Chapter 11
“Hello,” she said, smiling, her hair looking so different, but those eyes still the sharp blue.
“Hej,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “Am I allowed to do that?”
“Yes, and more,” she said, kissing him.
He wanted to pin her against that wall and lift her up in his arms, but he restrained himself.
“The things I want to do with you…” He let go and moved back. “First, this is yours.” He put the necklace around her neck.
“I’ve missed this,” she said, touching it like it had been missing from her. “Now, those things you want to do with me? We didn’t really discuss them enough in all our communication.”
“Don’t tease me, V?lva, I’m practising self-control right now.”
She walked through the passageway and started taking off her T-shirt.
“That isn’t fair,” he said, as she unclipped her bra, then slipped off her shorts.
“What isn’t fair?” As she turned around, it was just her in her lace panties.
Ingrid had carefully planned this. He could tell. He had already taken his shoes off at the door. By the time he reached her, his top was off. Feeling her bare skin against his.
“You’ve been training,” he said. Her body was more toned than he remembered.
“So have you.” She unzipped his shorts and took them off.
“For this? Yes.”
Ingrid pulled him back onto the couch and started to pull her panties off. She was going to touch him, and he stopped her.
“Wait, I just want to take you in for a moment.”
She looked up at him lovingly, and that was all he needed to reassure him that this wasn’t just sex.
He entered her and their bodies connected for the first time in over a month.
Now he understood why she wanted to communicate; it felt more intimate than ever before.
They had always felt connected, but this was different.
The way she kissed him was different, too.
Slower. Deeper. Longer. It felt like an endurance race.
Each taking turns to bring the other closer to the finish line.
“I love you,” she whispered in his ear at one point.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more in love with you,” he responded.
They crossed the finish line together. Holding each other in exhausted silence.
“I’ve missed us,” he said. “Not just what happened now, but being together.”
“I didn’t realise it until you walked through the door, but I’ve missed us too.” She turned around to look at him and stroked his hair. “I don’t want to do another month apart.”
“Ok, then we won’t,” he responded. “I would love to do this again, but I’m getting an adrenaline crash. Can we go to bed? I just want to sleep and hold you all night.”
They woke up to a gorgeous summer day. Erik let Ingrid sleep in for a little longer while he went for a run. When he got back, she was up making tea and coffee. All sweaty, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the back of her neck.
“How does your sweat even smell good to me right now?” She said.
“Only because you missed it.” He laughed.
“Probably.” She turned around and kissed him. “Dinner with my parents and grandfather this evening? Oli will be there too, so it won’t be as daunting.”
“I’d love that! It’s the least I could do after springing half my family on you within a few weeks of knowing you. Plus, your grandfather is a part of the Wentworth family.”
“What else should we do today?”
“I know exactly what I want to do…” he said, biting her neck.
“Besides that. It’s such a lovely day today. We can’t stay in bed all day.”
“Who said it had to be in bed? I can see several places in this flat where we could do it.”
“Erik! Be serious!”
He picked her up and carried her to the shower, leaving the tea and coffee to go cold. When they were finally getting dressed for the day, he decided he would tell her that he knew about Antoine.
“You can stop hiding the Antoine secret from me. I’m looking forward to it.”
“What Antoine secret?”
She turned her back on him.
“That he’s joining the team. Jonny and I discussed it a few days ago.”
Ingrid looked at him, pretending to act surprised at this information.
“Oh, come on, Rookie, it has Ingrid written all over it. From the deal, right down to the carefully crafted media statement.”
“You know me too well now.” She smiled.
“So, when are you joining the team?”
“I’m not,” she said simply.
“Am I a deciding factor in that?”
He went over and put his arms around her waist and looked into her eyes for an answer.
“I haven’t read your HR policy, but I doubt it looks highly on fraternisation between employees. And there would always be questions of favouritism.”
“Just think about it.”
“Should we go get lunch now?” She said, changing the subject. “I’m starving.”
Erik left it at that. He had learnt now not to push subjects with Ingrid. She would do things at her own speed.
???
Over dinner, Ingrid watched her father and grandfather talk motorsport with Erik.
They had chosen a secluded family favourite so that paparazzi wouldn’t find them.
The occasional diner took out their phone to capture a photo of Erik.
Ingrid had been away from this for a month, so she had forgotten that this was the life.
Once they finished eating, a few fans approached Erik to wish him well for the race and to ask for autographs and selfies.
Her grandfather chuckled at this and said it was like the old days, which surprised Ingrid.
“I’ve invited your family to the Wentworth garage. I hope you don’t mind,” Erik said when they got home. “I just thought it would be nice for your farfar to see how things work these days.”
“Oh, he’ll love it! Thanks!” She kissed him.
It was their last night together before he had to go to the factory and join the team.
“I love your family. It’s so normal,” he said. “There isn’t any hidden drama.”
“You’re talking about your father?”
Erik had still spoken very little about his father, and she hadn’t pushed the issue. He lay down in her lap, and she started stroking his head.
“Ja. You know, he tried to come back when I started to become a successful driver?”
“Nei, you never told me that, and I never saw anything in the media.”
“My mother had to file a protection order against him, which covered my sisters and me, too.”
“Was he violent?”
“He broke my mother’s arm once, which ended her racing career. She was so close to making it into F1. That was when Jacques stepped in, and my father disappeared. We renewed the order a few years ago when he reappeared.”
“I’m so sorry, darling.” She leaned down to kiss his head. “I didn’t know any of this.”
“Jacques helped to keep it all out of the press. It’s why when I lose my temper, I’m always so scared that I’m like him. That’s why I told you to get out. I was scared I might hurt you. Deep down, I knew I would never hurt you, but I was still scared.”
Ingrid suddenly understood. The incident all made sense.
He sat up and looked at her.
“You know I would never hurt you, right?”
“I do.” She kissed him. “I just wish I had known this sooner. I could have calmed you down.”
“How do you know I would never hurt you?”
“Remember that incident between Mark and Antoine? You didn’t hit Mark; you held him back to protect Antoine when you could have easily punched him back if you were violent. Also, when Bianca threw that lamp at you? You didn’t respond.”
She saw that a realisation was coming to him too.
“Come, let’s go to bed, Rookie. I want to kiss you and touch you in all sorts of places until I have to leave you tomorrow,” he said.
???
Silverstone was nerve-racking for everyone.
The big announcement was scheduled for after the race.
Ingrid was glad that her family would be there with her for it all.
It was a Wentworth home race, and Netflix was following Erik and Castillo around; the producers didn’t know what was about to hit.
This was Erik’s fourth time on the series, so he knew how to handle it and kept them guessing as to where he was most of the time, so he could get some private time with Ingrid.
Pole position for Erik and a solid P3 for Antoine, despite his nerves for the upcoming announcement.
“You feeling good about your decision?”
“Well, I have to. I’ve signed now!” Antoine said, laughing.
Daniela had failed to reach the next round at Wimbledon, so she would be joining them for the race on Sunday.
Ingrid’s grandfather had been given a grid pass by the team in recognition of his role there many decades earlier. He kept asking if they were going to see that Mike Button man.
“Hello Ingrid, now we don’t normally get to speak to you on the grid, but I’m told you have a special guest with you?”
“Actually, he’s a guest of Wentworth this weekend, but I’m just showing him around because he’s my grandfather.”
“Such an honour to meet you, sir. I understand you were an engineer with Wentworth during the late 70s and 80s?”
“Lovely to meet you, Mr Button,” Ingrid’s grandfather said, shaking his hand warmly. “Yes, I used to be on these grids back in the day, checking parts were still working.”
Ingrid put her arm around her grandfather.
“I bet things have changed since you were last here?”
“The cars don’t fall apart as quickly! And there are more people to help out if they do!”
“This is true, even back from my day! Who are you supporting today?”
“Wentworth, of course!”
“Ingrid, while I have you here, is there any truth to the rumours about Antoine?”
“What rumours?” She said with an innocent smile. “I only help Antoine focus on races.”
“I’ll let you get back to your job. And good luck to Antoine today.”
Ingrid could hear him say, as he moved on, that she was clearly not going to confirm the rumours that Antoine would be moving to Wentworth, but that it was a nice moment to have met a former engineer from the team who would have worked with some of the greats.