Chapter 21: 21. Surprise visit
LARA'S POV
I'd been training all week and finally I'll be able to drive the car. I must say qualifying yesterday went well for me. I was second behind Eric, who to his own surprise had finished first, but for me, in the end he is a great driver.
At this moment we were on the track waiting to get into the car. Cameron had his arm on my shoulder and both Bianca, Eric and Amelia in front of us. What I don't have the slightest idea is where Eli was, because I hadn't seen her today.
"And Eli?" I asked seeing she's nowhere to be found again all morning. "She had to do a couple of things." My sister said without looking away from the screens in front of her "Bianca, did you talk to mom or grandma?"
"Yeah, why?" she asked, once again, without taking her eyes off the screens, "Because I called them, and they didn't answer me." I said to see if that would take her attention away from the screens "Well they're fine, they probably left their phone home, you know how they do."
"They never leave their phone at home." I assured and it doesn't take long for Cameron to put a hand on my shoulder "Honey, they're fine. It is possible they have forgotten their phone at home." He insisted on my sister's story, but I knew that's not possible.
"One of them can, but not both." I assured looking at him "Call them after the race and that's it." My boyfriend replied to which I snorted "Of course I will, otherwise I'll take the plane and go there." I said, because it would be something I would do without hesitation once, "It seems perfect to me."
A few minutes later, it's time to get in the car, so before we do, Cam kisses me and then I get in and put on all the safety gear. As I get into the car, I buckle up and Bianca tightens it, wishing me luck and to take care of myself out there.
Once the race starts, at the first corner I catch up with Eric, and we go the whole distance to the next corner parallel, but I manage to pass him before the corner and get away from him enough to have a car between us.
When it came time to stop, I see both Cameron and Eric get in behind me, but I manage to get out ahead of them, which is great.
The rest of the laps, I fight with Cameron and Eric, especially with the first one. At the end of the race, on the straight, I have the nose of Cameron's car level with my left rear wheel, and Eric's with the right, but I manage to win the race.
As we circle the circuit, both Cameron and Eric are driving next to me, and I can see Amelia in the mirrors.
By the time we got to the pits, I think I see both my mother and my grandmother, but I confirm it the moment I get out of the car, so I quickly run towards them and hug them.
"Por eso non me constestachedes o teléfono? (Is that why you didn't answer my phone?)" I asked, in my mind sighing because nothing had happened to any of them "We wanted you to be surprised. Congratulations on your victory, Lariña."
I hugged them and then Cameron's mother appears, who also hugs me and gives me a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you got ahead of Cameron." Said Isa with a big smile on her face "You're supposed to be a little sadder because I didn't win, mom."
"I'd rather my daughter-in-law win than you win." She assured and I couldn't help but laugh "Thanks for the encouragement, mom." He answered rolling his eyes but putting his arm around my shoulders "It's the truth."
Cameron kisses his mom on the cheek and then kisses me on the temple, but it didn't take me long before I turned around to give him a proper kiss, which left us both with big smiles.
"You knew and you didn't tell me anything." I protested, although I'm not angry about it, it did bother me not knowing where both my mother and grandmother were. "Your sister wanted it to be a surprise."
"When I see her, I'll kill her." I assured and I could hear someone behind me turn around "Then I'm leaving before you can kill me."
We all turned in the direction Bianca was coming from, who took a couple of steps in the opposite direction, but it didn't take long for Grandma to grab her arm and pull her toward us. When she's up to them I give her a hug and thank her for bringing Mom and Grandma to the grand prix.
They were interviewing Eric and both me and Cameron were standing, him with his arm around my shoulders and me with our fingers intertwined. It was time for Cameron to go do his interview and we were about to let go when the interviewer tells us we can both go.
"Well guys, great race, and welcome back Lara. For your first race after these months, it looks like you're still at the same level as when you had the accident. How did you feel in the car?" he asked, and the smile widened on my face "Great, and I must say I missed it."
"The difficult we had to keep her away from the car it's big." Cameron said. "Wouldn't you do the same, Cam?" I asked raising an eyebrow in his direction. "Surely. I think any driver would."
"Good race you too Cameron, we hardly know who was second." Said the interviewer, focusing his gaze on Cameron "That's the great thing about this sport, it always surprises."
"Do you think if you had one more lap you could overtake Lara?" he asked and my boyfriend nodded "I'm completely sure Lara had something else in store, and if she had nothing, I'm very sure it would be too difficult for me to overtake her. She's a great driver. I would say one of the best in history."
"I'm not." I said, "That's what the best tends to say, honey." He assured me and I laughed. "You can see the affection between you, how do you manage to keep your relationship despite the rivalry you have on the track?" he asked "What happens on the track, I don't care exactly what happens between us in there. I tell you; I love Lara more than being on the circuit."
"What you must know how to do is separate what happens on the track from what happens off it. For example, I love the rivalry between us on the track. What's more, I wouldn't change anything that happens on the track between us. We're both very competitive, we have to know how to handle it, because you don't always win, and it's okay not to always win." I said, because at least for me, it was okay not to win. You used to learn more from any race you didn't win than from the ones you did win.
"Do you like the rivalry you have on the circuit?" he asked, and Cameron nodded "I love it, as Lara says, everything consists of balance, and we have it, so for me, great. But I like the girl next to me more than our rivalry, really."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes, and Cameron ends up giving me a kiss on the temple. We answer a couple more questions and then we go for the prizes. Once everything is done, we go to our break rooms and when I go downstairs, I see Cameron with my mom, my grandmother, his mom, and Eli listening to whatever he's saying.
"He has dazzled all four of them." Bianca said next to me, looking in the same direction I'm doing. "Whatever he is telling them, it's entertaining apparently." I said laughing, "When I passed earlier, he was telling about the straightaway."
"What about the straight?" I asked confused for a moment "The three of you ending up very close." My sister said looking in my direction "It's nothing special." I assured, because it had not been "It is because it had never happened, and despite the fact any of them probably had more speed than you, they didn't manage to overtake you."
"They were missing a couple of meters." I replied, because I'm sure they would have overtaken me "I don't think so or are you going to tell me you wouldn't do everything necessary to maintain that position?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "You know I'd do whatever it took to keep it."
"Well, that's why. I'm completely sure they couldn't get past you no matter how hard they tried." She said and I shrugged, because in the end, it was a possibility "Possibly."
"What do you say we all go to dinner?" Bianca asks, "You know I love the idea, but you also know we would do it anyway." I said laughing "Then let's go somewhere else before we go to eat. Let us show mom and grandma the city."
"I don't have a problem with that. What's more, grandma will love it. You must show them" She answers, and I frowned "Why?" I asked, "Because with your night walks you find many places, that's why I tell you."
"I don't know all the places in this city." I assured "And that has nothing to do with it. But yes, I know some places." I said after a few seconds "Well perfect. Let's go with the rest."
We started walking in their direction and when we got there it didn't take us much longer to go for a walk around the city. Both Cameron and I were a little tired to be honest, but just by seeing the happiness of grandma and mom faces, I preferred a thousand times to be with them than in the hotel. Around dinner time, we went to the restaurant Bianca, and I usually go to when we're here, and which my grandmother liked.
An hour and a half later, we left for the hotel. Cameron came for mine and we went straight to the shower. We spent a little over half an hour there, with him hugging me from behind and I intertwined our fingers.
When we were done, we got out of the shower, dried off, and dressed, me putting on Cam's T-shirt and shorts, and him in shorts. We got into bed, he covered us with the sheet and then he passed his hands around my waist, pulling me closer to him, so I ended up leaving my head on his chest.
"Do you think I would have beat you to it?" Cameron asked. "Maybe, but you know I wouldn't stay still until I got my position back." I replied, because it would be something I would do without hesitation, "I know, but you also know I would do whatever it takes to keep it."
"I know that too, but you know it's something I love to compete with you." I answered sincerely "And I love that you love it." At that moment, Cam's phone rang, and he ends up stretching in the direction his phone was, and as soon as he picks it up, he returns to the position we were in before and looks at the message.
"It's my mother." He said with a big smile on his face after reading whatever she had sent "What about her?" I asked, "Listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you." Cameron clears his throat and with his other hand he begins to run his hand over my back while I look over at him. He was trying to put on a straight face, but he had a small smile that prevented him from being serious.
"The fashionable couple of F1 has returned and nothing more and nothing less with competition between them. The young Spanish driver has rejoined the competition after suffering a knee injury after the accident in SPA with the Austrian pilot, Paul Gallagher, who was later expelled from the competition. Despite this injury and the four and a half months off, didn't prevent the driver from lowering her performance, in fact, it could be said she worked more than normal during the race. The one who is her current boyfriend, Cameron Edwards, finished in second position by very little, since the Japanese driver finished a couple of thousandths later. Never in the history of F1 had a race been seen in which you practically needed the final photo to know who was ahead. In the post-race interview, the British driver and the Spanish driver did a joint interview in which they confirmed they like the competition between them, or as Gallego called it rivalry and all they have to do is differentiate the situations in which they are found. We love seeing the couple together, and we are glad to know they continue like this, let's just hope they stay like this for a long time or they will end up breaking the hearts of many of their followers.
"Do they think we're not going to last or what?" I huffed and rolled my eyes. "That's what it seems like, but we both know I'm not letting you go." He assured me and I smiled, "I'm not even going to let you go, grandma kills me first."
"Probably." He said laughing "I tell you it is." I confirmed, because the chances of what I would do were high "Did you just keep that?" he asked "Of course, is the most important thing and the falsest thing at the same time."
"You can always end up leaving me." He said and I put myself on my elbow to look him directly into those eyes I loved to see so much "I won't do it, not even crazy."
"We're the couple of the grill." He said after a few seconds in silence, "That's because we're the only ones on the grid who are driving the same cars and we're together much time of the season." I assured "It may be, but no one could have the same fortune as me to be able to be with you, otherwise we wouldn't be together."
"You're right." I responded with a laugh, "Has no one ever asked you out?" he asked with a frown, and I rested my head on his chest again "Of course, but that doesn't mean I was going to be dating someone I most likely don't know or want to be in a relationship with."
"When was the last time you had a boyfriend?" he asked curiously and could almost tell with some jealousy "I would say a couple of years ago." I responded thinking when exactly it had been "Didn't anyone ask you out in that time?" he asked "Yes they did, but I didn't feel anything for that person, so I wasn't going to be with that person."
"So, you did feel something for me?" he asked, surprised "I knew I liked you and it was most likely I would end up falling in love with you, which ended up happening." I assured "And I'm really delighted."
"I see it." I affirmed, because it was true, "Why do you say that?" he asked "Because of the interview. Do you think if you leave the competition you could continue with me as if nothing had happened? I asked "Clearly. If it is due to an accident or something, it could cost me, but I would continue with you until the end, darling."
"Even if I kept competing?" I asked, because the image in my head it isn't beautiful as he was visualizing it. "Even with you competing, but none of that is going to happen, so we don't have to worry about it."
"I wouldn't like to lose you, for that reason." I said sincerely, but really, I wouldn't want to lose him, "And you won't, honey. Before I finish with everything that surrounds me."
"It wouldn't be necessary to go to such extremes, but I understand what you mean." I assured him "I love you honey, now rest, because I don't know about you, but at least I'm dead tired." He said and I laughed "Me too, and I love you honey."
We kissed and not long after falling asleep in each other's arms. There isn't better place I could be than in Cameron's arms, that's more than clear to me.
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