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My heart was racing, thudding loudly in my chest.

I swallowed, my mouth dry. Bile rose in my throat and I swallowed repeatedly to keep it down.

My feet turned into a blur against the grey concrete as I hurried through the paddock.

It was a hot Thursday in the week leading up to the much anticipated British Grand Prix. I was already dreading it and I had just made it into my motorhome.

I hurried into the bathroom, splashing my face with col water.

My breathing was fast as water dripped down my chin.

Fuck.

I had gotten myself into a mess. Staring at myself in the mirror, I realized I looked like a mess as well.

A long sigh left my lips and I sat down on the mini couch against the wall.

I stared up at Alessandro, his green eyes gazing down at me in amusement. He had that stupid smirk on his face. That smirk, the one I fell for every time.

The scent of his cologne wasn't overpowering like most. Instead of invading my senses, the subtle fragrance made me want to seek it out.

I watched as his eyes darted to my lips for a few moments before shooting back to my eyes. His pupils were dilated, burning with an emotion I couldn't quite decipher.

And then I did the stupidest thing on record.

I stood on my toes, my hand resting on his chest as I leaned up and kissed him.

For a moment I felt him tense, his arm wrapping around my waist. Slowly, his grip grew tighter as he leaned all the way in.

The whole world seemed to stop. Everything fell away around me as the door shut behind him.

A soft laugh left my lips as he pushed me against the cool metal door. Typical Alessandro, always aggressive.

His rough hands traveled down my waist, tickling my bare skin through the cutouts in my dress.

My hands made their way to his hair, tugging at the soft curls.

I gasped when he bit down on my lip, tugging it between his teeth.

Fuck.

I loved the way his body felt against mine. The feeling of his body trapping mine between the door.

Everything was Alessandro.

He had taken over my mind, my senses, my dreams. He was everywhere.

His lips trailed from my jaw down my neck, my heart palpitating in my chest. I was breathless, my breath coming in short pants.

He must have heard my shaky gasp as he nipped at my skin because I felt his lips widen into a smile against my skin.

"Alessandro," his name left my lips in a soft moan.

In a flash, he had taken a step back leaving me feeling cold all of a sudden. My heart dropped to my stomach.

I blinked quickly, stumbling a little as I tried to clear my blurry vision.

"Fuck," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. He turned away from me, a hand on his hip and the other in his hair.

"Alé?"

"Shit, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. You need to sleep."

My heart sunk at his words.

"What?"

"You're drunk, Dakota. That should've never happened. I shouldn't have done that when you're not in the right state."

"You need to sleep. Will you be okay on your own?" he asked, a concerned look on his face.

I stared at him, not knowing what to say. I nodded, stepping aside as he made his way to the door.

"Good night, Kota."

The door shut behind him, leaving me feeling numb.

"Dakota? Are you in there?!"

A loud barrage of knocks followed after, shaking me from my thoughts.

"Coming!" I called, hurrying towards the door.

My cheeks burned at the vivid memory.

Despite being drunk, I remembered every moment in my bedroom that night.

It had been four days since that night, four days since I had seen Alessandro. And now I felt sick to my stomach thinking about confronting him.

I was so stupid. He didn't have any feelings for me. I had been so foolish kissing him like that. Like a naive teenager infatuated with someone who just wanted a quick fling.

"Why do you look like you saw a ghost?" was the first thing Mark asked when he saw me.

"Fuck you. I'm just tired," I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"It's only Friday, you've got three more days to go."

I hummed in response, walking beside him towards the cars. We went through our checklists in silence, making sure everything's ready for the weekend.

My mind reeled as I thought back to the party Monday evening. I had no recollection of seeing Alessandro after he had left my room. Both of us had gotten on flights early the next morning, not having a chance to see each other.

For a moment, I couldn't help but wonder if he would have come to see me if we hadn't left.

"What's on your mind?" Mark asked as we sat down for a water break.

"Hm? Nothing, why do you ask?"

"You have this far away look on your face. Like you're in some la la land."

"If only you knew," I muttered under my breath.

"What?"

"No, I'm not in la la land. I'm literally at work right now."

"Physically, yes. Mentally, no."

"Ok Mr. Know-it-all."

"Hey, I'm just stating the facts."

"Knock, knock. Anyone home?" a voice called, interrupting our stare off.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Mark remarked, making a face as Lando walked into the garage.

"Oh please, you love me," he sassed, taking a seat beside me.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, kid," he said, ruffling Lando's hair.

He scowled, glaring at my partner as he sauntered off to the dining hall for a late afternoon coffee.

"What brings you to my humble abode?"

"Your amazing company," Lando replied, batting his lashes innocently.

"What do you want," I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion.

He frowned, crossing his arms.

"Can't I come see my best friend?"

"Best friend? Sorry, I only have side hoes."

"Is this your way of trying to trick me into saying that I'm a side hoe?" he raised a brow.

"No?"

"You're a terrible friend, I take back what I said."

"Good, just what I was hoping for," I grinned, poking his chest.

Lando scowled at me, which made me even more amused.

"You're worse than Alessandro," he mumbled. I froze, the water dripping from the sponge in my hand.

"Uh, you're getting your shoes wet."

"Huh? Oh, oops."

"I am not as bad as him," I defended, continuing to clean the windshield.

"You're right, he's worse but today he's not that bad. I swear he's usually in a shitty mood on Fridays, but today seems like a good one. He's been really quiet."

I raised a brow at him questioningly.

"It's like he's got his head in the clouds. I keep seeing him staring off into the distance as if he's thinking really hard.

"Ready for the weekend?" I changed the subject, wiping the hood of the car with a microfiber towel.

"Hell yeah, it's Silverstone! I'm so pumped to see the fans again," Lando replied, his eyes sparking with excitement.

"Podium for a Brit at the British Grand Prix?" I asked, wiggling my brows at him.

"Don't jinx it, I'll try my best."

"I was talking about Lewis, not everything's about you Lando," I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Oh fuck off," he huffed, shoving my shoulder.

I laughed at his reaction, but stopped when I noticed Alessandro walking down the pit lane towards us.

"I'm gonna go grab something from my motorhome, be right back."

Before Lando could reply, I hurried out through the back exit of the garage.

Frantically looking left and right, I settled on seeking refuge in the Williams garage, far away from the McLaren team.

"Dakota? Nice surprise," George grinned when he spotted me.

"Thought I'd pay Alex a visit. What are you doing here?" I asked the Mercedes driver.

"Just catching up with some old colleagues," he shrugged, looking around the garage. "Alex is out on a track walk."

"In this heat?" I made a face, staring out towards the track.

Heat rose off the track making it look like there were waves flowing on the surface of the black tar.

"That's Alex for you. I bet he dragged Lily along with him."

Someone shouted George's name from the other end of the pitlane, making him jump.

"Shit," he muttered, a deer caught in headlights expression on his face.

"I'm assuming you've got places to be and the Williams garage is not one of them," I grinned as he quickly grabbed his things.

"Would you look at that, the pretty lady is right for once," he joked, shouting a goodbye as he ran out of the garage.

"Hey, who you calling pretty lady?" I shouted after him.

He looked back over his shoulder, shooting me his signature smile.

I chuckled under me breath, shaking my head as I stepped out the back door.

The large walls of the hospitalities provided much needed shade as I walked back towards my motorhome, desperate for an outfit change out of the dark clothing.

I passed by the row of motorhomes when I was yanked in between two of the large vehicles.

A gasp escaped my lips and I instinctively tried to scream, but a hand covered my mouth.

Without much thought, I bit down on the person's hand.

"Ow! Fucking hell, Dakota!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Why the hell did you bite me?" he exclaimed, inspecting his hand.

"Why did you grab me like that? You fucking scared me!" I shot back, slapping his chest.

"Woman, stop attacking me!"

I glared at Alessandro, trying to calm my breathing.

"You're an ass," I muttered, rubbing my forehead.

"Sorry," he grimaced, rubbing his hand slightly.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bit you," I sighed, taking a hold of his hand.

It was red, but there was no teeth marks or any blood.

Ha. Wimp.

We stared at each other for what felt like eternity before Alessandro finally cleared his throat.

He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it.

"I'm sorry."

"You said that already."

"No, I'm sorry for what happened that night."

I immediately looked away, staring at the shrub growing out of the grass.

"You were drunk. I shouldn't have touched you at all."

"It's fine. I initiated it anyways," I replied quietly, nudging a rock with my toe.

"That's the problem, it's not fine," he groaned, tugging at the roots of his hair with one hand.

"I shouldn't have lost control like that. But you make it so fucking hard," he said lowly, now standing mere inches away from me.

I held my breath as his hand reached up to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear.

"You make me lose control."

"And what if I don't want you to control yourself?" I challenged, raising my brow as I took a step closer to him.

His green eyes glanced between mine, his jaw ticking.

"You're playing a dangerous game here Dakota," he said, but a smirk tugged at his lips.

I fought back a smile, but I was sure my eyes gave it all away.

I leaned closer to him, my lips brushing the shell of his ear as I whispered.

"Let's see who wins, shall we?"

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