I sat across the table from Nico Hulkenberg. The handsome German Sahara Force India driver. The interview was going well so far. Nico was easy to talk to and funny. I leaned back in my chair, crossing my legs and smoothing my skirt out.
“So Nico who would you say is one of the most influential drivers for you?” I asked poised and ready to take notes on his answer.
“Michael Schumacher of course. He is a legend, and a German like myself.” Nico smiled.
“Very good.” I nodded and moved on to the next question. Quickly jotting down notes “And the controversy surrounded by the fact that you are one of the only drivers what doesn’t seem to care what he eats? Do you have a comment on that?” I asked politely, eliciting a chuckle from him.
“I’m lucky, because I’m very tall I can afford to eat more than other drivers. Its good for me because I like to eat.” he flashed a grin that made me want to swoon. Keep your composure Kennedy, you’re in the middle of an interview.
“You’re a driver known for his consistency. You score points every race. Do you think its because of your car, or because of your personal skill as a driver?” I asked.
“Well, having a reliable car is always part of it. The team has done great keeping the car in order. I would like to think some of it is because of my skill though.” he winked.
“I think so too.” I nodded and smiled. “You’re an amazing driver.”
“Well thank you miss Blake.” he smiled again.
“It’s only true. Well I think that is all I need. Thank you for your time Mr Hulkenberg.” I stead and extended my hand, which he shook. My hand was so tiny in his.
“I‘d prefer if you called me Nico.” he smiled.
“Thank you Nico.” I corrected and turned to leave.
“Miss Blake.” He called and I turned around.
“Hmm?” I blinked.
“Would you be interested in dinner tonight?” he asked leaning foreword on the balls of his feet. I paused for a second. Would this be unprofessional? Possibly. Did my desire to go out with the attractive German out way my worries about what is appropriate? Yes.
“I’d love that.” I said, a grin instantly spread across his face.
“Okay, well I’ll give you my number… do you have something to write on?” I quickly pulled out my notepad and ripped out a blank sheet of paper, then handed him a pen. Nico scribbled his number down. “Just text me so I’ll have your number, and I’ll send you the dinner plans once I make them.”
“Perfect.” I smiled one last time. Grasping the piece of paper tightly. I wasn’t going to lose this. And I headed back to my hotel room.
I sat down on my bed and looked at the piece of paper. His hand writing was small and neat. I quickly input his number in my phone. This didn’t seem like real life. What should I say? I am usually never at a loss for words or what to write, I’m a journalist after all. Its my job to always know exactly what to say. When it comes to romantic things though, I’m certainly not at the top of my game. Being a rising star in the world or journalism takes time. A lot of time. Including working evenings and weekends. I haven’t exactly had time to do a lot of dating, resulting in my feeling incredibly incompetent in this area. I started typing.
‘Hey Nico, I’m just texting you like you asked.’
No that’s not right. I deleted the message.
‘Nico, its Kennedy. I interviewed you earlier, remember?’
That’s even worse. I frowned, becoming frustrated. Maybe this date was an awful idea. I mean, I don’t even know if its really a date. He didn’t say it was. I’m probably reading to much into it. He is probably just being nice. He is such a nice guy. I was talking about food, maybe that’s why he asked me to dinner. That’s got to be it. I sighed, pushing a strand of hair back behind my ear. It’s nothing more than dinner with a friend. That’s how I’ve got to approach it.
‘How are the dinner plans coming? -Kennedy’
Send.
Nico escorted me into a Chinese restaurant. It was beautiful. With a waterfall in the lobby and cute little bonsai trees on shelves throughout the restaurant. The hostess was dressed in traditional pink silk dress. She led us to a private table in a small room. It was beautiful, with hand painted koi on the ceiling and bamboo covered one of the walls.
“This is beautiful.” I said looking around in awe.
“Its one of my favorite places to come when I’m in town. The food is incredible.” Nico gave me a smile, that made me glad I was sitting down because my knees surely would have been too weak to support me.
“So how has working been going for you so far?” Nico said before taking a drink of water.
“Well, my first interview was with Kimi…” I forced a half smile.
“Oh,” Nico cringed knowingly “They didn’t start you off easy did they? He chuckled.
“Not at all.” I laughed along. “They threw me to the wolves.”
“That’s a shame. Hopefully I was a little easier on you.” Nico had a twinkle in his eye.
“You were super easy.” I nodded and then took a bite of my food. Which was just as delicious as Nico had said.
“Well, don’t spread that around. I’d hate to get a bad reputation.” He winked.
“I’ll keep it between you and me.” I laughed, blushing a little bit about his comment.
“Good.” he chuckled.
The rest of the dinner was literally perfect. He was so funny and incredibly sweet. We even split a desert together. Nico dropped my off at my hotel and offered to walk me up to my room. I politely declined though. I new if he did that we would be seen and pictures of us would be plastered over every motorsports news outlet blog before the morning.
I walked through the hotel’s fancy lobby. My high heels clicking on the marble floors. My feet had started hurting over an hour ago. I leaned down and slid my shoes off then picked them up. I didn’t really care what people thought, I couldn’t deal with the pain any longer. How those girls prance up and down the paddock in these things all day I will never understand. I headed for the elevator. Before the elevator door could close someone stepped in. I shut my eyes tightly and sighed. Kimi.
“Where are you coming from?” he asked looking at me. Surely judging me for my lack of shoes. I didn’t want to tell him it was a date, because I’m still not sure myself if it was or not. I decided to play it safe.
“Dinner.” I replied shortly.
“You’re dressed very nicely to have gone by yourself. You had dinner with a man?” Kimi inquired.
“There was a man there.” I nodded. Deciding that lying to him wasn’t the best option, however I was only going to give him the necessary details.
“Anyone I know?” he asked. I just shrugged in response. Thankfully the elevator opened on my floor and I slid out without saying anything else to him.
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