The Neighbor (a mini fic)

Part 9

October 2021 - 4 months in Monaco

We were watching the race from the garage the next day. Grace preferred to be near the engineers to know what was going on. She got so nervous anytime Dan would race. I could understand that. I've learned how dangerous this sport can be. She was either biting her nails or gripping onto Joe's arm the entire time. Just watching her made me nervous for Dan.

They only had 9 laps to go and Daniel was currently in P4, having gained 2 positions right at the start. He'd been able to hold off Carlos behind him for the last 34 laps now. One thing I didn't know was he was great at defending his position. I felt proud of him. Proud to be here supporting him. It really was a different atmosphere watching the race in person as opposed to on a tv screen.

Lando had crashed out early on in the race so any points Mclaren might get was now relying solely on Daniel. He was now gaining on Charles in front of him. If he could overtake him he would get a podium. However, at his current pace there just wasn't enough laps left to do that.

With only 2 laps to go, suddenly the red Ferrari slid and hit a wall in one of the turns. Dan's quick reflexes allowed him to avoid hitting any debris on the road and just like that, Dan was in 3rd. Grace and I both jumped and cheered.

Everyone in the garage ran to the pit wall to watch Dan cross the finish line and wave. It was so exciting, the adrenaline was making me dizzy. As Dan pulled up to the little number 3 sign, he got out of the car and ran over to his team, being greeted with cheers and hugs and slaps on the back.

He made his way down the line of people to his parents and gave them a bone crushing hug. Isaac jumped into his arms then and was slapping Dan's helmet in excitement. He put Isaac down and turned to me. Even though he had his helmet on, hiding most of his face, I could tell he was smiling by the way his eyes crinkled.

I expected a hug, but was surprised when he grabbed my head with both hands and rested his helmet against my forehead. I smiled at him, knowing how happy he must be right now. "Whatever plans you had for tonight, cancel them because we are celebrating" I could hear him say, just audible enough through the helmet for me to hear.

I laughed and nodded, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to hear me anyway. He gave me a hug before moving on to a few more people and making his way over to Max and Lewis, who got 1st and 2nd place.

The podium ceremony was exciting. Daniel sprayed as many people as he could with champagne, even getting it on me and some of the crew. Then he convinced Max and Lewis to do a shooey with him, which I will never understand how anyone can stomach that.

Shortly afterwards, I was sitting with Dan's family in the cafe again. We were all having a little snack before heading back home so I could shower the champagne off me and change for whatever plans Daniel had.

My phone buzzed with a notification and I saw that Daniel texted me. "Come to my driver room" was all it said.

I looked up at Dan's family. "Go ahead, we're going to head back to the apartment. I think Isaac is wiped out anyway" Adam said to me, nudging me forward towards the hallway that led to the many rooms and offices and the garage.

I told them I probably won't be long and made my way through the maze of hallways. Somehow I got lost though and was out on the pit lane. I turned around to try again and bumped into someone. "Oh I'm so sorry" I said as I looked up to see I had bumped into Pierre.

"No problem ma chérie, I was hoping to see you today anyway," he said as he still had his hand on my elbow to steady me. "Are you free tonight? I was wondering if I could take you to dinner" he asked me with a smooth confidence. I was starting to get lost in his eyes when I remembered I was supposed to be meeting Daniel.