Chapter Text
”Another race I don’t know about?” Kate asked, slowly making her way towards him on the balcony.
“Somewhere,” he replied, taking a few steps toward her as well and stopping in front of her.
“That beats this?”
He could see the sadness in her eyes, the uncertainty of what he was about to say next. Breaking the eye contact between them, he looked down, grabbing her hands and letting out a breath he didn’t know he had held until that moment.
“I wanted to say, see you down the road, but in a way that was more poetic, so…”
He looked back into her gorgeous warm green-golden eyes, wondering how he was able to just leave her behind, not knowing when he’ll see her again.
“Can I see you down the road?” he finally asked with a hoping smile on his face. Kate couldn’t hide her own small smile.
“Yes,” she answered, happily grinning now. Before either of them could utter another word, he closed the remaining distance between them and gently grabbed her by her hips. She put her arms around his neck, pressing her lips against his. He returned the kiss instantly, pressing her into his body with his hands around her back, never wanting to let her go. When they separated again, she looked up at him, her gaze still at him.
“Hang on to that until then,” she told him. “Okay.”
Kate’s POV
That was the last conversation between the F1 driver and the technical director that night.
Kate remembered it vividly, replaying the moment in her head over and over again, as she watched the snow fall down from the sky outside the window of her small cottage in Woking, South West of England.
She was back at her favorite place, preparing at APXGP headquarters for the next season, which would already start by its testing rounds at the end of February.
And whilst Kate was freezing in the middle of the winter, Sonny was probably driving around in his van somewhere in the south of the United States without air conditioning in the heat, sweating.
The thought of the man who could drive cars over 300 kilometers per hour across the finish line — cruising in his green van and listening to some good music — made her smile.
The last time they had seen each other was about a month ago at the last Grand Prix of the season in Abu Dhabi, which he had won. But soon after the race, the couple was faced with reality:
Sonny, back on the road in his beloved green van somewhere in the United States and Kate with Apex in England, preparing for the next season of F1.
She had known that he would not stay forever.
He was a traveler, a simple and spontaneous man who didn’t need much to live or wasn’t bound to anything or anyone.
But there was one thing he did need: Cars to drive on high speed. The adrenaline, the excitement, and maybe even the danger that came with it were the reason he started driving in the first place. It was like a part of him. And not even Kate could change that, nor has she ever intended to do so.
It still didn’t make the reality of them being apart any easier.
--
Don’t fall for him, Kate had told herself the moment she had laid eyes on Sonny Hayes for the first time.
In his blue jeans, dress shirt, random boots and with the two travel bags slung over his shoulder. Hair styled perfectly, sunglasses on and a smile, so arrogant but also charming, she never forgot it again.
His smile was the reason not to fall for him. The message, smiles like his sent, were alarming in every woman’s head.
Usually, those guys would be identified as players.
And she didn’t fall for him. Or at least she had tried to.
Then Las Vegas happened, and she fell. Hard.
Now, Kate wasn’t sure anymore if falling for the F1 driver had been in her heart’s best interest.
Apart from a few text messages here and there, they had barely talked.
And she had no idea what to do with their current situation.
Where were they standing? Did he even care, or was it all an illusion? Too good to be true? She had no idea.
Sonny’s POV
Days after the big win in Abu Dhabi, Sonny was back on the road. Traveling through the south of the United States, driving some races here and there and enjoying the freedom he had finally back.
No press, no annoying journalists or investors whose ass he had to kiss, no cameras or anyone else for that matter.
Here, in the middle of nowhere, he was alone, out of the public eye, doing what he loved most.
This was the life he had known all those past years. The life he had always wanted. But now, after four weeks of living it, he wasn’t so sure anymore.
Soon, after those four weeks all by himself, his usual content mood was gone. Everything bothered him, and not even racing could cheer him up.
He missed a proper bed to sleep in, his own shower and some good coffee. Not the gas station coffee ha had been drinking every single day.
But all those things, even if they weren’t ideal, weren’t the actual reason for his mood. There was one thing, or rather someone, he missed the most of all.
The mysterious, or not so mysterious someone, was no one other than Apex’s blonde technical director. The woman who was imbedded in his head every hour of every day. It didn’t matter what he was thinking or doing, Kate always somehow crossed his mind.
Which scared the hell out of Sonny.
Yes, he had liked other women before.
Yes, they had been in his mind.
And yes, he even had married three of them. It wasn’t the first time he experienced missing someone. But never like this.
His first and last thought of the day had never been a woman.
But this time, this time she was.
With Kate, it was all different. When he woke up in the morning, he was disappointed that she was not lying next to him. Crossing the finished line and not seeing her on the fence waiting for him, was disappointing. Drinking a beer or playing poker was no fun at all without her. Going to bed at night, not putting his arms around her hips, pulling her towards him and feeling her skin beneath his fingertips, was lonely.
He missed her. More than he liked to admit.
That was the exact part that scared him so much, he couldn’t even face her over the phone.
Sonny had never fallen for anyone the way he had fallen for Kate. It was simply not in his nature.
And now he was so afraid of the fact that he was probably in love with the smart, badass woman across the world, he tried to ignore everything that led him back to her. Even though he knew how that would break her heart. Because it broke his.
So, he went on with his journey, trying to forget what he had left behind. Trying to escape reality and, with that, escaping the growing crack in his heart.
But no one could run from what was hunting them, not even Sonny Hayes.
23rd February 2025
Kate was sitting on a plane with the rest of the Apex team, ready to take off for Bahrain International Airport.
Testing rounds for every F1 team started in Sakhir at Bahrain International Circu in less than four days.
She was excited to test their new race car for the season. After putting all her energy, nerves and sweat into it, testing rounds would show if it was all worth it.
The past two months, she had mainly focused on making effective, small changes that would help the team win only a small amount of time, but would change a lot for their seasonal outcome. As far as Kate could influence it, at least.
The rest was up to the mechanical team, Pearce and Cortez.
“Hey, quick question,” Joshua asked Kate, as made his way down the aisle, passing by her seat.
“Shoot,” Kate told the young driver, looking up from the documents she was currently reading with a small smile.
“Have you heard from Sonny? Because I've contacted him over the phone a few days ago, but I haven’t gotten a response. Just wondering if you know more than I do,” Joshua explained.
The rookie had grown to like the old man, as he had called him the first few weeks after Sonny had arrived at APXGP.
The advice, the much more experienced F1 driver had given him last season, had helped Joshua to view the races and the sport differently. Publicity, interviews and social media were still important parts of his job. Differently to last season, though, honesty and focus were even more essential than the media and kissing ass, for that matter.
Because he knew, Kate and Sonny were a thing, Joshua thought it was best to ask Kate about the current whereabouts of his ex-teammate.
“Not really,” she replied, her smile fading instantly. “He texted me a few times in the past two months, but I don’t know more than you do these days.”
“Oh, okay. Sorry, to bother you.”
“No worries.”
Before Kate devoted herself back to the document she had been reading before, Joshua could see a mix of disappointment and anger forming on her face. Clearly something was going on.
Walking further down the aisle, he stopped next to the row where Ruben was sitting. Sinking into the black plane seat, Joshua took a moment before speaking his thoughts out loud.
“What’s going on?” he finally asked Ruben.
“What do you mean?” His boss looked confused, having no clue what the F1 driver was talking about.
“With Sonny and Kate. Our lovely and very first team couple,” Joshua told him.
“Actually, no, let me rephrase. What’s going on with Sonny?” he added with raised eyebrows.
“What did he do?” Ruben asked, his facial expression changing as if someone had flipped a switch.
“It’s not really what he’s doing, more what he’s not doing. Because from what I know, he texted Kate only a few times in the past months. She really seemed upset over it, even if she’s trying to hide it, which she is doing an excellent job at by the way.
And I texted him a few days ago as well, but he never replied to me.
So, I asked Kate if she knows what’s going on with him, and she told me what I just told you,” Joshua explained, surprised by the sudden mood change of his boss.
Sonny and Ruben were close friends and ex-teammates. Brother’s for life. And by Ruben’s reaction, there was something wrong.
The head of Apex thought for a moment, inhaling deeply, before asking Joshua to make some space for him to pass by.
“Would you please excuse me for a moment.”
Joshua just shrugged, getting out of his boss’s way. Something was clearly going on. Because usually, he was the most relaxed guy in the world. Especially after the win last season, which got the board off his back, for this season at least.
Ruben walked down the aisle to a private corner on the plane before taking his phone out.
Dialling Sonny’s number, he waited for the man on the other line to pick up.
“Hayes,” Ruben greeted him in a stern voice when he heard the switch on the other line.
“Cervantes, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Sonny replied, sounding not all too happy himself, but still surprised about his friend’s sharp tone and use of last name.
Typically, Ruben only used it if Sonny did something very stupid.
“We need to talk.”
Yes, definitely something stupid.