The Battle Of The Heart

Chapter 1: Abu Dhabi

What am I doing here? I pondered, having just woken up from a nap. How did I end up in Abu Dhabi?

"As the date of Lewis fucking Hamilton," I replied to myself, smiling sheepishly. Maybe if I said the words out loud, it would give them a sense of reality. It didn't.

I had flown from London to Abu Dhabi and arrived in Yas Marina this morning, exhausted. My best friend, Mariam, immediately wanted to explore the island. I chose sleep. I wanted to look and feel fresh for tonight. It was Thursday. Lewis would be busy with press conferences and briefings all day but we had a dinner date planned for tonight. It would be the first time I would see him in 2 weeks.

We had met in a London night club 4 weeks ago. Mariam is a celebrity make up artist and one of her VIP friends introduced us to Lewis. He was very easy to talk to and we hit it off right away. He seemed impressed with my knowledge and passion for Formula 1 and I admired how down to earth he was. I didn't think our acquaintance would progress any further. He was known as a ladies' man and I was very much aware of the fact the all the models' eyes were glued on him all night. But fate had other plans. He texted me the next day and we have kept in touch ever since. On his last two visits to London, he took me out for dinner.

Then came the invite to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Mariam was as thrilled as I was terrified. I would be going as Lewis Hamilton's date. I would be meeting Formula 1 VIPs. I would be expected to look good as would befit the date of a four-time World Champion. Mariam reckoned there might even be paparazzi shots of me. Oh, the horror. I mean, I am pretty comfortable with my appearance but I am confident enough to know and accept that I'm no Minttu Räikkönen or Linda Morselli. Mariam took it upon herself to transform me into WAG material. It took us a week of hardcore shopping and three days of hair and makeup trial to calm me down and give me hope that I could pull it off. I even got a personal trainer. For someone who hates any form of exercise, that is the purest level of dedication.

I dragged myself out of bed and got in the shower. When I was done, I called Mariam who was staying in the room next door. As I opened the door for her, she exclaimed, "I'M SO EXCITED!!" as a form of greeting. She didn't wait for an answer.

"Slept well, you lazy biatch? Now, I know we said we'd keep it understated but I'm thinking every chance of impressing him counts. Right? The concierge mentioned Rita Ora might be coming and you know... She would definitely want her man back. Plus I saw Maria Sharapova in the lobby and everyone's saying that she and Lewis would make a great power couple. And she's so pretty-"

"They're just friends."

"What?"

"Rita and Lewis. They're just friends."

"You never know, hun. They were seen together only 2 months ago. What about Maria Sharapova?"

"I don't know. If I tried to keep track of every girl who-"

"But you must!" Mariam spun around and shot me a look of outrage. "You're living the dream here, hun. Girls would kill to be in your shoes."

I sighed.

"I just want to eat dinner, watch a great race on Sunday and, hopefully, get Kimi's autograph for my dad," I muttered, sullenly.

Mariam looked at me with a sad face. The kind that said you stupid, stupid girl.

I was never one to seek the limelight, I thought as Mariam started prepping my face. Actually, I've always strived to avoid it. I'm not shy. I'm just a private person. My idea of a perfect day would consist of snuggling in bed with a movie or a good book with no makeup and crazy bed hair while it's pouring outside. At the age of 27, I couldn't even contour and had to rely on my best friend to make sure I was not a walking disaster every time I had go somewhere important. What am I doing here? I asked myself again.

Two hours later, I was ready. I had opted for black leather leggings and an oversized choker top with a plunging neckline. I did not have a model's body but I knew where my strengths lay. My hair was curled in perfect, loose waves but the makeup was slightly more dramatic that what Mariam and I had previously agreed on. However, it did look incredibly nice and I was quite impressed at how well put together I looked. That girl sure can do her job.

"DING!" The door bell rang.

8pm. He was right on time. Mariam and I turned to look at each other. She grabbed my hands and we stood like that for a few seconds, too excited to move.

As I started to turn towards the door, shewhispered, "Whatever you do, don't shag him."