and we played

Chapter 57

MADDIE

I take my time living my best life.

I'm lying on a towel, the sun tickling my skin, Beach Read in my hands, my lover's head resting on my belly, as he's reading a book too. Honestly, he seems more invested in his book than I am, but that's because I also spend a lot of time just looking at him.

Every time he catches me stare; he lifts himself up to kiss my lips.

At some point, I start looking extra-long on purpose, just for him to catch me.

He still keeps kissing me, every time.

I don't even notice the time passing by.

~

I have no idea what is going on.

Outside, there is the sound of cars rushing down the racetrack. The sound is so much louder than how it is when Ash watches the Prix. Seeing the cars in person, everything is just faster and a lot louder.

Mya and Ash are sharing a chair, her sitting on his lap, both of them wearing a headset, Mya watching the big screen inside the APOLLO garage that shows the race live, Ash mostly looking at her. The headset allows them to hear her brother's team radio. Honestly, about a dozen people are listening to his team radio right now. And I don't mean the people hearing it live on TV. But people in the garage. The APOLLO team, this man called Duncan that is the team principal, Mya, Ashton, Aria, their daughter Winnie, Lukas and I. And everybody seems to understand what is going on.

My brother and his girlfriend are a vibe. Seriously. If anyone would take a picture of them now, they would make it on Pinterest without a problem. She is in a short black dress with black boots, a vintage APOLLO racing jacket on top, her hair up in a messy bun. She's biting her nails, the ones she painted dark blue before to match with the team colors. Ash is in his pair of jeans, a sponsor T-Shirt with Lewis' name and number 1, and some adidas sambas, in black and blue. The two couldn't be more APOLLO coded if they tried. I can't help but snap a quick picture of them, one I add to my favorites. Mya keeps looking at the screen, how her brother is currently trying to take second place against Chris, as Ash sinks his head to her neck, kissing her there to offer support from time to time.

Time for another picture.

Also cute is Lewis' fiancé, Aria. Truth to be told, I still can't believe I met her. Like, the girl is an icon. And I wasn't lying as I said I am a fan. Many of my outfits were inspired by her. Aria is currently in a long blue Summer dress with some black sandals, her golden waves falling free on her shoulders, a combination of a pearl necklace with a planet and a thin silvery necklace with a "L" around her neck, headset over her ears, her eyes having two main focuses: her daughter, and the screen with her boyfriend on it.

There is a bunch of people starting to shout something like "Safety car in", in the garage, and suddenly the engineers on the line with Lewis and Levi tell them through the radio this whole safety car thing.

Lukas walks next to me, and we both lean against the wall. He offers me an assuring smile, then offers me a short kiss when no one is looking, too busy with what's going on on the track.

"What is the safety car?", I ask.

Lukas looks at the screen, as if to remind himself where he is after our kiss, and explains: "One of the drivers from KEEGAN had an accident and lost control of the car, so the safety car had to come inside. The teams have to drive by different rules now, but as soon as the car is out, it all goes back to normal." We look at the screen, seeing how the safety car brings the driver to safety and takes away the pieces of metal from the track. As soon as it's gone, the cars start speeding again, suddenly getting louder.

"Maddie", he whispers to me.

My eyes wonder from the TV to him. He smiles. "I love you."

"I love you too", I say.

We start kissing again, since no one can see us. No one is able to see us, since they are all too focused on the race.

I open my mouth for his tongue to slide inside and we keep standing there, not minding the world around us for some time.

That's until the team lets out a cheer and noise overtakes the garage.

We pull apart, but notice they weren't looking at us, but at the screen, where Lewis managed to get second place. The only thing between him and the win is a steel-grey car. Dott, I read on the standings list. Driving for a team called ESPEN.

"Go, Lewis", I can hear Mya shout. Five more laps to go before the race ends, and the possible title of race winner as possibility.

I can see Lewis' car starting to get faster. It doesn't manage to overtake the ESPEN car in the first lap, but the second lap it gets even closer. So close that the cars have contact and the sounds of metal clashing.

"Lewis, please be careful", I can hear his engineer tell him in the headset. "Keep pushing but make sure you won't harm yourself."

"Copy that", he answers, and keeps pushing forward.

All our eyes are glued on the screen now. It's the middle of the next lap when it happens. Lewis tries to overtake the ESPEN car on the inside, it doesn't work, but he finds a small gap on the outside. He uses his chance and speeds past the steel-grey car, brining APOLLO in the first place. The team cheers again and starts shouting when it happens, and I can't help but wrap my hands around Lukas' neck from happiness. We can't breathe relaxed just yet, since Dott closes in again. However, Lewis managed to keep the position and passes first past the line, the checkered flag being waved from him.

"What a wonderful performance from our last year's World Champion", the F1 journalist says on TV. "Lewis Cunnan, winner of the Bahrain Grand Prix. With Levi Dyer on third, we have an APOLLO podium. What a great start of the season for the team."

The team starts shouting from happiness again, a lot of clapping hands and hugging going on. Mya is jumping around, only help from probably exploding from happiness by Ash, whom she kisses with so much passion, she might deserve the champagne shower for that kiss. Aria is crying of joy, holding Winnie close to her chest, as she's looking at her fiancé's car speeding down the track in a celebratory waist.

At one point, the team heads outside on the pit lane, to meet the two drivers. Lewis arrives first, almost jumping out of the car. He goes shake Duncan's hand first, then, as soon as Levi arrives too, the two share a bro hug with a pat on the back. As they let go, Lewis runs over to Aria, making the people in front of her a sign with his hands to move aside to allow Aria to come closer to the railing. She wraps her arms around his neck and the two kiss, Lewis still with the helmet on, which ends up having a small kiss mark on it. Aria then lifts Winnie up and Lewis takes her on the other side, keeping her close to his chest while he removes the helmet, his hair all wet from sweat, to kiss his daughter's cheek. He kisses Aria again, this time for real.

I don't really know what happen from then. Next thing I know is I'm sprayed with champagne by the drivers on the podium. Everyone is so happy, screaming and cheering and shouting. After Lewis sprayed Aria, then Mya, Ash, Lukas and me, then some other fans, he turns to Levi and the two share a champagne shower bottle to be honest, goal: who gets the most champagne on the other. The crowd starts laughing as they see Levi almost knock down the trophy when trying to spray his best friend. Luckily, he managed to catch it in time, then winks at the public with a smirk that has many girls going weak, not me since I'm obviously taken by the best guy out there. The champagne battle between Levi and Lewis continue, Mya and I continue dancing, and it all seems just perfect.

It's all topped by a huge dinner Lukas, Mya, Ash and I have with Lewis, Aria, Winnie, Levi, Fabio, Chris and the two team principals, Duncan and Toni.

It's just perfect.