Seeing Red

This feels right

The weekend at Austria had been a good one so far, it was race day. I went straight to the paddock club to find Lily and Nat.

The three of us stood in the balcony, looking at the cars zoom by. Today, I could actually see that happening thanks to Charles who reminded me to bring along sun glasses.

The weather conditions at the track were changing every minute, the one thing that remained consistent was the gusty winds. I tied my scarf around my head, I'm order to keep my hair and glasses in place.

"She's so focused." I heard Lily talking to Nat.

"Huh?" I zoned back in.

"Hello Tara, welcome back to earth. While you were gone Lily got a glass of champagne for you." Nat laughed offering me one.

"Thank Lily!" We clinked glasses.

The race came down to the last lap, with Charles being very aggressive and Max defending very well. I found myself literally yelling, which made Lily laugh. She found my passion for the sport adorable.

The race ended with Charles settling for second place, quite an improvement from the last race. He was smiling as he headed to the driver's room but his eyes said something else, he was hungry for more.

I waited for him at the Ferrari unit with Andrea, I congratulated him for being an incredible trainer and helping Charles bounce back. He downplayed every compliment with "ah it's nothing." And a big smile.

Charles walked in through the doors, he looked exhausted. There was a smile on his face, he was becoming himself again and that's all that mattered.

"Congrats champ!" I gave him a tight hug.

"Thank you!" He held on tighter.

"Alright I better get back to the hotel, see you in two weeks." I let go.

"Where are you going?" He looked at me.

"Hotel? Flight's at 8 tonight."

"Don't go, stay another day." He insisted.

"For what?"

"Team dinner! I'll pick you up at 6." He winked.

I walked out of the place with literal butterflies, I had a big smile on my face. He wasn't going out to celebrate his podium with the other drivers, he was going to join his mechanics at a pub.

There was something about this gesture that made him adorable, I told Harriet about the change in plans and spent the rest of the evening putting together an outfit.

It was six at last, I headed to the lobby, he was already there. He looked angelic in his dark turtleneck and neatly gelled hair, we headed to the pub.

Everyone was hooting and cheering for him the minute he walked in through the doors, he was their hero. His chest swelled with pride, he was in his element and I couldn't help but blush over how happy he looked right now.

The atmosphere of the place was great, it was loud and noisy. I couldn't hear my own thoughts, but I got to see him in a different light. The laid back, all smiles and light hearted side of him.

After a good while of laughing around, we finally got back to the hotel. I thanked him for taking me along, I had fun. With a big smile on his face he wished me a good night and walked to his room.

The next morning, we drove to the airport. He went his way and I went mine, he was off to Belgium and I was off to Nice. Harriet and Julia were at the airport with the biggest smiles on their face, I was attacked with hugs the minute I was within arm reach.