the connection ~ Kimi Antonelli

Chapter 4

"It's fine. I'm fine," I repeated to myself as Ollie and I continued walking toward the boat that Paul had mentioned. The boat was somewhat secluded from the others, making it stand out.

"What's in your bag?" Ollie exclaimed as he attempted to organize both my bag and his.

"If it's so annoying, give me my bag back. You offered to hold it anyway," I replied, snatching my bag from him. We spotted Paul on top of the boat, waving us over.

"Florence mentioned you the other day," I slipped in casually as I waved back to Paul, giving him a smile as I awaited Ollie's response.

"Right, that's nice," Ollie mumbled, not showing much reaction and keeping his gaze forward. I could sense his emotions shift with my question.

"I'll never press you about anything, Ollie, but you can't avoid her forever," I told him, trying to keep my tone as gentle as possible to avoid annoying him.

"She said things that I'm still thinking about. It's complicated, too complicated for me to deal with right now," he replied and then placed his arm around my shoulder. "At least not in these next two weeks while I spend time with my bee."

Florence was probably one of my closest friends. She moved in across my family home when I was about 10, Ollie being 12, she being in between. The two never officially got together - it was clear they not just liked but loved each other. It was blatantly obvious, but for some reason, they never did anything about it. When Ollie left home for racing, him and I talked, cried, and hugged for about two hours. Not one word was mentioned between us about Florence. I later found out that after he said goodbye to me, he knocked on Florence's door. Both sides were, and still are very reluctant to tell me what happened that day, but what I have received from Florence is that she told him she hated him with all of her being and that she never wanted to see him again. It was only until a but later that I found out Ollie hadn't told her about his decision to leave until that moment. Her heart was shattered.

"Why are you taking so long?" Paul yelled, his blonde hair wet and a towel wrapped around his bare shoulders.

"We were talking, Paulie, talking. It was a very serious conversation-thank you," I interrupted myself as Paul took my hand and helped me onto the boat, Ollie following closely behind me.

As Ollie, Paul, and I boarded the boat, the sea breeze tousled my hair, and the warm Italian sun bathed us in its golden glow. I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement mixed with a little anxiety as we approached the rest of the group. It was my first time meeting Paul's friends, and I couldn't shake the memory of my brief encounter with Kimi from the past.

Paul introduced us to his friends with warmth and laughter. Raimond and Patrick were easygoing and chatty, making it effortless for us to strike up conversations. Ollie, being the social butterfly that he was, immediately clicked with Raimond over their shared passion for motorsports.

"Um, Kimi and Lorenzo are just arriving now, apparently. I'm going to go back there so they can see me." Paul gets up. However, the four of us continue talking as we lean against the sides of the boat.

"Vasquez, that's Spanish, right?" Patrick asks me, and I nod in agreement as Ollie and Raimond enjoy their conversation about porsche models.

"I'm half." I clarify, and the Estonian hums. Just as I'm about to say something else, Paul announces his presence.

"We can finally get out and move." Paul says, referring to us sailing.

However, before doing so, the three approached us, I was leaned into Ollie's side, basically using him as a pillow, so I straighted up. Paul introduced me to Kimi, and as soon as I met his brown eyes, my mind went a little fuzzy. The sweet yet a little shy Italian driver extended his hand with a grin. "Nice to see you, Y/n."