Either way, things aren’t going back to how they were before. I don’t want them to. I want us to be more.
A hand appears on my shoulder, ripping me out of my thoughts. I look up at the person who is trying to get my attention and melt a little when I see it’s the gorgeous blonde from my thoughts. He’s in his red racing suit, an easy smirk on his full lips.
“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be focusing on the race,” I blurt out and stand up.
“I came here to steal a kiss for good luck,” he says, making excitement and hesitation battle for dominance in my head. “Have you seen Gabriel?” Adrian asks.
I burst into laughter. There may be a hint of disappointment in my amusement, but the consequences of kissing him in front of everyone to see push that feeling to the back of my mind.
“He was just here,” I reply before pulling half of my bottom lip between my teeth and shaking my head.
“He must have left. Oh well, I guess I will have to find someone else.” His eyes move around the room, and mine do the same. Once I’m sure no one’s paying attention, I place my hands on his neck and then my lips on his cheek.
“What could be luckier than a kiss from someone you call ‘angel?’” I ask, and his attention drifts to my lips as I let go of him and attempt to wipe my kiss off his face. His fingers snake around my wrist to stop me.
“No take-backs, Nevaeh. That kiss needs to stay there for the duration of the race.” I swallow the lump in my throat. His scent fills my nose, drawing me closer to him. “I should go. Thank you for the luck,” he says and winks at me before leaving again.
Adrian treats me like a goddess. Like he’d happily fall to his knees and worship me without hesitation. How am I supposed to dismiss it? Ignore it? Pretend like he doesn’t and I don’t love it when he does?
My mother’s voice appears in my head, screaming that that’s exactly what I’m supposed to do. To focus on my career and never, ever let a man make me feel any sort of way that could risk it. And I agree. My career comes first, but trying to ignore one’s feelings for another person is like trying to control the tide when you’re not the one in charge of it.
The moon is.
Adrian is my moon.
The drivers take their formation lap before standing in their assigned places on the grid, waiting for the lights to go out. My heart thumps in rhythm with every red dot that appears and skips a beat when they all vanish. Gabriel gets a phenomenal start, but so does Adrian. He races right past Lincoln and into second place. An excited gasp escapes me as I clap my hands together and cheer internally for him. His overtake maneuver was beautiful. It was easy and smooth, just on the inside of the Grenzenlos.
Adrian stays there for the next ten laps, but Lincoln is right behind him the entire time. Val is making her way up to sixth place, and James is still in fourth. The rest of the drivers are switching positions, some moving up while others fall behind. Cameron struggles with his tires and makes an early pitstop that costs him eight places.
“Come with me,” Hector says and leads me outside to an area by the fence where no one is standing.
I put my better lens on my camera, the one that catches movement best, and place my eye over the eyepiece while closing the other. Gabriel, Adrian, and Lincoln shoot past me like bullets, and I’m barely able to get a few pictures when a deafening sound fills my ears.
Metal hitting metal.
I swing my head around to see Lincoln and Adrian spinning off the track and into the barriers.
Out of shock, I drop my camera, forgetting I didn’t place the strap around my neck. My hands cover my mouth as my body goes into shock.
Hector yells for me to come inside with him, but I only start walking when his hand wraps around my wrist to pull me with him.
“Hector, I need to see if they’re okay,” I say when he doesn’t stop once. He hands me my camera and leaves me in the garage to check on something else.
My eyes shift to the screens before relief consumes me. Adrian and Lincoln get out of their cars before the Monegasque turns to the English man and touches his fingers to his head to say “Are you fucking crazy?”
Lincoln simply storms off toward the marshals and medical team.
The replay of the incident reveals that he was the one who drove carelessly into the back of Adrian’s car. Anger takes over, along with anxiety and relief until I’m shaking.
Minutes later, while I do my best not to spiral into what-ifs, Adrian walks through Gabriel’s garage and toward me.
He removes his helmet before wrapping his arms around me.
“I’m okay, I promise,” he says, and, suddenly, I feel tears shooting into my eyes. Adrian tightens his grip, and I slide my hands onto his sweaty back.
I’ve never been so terrified in my life, and the more the shock washes off, the clearer the fear is. My hands are shaking while I push my lips together to hold back a sob.
“Everything’s okay,” he repeats, stroking my hair with his left hand.
