Rush: Part One & Two (The Pitstop Series Book 3)

“I fucking hate board game night. Who suggested we play Monopoly?” Adrian asks, and I cover my mouth to keep him from hearing my chuckle.

“You did, goldfish brain,” Valentina responds, and everyone at the table starts laughing at her nickname for Adrian. He glares at her, but it fades the longer he listens to her laughter.

“Roll the bloody dice and stop complaining, would you?” James chimes in.

Cameron stares down at his phone, a serious look on his usually happy face. I lean toward him, worry settling in my chest.

“Is it your Mom again?” I ask, and he looks up at me, placing his index finger to his mouth to remind me he doesn’t want anyone, especially Val, to know.NôvelDrama.Org is the owner.

Cameron sees himself as the only person in her life who isn’t a burden, that relieves some of the pressure and tension. He doesn’t want her to know his mother keeps disappearing. Not because he thinks she wouldn’t understand, I don’t believe anyone would assume that about Valentina. He simply hates the thought of making her worry.

His mom shows up every once in a while, but only to tell Cameron everything is his fault because he left to focus on his career. Maybe part of him believes her and that’s why he doesn’t tell Val; he doesn’t want her to think he’s as bad as her father was.

In reality, he still takes care of his family as much as he can, providing them with anything and everything they could ever ask for. Since his father left to start a new life with his secretary, all the family responsibilities somehow fell onto his shoulders.

“She came home and screamed at my sister so, nothing new,” he whispers while James and Leonard celebrate Adrian having to go to jail. “It’s alright, don’t worry, mate.” I place my hand on his shoulder and give it a reassuring squeeze.

“Twice in a row? Fuck this game!” Adrian complains, and Cameron finally smiles again.

“You should just stay in there at this point,” he tells my teammate, who flips him off without hesitation. The Australian grins before taking the dice to roll them and going straight into jail with Adrian.

“Shut up!” Adrian says before bursting into laughter. Cameron slaps his forehead with the palm of his hand and then shakes his head.

“I’ll never hear the end of it now,” he replies as Valentina brings his little plane figurine to the jail box.

She takes my hand in hers, guiding it onto her lap where I grab her thigh. Val clears her throat quietly, pressing her legs together as I squeeze harder. A smirk slips onto my face, and I run my thumb in circles near the inside of her thigh. She shifts in her seat, removing my fingers to grab my hand between both of hers.

“Per favore, basta,” she says to me when I try to slide them up her skirt. I cock an eyebrow and smile.

“Oh, you speak Italian now?” I challenge, but she doesn’t understand it to that extent, at least not yet.

“Solo un poco,” she replies, using her Spanish to help her out and making me smile.

“I’ll teach you,” I promise in English, and she grins at me.

“I figured I should learn if I hope to drive for Ferrari one day,” she explains, and I lean toward her to press a kiss to her lips. She tastes sweet, like the piece of watermelon she ate a moment ago.

“Yes, you should, chérie.” Because one day, she will drive for them, and they adore the drivers that learn Italian for their team. It’s why Adrian is taking lessons from me and the reason I studied it in school. I’ll have Valentina fluent by the time she’s part of the F1 team.

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous now. I’m spending all of my fucking money just to get out of jail,” Adrian says, interrupting my thoughts.

Cameron is crying from laughter now, and Leonard is patting my teammate’s back as comfort. James, on the other hand, is watching Val closely as she throws the dice and buys yet another property. When he notices me catching his dreamy look, he shifts his gaze to the board.

God, I fucking hate him.

My arms have been wrapped around Valentina’s body for a long time now, unable to let go and watch her drive away in the taxi. I want to go with her to Maranello, support her because I know how nervous she is, but Hector put his foot down. He told me to go to Silverstone and stop getting distracted, to put my job first. When I told Val about it, she agreed with my performance coach in a heartbeat.

“I’ll miss you,” she says, her fingers running over my back and sending shivers down my spine.

“I’ll miss you,” I reply and lean back to kiss her. My tongue slips into her mouth, and I have to hold back the sigh bubbling up in my throat when Valentina lets out a little moan. “Fuck my job,” I say breathlessly, my hands moving to her ass to guide her more against my chest.

“I don’t want to see that!” Adrian calls out from the taxi, and I lift my fingers to the small of her back where I know her dimples are. She grins at me and steps on her tiptoes to plant her lips on my jaw.

“We’ll see each other sooner than later, you’ll see,” I assure both of us because we still haven’t found a way to let go. “And whatever you do, please, be careful, mon tournesol. If anything happens to you, I—” I cut off because she runs her thumb over my bottom lip to distract my mind.

“I’m not the one racing in an F1 car this weekend,” she replies, and I cock an eyebrow.

“No, but you’re going to be in the same room as Christian, which is even more dangerous,” I remind her, and she lets out a small laugh.

“Yes, for him.” Valentina steps on her tiptoes to press one last kiss to my lips and then moves back, being the stronger one out of the two of us. “Please, be safe,” she says, and I dig my hands into my pockets.

“You too, chérie,” I reply as she gets into the taxi and drives off into her new life.