the connection ~ Kimi Antonelli

Chapter 2

A smile crept onto my face as I spotted Ollie where he had told me he would be waiting, surrounded by a group of girls taking photos. I walked up to them, making sure Ollie's back was turned as he signed a girl's cap.

"Could I have a picture as well, famous person?" I asked humorously, tapping his back. He immediately spun around, and I caught a glimpse of his beaming face before he wrapped his arms around me, crouching down to rest his head on my shoulder.

"Missed you too, Ollie," I mumbled into his shirt, my eyes closed as I relished being with my oldest friend again.

"I've got my bee back," Ollie laughed as he pulled away from me, keeping his arm around my shoulder and looking down at me with a smile.

"Are you two dating?" one of the girls innocently asked. Both Ollie and I burst into laughter.

"No, no, just very good friends, though it's about time we get this one a girlfriend. Should I give you his number?" I started to tease my friend, with the group of girls smiling at Ollie and me.

"Alright, that's enough of that. Y/n needs to have her daily nap. The flight must have gotten to her," Ollie kindly responded, pinching my shoulder, making me wince. "It was lovely meeting you all."

The girls replied with gratitude and a strong of "I love you so much," and I laughed as they left. Ollie and I began to walk toward the exit.

"I don't know why they love you so much; you're a twat," I informed him, my arm around his waist and his around my shoulder as we walked together.

"But you're still my best friend, so if I'm a twat, what does that say about you for staying with one," Ollie retorted, and I looked up at him, smiling. We hadn't seen each other for about six months due to our racing schedules not aligning.

"Should I speak to the cab driver, or do you want to give your Italian a go?" he asked as we stepped out of the airport, the busy crowd of people making me grateful that Ollie and I stayed close.

"Since you're offering, I'll do it," I said as Ollie signaled a cab driver with his hand, and the man hurried to collect our luggage. Once we were settled in the cab, Ollie in the front and me in the back, I began to think about what I needed to say.

"Dove?" the driver asked aloud, and Ollie turned to me with a smug look.

"Per favore, voglio andare all'Hotel Lago di Garda," I told him, doing my best to make our hotel location understandable. The driver nodded and started to drive, and I stuck my tongue out at Ollie, who shook his head.

When we arrived at the beautiful hotel, Ollie and I unpacked our clothes and got ready to meet Paul for a late lunch. Paul had been staying not too far from us. Ollie had introduced me to Paul a couple of years ago, and we clicked. I often tagged along with the Bearman family on trips to races to see Ollie. They were like my second family, and my mum would sometimes come along with us. I had met a lot of people through Ollie and made many connections because when we reunited, we stuck to each other like glue. Even when Ollie had some downtime, we would hang out together or join other drivers.

"Paul invited us to go out on a boat with some of his friends tomorrow. We don't have to go, but we don't have anything planned," Ollie explained to me as we closed the door to the hotel room.

"Well id your up for it, I am too," I replied happily, linking my arms with his as we walked toward the elevator.

"You look stunning, by the way," Ollie commented, and I smiled up at him. "In the most platonic way possible," he added, and I laughed.

"You don't need to mention that bit. I know you don't mean it in that way," I assured him, giving his arm a playful tap as we arrived in front of the elevator.