Petrichor ~ Lewis Hamilton

30

December 11, 2021, Abu Dhabi

Lewis' POV

I rummaged through the suitcase once again trying to find what I was looking for among the mess that it had become in the last few minutes, I knew I had packed it, or so I thought, but it hadn't occurred to me to look until I needed to put it on.

"Have you seen my shirt, baby?" I turned around to look at her, she rested the book she was currently reading in her chest to pay me attention

We had a half hour rest before having to go to the circuit for FP3 and qualifying.

"Which one?" She asks.

"My team shirt, the black one" I explain.

"Did you pack it after doing the laundry in Saudi Arabia?" She folds the corner of the page of her book and leaves it on the nightstand.

My gaze stayed for a second on the book looking at it with a frown until I returned to look at her. It was the only flaw of her I have found so far, she knows that as soon as she turns around I will stretch it again and put the bookmark I bought her specifically so she would stop doing that, but she finds it more entertaining to have me behind her fixing her books.

I decided to let it go for now, focusing on my problems once at a time.

"I think so, but I can't find it in my suitcase, I've been looking for ages" It's not a good start to my day if I can't even find the clothes I want to wear, and today had to be perfect.

"Just wear something else, you're not going to spend much time out of your race suit anyway"

"Toto wanted to give an image of unity, he asked the entire team to wear the team shirt" I explain

"Don't you have the white one here?" She said pointing to the shirt scattered just beside me.

"Yes but I like the other one better"

"Just wear the white one" She tried to convince me.

"I'm going to see if I can find another one" I put on a random t-shirt and put my shoes on without tying the laces, simply tucking them inside the shoe so as not to step on them.

Maybe it sounds stupid but I had already seen myself in the paddock today with that shirt, I couldn't go with the white one and risk jinxing it.

"Just wear the white one babe!" I could hear her shout when I was closing the door behind me.

Turned out, finding a team shirt at this hour without leaving the hotel was not going to be as easy as I thought. I knocked on Valtteri's door but he was already gone, I couldn't ask Toto, the stress was getting to him and I didn't want to be the one to vent his tension on. I tried a couple of mechanics but they had been at the circuit for hours, practically everyone had left but I managed to find Bono just when he was exiting his room, convincing him to come back in, change his shirt for a team polo to give it to me.

"You know this is just in your head right? You will do just as well with the white t-shirt" He said after closing his hotel room behind us.

"Yeah, yeah, don't wanna risk it"

I went back to our room while he went his way to the circuit, I knock once and wait for Ela to open up, having forgotten to take my key on my way out.

I heard her approach the door and open it, when I saw her my attention fell immediately to the shirt she was wearing.

"Really? I've been through half the hotel, Bono had to lend me one and you had it all this time?" She took my hand and got me into the room.

"It fell into my suitcase" She said with a smirk.