Driving Me Crazy

Chapter Sixteen

Katana

Thank god this outfit supports sunglasses because I am doing everything I can to avoid eye contact with anyone and everyone. The paddock is set up in a way that has all of the trailers in order based on the results of the Constructors Championship. While McLaren is fourth, we started at the opposite end, so we still have to walk past almost every other trailer. I don't miss the stares we have gotten from many people, especially the media taking pictures of Cam and Lando, but as long as I stay out of the headlines, I'm happy.

I can tell we've arrived because the side of the trailer is decorated with two names in bold lettering, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, whom I would imagine is his teammate. Everyone seems to be dressed in the same color combination as Cam, leaving me as the odd one out. I swear this girl has some serious intuition because as soon as I start to get insecure, she slows down and reaches her hand up, bringing me next to her. Lando leads us into a room with much fewer people, and we sit down at a table with three guys sitting there playing UNO.

"Oh, c'mon mate!" The one man, dressed in a McLaren polo, shouts.

Lando laughs before asking, "Alright, alright. Is it safe to bring some ladies around or are UNO cards about to go flying?"

The men all look up and a moment of silence stretches between us before the one with an Australian accent speaks. "They're safe, but you might not be." He winks at Lando before chuckling slightly and returning to the game.

Lando begins his introductions, starting with the Australian man. "Ladies, this is Daniel. The one whos absolutely demolishing them right now is Carlos, and the little one over there is Arthur. Guys, this is Camryn and Katana."

Arthur is the first one to speak when he says, "Katana, like Mortal Kombat?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lando and Carlos sharing the same nonverbal discussion that was earlier shared between Lando and me, again proving that Carlos knows about Charles as well. My sunglasses are on the top of my head, so my eye roll was very visible to the people watching my reaction to that statement. "Absolutely, I've definitely never heard that one before," I reply.

While everyone else laughs, Lando continues with the introductions. "Daniel is my teammate if you haven't gathered that. Carlos is one of the Ferarri drivers, and Arthur is a driver for Formula 2."

Carlos breaks the silence when he says, "We will see him one day in a Ferarri seat, maybe he will steal his brother's spot." He winks at Lando before Daniel laughs, spreading laughter to the rest of us. My confusion must be written on my face, because Lando says, "Imagine how pissed Charles would be if his baby brother signed with Red Bull. That would be a headliner for sure." Well, that clears it up.

Now that they spelled it out for me, I can definitely see the resemblance between Charles and Arthur, despite the minor age difference. They both even have the same horrible sense of humor.

Camryn nudges me with her elbow and gives me a wink before she smiles and looks back at Lando who starts talking again. "Uno is our pre-practice ritual. It's how we get the hype up before we go out on the track. It gets wild."

Daniel starts talking while Carlos and Arthur are focused on the game, "Normally I beat everyone here, but I seem to be having an off day. Hey, where is Charles anyway? He hasn't missed a session since he had covid and he normally gives me all the wins!"

Trying to avoid confrontation, I look down at my feet and disengage from the crowd in front of me. Arthur replies to Daniel by saying, "He said he had something to do, was super vague and awkward when I asked him about it. The man gets weirder by the day, it's the old age getting to him. That's why you're a lunatic, Danny boy." The crowd breaks out into a fit of laughter before someone comes back to inform the drivers that they have to get dressed and head to the pit garage.

Lando stands up and looks down at Cam to ask, "Do you want to watch from the stands or from the garage? I can get you guys a spot on the panel so you can hear the team radio if you'd like?" I can see her eyes light up as he mentions the garages, so I already know our fate. "Garages for sure, I want to be in on the team radio," Cam says, proving that I was right about the outcome.

Out of concern, definitely not out of avoidance, I ask Lando, "Does everyone practice at the same time or just one team at a time? Like will we see any other teams on the track?"

He chuckles lightly, seeing right through my defenses. "All of the drivers will be there," he says, confirming my worry.

We follow a young woman down to the pit garages where she hands us headphones with a mic attached.

"Now, you'll be able to hear the team radio, but your mics are disconnected because it's dangerous for the driver to be distracted. You won't have to worry about accidentally talking or anything. Are you guys all set? Things will get going soon." The woman informs us. Camryn is practically bouncing in her seat right now.

"We're good! Thank you," she beams at the woman who's helped us get set up. Cam turns to me and gets super close to my face before saying, "I cannot wait for Lando to walk in here in his fine-ass race suit, I'm drooling thinking about it."

Laughing, I inform her that she is a weirdo, and as soon as the words come out of my mouth, Lando appears. I can't lie, the man is fine in his black fireproofs and orange accents to his suit, but he doesn't make my body feel energized the way that Charles does. Lando is great, it's just missing the insane connection that I had with someone else. Disappointment flows over me, but I wipe it away as Camryn bounces up and down while Lando walks over to her.

"Wish me luck," He says to her with a wink before he places a small kiss on her cheek. I can see her practically melting right now. My smile beams at her reaction as they get the drivers set up in their cars and get them out on the track.

The cars were absolutely mesmerizing, I'm decently mad at myself for not knowing what this was sooner, but I know now and I can see myself here forever. The way they heat up the air around them and fly across the track as if nothing can stop them is just so perfect. The sound of the tires against the track, engines buzzing around me, fuck, I don't ever want to leave.