Connections (F1 story)

Chapter Thirty Six: Advice

"Does this look okay?" I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Having had twenty minutes to get changed, I looked far from ready. The dress I had chosen was summery and it came just above my knee.

Daniel appeared behind me with his shirt in his hands. My eyes drifted to his muscular, defined stomach. My breath got caught in my throat suddenly.

"What's thi-...you look great." He grinned, kissing me gently on my forehead whilst he wrestled with his belt.

"Thank you." I paused. "So do you."

"I'm half dressed." He smirked.

"Exactly. I am not complaining."

He tutted and rolled his eyes at me, but I could see that he was trying desperately hard not to look pleased at my remark.

---

The restaurant turned out to be a twenty minute drive away and as Daniel had said in the middle of nowhere. At one point the both of us had started to doubt the SATNAV and pulled over so we could consult the map book. Deep down I always knew that my A-Level geography would come in useful...somewhere.

We got out of the Infiniti that the Australian had driven, parking it up in one of the spaces. I applied a swipe of lip-gloss to my lips before undoing my seatbelt.

"Saskia?" Daniel asked.

"Yup."

"Try not to get food down your front." He chuckled and I gave him my worst look, although it would definitely be a test to see if I could succeed in not doing so. "And please don't panic, don't think I didn't catch your face then."

He kissed my cheek and then opened his door- immediately spotting Mark with Anne stood next to him and gave them a wave.

"Good evening, guys." Mark smiled, giving me a hug. "Saskia, this is Anne."

He gestured to the lady he stood next to, who smiled warmly at me. With short hair and defined cheekbones, she was stunning.

"Hi." she spoke. "I have heard a lot about you tonight"

"Oh god." I responded, trying not to fall over, nor say something stupid in the presence of, let's face it, my racing idol of twelve years.

Inside we took our seats at a table in the corner of the space. A few heads were turned as the people around us realised at who had joined them. The staff were incredibly friendly and surprisingly served us first as a priority.

Talking to Mark and Anne was easier than I had anticipated; beforehand I had been incredibly nervous- to a point of shaking. But in all honesty, I was worried about what they would think of me and thus, what they would then think of Daniel for it.

There was a lot of conversation on Webber's endurance racing which was intriguing to listen to, and the boys then focused on 'home', reminiscing on the beaches, food and subsequently beer.

The food was divine, although Daniel was limited to a tuna salad and tap water. At least that kept his share of the bill down, not that he had to worry.

I on the other hand, devoured a roast dinner. I hadn't had one in months and it was amazing, much to Anne's envy who at the last minute decided on having the steak instead.

After coffee, sadly it was time to call it a night. It was nearly ten and tomorrow was race day. Full concentration was needed.

"Right, well, we had better get going." Daniel smiled, placing his cup down on the saucer.

"It's been good to see you properly again, Dan and nice to know your choice of a girlfriend is almost as good as your racing." Mark grinned at in my direction, causing me to go red. Extremely red.