Snap Happy (A Daniel Ricciardo story)

(Introduction) Sleepless In Monaco

Before I start: I AM a new writer and this IS supposed to be fiction so please put any inaccuracies regarding people or places down to either inexperience or artistic license, and forgive my misakes. F1 Fantasyland is my little place of escape from reality when things get tough and this story is inspired by one of those little daydreams. I hope some of you will share it with me. A special mention to users 'bijouthegreat' and '__highflying' whose stories have me utterly enthralled and have provided further inspiriration for this beginner.

I had made it.

After all the time that we had been  planning, saving, dreaming about a trip of a lifetime to the Monaco Grand Prix only one thing hadn't gone to plan: I was alone. After more than six years together Jamie and I had finally, regretfully realised that we couldn't hang on any longer, couldn't keep waiting year on year thinking 'this'll be the one, this'll be the year that things work out for us'. We knew that a long distance relationship was always going to be tough, but we'd committed everything to making it work, made sacrifices on both sides. 

"Sometimes love just isn't enough"

Our parting words still echoed round in my head; no anger, no resentment, just intense , exhausting pain like I'd never felt before. It was a few days later that I decided I would proceed with the trip after all. The room and flights were already booked and it would be the perfect antidote to the constant reminders of failed aspirations and failed relationships that surrounded me back home.

So here I was.

I had arrived in this beautiful location full of hope and excitement, and wasted no time in unpacking my most glamorous (and expensive) dress, and getting ready to hit the local bars as a whole new woman ready to start the next big chapter in her life. Drawn in like a moth to the noise and the lights, as I entered the first bar my heart sank. A sea of tanned skin, glossy hair, and expensive jewellery met my eyes, the place dripped with money, these women probably washed the dishes in a dress like mine. I mentally corected myself: they had probably never needed to wash a plate in their lives. I caught a glimpse of my own pale skin and untameable mop reflected in the glass counter top, it was not the place to be simply average. Only my first night and I had never felt so much like an outsider as I did in that moment. Downing the drink that cost as much as a slap-up meal back home I beat a hasty retreat to the security and solitude of my hotel room, casting my dress onto the floor and slumping despondently onto the bed for an early night. 

An hour or so later it became clear that sleep would not be so easily forthcoming. I stared at the ceiling willing my brain, and my heart, to switch off and give me some peace.

"I give up" I sighed outloud. I climbed out of bed and threw a maxi dress and a jacket over my pyjamas before I grabbed my camera and slipped down to the marina. Despite the buzz of the Monaco nightlife emanating from the boats as well as from the shore, the sight of the water was strangely soothing. I found a wall to sit on and set up my camera to capture the pattern of the lights across the water. Taking care to stay in the shadows, I felt invisible, but finally within my comfort zone. This after all was what I knew best -- light, colour, beauty. As I scanned the horizon for a new subject I saw a tall figure emerge from one of the larger hotels and head in my direction. It was not until he was nearly level with me that the lights fell across his face and I caught a glimpse of those familiar dark curls, that strong nose and that generous mouth, slightly too wide to be conventionally perfect, and yet somehow more real, more attractive because of it. The lighting was perfect, the scene was perfect, the subject...I blushed at my own thoughts. I was pretty sure that he was unaware of my presence so close to him, so deep was he in his own musings, but I couldn't let this opportunity slip away from me. This was what the trip was about after all - living life with no regrets. I had to ask him.

Taking a deep breath I stepped nervously out of the shadows...