Page 33 of Tipping Point
With his arm above his head, he’s stretching languidly against the frame, lean body arching over me casually.
His black eyes are roving over my face.
“Hm?” I ask.
“You’re in the way.”
“Oh.” I startle and step back and he grins and pushes past me, making his way to the door, seeing me out. I follow him meekly and give him a wave as I step into the elevator.
Since it’s the elevator, we’re both thinking about sex, and it shows.
His breathing quickens, and we stand in silence as we wait for the doors to close.
He reaches up and ties back his hair. Muscles all over his chest and arms move and he must know, but he isn’t taking his eyes off mine.
If I look, I lose.
The doors start to close. I can’t help it.
I look.
I can hear him laughing as the elevator zooms me down.
Fuck. I glance down at my phone and my room card in my hand.
I left my backpack behind.
* * *
CAMILLE
Skorost has its origins in Russia. Even though it was purchased by an American company over six years ago, the original founder, team principal Anatoly Petrov, was still at the helm. His son Alexei was one of the drivers, with Rafa Navarro as second. Rafa gives me a friendly wave when he recognises me.
I wave back.
Anatoly and Alexei both have sullen faces but impeccable manners. Anatoly is quite the character, and he has a large vocabulary of Russian swearwords he uses frequently and with intention.
I watch as next door, Finn strides towards his car with a burly man right beside him. They’re deep in conversation and the burly man is visibly excited.
Finn’s face is different. It’s closed. His eyes are black and angry. I realise now that I always see him like this on the track.
I grab Evan and we follow Alexei and Rafa towards their cars. They’re easy and relaxed, eager to race.
Everyone pulls away to start their free practice.
We film Anatoly as he guides the drivers through the practice and gives them their lap times.
The amount of swearwords he uses will mean putting in a ton of beeps in postproduction, but these short clips make humorous teasers and I make a mental note to point it out to the new social media team.
Finn’s lap time is a personal best for the Monaco track. He places sixth.
We give up filming at Skorost because the Delta Victor paddock is going crazy.
We head over and film them going nuts. When Finn drives in, he’s pulled from the car by his ecstatic crew, and they lift him off his feet.
I spend the rest of the day filming Erik Lindqvist, team principal, as he strategises for the race the next day. The burly man I saw with Finn earlier is called Jack, and he’s the head mechanic for Delta Victor. Finn sits in on everything and gives precise feedback on the handling of the car. His voice is metered and factual. I’m surprised by how much of the technical aspects he knows. Since they are all professionals, none of them accidentally looks at the camera and pretends that we aren’t there.
When the day is over, I make my way back to the hotel with the crew. I am exhausted, thirsty and without my backpack, I missed out on my sunscreen. I can feel the bridge of my nose was nipped by the sun.