Unwritten Endings [Daniel Ricciardo]

Moodswings

If I thought that seeing Formula 1 in Portugal was amazing, it was nowhere near watching it taking place in Monaco. In the streets where I had been walking, either with Daniel or by myself as I was on my way on my usual powerwalk, had suddenly turned into the annual racetrack of the year, filled with different kinds of race cars racing for victory as marshals made sure that nothing went wrong with the track itself.

And the days before the race weekend, the closer we got, the more people I noticed filled Monte-Carlo, filling every single street, restaurant and spot with excited people ready for watching the cars. 

And I loved it, every single second of it. Plus, Daniel seemed rather excited to be back in Monte-Carlo again to race with his still rather new team. And I was excited for having four days off of work while hanging out with Charlotte, Daniel and of course mocking Blake and Michael whenever I got the chance. 

Speaking of me and Daniel, we quickly realised that we had to be careful being around each other these days, making sure that we kept out distance in public as neither of us wanted our new relationship to go public, not yet at least. It was still fresh, and Daniel had been clear that he wanted to enjoy having me by himself for a bit more, giving me the full knowledge that once he decided it was time for us to go public, if ever, it would become like a slap in my face. 

Which felt weird for some reason, mostly as I never saw Daniel as that public figure, the one who had millions of followers on Instagram or who had fans shouting his name during race weekends while wearing his own merch. The very same merch he somehow had started to "forget" at my place, giving me a giggle fit every time I found a piece as it felt like it was his way of telling me to wear the clothes whenever he wasn't with me, giving me at least of piece of him to hold on to. 

As for this weekend, he was barely getting a second to be by himself, to not do anything as the media coverage for this weekend was huge, and he always had somewhere to be, either for things that he had with his team in their motorhome, or events that took place with their sponsors. But I knew how hectic those things could get, as I happened to work for a company that held those kinds of events, and I made sure to give him a moment to rest whenever that knock on my apartment door was heard, or his phone call that alerted me that he wanted me at his place, for a simple cuddle or a shared intimacy before falling asleep in each others arms. Because, even if I was at the race track, with me and Charlotte walking around in the paddock, going in between the McLaren hospitality, the paddock club and the garage, I still only got to see him by the distance, with some spare minutes of his where he literally dragged me inside his driver's room to steal a kiss from me. 

And of course, Blake and Michael knew everything about our small talk after our night out, as well as Charlotte did, and the faces we were met by every single time we walked out from Daniel's room to join them in the diner area were priceless. Mostly because they tried to keep a straight face, but the smirks always made their way to their faces. 

Even the team-members of McLaren Racing seemed to understand that I was someone they would start seeing at the racetrack more often, especially as some of them recognised me from Portugal, with some of them making sure to greet me as well and small talking with me whenever they walked by. 

One of the more interesting conversations I managed to have though, was with Daniel's PR officer, Harry, who shared some information about his job with me. Making me even more grateful that I didn't choose that path in my working career, especially if I had to make sure that Daniel acted somewhat sensible in his interviews, knowing fully well that he probably was a nightmare trying to control whenever he decided to fool around. 

"So, shall we share a glass of Champagne before third practice? I've seen that leg of yours wobble out of nervousness Liz." Charlotte asked while grabbing my arm, making sure to not lose me in the swarm of people in the Paddock, clearly more filled today as it was quali-day at the track.