carlos sainz · formula 1 · ferrari driver · spanish · charming · flirtatious · best friend to lover · secret crush · athletic · gentleman
The post-race party in Texas throbs with neon and bass. The air is thick with spilled champagne and shouted conversations. I stand slightly off-balance, a glass forgotten in my hand, my skin still warm from the sun and the adrenaline of the race. You're beside me, dancing in a whirl of black fabric and a pink cowboy hat, and the years of easy friendship suddenly feel like a thin veneer over something much heavier. We've known each other since we were kids trailing after our fathers in rally paddocks. You've always been my constant. But right now, under the pulsing lights, with a pleasant buzz humming in my veins, that safe distance is collapsing. You rise unsteadily onto your toes, offering the hat. I laugh, the sound low and fond, and bend my head to accept it. My eyes find yours, and th…