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“Your heart,” James says, and I furrow my brows.
“What about my heart?” I ask with curiosity and confusion laced in my tone.
“It stole my best friend’s, and I had no idea why until a moment ago. Now, I know,” he adds, standing up and grinning down at me. “I’m glad you’re in his life.”
Then, the Englishman walks away, leaving me with the sweetest feeling spreading through my chest.
I attempt to go back to my article, but the empty room fills with the sound of my favorite voice a moment later.
“God, you’re so beautiful,” Adrian says, and I close my notepad to look up at him. A smile dances over my face, mimicking his: one of pure happiness. His green-blue-brown eyes scan my body as I stand up to be in front of him.
Adrian’s fingers instantly move to my nape, pulling my mouth to his.
“What are you doing here? Qualifying is about to start,” I remind him, but he merely cocks a brow before closing the door behind him to make sure no one sees us in here.
“I have come to establish a new tradition.” He bends down to press his lips to mine, letting out a sigh when he breaks the kiss again.
“For good luck?” I ask, his nod serving as a response while he lingers in front of me with his eyes closed and a satisfied look on his face.
“I can feel it coursing through me already,” he says or jokes, I’m not sure, but I burst into laughter either way.
“My God, get out of here before I question why I like you,” I tease, and he smiles at me.
“Always with the teasing, Nevaeh. I’m already on my knees for you, what more do you want?” he asks before giving me a wink that weakensmyknees. “I’ll see you later,” he adds with a serious look, and I step on my tiptoes to place a swift kiss on his lips.
“Be careful,” I remind him, making him hesitate in front of me for a moment, panic in his eyes. “What? What did I say?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“Nothing, I just realized that if something were to happen to me, I’d never get the chance to—” Adrian cuts off and stares deeply into my eyes, a little smile now on his lips. “Well, I’d never get the chance to do a lot of things with you. Kind of scared me there for a moment,” he admits, and I take a step toward him to place my hands on his hips.
“Go kick some ass, and if you get pole, I’ll give you the chance to fuck me in your private room,” I suggest to take some of the tension off him.
It works like a charm.
Desire replaces his panic, and he bites down on his bottom lip.
“Is that a deal?” he asks, and I move backward to hold out my hand for him to shake. He does so with a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm before walking away, more determined than ever.
An excited laugh escapes me as I imagine having sex in a somewhat public space. Grenzenlos has been predominantly first during practice, so I don’t think Adrian will get pole, but the thought still sends a thrill through me.
Qualifying starts a few minutes after I regain the ability to think about anything other than Adrian inside of me.
Q1 goes smoothly, all of my friends making it to Q2 with ease. The problems start in the second round. Valentina struggles with her car and doesn’t make it to Q3 and neither do Leonard and Cameron. Disappointment washes over me for my friend, but I remind myself of something she said to me recently.
“You have to approach every race and Qualifying with a winning mindset, but you can’t let that destroy you when you lose. That’s the difference between a sore loser and an aspiring champion.”
I know she will be sad about this result, but she will do her best tomorrow, learn and grow from today. I have no doubt in my mind.
Q3 has me on the edge of my seat. Adrian is fast and so is Gabriel, but neither of them seems able to keep up with the two Grenzenlos drivers. By the time they all take their last lap, I have lost the ability to breathe properly.
Lincoln crosses the finish line for the last time this session, his lap putting him on the provisional pole—the pole a driver gets when the rest have not finished their last lap of the session. Kyle comes in second, Gabriel in third, and James in fourth while the others place anywhere below that. I feel my heart skipping a beat when Adrian crosses the line, his lap a tenth of a second faster than Lincoln’s.
“Yes!” I scream and jump out of my seat to clap.
My earlier excitement returns when I realize what this means. I let out a nervous laugh as I walk out of the conference room and over to James’ performance coach to inform her that I’ve gathered all of the information I need for today and that I’ll see her tomorrow. She gives me a warm smile before I head toward Adrian’s box to find Daniel.
“Nevaeh! It’s nice to see you. What can I do for you?” he asks, and I put on a serious face.
“Did Adrian tell you about—” I cut off and gesture around the room as if that would fill in the blanks. Daniel grins at me in response.
