Just Him ❤

86. Answering his critics.

"Smile, don't look so nervous." Seb nudged into Chloe with his shoulder. They were under cover while they waited for the cars to be ready for the drivers parade and every time he'd looked at his fiancee she'd either been nibbling on a nail or biting her bottom lip.

"It's raining." She mumbled with the tip of her thumb between her lips.

"I know, good isn't it?" He grinned. "Should mix things up a bit."

"Or it could turn it into complete carnage."

"It'll be fun."

"Tell my stomach that."

"You need to relax, you're not the one starting at the back of the grid. Do you see me being nervous? No, I can't wait to get racing." They both looked towards the exit as the other drivers started to file out. "I'll meet you in my room. Please, don't still be worrying when I get back." He walked away, her nerves before a race annoyed him at times, he didn't need her being like this, it didn't help and she should be used to it by now.

"Come on, let's go." Antti pressed his hand to her back to move her along. "I know what'll help with your nerves."

"Vodka?" She looked at him as she walked beside him.

"What else do you love besides alcohol?" He chuckled at her answer.

"Chocolate?"

"Nope."

"Sex?"

"With me?" He shot her an amused look and she blushed bright red. "You'll see." After a few minutes they entered Seb's room at the back of his garage and she sat down on the massage table. "Guessed yet?" Antti closed the door and then walked over to Seb's large bluetooth speaker.

"Music!" She clapped her hands together as he connected his phone to it.

"Loud music." He grinned as a thumping dance track began to play and then nodded his head as he turned it up.

"I'm not dancing!" She yelled so that he could hear her above the music.

"You want to though, don't you." He leant back against the wall.

"Maybe." She smiled shyly. "But I'm happy just to chill and listen. Do you work out to this?"

"I run." He looked at her, he was savouring this time with her, as he always did on a race day. She was now swinging her legs along with the beat and was looking more relaxed already, he loved that he'd been able to help her relax and was sure that Seb would appreciate it too. For a newly engaged woman, she'd been in a strange mood ever since Hannah had arrived and he wondered if she still felt threatened by the presence of Seb's ex. She nodded in reply to his answer and began to scroll through something on her phone. "Not still reading those bullshit news stories are you? Seb told me how upset you were."

"I'm trying not to, he's got someone back in Italy taking care of it now so that I don't have to do it. I just wish he could catch an actual break, that for once things could go his way on the track." She locked her phone as Antti walked over and stopped beside her, leaning on the massage table.

"Yeah, yesterday was shit wasn't it." He thought back to Seb's disastrous qualifying when a turbo issue had ended his session before it had barely began. He had just started an out lap when he was on the radio reporting a loss of power and came straight back in, ending his hopes for a front row grid slot, pole had been possible after a great performance during the Friday practice sessions.

"Yeah, extremely."

"Today's going to better though." He leant closer to her as he spoke, he could feel her mood dipping.