Mon Chéri

14

ND68:

Oh yeah baby, Miami. I had an interview to get to in five minutes so I was running through the facility when I ran into someone. "Holy shit I'm so sorry." Ran out of my mouth the second after it happened. "It's all good. Are you okay?" It was Lewis. Oh, fuck me. "Yes I'm fine I'm so sorry." I said. "Don't sweat it. I'm good. You're good. Now get to where you were going. You seemed in a rush." He said with a smile. "I am I'm sorry. Um, it was great talking to you." I said and ran off. Lewis and I hadn't spoken really. I knew who he was and he knew who I was but we never talked. I barely talked to half of the grid. Let alone have the guts to talk to Lewis.
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"So how do you feel being back in the States?" "Like I'm gonna gain fifteen pounds in a week." I said and everyone laughed. "I second that." Logan said from the other side of the table. "After that second place in Baku, how are you feeling?" "Amazing. I'm proud enough I can get onto the podium but being able to beat Max was an experience I'll never forget." "Je zult me ​​niet meer slaan, kleine meid." Max chimed in. "Oh ga Charles' kont eten, waarom niet." I replied. "Roughly translated to 'you won't beat me again' and 'go eat Charles's ass' for my non-Dutch speakers." Nico Hulkenberg said. "Don't be giving away my secrets Jesus." I said and he chuckled along with most of the reporters and drivers. "Speaking of, Charles how do you..." I zoned out once they started to talk to Charles. I didn't want to hear what he had to say. Until I heard a reporter say something about me. "She's a good driver. A little reckless sometimes it seems. Maybe in a year or so, she'll get it. As the first woman in F1, I'm sure it's a lot for her." I was about to say something when Nyck grabbed my hand. "Don't. I don't know what happened between you two but don't say anything. Not in front of the press at least." He whispered. I just sighed and sank back into my seat. If he'd just listened to me or read any of the reports of the crash he'd know. Maybe he'd know how my heart felt too.
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Practice went well and I was excited to get to qualifying. "How are you feeling today Nova?" Carlos asked. "I'm excited." I said. "No more passing out?" He asked. "I hope not." I sighed. That sucked. Turns out my morning breakfast of coffee and half a power bar doesn't work out the best. I went back to my driver's room to get out of the Miami heat and Carlos went to his room. A knock at my door startled me out of my thoughts. "Come in." I said not wanting to get up and open it. "It's just me." I heard as the door opened and knew it was Lance. "How can I help you, Mr. Aston Martin?" I asked and he laughed. He closed the door and walked in further. "Just wanted to see how you were doing. You looked good in practice." He said. "I'm alright. And thank you. How are you?" I replied. "Burning the fuck up." He said and I laughed. "It's a bit warmer than Kentucky this time of year but it's not too horrid," I said and he shook his head. "Fuckin Americans and their heat holy shit. It's like twenty degrees hotter here than in Canada." He said. I laughed and he just sighed. "California is worse." I said. "Oh god no don't even." He said and I laughed. "Fernando and I are going to dinner if you'd like to join us." He said. "Yeah sure that'd be great." I said with a smile. "Have you and him met yet?" He asked. "Not really. We've said hello and good luck but that's about it I think." I said. "Even more of a reason for you to come." He said and I laughed. "I need to learn more languages so I can speak with other drivers without them wondering what half the shit I say means." I said with a sigh. "Italian is a good bet. Most of the drivers know it." He said. "For sure." I said and made a mental note to learn some on the break.
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I walked down to the lobby of the hotel and I saw Lance there. He insisted on me not taking an Uber around so he came a picked me up. For the hate he gets, he's very nice. If I had to pick if he was written by a man or a woman if he was a book character, it'd be written by a woman. He's like the best friend that is perfect in every way but he's just not your cup of tea and you're not his. "You look nice." I said and he smiles. "Thank you. You do as well." "Thank you." It's always nice seeing drivers in nice normal clothes and not our race suits. It's a change of pace and a reminder that just because we are insane for the job we have we are still normal to a point.
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We got to the restaurant and my god was this shit fancy. "Damn," I mumbled as I looked around. "Ah, there he is." Lance said and started walking towards a table. Lance sat down and patted the seat next to him as we were in a booth for me to sit. I sat down and then put my purse on the floor in front of my feet. "So, Fernando this is Nova Daniels. Nova this is Fernando Alonso." Lance said. "Nice to meet you," I said and stuck my hand out for him to shake. "Nice to meet you as well." He said and shook my hand. "Hablas algo de español?" He asked. "Apenas. Inglés y holandés en su mayoría." I replied. I knew enough to get me out of trouble if something happened to me but don't ask me to have a full conversation it ain't gonna happen. "Ah, English it is then." He said. "My apologies. I plan on learning some Italian over the break so I can talk easier with other drivers." I said. "No need to apologize. Learning Dutch though. That's an accomplishment." He replied. "It was hard but I love it since not many know it where I'm from." I said. "You and Max are hilarious, it'd be even better if I knew what you guys were saying I'm sure." He said with a laugh. "Shits funny. I saw a video of the times they've been caught on video bitching at each other and they translated it to English and holy shit." Lance said laughing. "I've told him to eat a bag of dicks and some other things." I said and Fernando laughed.