Flores :: Carlos Sainz

Fin

It was a dream coming true.

Eleanor never said it out loud, but having a pass hanging around her neck and walking on the other side of the garages was... Amazing. She watched the motorsport on TV and had visited some races, but always the cheapest tickets. And there was nothing wrong with that; the ambience was amazing, and she got to be there. Nevertheless, she sometimes wondered how it would be on the other side of the garages. Eleanor once visited a rainy race, and she got jealous of the people who paid a ton of money to be in a warm and dry hospitality. And being there must be a nice experience, but Eleanor never thought it was worth it. Sitting between crazy and fanatic fans was part of the experience (and she didn't have money for the VIP package, unfortunately).

Who would have thought that she was walking on the other side of the pitlane to support her boyfriend?

If you had told Eleanor a year ago what would happen during this year, she would have laughed and called you crazy. Around this time, she got the letter from her grandmother with the announcement she was an heir. Eleanor took a break from her work, went to Spain with her dad, renovated the home of her grandmother she didn't know excited, met Carlos and Bibi, got an item on the Dutch national TV, fell in love with Carlos, got heartbroken, lost Omie, spend time in the Netherlands to realise she belonged in Spain, got an accident in the metro, spoke to Carlos again, shared her feelings with Carlos, found a new job in Madrid (internal communication at a big organisation), had contact with her little sister and brother again (even though she didn't trust them completely yet), got in a relationship with Carlos and now she was for the first time supporting Carlos at a race. The last race of the season, to be exact, in Abu Dhabi. Fans added her to the WAG list, making Eleanor feel uncomfortable. She was a WAG, but when thinking of the term WAG, she thought about Victoria Beckham, Perrie Edwards, Kelly Piquet and many more. Eleanor was just a simple and boring political journalist who worked in communications now, and happened to be Carlos Sainz Jr's girlfriend. It was crazy to her.

Eleanor sat on the terrace of the Ferrari hospitality, watching people. Her head was resting on her hand, and her legs were crossed. So this is how the rich live... The world wasn't new to her, there were some similarities to the world she worked in in the Netherlands, but still. As a woman who grew up in an average house with an average household, this was quite the... Shebang. However, she had fun watching the people. It wasn't boring. And the surroundings were pleasant: warm temperatures, drinks, no stress for the guests.

It was Saturday evening. Qualifying ended a couple of hours ago. Teams were debriefing the day, and fans and guests were going back to their hotels. The paddock became quiet again.

"Hola, mi amor."

Eleanor looked up, and a smile came on her face. Carlos was standing next to her with his bag, ready to go. "Hello, darling," she smiled and got up. She pulled up the chair to the table and grabbed her purse from the table. "Everything good?"

"Yeah, a decent last qualifying," he replied. They walked away. "We do it for the team."

"I'm proud of you," she smiled. "It looked good out there."

A smile grew on his face. It wasn't perfect at all, but Carlos adored how excited she was. He knew that she knew it wasn't perfect, but she kept positive for him. "Did you enjoy the time? Sorry that we can't see each other often. Weekends are filled with meetings and press moments, and this weekend has an extra filling."

"Don't apologise," Eleanor said and softly bumped against him. "You warned me beforehand, and I have enough things to see and do. I'm here to support you, not for myself."

"Still," he replied.

"Do you know to who I spoke?" Eleanor said. Carlos looked questionably at her. "The former prime minister of the Netherlands: Jan Peter Balkenende. He came over to me and said, 'You're a journalist in The Hague, right?'" She shook her head. "I knew that he was a huge F1 fan, but that he knew me? It blew my mind."

She wouldn't admit it, but politics was where her heart was. Carlos saw that from the moment they met, and it was a shame Eleanor didn't admit it, but sooner or later, she would find out about it. "See, you left behind a mark," he said. "It's fun to see so many people, and I don't know even a quarter of them. Like the former prime minister of the Netherlands. Perhaps I bumped into him quite a few times."

"Imagine. Weird thought, though."

"Honestly, I don't look at the guests anymore. There are so many guests, and every week it's different," he admitted.

"As you should."

They were walking over the paddock. Carlos talked about his day, and Eleanor listened carefully to it. He shared small things nobody was really supposed to know, but he trusted her with the information. And he just needed to share his thoughts with someone who was not part of his team.

His eyes fell on another driver when he and Eleanor were close to the exit. "Mick," Carlos said.

The German driver stopped walking and looked at his colleague driver. A smile curved on his face, and he gave Carlos a hand. "Hey." He looked at the woman next to Carlos and politely greeted her as well.

"I'm sorry, man," Carlos said. "You deserved more."

Mick showed a warm smile, he appreciated it. "Thanks, but it is what it is, unfortunately."

"For me, it came as a surprise. How was it for you?" Carlos asked concernedly.

"Yeah, I mean, at some point, you feel what is going to happen."

Eleanor sighed and pressed her lips into a thin line. She and her dad supported the young German driver, mainly because they shared the same last name in a different language. She looked at Carlos and then at Mick. It was sad to see talent go. Eleanor listened to the two drivers, but didn't really save the conversation. After a couple of minutes, they said goodbye, and Carlos left the paddock with Eleanor.

"Did you know, when I was younger, I sent Michael a letter saying that I thought it was cool that we shared the same last name, but in a different language?" Eleanor confessed.

Carlos raised his eyebrows, and a smile came on his face. "That is so cute. How old were you?"

"Six years old."

"Did he reply?"

"Not to my letter, but he sent me a signed driver's card."

"Adorable," he hummed and stopped walking. "You know, we can go back and say it to Mick."

She stopped walking as well, and she turned around. "No, absolutely not."

"Why not?" Carlos walked to her. They continued walking.

"When a six-year-old says it, it's cute. When a 26-year-old says it, it's creepy." Eleanor shook her head. "He could be my little brother. It's creepy when I say it now. And I don't know him good enough for this."

"Exactly, the little brother with the same last name in a different language." He chuckled. "Brother from another mother."

"No."

They shared a laugh and made their way to the hotel. They bumped into Charles Leclerc and talked while Carlos properly introduced his girlfriend to his teammate. Eleanor and Charles met yesterday in a rush, so now Carlos had the chance to do it properly. Carlos introduced her to every person that was close to him. Yesterday, Carlos introduced Eleanor to Lando Norris and some other people.

"And now..." Carlos breathed when he got into his hotel room. "...we relax." He let himself fall on the bed on his back.

Eleanor put her purse on the dresser and looked at him. She removed her shoes and washed her hands real quick before walking back to the bedroom.

"Come here," he said and stuck out his arm. "Cuddle."

She lay down on the bed, moving closer to him. A happy feeling entered her body when he held her in his arms. "You know," she began. "You look incredibly handsome after a racing session."

"Hmm, you think so?"

"Absolutely."

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Ik hou van je," he whispered.

"Te quiero mucho," she said and kissed him.