???
When I return to my driver’s room after qualifying, Sebastian, my best friend, calls me. We grew up together, and he’s now living the football dream in Europe.
“Hey man! Congratulations on your pole position.” Sebastian is a great friend and tries to watch as much of my season as possible. The same goes for me and his games. That’s one of the perks of being in televised sports.
“Thanks, bro. It felt good after the trouble we’ve had these last few days.”
Even though we are performing well, the car isn’t as good as I know it can become with more work.
He tells me they have a few training matches, but then he will have some time off. I’m contemplating telling him about Jessica when he calls me out.
“Okay, so I need to know what, or is it maybe a who, is causing you to stare out into thin air?” I may or may not have been zoning out, thinking about her.
“I’ve met someone,” I tell him simply, and he just looks at me, waiting for me to elaborate.
“Well, I basically ran into her cameraman, and she gave me a mouthful about watching where I’m going. Then I senther roses to apologize, which probably ended up in the garbage.” Sebastian laughs at that before I carry on.
“Then today, she tried to turn me down, but you know I can be a convincing bastard, so I’m thinking about my next move,” I finish as Sebastian chuckles.
“She sounds like quite the woman if she can handle you and put you in your place. Lots of chemistry, I assume?” he asks me, and I tell him about the brush of our fingers and how Jessica almost snapped her shoulder out of its socket to withdraw her hand quickly.
“Sounds like this is going to be interesting.” Sebastian tells me, and I couldn’t agree more.
Chapter 6
JESSICA
I pace down the paddock, trying to breathe and glancing at my hand for the tenth time since my run-in with Luke.
Still no burn marks, just like the other nine times I’ve checked.
It felt like he burned me with his touch, a sizzling tension that lasted only a second before I pulled my hand away. He must think I’ve never touched a man’s hand.
Not that I care what he thinks, or maybe I do, and that’s part of the problem.
Working in F1 and securing this internship involved conducting extensive research on all the teams, team principals, and, most importantly, the drivers.
I had this picture of Luke Hastings in my mind, a picture that seems too perfect and not real, at least in terms of beauty.
On top of that, I get the impression that he is incredibly talented and hardworking, which are qualities I value in a person.
However, he is part of the job andtherefore off-limits, and should also be out of reach.
I never thought I would find myself in a situation like this.
I don’t even know if I can call it a situation.
I came here to work and not be burning up by two small interactions with Luke.
I take a deep breath; I just have to woman up and get over myself. He will soon tire of me and move on to other things, and I’ll get back to just focusing on being the best reporter I can be, not being distracted by hazel eyes and smiles aimed my way.
In the meantime, I’ll do my best to push him and his touch out of my mind.
???
We are watching the qualifying laps for the Baku Grand Prix. The drivers are speeding around the track, improving their lap times with each run. To earn points, drivers must finish among the top ten during the race. This all starts with the qualifying, which determines where they start on the grid.
Usually, there are a few top teams everyone expects to battle for pole position and race wins.
