Love in thirds

7.3 Daniel & Nell

Daniel insisted on flying to Italy immediately after Zandvoort, giving you some more time to shoot the architectural shots you needed for an article. He went with you both days, after you joined him on his workouts and runs. It wasn't your favourite activity, but you had to admit that your body felt better with more movement. Carrying a heavy camera all day was also less hard now that your arms got stronger. It's Friday now, and after spending yesterday shooting some more in the city centre and writing on your article it's race time now. You're on your way to the circuit with Daniel, who's happily singing along to a song.

He's been feeling more energized and happier since the summer break, his results have been getting better too and it seems like he finally found himself back after a few hard months. You feel like you grew even closer to each other as well over the break, which makes you glad that you decided to spend it entirely with him. The balance between being around each other and being on your own seems to come naturally, which is a great relief for you. You kiss Daniel goodbye after arriving at the track, he's going into his meetings and you promise that you'll be there when he's starting FP1.

You're walking through the paddock, chatting to people you've befriended over the weeks and shooting some photos when you hear a familiar voice yell "hey!" You look around until you see the Ferrari hospitality girl, and you walk towards her. "Hi! Fancy seeing you here" you tell her, before joking that it's really time you get on a first name basis. She asks if you have time for a drink, and you nod after looking at your watch. She seems a bit lost in her thoughts, but you're not really sure if you're in the position to randomly ask what's going on.

You've just sat down for your cup of tea when the dark-haired girl from Hungary walks in. She sits with you and, as you now know, Marie, and introduces herself as Sofia. You chat a bit about the last two weekends where Sofia couldn't come to, before you look at your watch again. "I've got to run soon though, promised Dan I'd be in the garage during FP1" you tell the girls. You chuckle when Marie asks what you are to Daniel, before telling them that you're his girlfriend.

You notice how Marie zones out of the conversation after that, and you make a mental note to ask her about it if when you have the time, hopefully later this weekend. You tell Sofia about how you and Daniel got together, and she excitedly tells you about her boyfriend without actually telling who he is. It's time you find that out, you think to yourself. Not now though, because you need to hurry. Daniel already texted you where you were with a sad emoji. You bid the girls goodbye, telling them that you should keep in touch and that you'll see them around before rushing towards the McLaren garage.

"There you are!" Daniel exclaims, you smile apologetically while standing in front of him, "sorry babe, I was talking to the girls I met during the Hungary GP." He nods, smiling when you whispered the 'babe', "oh, is the dark-haired girl here again too?" You nod, "yeah, the Ferrari hospitality girl is Marie and the other is Sofia. Now we can actually call them by their names." He chuckles, before softly touching your hand. You smile at him before Michael brings him his baclava and helmet, "do I need to cover so you can smooch or are you going to keep being obvious out in the open?" You blush at his words while Daniel smacks him. "Shut up. Let me live!" he laughs.

Daniel puts on his helmet, and you step back a bit to give him space, he looks at you and you see his eye wrinkling as he smiles. He opens his arms, and you cock your head confused. "Let me hug my girlfriend" he says, wrapping his arms around you, trying not to knock you unconscious with his helmet. You giggle, blushing embarrassed, "we're talking about this later, but for now please be safe and come back to me, yeah? You can do it babe." He winks at you before walking towards the car, jumping into his seat, before the last things get ready for FP1. Michael throws a thumbs up at you, and you stick a middle finger up to him. He throws his head back laughing, which makes you smile at him.

You're back in the hotel room already, finishing up an article when Daniel comes back from his last meeting. "G'day my beautiful lady" he says while kissing you on your shoulder before looking at the screen in front of you. His hands lean on the hand rests of the chair, and you're temporarily distracted by them before you respond. "Hey babe, good meeting?" he hums, kissing your cheek before walking towards the bed to grab a fresh pair of underwear. "It was alright, going to shower quickly now. Want to watch something in bed and order some room service?" you nod, asking him what he wants before ordering it with the hotel tablet.

You shut down your laptop and get the food when it arrives before making your way to the bed. They've got these wooden plank things here to put under your plates when eating, and it's amazing because Daniel always moves too much during dinner. Normally that's fine, but you'd rather not sleep in his food crumbs. You set everything up, scrolling through Netflix until you find a decent show to watch. You stare shamelessly when Daniel walks through the bedroom in his boxers only, and he winks at you. "All for you babe" you wiggle your eyebrows, and he smiles before sitting down next to you with the wooden makeshift table on top of his thighs.

You eat while watching the episode, chatting a bit about the day before he gets up and cleans the dinner things off. He moves closer to you when he gets back in bed, and you cuddle up against him. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable in the garage today by the way" you hum, and he continues, "I probably should've talked about doing things like that, I hope you're not mad." You chuckle, "I'm incredibly mad, that's why I'm cuddling with you right now. It's fine Dan, I wasn't expecting it, but I don't mind. You can be open about our relationship if you want, the entire team thinks we're married already anyways with how much we bicker sometimes."

He chuckles while pressing you into his body tighter. "That's true yeah. Does this mean that I can kiss you every time I see you in the paddock?" he asks excitedly, and you giggle, "as long as it doesn't intervene my work or yours you can do whatever you want love." He chuckles, stroking your hair from your face before kissing you. "I wouldn't say 'whatever I want' if I were you" he grins, and you shake your head. "What is wrong with you?"

The rest of the weekend goes incredibly well for Daniel, which is amazing to see, since there's nothing better than seeing a happy Daniel. You provide some great shots for the McLaren social media and spend a few tiny breaks with Marie and Sofia when you have the time. Marie seems happy again, and you notice how her eyes light up every time Carlos is either in the room or on the screen. 'That's interesting' you think to yourself while you say goodbye to the girls, making your way over to the McLaren garage again.

You're packing up your stuff on Sunday night, because you're going back to Monaco immediately. It'll be a week off, which means a shitload of work for you to do, but at least you'll be home again. "Want to stay at mine when we get back?" Daniel asks and you nod after thinking about it. "Yeah, that's okay. I'll be working from home for a few days of the week though, I want to fully focus." He hums, "yeah that's cool, don't worry about it. I think I'll survive a few days on my own" he pouts, and you shake your head laughing.

"How did you live before you dated me? You're so clingy" you say while walking towards him and wrapping your arms around him. "I don't know what I was doing before you, but I like this version of me better. But I've got some fun activities planned with Max this week!" he says before explaining excitedly what they planned.

A few hours later you're trying to stay awake because you're about to arrive at Daniels place, but it's hard to keep your eyes open. "Baby, wake up. We're here" you hear Daniel say in a distance, and you open your eyes while looking at him in a daze. He smiles at you, stroking his fingers over your cheeks before pressing a soft kiss on your lips. "I brought our bags up already, let's go to bed, yeah?" you hum, moving your half-asleep limbs to get out of the car. Daniel chuckles, wrapping his arms around you before walking towards the elevator with you.

You make a bee line for the bathroom when you get to his apartment, quickly brushing your teeth and washing your face before taking off your clothes and grabbing a random shirt from Daniel. You slide under the covers, falling asleep when you feel Daniel shuffling closer to you and kissing you on your head. "Goodnight, love you" he murmurs, and you hum something incoherently back before falling asleep.