Chapter 10 #2
‘Hey, Sav?’ Faith pulled her aside, away from Lucie’s squealing, and beckoned Marco over to join them. ‘Guys, can we make a tiny bit of a deal out of this?’ she pleaded.
‘You mean you want to use us as this season’s guinea pigs?’ Marco raised an eyebrow in suspicion. ‘I know your game plan, Jensen.’
‘Well…’ Faith feigned innocence.
‘I don’t see anything wrong with it,’ Savi agreed, albeit cautiously. ‘Just don’t make us the new stars of the team’s social media, a few posts here and there is fine. I know it’s going to be hard to avoid but I don’t want to be known solely as the girl dating Marco De Luca.’
‘Oh, no, of course not! We will really be pushing yours, Kodie’s and Miko’s presence on the team this season, especially in the first half and at Le Mans.
But the fans do love our boys.’ Faith ruffled Marco’s curls, and he batted her hand away.
‘We just won’t hide the fact you’re together.
Brett and Lucie made us do that when they went official and it was a nightmare, the fans recognised something was off immediately.
We went from posting about them every day to acting like Lucie wasn’t even around half the time. ’
‘Savi! Come over here!’ Miko called out, her and Kodie looking very excited. The reactions of her teammates made her uncomfortable. She didn’t mind lying to the public, but lying to them? They were her extended family, and she wouldn’t dare lie to her actual family.
Right on cue, Weston texted her. He wanted to know if today was their big debut and said he hoped Jesse cried himself to sleep tonight, knowing he caused this.
He wasn’t his biggest fan. Her family hadn’t been impressed when they heard about the photos, but thanks to a life shielded from social media and gossip mags, they hadn’t seen them.
Weston, however… His reaction had been explosive.
Almost enough to get him on a plane to kidnap his sister and bring her home where he could keep her safe.
‘Stay cool,’ Savi whispered, pretending to be embarrassed.
‘How long has this been a thing?!’ Kodie gripped her arm tightly.
‘Not very long.’ She focused on getting her helmet on, seeing as the race was starting soon.
‘But the chemistry was just undeniable, right?’ Miko might as well have hearts for irises.
‘Yep,’ she nodded.
‘How serious is it?’
‘Uh…’ That was something they hadn’t discussed, not that they’d really discussed much at all. What were they telling people? ‘Serious enough that we’re going public?’ It wasn’t much of an answer, but it did the trick and shut them up.
Savi pulled her helmet down over her head and blocked them out, trying to shake out the nerves and stress of the day.
Every race day was significant, but this one even more so.
She shot a glance at Marco, who was still helmet-less and caught her eye through her open visor.
Upon noticing that she looked ready to explode, he made a beeline for her and her teammates scarpered, leaving them in what they thought was their loved-up bubble.
‘You okay?’ he whispered.
‘No.’ Savi shook her head quickly.
‘Do you need me to call someone for you? Jesse or your dad?’
‘No. I just need you to stand with me until it’s time to get in the car.’
‘I can do that,’ he nodded and took her hand in his. ‘Come on, let’s go take a seat. We’re both last in the cars, so we’ve got time. You plan on keeping the helmet on?’
‘Potentially. This all feels overwhelming,’ she admitted. She hadn’t told him about her panic attacks, and she didn’t want to, but she could feel one brewing. Not now, not in front of everyone. Not on camera.
‘Take the helmet off, Cowgirl. I can see the pressure building, and I know what panic looks like. If you keep it on, you’re going to add to it. You need to take some deep breaths.’
When she gave a weak nod of agreement but made no effort to remove it, he took her helmet in his hands and lifted it off for her, revealing rosy cheeks and hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. Not a good look. ‘Sorry.’
‘You have nothing to apologise for. I’m sure he won’t mind me saying, but Brett has panic attacks and anxiety attacks quite a lot, too. I know all the signs, and I can help you out of it.’
‘I don’t think it’s going to come to anything. I just need to sit, relax. Try not to think too much about anything other than the task at hand.’
‘You’re right. You know what you’re capable of, Savannah.
You’ve really proved yourself, before you came to this championship and again since you signed your Revolution contract and got in that car for the first time.
Put all thoughts of “us” aside, forget the rest of the world exists. It’s you versus you.’
She had been so absorbed in his words and trying to feel normal again that she hadn’t even noticed his hands gently massaging her shoulders, easing some of the physical tension in addition to the mental.
Jesse had never seen her like this, because he’d never been with her in race-mode.
And for some reason, her anxiety was never an issue away from the racetrack.
‘Thank you, for looking out for me.’ She breathed in and out, slowly. ‘And for making me feel like I belong here. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of you at first, but you’ve shown yourself to be a pretty decent guy, Monaco.’
‘I take my role as a teammate and assigned buddy very seriously, you know. But the most important role I play is as a friend, and you can consider me yours.’
Savi’s new favourite track position was the one where she was moments away from overtaking Marco towards the end of the race, the thirty-five other cars barely a speck in her mirrors.
If this could be a regular thing, she’d be quite happy.
She liked racing Julien in the wet, too.
Pushing the boundaries. He was always up for a challenge and didn’t let her off easy.
But she and Marco had a stronger connection, and it brought with it a more intense rush of adrenaline.
This was the part of the circuit where Marco had told her it was near-impossible to overtake unless the stars and planets aligned and conditions were perfect, and yet here she was.
Hundreds of fans on their feet as she approached the chicane, flags waving with flashes of Revolution Racing red, the sharp, tangy aroma of burnt rubber filling the car.
Her tyres were struggling but she was relentless in her approach, wanting to prove again that she could do it, prove she belonged here.
Performing well was one thing, but if she could keep going above and beyond, she knew they wouldn’t let her go at the end of her contract.
She needed this. The exhilarating feeling that racing gave her, similar to the rides at the fairs she grew up going to.
But this was like being in a different world, and she would never be able to match it.
‘Savi, watch those tyres.’ Her engineer’s voice came over the radio, which irritated her. She liked to be left alone when she was in the car, but she knew he was just doing his job.
‘Got it. I know my limits.’ Her voice was confident, because that’s exactly what she was.
Even as she got distracted and let Marco get away from her, she knew she would catch him up again.
And that was exactly what she did on the last lap, seconds from the finish.
She shot past him, the chequered flag waved and her engineer all but screamed in her ear.
Marco pulled up side by side and joined her as they waved to the fans, soaking up the atmosphere.
There was red smoke everywhere, the crowds were going wild and Savi felt euphoric.
They drove into the pits and up to the signs for first and second position, Jasper and Gabriel and the teams already there to greet them.
But it wasn’t any of them who got to Savi first to congratulate her, it was Marco.
Their helmets were off, eyes full of pride, and emotions running high.
She knew it was coming. It wasn’t planned, but it made perfect sense.
And as his lips found hers and he lifted her into his arms in full view of the entire media crew, broadcast to millions, Savi knew their entire world was about to be turned upside down.