Just One Kiss

Chapter 10

"Here are your passes" Martin said, handing the neck badges to China, Nicolas, and Duke. They had reached the circuits of the MotoGP Gran Premio de España, or the Spanish Grand Prix. The arena around then was full of excited petrol fans awaiting the upcoming event, some in team gear, others with large signs and posters im their hands as they entered through the guest entrance.

"It was a bit harder to get all exclusive passes this time, so Duke and I will hang back as the two of you go ahead and interview drivers." Showing them the way to where the drivers were getting ready, the group parted ways with  him and Duke going the opposite direction to the stands.

Nicolas, grateful to now be alone with the girl, held China's hand as they made their way through the crowd of reporters, journalist, engineers, and drivers as they tried to collect  interviews and quotes from who they could. China made a note to sit down with Martin after the race for him to explain to her some of the terminology that Nico used in conversation with the drivers.

All through as they worked their way around the paddock, China watched Nicolas as he spoke, the way his watch reflected in the sun as he gestured his words. For the first time, she could now see the extent of his tattoos, which covered from just below his left elbow up into the short sleeved of his white polo shirt. The whole time he spoke, her hands stayed locked in Nico's arm, tempted to run her hands through the lines of ink.

As they finished their last round of interviews, Nicolas could not stop smiling as he watched her continue to marvel at the vehicles, asking one of the drivers is she could touch them. Her pout as he said no only made Nico chuckle, running his hands across his growing beard.

As he watched her white dress sashay in the Barca wind, the only thought running through his mind was how bad he wanted to kiss her. They had not kissed today, since they had been with Duke and Martin the whole time, but that didn't stop Nico from looking for an opportunity.

He found it as the crowds began to be pushed off the track, leaving only the drivers to begin the race. As the flood of people moved back to the respective garages, Nico pulled China behind the wall of one of the garages, lifting her off the ground by her waist in urgency as he crashed his lips into hers. Reciprocating, China held his neck to keep steady, savoring the moment.

"Hello" he said.

"Hello" she replied.

Once he put her back down, they made their way back into the crowd, eventually making it to the stand to meet Martin and Duke, who had settled in their seats. China reapplied her lip gloss as she sat down, making Nicolas wipe his lips subtly with a smirk.

Once the lights were go, few words were exchanged between the group as they were entranced by the track in front of them. As the bikes continued to roar, Nico nudged his hand closer and closer to China's until they made contact. Confused, she turned to look at him as the crowd rose to their feet.

Taking advantage of the commotion, Nico clasped her hand in his own and dropped them down behind their seats, out of sight. As the crowd mellowed down and began to sit back, Martin and Duke couldn't stop talking about the near crash that had just occurred, clueless to the two people beside them who could not stop smiling.

Every few minutes as  the race went on, China would turn to look at Nico and would find him already looking at her, as Martin rambled on to the group about the deeper history of MotoGP, but it was more for Duke's sale than their own. She felt like a schoolgirl, the rush of the secret she held just below her own best friend's line of vision thrilled her, making her smile as she ran her finger back and forth on the back of his hand.

Nicolas was no better, unable to remove the smile from his face every time he looked back to see China's manicured tips tapping on his hand. He couldn't understand how something so small and intimate was making his heart race faster than the engines on the track.

By the time the race day came to close, everybody was exhausted from sitting in the hot sun the whole day, as well as recovering from the adrenaline of the race. They drove back to the hotel, with Duke going to take a nap as the rest sat in the hotel restaurant. With a rum cocktail for China and a glass of whiskey on the rocks for the two men, they discussed the events of the day as China typed out her draft of the race weekend on her laptop.

China tapped her fingers excitedly on her laptop as they spoke through the notes, eventually  putting everything into cohesive pages of information and insights from both the racers and Martin.

" I think we're done. Now it's just Duke to work his editorial magic" China said as she sent the final draft on email to both the Spanish and South Africa teams.

" I think that's my cue" Martin said standing. Both Nico and China stood and shook his hand goodbye as he headed to the car back to the FlorenTech office to complete a pending assignment.

"What are your plans for the rest of the day" Nicolas asked as Martin left the table.

" I was planning to go for a swim, but otherwise nothing much. What about you, back to the office?"

"Actually no. This was my main task for the trip so I have the rest of it to do as I please, especially considering that Maya will not be back from Zürich until next week."

" Maybe you can keep me company", China asked as they left the table.

" I'm not sure I want to go swimming at this hotel. The tabloids will be here in minutes" he said, as they left the restaurant. Already, photos of Nico at the race were circulating the Spanish news tabloids even though it had barely been a few hours before the event had finished. Thankfully, none of the images caught him and China lip locked against the walls of the garage.

"Okay, what do you suggest since you're the local."

"How about cliff jumping" he asked.

"There is no way in hell I'm doing that" China said that she laughed.

"It's a lot more fun than you think" he tried coaxing her.

"You're the children our parents warned about jumping off bridges with" she said shaking her head.

" Okay compromise: we can cliff jump into the sea. I know a place nearby with a secluded cove where we won't have the paparazzi following us around plus you still get to swim."

" I can agree to that. To the sea that is, not the cliff" China nodded as she clarified. The two agreed to meet in the lobby of the hotel in an hour giving Nicolas time to go home and get his swimming gear and car and for China to get ready in her hotel room as she called Daisy to inform her on the events of the day.

"Wait a minute you're not actually going cliff diving into the sea" Daisy asked over the phone as she cooked her dinner.

"You're the one that said to be adventurous, I'm going on an adventure" China replied as she tied red cover-up skirt. Her black bikini sat underneath, making her brown skin shine with the beams of the sun's setting light coming in from the shaded windows. She had not seen a gym in weeks since she moved to Madrid, but it didn't seem to show.

" I don't know, it all just sounds so..." she hesitated.

" So what" China asked.

" Romantic" Daisy finished.

" It's far from it" China answer, defensively. She still had not told anybody about their secret rendezvous. She was enjoyed the thrill of sneaking around, looking for any little moments of intimacy they could. "Plus he has a girlfriend."

"And you have a man" she added. China realized in that moment that to she hadn't really thought about Charles during her Barcelona trip. Other than the text in the club where he wanted to make sure she was okay, there was no communication between them. 

"Exactly, so there's nothing going on" she finished. Daisy just shook her head and change the conversation as the two of them waited for Nicolas to arrive.

After a few minutes, China's phone pinged with a text, ending her call with Daisy and wearing her matching red cover up over the skirt. She grabbed her bag and key and left the room as she thought over Daisy's words.