Chapter 9 #2
“Not to worry, Sister. I’ll pour myself a glass of wine so long.”
The door then buzzed, and she could hear Oliver go to answer it.
“Erik! You’re an unexpected surprise! Sister, do I let him in?”
At this point, Ingrid came out and said he could.
“Sorry, you two. A lot has happened today, and I didn’t have the time to fill you in, Brother.”
“We’re still going for dinner, though?”
“Erik, do you mind?”
“I don’t mind at all. I’m starving. As long as you don’t mind being seen with me?”
“Oh, I’m sure no one will notice.” She kissed his cheek.
Over dinner, they discussed Mark and his future. Erik was very careful not to be photographed with anything other than water under the circumstances. The fact that he was in London with Ingrid was the more interesting story for the camera phones.
“Have you heard from Mark?” Ingrid asked.
“He’s blowing it all off as if it were nothing. Says he’ll pass the test.” Erik shrugged his shoulders.
“I didn’t tell you before because I had to speak to Antoine about it first, but Jonny has asked if I would take Mark on as a client.”
“What did Antoine say?”
“He’s fine about it. I said I’d have to speak to Mark informally first and see if he wants the help.”
“Ingie, I know what you do, and it doesn’t sound like Mark would be interested at all,” Oliver said.
“Do you think so?” Erik asked.
“With the way he’s behaving, not at all. Not what I do. He needs rehab or a psychotherapist. I don’t do that.”
By the time dinner was over, word had spread of Erik’s whereabouts. There was additional interest in him because of the Mark story. He shielded Ingrid and Oliver from the photographers as best as he could. It would be another story by tomorrow.
“I’ve been waiting to do this all day,” Erik said as they walked into her flat. He picked her up, pressed her against the wall, and kissed her. “We won’t get any more surprise visitors? Your parents? Your grandparents?”
Ingrid laughed, “No, it’s just you and me for the rest of the night.”
“Good,” he said, then carried her to the bedroom, kissing each other the whole way.
They stood together, looking into each other’s eyes. She undid his shirt, revealing those tattoos and the muscular body he always hid under his race suit. He lifted her dress over her head.
“I’ve missed this body…I’ve missed you.”
Ingrid climbed onto the bed and took his hand. “I’ve missed you, too.”
Erik stroked her body. He was going to savour it this time.
Losing her for that instant because of his temper had made him appreciate it even more.
Ingrid tingled with every move of his hand; she couldn’t take it much longer.
She knew she had been stupid to let this connection slip away over her own fears. Pushing him over, she straddled him.
“You know I love you,” she said. “I was being stupid the other day.”
“And I was being immature.” He sat up and wrapped her legs around him as he entered her. “I love you too.”
Their bodies connected completely. Even though they had been apart, there was no rush to finish. They took in every movement and moment together.
In the morning, Erik’s peace was ruined by messages from Julia and Elizabeth, who said they needed to talk. Erik snuck out of bed and got on a call with them. His worst fear was that Mark had tested positive for cocaine.
“Mark tested negative,” Elizabeth informed him.
“Ok, that’s great news!” Erik responded. “So, what’s the emergency?”
“We told you that we would need to talk about the girlfriend.”
“Could you stop calling her that? She has a name.”
“Yes, and we love her,” Julia said. “The whole paddock does, which is the problem. There was a carefully laid out plan that you stuffed up somehow.”
“I still don’t see how this impacts the team. My private life is my private life.”
“We get alerts on your private life. It looked like a lovely dinner last night,” Elizabeth continued, “Speculations as to whether she’s your coach or something more.”
“We discussed this, Erik. There would be questions about sharing information between teams.”
“And I answered that. Plus, I don’t see how that matters with the new regulations anymore, where Dunham is our sister team anyway.”
“Does she have a publicist?” Julia asked.
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“I think she should speak to one. I’m going to send you a number of someone I know,” she continued, “I think keep separate PR teams for now, and if you want a more private time together before Canada, for god’s sake, go to Monaco!”
Erik wasn’t expecting that to be the call from Julia and Elizabeth this morning.
After that, he and Ingrid headed off to Monaco.
It was just a few simple days. Dinners, time on the sim, reading books on the couch together, walking the dogs.
If they went out in public, they always had Antoine, Daniela, or Nico with them.
One evening, Erik was looking at her as she lay on his couch, reading her book. She was in one of her old Wentworth T-shirts and cute shorts, with his cat, Charlie, curled up next to her. Everything just looked right.
“Why don’t you stay here?” Erik asked.
“Umm, why?”
“The next race after Canada is here. Your brother is coming over to watch from here. I like having you in my place.” He shrugged.
“Darling, that’s sweet, but I have a life in London. It might not seem like it, but there are other people I see besides my brother. I have friends. They exist, I promise.” She laughed.
“I know they exist. I think this is coming out wrong. You make me so clumsy. I’m trying to ask you to move in with me.”
“Oh, Erik…” She looked startled, then put her book down and took his hand. “You know I love you…”
“But you need to think.” He finished for her.
“It isn’t just that. I don’t want to be a kept woman.
I’d feel like that, living here. I see that with all these wives and girlfriends, apart from Dani, who don’t have lives of their own.
That isn’t my life. You’re also always two turns ahead of me, and I just need you to slow down so I can catch up.
I’m also not saying that I don’t want to live with you, but it would need to be a place of our own when the time is right. ”
“So, you’re saying yes, but not right now?” He grinned.
“I suppose I am.” She laughed. “I don’t know how you always convince me to change my mind with those disappointed puppy dog eyes! It’s bad enough having one spaniel at home, and now I’ve got another one!”
“Oh, come on, Rookie, you love it,” he said, kissing her.
“I suppose I do.”
Erik left for Canada with a full heart and plans to find a new apartment for the two of them. Convinced that she would come around sooner than ‘not right now’.