A World Alone - D.R.

five

Jade lay in bed. It was the same bed she had slept in for the last year. The only difference now was that Daniel Riccardo had just left it to go and fetch the Chinese takeout from the building's front door.

Amy, her best friend who had convinced her to go out on Saturday night, had not let up texting her since Jade had sent her a sneaky photo from the back of the Renault garage on Sunday. She wasn't surprised that Jade was still with Daniel. Amy had been significantly less drunk than Jade at the time she had literally run into Daniel at the club.

Daniel returned with the bag of Chinese food and Jade looked over to the front door where the relatively tall Australian was juggling the two bags of food. He kicked the door shut behind him and Jade reluctantly left the comfort of her warm bed to clear some space on the round circular dining table in the corner of the room. The clearing process pretty much consisted of Jade tossing textbooks and filled notebooks on the floor onto a pile that was already there.

"Plates?" Daniel asked.

Jade joined him in the small kitchen area of her flat and opened one of the bottom cupboards for him while she counted out forks and knives and serving spoons. She popped the stack of colourful cutlery on the tabletop and took a seat in front of the blue plate Daniel had set down for her.

The pair of them hadn't realised how hungry they were and the takeout food was utterly demolished in the next 20 minutes. They stayed at the table for a bit longer, snacking on prawn crackers and talking about each of their jobs.

Jade wasn't technically employed but she very much enjoyed talking about her PhD work. She loved the research she was doing for the year in Germany and Daniel liked hearing her talk about something she was so passionate about. Jade avoided asking questions about the race today because he had answered enough of them from the media circus. She instead asked about how much he loved fulfilling his dream job.

They were sat at the dinner table as the sun went down, not that you could see it past the thick dark clouds, and soon headed back to the bed to watch Netflix on Jade's laptop.

They were halfway through a film when Jade realised he had another race the next weekend. "Hey, don't you need to go to Hungary?" she asked him, confused about why he was still in Germany with her.

"Yeah. I'll sort out a flight tomorrow evening or something," he replied, pausing the film, determined not to miss anything while they were chatting.

"Shouldn't you have left tonight?" Jade asked because she had seen from Max's Instagram that the other drivers had left on a plane together that evening.

"Yeah but I kinda wanted to spend more time with you," Daniel replied.

Jade's cheeks heated up and she got out of bed, murmuring something about how she needed to change into her pyjamas. She grabbed a pair of PJ bottoms and a random oversized top from her wardrobe and ducked into the bathroom to change.

She washed her face, trying to tame the redness threatening to overwhelm her face and bit her lip as she looked at herself in the mirror. Daniel had actually decided to wait a day before heading to the next race, specially so he could spend more time with her. What exactly had she told him that night they first met?

Daniel sat back in the bed, watching the girl he really didn't want to leave in Germany dash off into the bathroom. He knew she couldn't remember anything that had happened the night they first met and he was fine with that.

It was just weird watching her adopt an almost different personality when certain topics ended up being discussed. He already knew the answers but she was still very closed off with him. And after hearing what he told her, he didn't blame her. He really wished that she'd be able to come and join him in Budapest but she had work to do and he understood where she was coming from.

He sent off a message to Ellie, confirming that he would be flying out the following evening. He knew she was a bit annoyed at him, especially as a whole host of interviews and media duties  now needed to be rescheduled. He didn't really mind, though. Being busy all weekend was worth being able to be in Jade's company for an extra day.

Jade exited the bathroom, the hair around her face a little wet but her cheeks no longer bright red. She rejoined Daniel in the bed, sitting carefully on her side of it, her legs tucked underneath her. She wasn't that comfortable but she had decided to sit that way, so now she had to deal with it.

She smiled at him and leaned forward to press play on the film. They both sat in silence, the air hanging a bit weirdly in the room. Both of them were feeling a bit awkward. Neither one was really sure what to say following Daniel's comment and Jade's hasty escape to the bathroom. 

Dan wanted to kick himself. He didn't often feel this comfortable with someone else and if she were any other girl, he wouldn't be losing any sleep about having to leave her in his hotel room the next morning. But Jade and Daniel hadn't done anything close to what he usually did with other girls on race weekends. He didn't postpone flights for them and he didn't invite them to a race with them, either.

The film ended late, and Jade and Daniel lay in bed facing each other. The conversation drifted to family and Daniel was telling Jade about his upbringing in Perth.

"You miss it," Jade said, thinking it was very noticeable in the way he spoke.

The Australian nodded. "There's no place like home," he sighed. "It's great, being able to see the world and get to do the job I love but it sucks not being able to spend as much time at home."

Jade nodded. She missed London as well. Germany was great but it wasn't really homely. Then again, she hadn't felt at home anywhere for a long time. "There's nothing like it, is there?" she said wistfully.

"Where's home for you?" Daniel asked, remembering a portion of one of their older conversations.

"Um... Probably London," Jade said.

Daniel noticed how she avoided looking at him as she said it, rolling onto her back and looking up at the ceiling. It was the same way she behaved when he asked her about her family earlier. She tried to look at anything but him.

The only thing she freely discussed with him about her life before university was her school career and that was only because she was rubbing in how much better she had done in school than he had. Then again, that was to be expected, considering she had a degree in medicine and was currently in Germany learning about crisis response. She was insanely smart.

"Are you tired?" she asked him, turning her head to look at him after he was silent for a moment, lost in his own thoughts.

Daniel had just been watching her and shook himself out of his mind. "A little," he replied. "I always get tired after a race."

"I can imagine," she said softly, almost whispering. She reached for the switch controlling the twinkly lights on her bed frame and turned them off. The lack of soft orangey glow plunged the room into darkness.

The pair of them settled down into the bed and before Daniel could stop himself, he reached out and pulled Jade closer to him. His chest pressed against her back. Her breath caught in her throat and she stiffened, unsure whether or not to pull away.

She breathed out a long breath slowly and relaxed, melting into the Australian's warm embrace. His hand rested on her stomach and her cold hand rested on top of it. Usually, she slept with a hot water bottle but with Daniel behind her, she didn't need to.

The racing driver was always warm. He smelled nice, too. Jade wasn't sure if it was his cologne or just him but the scents filling her nose were sweet and almost musky. It was a smell she could certainly get used to. Especially because he smelled comforting, like a welcoming hug. Like she was home.