He took his balaclava and helmet off too, and all I see as I look at his face is disappointment. And exhaustion. He looks like a parent who’s sick and tired of the children’s fighting. The scowl on his face is directed at Lincoln, who is yelling something at Leonard. The Englishman’s unimpressed expression speaks volumes about what Lincoln is saying. Leonard only answers one word to Lincoln’s minute-long rant. I don’t have to be a lip reader to see him say “no” because he’s shaking his head, too. James walks away and toward Val, Gabriel, and Adrian while Leonard makes his way inside his garage to meet Quinn.
“Fucking children. ‘He hit my best friend.’ ‘No, he hitme.’” Leonard shakes his head again. “I’m going to retire after this season. I’m too old for this shit,” he says to Quinn, but he’s close enough for me to hear. “James is a good kid, but he still needs to learn that racers like Lincoln don’t have a rational side when emotions are running high,” he goes on, and I almost thank him for clearing up what happened.
“Lincoln could have cost Adrian his race… again,” Quinn replies, and I press my lips shut at the thought.
“I know, and I’m fucking furious, too, but approaching Lincoln won’t help. You’ve got to take shit like that to the FIA.” Leonard catches me staring at him and nods his head at my concerned expression. “Adrian’s got this. Don’t worry.” His reassurance, his cool determination, feels like a warm hug.
I let it envelope me while we wait for the race to restart.
Once the marshals have cleared all the debris and the cars have been taken off the track, the FIA announces the race will restart in five minutes behind the safety car. Adrian stops in front of Leonard’s garage for a second, winking at me before continuing to walk toward his car, leaving me to go back to worrying.
I don’t know how the rest of the drivers’ partners do this. I text Elijah, Cameron’s boyfriend, asking him how he’s doing. We only recently exchanged phone numbers after we met at the honky tonk bar in Austin, but we’ve chatted a couple of times to discuss how stressful the life of a Formula One partner during the race is. He also loves sending me videos of Adrian and Cameron, which I love.
Me: How are you doing?
Elijah: Peed my pants. Did you see how close Cameron was to the Carousel?
Me: I did.
Elijah: How is the state of your pants? I’m guessing it's similar to mine considering what Lincoln pulled.
Me: I peed before the race started, so I’m good.
Elijah: Writing that down for next time.
I can’t help the laugh bubbling out of me.
At least I’m not the only one feeling on edge.
The race restarts with Adrian following behind the safety car. I watch as it enters the pits two laps later, allowing Adrian to restart the race. Gabriel is right behind him, and Val is creeping closer to her fiancé while James is waiting to overtake her.
Adrian shoots ahead, but Gabriel’s reaction time is flawless. He’s right there with his teammate, pushing him far but not so far that Adrian’s car slips into the gravel. My hand flies back to my mouth to suppress a gasp when James’ car slips past Valentina’s by a hair-width. My friend doesn’t give up though. She might have the slower car, but she fights until she’s back in third place. Unfortunately, a lap later, James is ahead of her again, his car too quick and hers too slow to keep up with him. Adrian and Gabriel have drifted apart a little, my boyfriend now over a second ahead of his teammate.
By the time the first pitstop rolls around, I’m holding my breath again. After what happened in Austin, I don’t trust the pit crew anymore. Quinn laughs at me when I look away from the screen, but there is no way I’m watching what might be another horrible stop.
Luckily, everything goes smoothly and Adrian ends up in fifth place, as expected. Unfortunately, Lincoln has worked his way up to sixth place, and with warmer tires, he overtakes Adrian as they race down the straight. A string of German curse words flows out of me, even though I know Lincoln still has to pit and Adrian will get back ahead.
At least, that was the plan before James’ engine catches fire and he has to pull off to the side of the track to jump out of his car and let the marshals put out the fire. The safety car comes back onto the track, giving everyone who hasn’t pitted the advantage of losing less time. Gabriel pits, Val pits, Leonard pits, and lastly, Lincoln does, too. I’m watching the screens closely, Adrian now in third place, right behind Val and Gabriel.
If he hadn’t pitted before them, if he’d waited, he wouldn’t have lost the lead of this race for good, but luck was not on his side today. More curse words fall from my lips as the race restarts for the second time, Adrian fighting with Val for second place. She fends him off for a lap before he races past her by braking later as they go into the corner. He zooms ahead, chasing down Gabriel.
My heart is racing.
“It’s like last year all over again,” Quinn says to me, and I study her amused expression for a second. “Those two are so evenly matched, it’s hard to figure out who’ll win, you know?” she adds, and when I bring my attention back to the screen, I see Adrian’s DRS flap open to gain a speed advantage over Gabriel. The breath catches in my throat. Adrian attempts a dangerous overtake, a single centimeter further to the left and he’d touch Gabriel, but he makes it past his teammate without an incident.
Ten laps later, he wins the race.
And I barely keep from screaming in joy when Valentina snatches third place, too.
Adrian is back to leading the championship, and there’s nothing that could ruin the high we’re entering the summer break with.
At least, I hope so.
Chapter 55
Adrian
I’mstillhighonmy win when Nevaeh and I stumble through the door of her hotel room, my tongue slipping through her parted teeth and her hands gliding into my hair. She tugs on my curls as I grab her ass and drag her further against my chest, pushing my groin against her stomach. She smiles against my lips, clearly happy to feel how fucking hard I am for her already.
