Miami Grnad Prix - Part 1
On Monday, after their second day on track, Max now also present, Max took him in his plane to Monaco, Logan getting handed his keys. Max had told him to think about this specific apartment once more, as it was located in the same building as Max and Lando’s, just on the 4th floor before he bought it. Lando and Oscar had invited them for dinner, knowing Logan didn’t have a lot of things yet, although Oscar told him he got some general stuff for him. Logan had also ordered some furniture already, already standing in his apartment, waiting to get assembled. After a really good beef wellington, made by Oscar, he went to his new apartment, turning on the lights. It looked like it did in the pictures, the nice layout only interrupted by the boxes of furniture waiting for him. He just had a quick look around, Oscar and Lando having unpacked the cutlery and dishes, prepared some towels and assembled the bed, the fridge held some food and the pantry closet was stocked with some flour, sugar, a huge bag of oats and other non-perishable things, and they even got a variety of frozen fruit and veggies for him. He really had to thank them, but right now, all he could do was undress and fall down on the mattress. He was woken the next morning by Esteban calling him, Logan apologizing for only texting him a couple of times over the last days. When he had him on the phone, everything just fell out of his mouth. The amount of simulator work, driving the car, moving to Monaco, buying an apartment, meeting Lando and Oscar for dinner, barely taking a breath in between. He then apologized again for his word vomit, asking Esteban how his week was, listening to Esteban talking about his parents, that he met old friends and went fishing with his dad.
“You look really happy.” Sabrina said, seeing her son sitting on the bed in his room, having just ended his call with Logan.
“I am, I think.” He said.
“You really like him, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Just … I trust you, but I think you need to be really careful with him he seems very … damaged somehow … and sensible.”
“Yeah, there is something. We had a moment, Tuesday night … but he broke it off. Before he left, he said we would talk about it, but that it’s not the right moment.”
“He probably just needs to be really comfortable and have time to talk. I don’t think he had that in a really long time. Someone being really interested in him.” Sabrina said with a little sad smile. “But he seems like a great one, and I only met him for a couple of hours.”
Pierre laid with his head on Kika’s chest, stroking her stomach.
“I don’t want to leave.” He mumbled.
“I know, but you will have to and you will be back Monday evening, anyway. We have a weekend off and then Imola and Monaco, I’ll be at both, everything will be fine.” Kika said, stroking his hair. “And I’m going to drive you to the airport as well.”
“I know, you’re our taxi.” He said with a smile, kissing her stomach.
“Yes, but to be your taxi, you need to get up now. The others will be waiting.”
Kika stopped in front of the other building, seeing Max, Logan, Oscar and Lando standing in the front. Logan looked extremely nervous, Max apparently trying to calm him, while Oscar was on the phone talking, Lando was just looking around, seeming bored. They had already prepped the third row in the car, having it normally put down to have a real trunk. Oscar climbed in the back with Logan, Max and Lando followed in second row, keeping their bags on their laps.
“Morning, you need to guide me to Charles’ home.” Kika said, starting the car. Max guided her through the streets, arriving at Charles’ home quickly, he was already standing outside, an excited Arthur jumping up and down next to him. He got in quickly, telling his brother to go back into the house.
“What is he on about?” Pierre asked halfway to the airport, nodding towards Oscar, who was still on the phone, talking about patents and partial ownerships in something.
“Oh, he’s going to start a little … business adventure. I’m not allowed to say more.” Lando said with a smirk.
“Jesus Christ, just please sit down!” Charles exclaimed when Logan started walking up and down the little aisle of the plane again while mumbling to himself, their arrival in Miami coming closer.
“I’m sorry.” Logan said, sitting down. A minute later, he started clapping his fingertips on the table in front of him.
“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!” Charles yelled “Can somebody knock him out or something?”
Lando and Pierre started laughing while Oscar walked over to Logan, sitting down next to him and pulling him to lay down, Logan’s head in Oscar’s lap, calming him with his omega love.
The next days went by in a blast, Logan’s emotions and nerves on a roller coaster ride, Oscar now being allowed to access the Redbull hospitality to calm him down if needed. Max, who Logan never would have thought would ever struggle with nervousness or pressure, showed him some meditation exercises in the evenings, visiting Logan’s room after dinner. Esteban came in during their session on Friday evening, but Max just told him to sit down with them.
“Alright, you know these ten minutes before getting into the car? Use those to centre yourself. After getting into the car, you do the two-minute calming exercise I told you about yesterday. If you are scared that the time plan won’t work, tell Hugh an hour before, he’ll make it happen.” Max said, slapping Logan’s shoulder. “See you tomorrow, Estie, don’t make it too long, alright?” he added, leaving the suite.
“Hey” Logan said after a little silence.
“Hi, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come the last days.”
“It’s alright, I know you have your own schedules.”
“Still, I should have found the hour in the evening.”
“No, please, we … we can see how it is in your hospitality, hear the yelling in your trailers … Charles said I can be lucky I don’t understand everything.”
“Yeah, it’s quite … hard at the moment. They are discussing to fire Otmar, replacing parts of development, engineering and the aerodynamics department. Pressuring us to train harder, hoping we can somehow make up the deficits of the car.” Esteban just babbled.
“Come here” Logan said, pulling him into a hug. He pulled back a minute later, kissing Esteban’s cheek before letting him go. “I promised I’ll talk and tell you … I can’t do it tonight, though, I’m too … everywhere right now.”
“That’s okay, take your time.”
“Mountain Dew?” Logan asked with a little smile.
“Happily.” He answered, sitting down on the big couch. “You really upgraded everything, didn’t you?” he asked, looking around the huge suite with a separate bathroom and a big balcony, an absolute difference to the regular rooms he had the last races.
“Boah, it has an extra powder room, WHY? There’s a freaking tv in the bathroom, I took a bath, which I really don’t like, just to have an excuse to try it out.” Logan told him. “But yours isn’t smaller, is it?”
“A little bit. It’s also two rooms, but they are smaller and there is no powder room. How do you like it? You talked a little about Milton Keynes, but how is it now?”
“Uuh, a lot of expectations, they are trying to calm me, especially Max has been helpful, but the pressure is definitely there. The reports and what all these experts are saying about what would be possible but also what I won’t be able to do … it’s really … it’s making me nervous. Max told me again and again to not listen to that stuff, but it is everywhere. I was supposed to go into a talk show today, but Christian said he’d take over, he doesn’t want to add more stupid people with crazy questions to my life.” Logan said and Esteban smiled a little in the last sentence.
“It is good that they are taking care of you. That they train you so much to prepare you, but also like, care emotionally, you know. They always seem like this super tough crowd from the outside, but seems like they are good people.”
“They are, just mostly misunderstood. They are all really driven, hungry and eager for success and for wins, I think that’s what makes them appear this way. It’s a little hard to explain.” Logan said.
“Mhm. Better than sitting around and discussing over and over what’s wrong, giving no thought to any kind of solution, just complaining non-stop and trying to push the guilt on someone else.”
“Estie, I’m sorry it’s like that for you. I’m so happy and you … suffer, it just doesn’t feel fair.” Logan said and saw Esteban smile. “Why are you smiling now?”
“It’s the first time you called me Estie.”
“Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right.” Logan admitted.
“And by the way, racing is never really fair, there is always someone losing out.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
Esteban had left half an hour later and Logan went to bed, falling asleep quickly.
He kept to everything Max and Christian had taught him over the last week, take your minute in between, stop to take a breath. It did help, but it didn’t let all the nervousness vanish.
“Hey, Logie bear, how are you holding up?” a nice voice asked when he stood next to the back door of the hospitality, eyes closed, head laid back against the trailer, breathing slow and deep. He ripped open his eyes and looked towards the voice.
“Vicky! Oh my god, what are you doing here?” he asked, embracing the omega in a big hug, lifting her up and twirling her around.
“A little birdie told me that you’re driving here and after a couple calls, I got a paddock pass. From then on … well, you know how convincing I can be.” She said with a smirk. “You look nervous as fuck.”
“I am. I’m trying to keep calm, but the closer qualifying is coming, the worse it gets.”
“Hey, you did well in practice, always in the top five, there is nothing to worry about. But it also looked like you were trying to calm yourself down, hm? Who has enough influence to make you of all people try meditation?”
“Max … and Christian a little. I just really don’t want to disappoint anyone.”
“You won’t.” Vicky said, holding his face in her hands. “Whoever tells you different is a dirty little sucker and can go where the sun doesn’t shine, you hear me?”
“I hear you. Now let’s go and get you a garage pass.”
“Really?” she asked, smiling widely.
“Vic, don’t try to fool me, that was your goal all along and yes, of course Max will be there.” Logan said, pulling her into the hospitality.
He sat in the car, ready to go half an hour later, seeing Vicky in his mirrors, smiling at him and giving a thumbs up. The first round of qualifying ended well, he was 8th. Second qualifying started way too early for his liking, but he made it to 9th, getting him into third qualifying. He thought he would have to vomit, but Hugh guided him through a minute of silence before he drove back out, qualifying in 4th.
His best starting position in Formula 1 yet. The meeting afterwards was the first time that day he was able to properly breath without concentrating on it.