‘mon amour’ as I walked away from the Valkyrie garage. My heart had flown in that moment, and I knew I was a goner for her. Just hearing the words roll off of her lips was enough to make me never look at another woman again.
What if I didn’t get out?I started to panic.What if I didn’t get the opportunity to tell Georgia how much I loved her? Would the gifts be enough for her to know that my life has been so irreparably changed for the better since she came into it?
No, Luca, you can’t think like this, I chastised myself.You have to get out of this car, out of this heat, so you can tell Georgia how you feel. She deserves to know.
I started to pull frantically at the seat belt, which was locking me in, over and over again, until finally, I felt it budge. I immediately launched myself out of the car and onto the ground next to my car, starting to crawl away as I saw the emergency pit crews running towards me. It didn’t take them long to put out the fire. The marshals quickly shuffled me away from the wreck and back to my garage.
As soon as I got back into the paddock, I made a beeline for the Valkyrie pit wall, grabbing Mel’s headset, much to her surprise. I had to tell Georgia how I felt. Every second we raced was dangerous, and I couldn’t go a moment longer without Georgia knowing that I loved her. When I looked up on the screen to press the radio button, I could see the written recording of the radio messages between Mel and Georgia on the replay.
Georgia had said she loved me.
She had also threatened to get out of her car and help me, which was the stupidest thing she had ever said. The actual thought of her being in danger because of my car made my blood boil – made me want to quit Hermes as punishment for them potentially puttingGeorgiain danger. I would be talking to her later about that one.
“You didn’t have to set my car on fire to get P2, Mia Cara,” I joked into her radio. “According to the press, I would have let you just have it.”
“Fuck off!” she quipped back into the radio. I knew from her voice that she had that beautiful, sneaky, sly grin on her face, although Isabelle looked less than impressed next to me. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next race,” she added, and I chuckled at her retort.
“Oh, and Cara… I love you, too.” As soon as I said the words, Mel grabbed the headset from me, pushing me away from the pit wall, yelling about me being an intruder. The medic had arrived, and he was waving for me to head to the medical center. As much as I didn’t want to leave the Valkyrie pit wall, I was glad I had the opportunity to finally tell Georgia how I felt about her.
I sat in the medical tent, watching her and Henri battle it out, my eyes glued to the screen. As soon as I was given the all-clear, I ran back to the garage so I could finish watching the race. The last few laps were intense. Henri and Georgia truly were two of the best drivers of our generation. When they both crossed the finish line, I knew it would have to be reviewed. Their cars were side by side as they drove past the checkered flag.
Once the results were announced, I ran towards the podium, trying to get my eyes on Georgia.
I needed more than anything to hold her, congratulate her –kiss her. When our eyes locked, I flashed her my biggest smile, which somehow grew even bigger when she ran towards me, jumping into my arms.
I could get used to this. I could definitely get used to this, I thought to myself as Georgia crashed our lips together.
* * *
Georgia
As soon as the podium celebration was complete, Henri, Noah, and I were forced into the post-race press conference – also known as my living nightmare. As we all sat down, I took a moment to observe the room. It was, of course, the same group of journalists from Thursday’s press conference, which I guess shouldn’t have been surprising, but I secretly had some hope that Marcus from Sports Broadcasting had been sent home.
“Good afternoon and welcome,” Michael Clifton, the F1 presenter, started, introducing the three of us drivers as he congratulated us on our success. Michael’s questions were always fair – always genuine. As the main reporter for F1 TV, he had a reputation to uphold, something the other journalists definitely weren’t kept to. As soon as the questions were turned to the other journalists, I hunkered down in my seat, hoping after Thursday that they would leave me alone.
But as always, the universe had other plans.
“There’s been a lot of criticism online of your radio comments to your race engineer when you wanted to get out of the car. People are saying this is why Formula 1 shouldn’t allow women because women are too emotional in a crisis – any thoughts on that?” I knew by now that whenever journalists said ‘criticism online,’ they meant ‘I have a rude question I want to personally ask, but I’ll hide behind a fake internet troll.’
“I have thoughts, yeah,” I responded, “but they’re probably not appropriate for F1 TV.” Noah snorted out a laugh next to me. I saw Lizzie shake her head in the background, knowing that this was going to be a lost cause.
Before another journalist could butt in, Michael stood up and looked at the group. “Anyone have questions on the race?” I could tell by the look on his face that he was getting annoyed with the group. Fortunately, a different sports journalist raised her hand, pulling the mic to her face.
“Georgia, how did it feel at the end, racing side by side with your brother? It was exhilarating to watch the two of you in those last few laps.” Finally, the moment Iwantedto talk about. The moment thatdeservedto be talked about.
“Incredible. Absolutely incredible.” Henri nodded his agreement and turned to me as I said the words, giving me a high five. “Racing toe to toe with my brother this season has been a dream come true. Henri is an amazing driver, and it was so fun to switch back and forth. Obviously, I am personally disappointed in P2, but I couldn’t be prouder of my brother. He deserves this, and I’ll definitely be with him tonight, celebrating his win.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to hold him off next year, too? Won’t be able to use dating his teammate as a distraction. Henri will be used to that one,” the female journalist joked, although this time, her tone wasn’t malicious – much to my surprise, the journalist was actually joking with me.
“Well shoot, you’re right… Guess I’ll just have to get Henri a girlfriend… or maybe a hamster,” I quipped.
Once the press conference was over, I felt an arm wrap itself over my shoulders, pulling me in for a hug. I looked up at Luca, who had a cheesy smile on his face. He looked like he had just won the lottery.
We walked back to my driver’s room in comforting silence, hand in hand – although this time, it felt genuine. This time, I knew he wanted to hold my hand. As soon as we got into the room, Luca pushed the door closed and pushed me back against it, bringing our lips together in a searing kiss that made my entire body light up in flames.
