Formula 1 - Oneshots

Mine - Daniel Ricciardo

Nights like these felt cruel to you. Tonight was your last night in town. It felt like life was giving you a taste of something so beautiful but could never be. With a hand on your knee and the other on the steering wheel, the man beside you is arguably one of the most beautiful people you've ever encountered. The perpetual smile he always seems to have graces his face as he looks ahead, driving you both off to who knows where. All you know is you would go anywhere with Daniel Ricciardo.

"Listen, I know it's hard not to stare but you're making me blush here."

You laugh at his comment and you can see the crinkles by his eyes forming too. Everything about tonight seems to be wrapped up in some magical atmosphere that makes you feel both unstoppable and infinite. As you drive down the coast and the salty wind pushes your hair back, you can't help but think about how right this feels. How unforgettable this summer would be. You and your best friend had planned to spend the summer at this beautiful beach just off the coast of Spain. No concrete plans set in motion, you both just knew that you would let the days dictate what you were going to do while you were there. You met Daniel on your third night here at an event one of the resorts had.

"You do something." You say to the guy who's just introduced himself to you as Daniel. You narrow your eyes, trying to pinpoint why he looks extremely familiar to you. "I do. Don't we all?" You momentarily lose your train of thought when he smiles at you - you don't think you've ever seen such a genuine smile. "No. Like. Why have I seen you before?" "Maybe in your dreams? I'm an unforgettable person." You shake your head but laugh anyway. You could tell he didn't really want to get into how you might know him so you let it go for now.

You smile at the thought of how you two met and how he later told you he drove for a living, allowing you to connect the dots. You both never really talked about it again since he said he liked the summer break because it let him pause the craziness that racing brought into his life. What followed after included mornings spent swimming in the ocean, hand-holding under tables, and stolen kisses when it was just the two of you. It included hikes he admittedly had to motivate you to go to, late night walks by the beach when the only thing you could hear was the sound of waves crashing on the shore, and endless laughter while tangled in bedsheets. You'd gotten to know him in the way that it felt liked you'd known him your whole life. You both just clicked.

"You're just too pretty, Daniel." You tease. He squeezes his hand on your knee then begins singing to the song playing on the radio. He liked singing a lot, even if he would say he was kinda terrible at it. It sucked that he really wasn't that bad at singing because you had yet to find out what he actually wasn't good at. He was just one of those people that naturally did well at whatever they did. The rest of the ride is spent like that: Daniel singing along with his hand on your knee and you humming, occasionally playing with his hand. You wanted to memorize this moment forever.

You soon arrive at the destination, a small restaurant just overlooking the coast. You both decide to sit outside to revel in the cool air and the clear night sky full of stars. Instead of sitting across you, he moves his chair to sit beside you. "I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow!" He says after ordering for the both of you. "I know! It feels like just yesterday you were desperately trying to get me to fall in love with you." "I never took you as a liar." He replies, but his smile lacks the usual cheekiness it has and instead seems a bit bashful. "You know I'm kidding." You wave your hand in the air. The stars look exceptionally pretty tonight and you can't seem to stop staring at them. The city never really lets you admire just how great the sky is unlike here, where the only thing ultimately separating you from it is gravity itself.

"In all seriousness, I'm going to miss you, you know that right?"

You turn your attention from the stars to Daniel and see that he's looking straight at you. He's a star in his own right too. "I know. I'd miss me too." You try joking. When he cracks just a small smile back at you, you realize he's trying to let you know how much this summer has meant to him. "Daniel, I'm going to miss you way more. You have no idea. But you're going to go back to your crazy, fast-paced world and I'm going to go back to my life as well. This summer will be but a great memory we could look back on and smile at." You reach over to squeeze his hand, but he intertwines your fingers before you could pull it away. You also move closer to plant a kiss on his cheek. He finally smiles again and moves to whisper something in your ear. "It's going to suck knowing I won't have someone to wake up next to tomorrow." His breath fans your neck and you slightly shiver. You want to blame it on the cool air but you know it's because of how near he is and the small trail of kisses he's now leaving along your jawline. You turn to face him, your faces so close you could be kissing him right now if you moved just a quarter of an inch forward. "And it's going to suck knowing I won't have anyone holding my hand in car rides anymore tomorrow." You whisper. You plant a quick kiss on his lips then turn to look back forward. "You are such a tease." You just wink back at him in response.

Dinner was great again. It consisted of good food, laughter, and the both of you being touchy, trying to somehow stay physically connected the whole night. Daniel's left hand is on your waist as he guides the both of you back to his car. He's drawing circles where your waist meets your hips. He was very adamant about paying for dinner, claiming that it was his goodbye treat for you. You didn't really want to think about your trip ending because you'd rather that the inevitable sadness of leaving Daniel and this vacation behind came later than sooner. He helps you into the car then jogs over to his side. The drive back to your place is a bit slower than usual because it seems that it's not just you that doesn't want this night to end. His hand begin to slide up your knee, now resting on the inside of your thigh. You keep your hand on top of his as he continues to draw circles with his thumb. You lean over to whisper in his ear, "I would kiss you senseless right now if you weren't driving." You say it for the heck of it, just to tease him. Daniel's eyes darken and he swallows, visibly weighing the options of just stopping the car on the side of the road. Right when you're almost sure he's going to, he instead shakes his head and chuckles, driving just as he was before you leant over. The rest of the ride continues just as it started.

When you finally get to the front of the small house you had rented, you both step out of the car and stand in front of each other. "So your flight leaves in a couple of hours, huh?" You check your watch to see that it's 11:30pm. Your flight tomorrow was at 6:45 in the morning. You nod and smile at him. "Yeah. I'm almost thinking of not setting an alarm to see if fate wants me to leave or not." You tease. He laughs. "Or you could just move your flight like a normal person." "Well, that too but that would be boring and predictable." The silence after seems to be filled with tension and electricity that you can't put into words. You're both just staring at each other and for some reason, without your knowledge, you're somehow standing closer to each other than you originally had been. "I'm not driving anymore." Daniel whispers, wrapping both his arms around you, pulling you in closer. "That was a time-limited offer." You whisper back, interlocking your arms around his neck. He leans down and just before his lips meet yours, he moves to first kiss your cheek instead then proceeds to leave kisses all over your jaw then your neck. Your eyes flutter shut and you try to savor this moment like all of the other times you've spent with Daniel. "I'm gonna miss you so fucking much." You say into his ear. He simply responds by tightening his grip around you and continues kissing your neck. He pulls away and looks at you. Really looks at you, as if he's trying to memorize your face. "And I, you." You can't take it anymore. Your lips meet his but unlike the other times, this one carries everything you want to tell him. I don't want to go yet. I don't think I'll ever forget about you. I think you'll carry a piece of my heart forever. Don't forget about me. He kisses you back with just as much passion, if not even more, as if he's desperately trying to let you know the same thing. He leans you against the car, your bodies pressed flush against each other, and you just keep going on like that until you both remember you have to breathe to survive. He pulls away, his forehead still resting on yours. You're both breathing heavily, but you both laugh when you look into each other's eyes. His dimples come out and you poke one of them with your finger. "I should've stopped driving a while ago."

You continue hugging for who knows how long, just trying to stay in this space that only the two of you exist in. "You better not miss me too much." You say, trying to lighten up the mood. "Well, you better not start obsessing over me and go stalking me whenever I go racing in your area." "No promises." "Well, I'd be flattered if it was you then." You both pull away and you can tell this is where the story ends. As much as you'd like to believe that things could go on even after this vacation ends, you know that it would be a stretch and it would take away the beauty of whatever it was that you and Daniel had on this little island. He leans down to kiss you once more, but this time it's a quick one. "I'd better let you get inside so you can finish packing." You nod and smile at him. "Thank you. For this summer. For being my summer." He's smiling after what you've told him, but you see a hint of sadness flash in his eyes. It's brief, but it's there. "And thank you for being mine."