A girl chasing her dream. A boy looking for the light.
When Florence Nyx started her internship at a Formula 1 paddock, she expected a lot. Fast cars. Exclusive impressions most people could only dream of. An entire array of skills she'd acquire...
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"Okay, so..." Florence cleared her throat and glanced over at me, one hand at the steering wheel while the other tapped on her gear knob. The morning sun shimmered a soothing orange on the horizon we were driving towards, casting Florence in the celestial glow she deserved. "How do you want to introduce yourself?" she asked, her eyes flicking from the road and back to me.
I shifted in my seat to face her, making sure Rimmy still had his rightful spot in my lap. The silence of her electric car was both satisfying and unusual; I could tell Flo was anxious about something, though I had a hard time figuring out what it was. The entire flight she'd been quiet, looking out the window without saying much, but also not getting any sleep.
It was unlike her, but every time I'd addressed it, she'd said she just needed to think. I was the last person to tell her not to do just that, so I'd let her be, hoping she'd open up when the time was right.
"I mean, I told Rafi we're dating and all," she interrupted my thoughts when I hadn't responded after a short while, "but I haven't really consulted you on any of that, which wasn't fair. You are fifty percent of this relationship, so I want you to be comfortable with whatever we choose to label ourselves as."
She watched the road while her right thumb fiddled with her index, scratching the black nail polish from her fingernails. It was a nervous habit I'd noticed her doing a decade ago already — a rare reminder that Florence was just human, even if she didn't act like it sometimes.
"You know I hate the term boyfriend? Sounds so immature." She kept rambling, gaze focused on the cars ahead of her. "You're not my boyfriend. I mean, you are, if you want to be called one, but like... I'd prefer it if you were my partner. That's what I think you are. Someone who's an important part of my life."
The picking of her fingernails became audible as she stopped the car at a red light, her uncertain glance now flicking over to me. I couldn't help but watch how her teeth grazed over her bottom lip, leaving her skin plump and red. She inhaled deeply and pressed her lips into a thin line, almost like she was biting her tongue not to say more.
"Okay," I said, clearing my throat when my voice came out hoarse and dry.
"Okay?" Her brows furrowed, but the corner of her mouth twitched into a smirk that was way too pretty for any person to comprehend.
"Yeah. Okay. I'll be your partner. I like it."
Understatement of the year, ladies and gentlemen. I didn't just like it. I fucking loved that this was what she saw us as.
Equals.
The smirk on her lips broadened, but I didn't miss the glimmer of uncertainty in her eyes before she glanced back at the red light above us. "I don't want you to agree to anything you don't want to—"
"Don't insult me now, Florence Lucia Nyx."
My words made her look back at me, eyes wide and sparkling with intrigue. I couldn't help but lean over, brushing my thumb over her cheek as her skin burned with a gentle blush. It was a sight I'd fall in love with every fucking time I saw it, and reminded me that this was not just a figment of my imagination. Her touch was real, the scent of her shampoo as present as my appreciation for her person.
