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Chapter Eight: Darling, Inside Voices

I know it's been a while please forgive me AHAHHA Life has been hectic and it's so sad that I haven't been able to write that much. 

2024 season starts this week!! Predictions?

Enjoy!

*****

Possible was the right word to use.

I didn't see Levi the following morning since post-race schedules were always different for every team. Usually, Saint and I would spend an extra day if we didn't have two consecutive race weekends. This morning, we both slept in partly because of last night and the other because Monaco was next.

It was one of the most awaited races of the year because of how iconic the place was. Monaco is known for the celebrations afterward and the mixture of motorsport with luxury with all the yachts and supercars of some of the richest people on Earth. I've been to the principality twice now, once as an audience when I was fourteen and decided to watch from the stands, while the other was two years ago as a driver. Aside from the race weekend, a lot of events happened in Monaco which meant you'd usually spend the entire week there. Teams usually decided to host events for their special guests and some of the drivers would even be invited to attend the Cannes Film Festival.

And I was one of them.

My mouth practically fell to the floor when I was informed I'd be attending alongside Saint to represent the team. I may have grown up fooling around with engines and training myself to fight against G-force, but I was also a girl who grew up watching movies that always held a short scene where the main character would dress up. Just because people expect me to appear masculine because of the sport I'm in doesn't mean I can't be feminine too. My manager, Dominic, connected me with a few stylists I could hire for the event since I didn't exactly have the privilege of having one on hand. We went through a bunch of options and ended up with three dresses that I could choose from.

Other than the film festival, most of my schedule is packed with promotional activities for the team. I was waiting in the hotel lobby with my luggage beside me, looking around to search for Jasmine since we'd both be heading to the airport to ride a plane that would drop us off at Nice.

I smirked when the elevator doors opened and Saint walked out with Atlas behind him, the latter looking utterly hungover with his blonde hair unruly and dark-tinted sunglasses placed over his eyes. You wouldn't have noticed it at first glance except Atlas visibly turned green when a group of hotel staff passed by him carrying pastries.

"Got any regrets from last night?" I asked him as he plopped down on the sofa beside me and leaned his head on my shoulder.

"Darling, inside voices, please." Atlas groaned and I snickered as Saint shook his head at him.

"You need to get some caffeine in you if you're going to be bearable for the next six hours."

I glanced curiously at Saint, knowing the flight to Nice only took about an hour and a half. "I'm not an expert when it comes to geography, but even I know the flight to Nice doesn't take that long."

"Dom didn't tell you?" He asked and I shook my head. "We're driving to Nice."

"I'm supposed to get on a flight with Jasmine in two hours."

"Hate to break it to you, kid, but Jasmine already left an hour ago."

"WHAT?" I hurriedly brought out my phone, cursing myself for not seeing the message Dom sent me about the updated schedule. I groaned and leaned my head back against the sofa. "There's no way in hell I'm spending six hours on the road."