Formula 1 | One Shots

Just Friends | Carlos Sainz

Authors Note: So random, but I got the inspo for this from the old Jonas Brothers song "Just Friends" hehe.

Written in Carlos POV

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Do you ever meet someone in your life and wonder, wow right person, wrong time? That's how I feel about my best friend Angelina Accardi, Angel for short. It feels like just yesterday when our paths crossed. We met when we were 20, I had just signed with Toro Rosso and had moved into a new apartment close to headquarters in Italy. I remember moving in and seeing a pretty brunette entering her own apartment a few doors down. We hadn't said anything to each other that day, but a few days later we ended up in the same elevator ride back up to our apartments.

We got to talking and she shyly invited me over for some coffee to welcome me to the building,  it was history ever since. We instantly clicked and we talked about everything and nothing at the same time. We had a lot in common, both growing up in wealthy families, but wanting to branch out and do our own things. Our coffee hangout lasted 3 hours, and ended in sushi takeout and cheap white wine. I don't think I had ever laughed so much in one night, especially with someone I had just met. Angel was a professional ballet dancer who had been born and raised in Italy. We had talked about my career in F1, something she was familiar with as her dad was an avid Ferrari fan. Although we both traveled a lot for work, we exchanged numbers and promised to keep in touch whenever we were in town.

Everyone who knew us always teased me that we were more than just friends. They couldn't believe two people with chemistry like ours weren't together. It was always the same story when responding to them. "No, I don't want to ruin our friendship" "no, I don't have feelings for Angel" all of which were a lie. I would be kidding if I didn't feel instantly attracted to her when we first met. Further down the line I knew my romantic feelings grew for her after getting to know her more. I knew she would never feel the same about me, so I swallowed my emotions and was lucky to have her as my best friend. The timing also wasn't the best. It was my debut in Formula One, and I couldn't have distractions- shitty on my part, I know. 

Angel and I constantly texted, facetimed and checked in on each other while traveling. My friendship with her was easy, it almost felt like second nature. As the years progressed, we both had our fair share of relationships....failed relationships. It was like every time we started dated, our partners would be jealous of our friendship. My last ex girlfriend even tried to get me to stop being friends with Angel, something I refused to do. It was probably unfair of me to date other girls knowing where my true feelings lied. Angel's last boyfriend was an asshole. Super manipulative and controlling, and I'm glad she ended things with him. 

Over the years, we supported each other with our careers, Angel coming to a few races and I attending some of her recitals. Our families knew each other at this point and so did our mutual friends. Our friendship has been going strong for 8 years. We had been together through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Every time we saw each other, it became harder for me to hold back my feelings for her. I refused to act selfishly and admit anything to her, knowing what repercussions it could have on our dynamic and friendship. The guys even tried to set me up with girls to distract me from Angel. For the past year and a half I only committed to meaningless hookups, but refused to date anyone. 

Right before Jeddah, I was hospitalized for appendicitis. I couldn't race and was admitted to the emergency room. I knew Angel was across the world for a recital in Monaco, but a few hours after getting out of surgery, she stood before me- teary eyed. I remember her cursing me out for needing surgery, something I didn't have control over. We both burst out laughing over the incident. In that moment, I realized I needed to tell her how I felt. She dropped everything and flew across the world to be there for me. She also said she wanted to talk to me about something, but it could wait. I was so distracted by everything going on, I forgot to ask her what she wanted to talk about. 

Since we was already with me, I asked her to stay and accompany me to Australia, since I should have the clearance to race by then. We spent the week in Jeddah relaxing and recovering. It was a lot of work for me to get back to normal, but Angel was my biggest motivation and supporter. The Ferrari team couldn't believe my turnaround recovery rate. Sure I pushed myself to the limit, but I knew I'd be okay with Angel by my side. Lando also stayed behind in Jeddah a few days to keep me company, and of course tease me about my appendix being removed. Lando was me and Angel's biggest shipper. He'd always drop snarky comments about how we should be together. Lando eventually flew out, and Angel and I had 2 days alone together. Since I was officially cleared and didn't need to do any training, we spent 2 lovely days on the beach. We spent time catching each other up and just soaking in the sun. 

We landed together in Melbourne, and we were now heading to our pre-race ritual lunch. Every Thursday before a race that Angel could join, we'd go out for sushi- our favorite food. We always made sure to have some time before the hecticness of Media Day. As we sat down together, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. The words I had been holding back for so long were finally ready to spill out. I had decided I was sick of putting my happiness aside, and needed to tell her how I really felt. The entire flight to Melbourne as I watched her sleep, I knew in my heart that this was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. She knew everything about me- good or bad. She accepted and loved me for who I was, and I wanted to spend my entire life making her feel like how she deserved to feel like, a princess. "Angelina, there's something I need to tell you," my voice trembling slightly with nerves. She nodded, giving me her full attention. "Angelina? My full name.. this must be serious Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro" she laughed. 

"I've loved you for years," I blurted out. "I mean, really loved you. But I've always been too scared to say anything because I didn't want to risk our friendship." Her eyes widened in surprise, and I could see a mix of emotions across her face. "I had no idea," she admitted softly. "I know I should've said something sooner," I continued, "but lately, I've been doing a lot of thinking. And I realize I can't keep this to myself anymore. I would hate myself if I didn't take the chance on our love."  I held my breath, waiting for her response. Before she could ever respond I rambled on, "take all the time you need, and you don't need to feel the same way, it's okay." 

She reached out and squeezed my hand, offering me a small but reassuring smile. "No matter what happens," she said softly, "our friendship means everything to me. And for the record Chili, I've had feelings for you for a long time too. I wanted to tell you back In Jeddah, but I didn't want to overwhelm you, post surgery." I returned her smile, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders now that I had finally shared my true feelings with her, and she felt the same way. I intertwined our fingers. "We can take things slow and see what happens, I want us to remain best friends and discover our love together" I said. She smiled and agreed with me.

The rest of our lunch was relaxed and I swear I felt like I was floating. She was finally my Angel. We paid and made our way to my Ferrari for the weekend. There weren't many fans thankfully where we were eating. Although the media knew the two of us were good longtime friends, we still wanted to be lowkey- for now. Arriving at the paddock, we entered separately, to avoid the craziness of the media, something I knew Angel was always uncomfortable about. I would do things her way, on her time, and I didn't want to pressure her. Now that she was mine, I would do anything to make sure she was okay. 

Once we made it past the photo hungry paparazzi, I wrapped my arm around Angel's shoulder and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. She wrapped her arm around my waist. I felt like everything in my life was coming together, and with her by my side I could accomplish anything. I felt super confident about the car for this race, and Australia was always one of my favorite tracks. As we were walking down the paddock, we passed Lando and Charles, and I laughed seeing my friends with the "I told you so look" about us. Charles wiggled his eyebrows at us I proudly winked in return. 

Because finally, we were in fact, not just friends anymore- and I couldn't be happier.