Teach Me Something // LH44

Chapter Eight

"Oh Gigi, look it's your boyfriend on TV," Lilly giggles as she points up at the screen behind me in the pub we've made our way to this Sunday afternoon. When I'd seen the sport was on in the pub as we'd first walked in, I'd strategically chosen a seat that meant I wouldn't see the cars going round and round. Yet, here I am still tricked into turning to see none other than Lewis Hamilton with a microphone in his hand. I turn back to the table with a flash, my cheeks flaring pink as I offer up a refusal of the statement to the amusement of everyone around the table.

"Everyone chill, poor Gigi doesn't need to know what she lost," Jenny faux admonishes everyone else, providing more laughter as I chuckle along easily. "I mean maybe that would be true if our innocent little flower could find a way to hit on a good-looking millionaire when he walks into her classroom but alas, it'll just have to be what was," she continues to rib me and I roll my eyes as I laugh emptily and take another gulp of water and shake my head, really wishing for the first time in months that it was alcohol.

The laughter flows and the chattering moves on until I gently turn my head to look at the screen and see someone else now talking with a smile on their face. My eyes searched the screen for more information until a results board was pulled up and I searched for his name...

... against my better judgment.

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Lewis Hamilton....DNF

He was one of three drivers not to finish the race and before I could wonder why he hadn't finished, the clip to explain was shown next, the race barely started before he collided with his teammate and was spun off the track. I let out a barely audible gasp and in doing so attracted the attention of Chris who was sitting beside me and had a view of a different TV.

"It was his fault, looks like you dodged a bullet," he jokes as I look around wordlessly and nod. The usual burst of social energy I normally get with my friends was just not present this weekend, now more than ever. It had been a long week at school but it was okay because I now had a week off for half-term holidays, although in reality that really just felt like a week to get everything sorted for the rest of the term, rather than a holiday. I suppose part of the reason for my lack of enthusiasm could have a little to do with the man jumping all over the TV screens in the bar. The radio silence since our 'dates' if that's what we can call them two days in a row had been a little jarring for me I guess.

I wasn't angry. I wasn't surprised. I wasn't really anything, to be honest. The one thing I was, was grateful that I hadn't said anything to anyone else about who he was. My one saving grace was that no one knew what had happened, not even Jenny. The negative of that of course was that I wasn't entirely sure that it had ever happened... sometimes when I thought back, it felt like a haze and I wasn't convinced it was real. I kind of saw it coming, not because of anything he had said or done, I had just expected it.

Our night together was... incredible. He was obviously experienced and he knew how to use that experience to make me feel things that I had never come close to feeling in the arms of another person. Even though we had to be up fairly early for his travel the next day, that hadn't dissuaded either of us from taking our time as we explored each other with so much ease and enthusiasm I wouldn't even be worried if we had been filmed because it would no doubt be something worth watching. Jenny had definitely been right, he could definitely do things to a person... things so good that it was affecting me all over again weeks later as I remembered.

The next morning I'd managed to have a quick shower, thanking Lewis for the toothbrush and towel he'd pulled for me, refusing his offer for a robe or to stay longer as I was made to realise how routine this was for him. Having someone stay... to get them into his bed was easy for him and the fact that he had all of this on hand in his bathroom was a clear sign of that. Yet I wasn't even bothered in the slightest by it at that point, it didn't even really occur to me until a couple of days later when the radio silence no longer felt like an uncomfortable thought but an undeniable truth.