Burning Desire

~Chapter Fifty~

Race day.

The day that everyone looks forward to.

Was I excited? Yes. Was I nervous. Definitely. 

It was my first proper race with AlphaTauri and there was a lot of pressure on my shoulders to perform well. Everyone was watching me because I'm the new rookie.

After I got changed, I looked at myself in the mirror and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

"Whatever happens today, just be happy that your dreams have come true"

A light knock on the door took me out of my thoughts. "It's open," I said.

The handle turned and there stood Natalie. A massive smile spread across my face and I rushed over to her.

"Surprise" she smiled, as she wrapped her arms around me.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned, pulling back from the hug.

"I couldn't miss your debut race as a formula one driver" she said. "This has been your dream since you were in karting. What kind of best friend would I be if I wasn't here?"

"What would I do without you?" I chuckled lightly.

"Probably die," she shrugged.

"Ok, don't call me out like that" I laughed.

I picked up my helmet and we started walking towards the garage.

"Max is here too, but he's in the McLaren garage with Lando," Natalie informed me.

I looked at her with a smirk on my face and she looked away almost immediately. "How are you guys doing? You know, with your relationship and stuff"

Natalie couldn't hide the smile or blush that was appearing on her face. "He's amazing Iz...I couldn't ask for anyone else. We've only been together for a short time, but sometimes I think that he may be the one"

I was so happy for my best friend. She's dreamed her whole life of finding the right person, who could love and care for her as much as she does them. I'm so glad that they found each other.

"I'm so happy for you Nat, it's amazing to see you this happy"

Natalie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. "Anyway, how are things with Lando?"

I stepped on the scale and they recorded my weight.

I let out a small sigh as I stepped off the scale. "I don't know"

"You guys obviously like each other. You should just do something about it"

"Sometimes I'm tempted to just ask him out and just get it over and done with" I stated.

Natalie's face lit up. "That's an incredible idea!"

"Woah, woah. I wasn't actually going to do it" I panicked.

"Well you are now" she nodded. "After this race, you are going to go up to him and ask him out"

I felt my heart rate spike and my stomach become twisted with knots. "No thank you"

"If you don't do anything, then nothing is going to happen between you guys. Just rip the bandaid off"

I let out a small huff and walked towards my car. "Look at the time, I've got to drive now. I'll talk about this later"

"Fine" she shook her head slightly. "But you aren't out of a conversation"

"For sure, for sure" I smirked and climbed into the car.