RACING TO THE FUTURE - #6: MOTORSPORT IS DANGEROUS

Erjona was not the only girl in that championship. There was Sophia Flörsch too. Sophia had understood that her colleague wasn't so committed during races, so the day before the Assen race, while the two girls were alone, the German female driver tried to investigate... "What's happening?" Erjona was surprised by that question. "What do you mean?" "I see that you aren't concentrated enough on the championship as a good driver must do" "I haven't got that experience" "I'm not saying that you're a bad driver... I mean that in my opinion there is something which takes away your concentration" "And if it was "someone" instead of "something"?" "Can you be more clear?" Erjona breathed deeply before replying to Sophia. "Well... do you know Lando Norris?" "Yes, I know, the McLaren young driver... he's your tutor too, right?" Erjona's heart start to beat faster and faster. "I have a crush on him" she said. Sophia smiled. "You have to tell him about your feelings!" "And how?" "After the race of tomorrow you send him a video in which you tell him about your love!" "Sounds great!"

But during the race, the disaster struck. Erjona was driving as fast as she could... there were only five laps to go when suddenly her car crashed into an advertising panel and rolled upside down on the lawn for several times. Erjona, who had lost her senses, was trapped into the car. Some of the drivers, including Sophia, stopped in order to save her. She was taken to the hospital by helicopter. 

Erjona was in a deep coma. The doctors made her an X-ray scan: her back was hurt, she had to stay away from the racetracks until she had recovered. Her sisters were sitting on the bed looking at her. "Stay strong, little sister" "You'll be back to racing" Sophia knew well the situation, she went through something similar some months before in Macau.

Meanwhile Lando, Erjona's love interest, had learned about his friend's massive crash and rushed to the Netherlands to see her. When he arrived to the hospital, he entered the room and saw her sleeping. He had a crush on her too, so, like a prince in a fairytale, he kissed her lips, waking her up. "Where am I?" In a corner of the room she saw her racing suit and her helmet and despite the pain sentenced: "I wanna go racing" Iris put an hand on her shoulder: "Erja, I know how much you love racing, but your back is seriously hurt and you have to recover fully before heading back to the track" "Look, there is someone there!" Arlinda smiled. Erjona turned her head and saw her beloved Lando! "I love you" the young McLaren driver told her. "Me too" she replied. And finally they hugged and kissed. A new couple in motorsport was born.

RACING TO THE FUTURE - #5: "MRS. VANDOORNE, START YOUR ENGINE!"

The Memorial Weekend was coming. It's not only the weekend in which Americans remember their soldiers who lost their lives during wars, but also the Indianapolis 500 race weekend. Arlinda couldn't be happier to compete again in the most important race of the IndyCar season, not only for the race itself but also because her wedding with Stoffel Vandoorne would have taken place two days later. "Will you race as Arlinda Vandoorne?" an ESPN journalist asked her. "No, I'm still going with my neé surname" 

Everyone was surprised when she scored the pole position. "She's the first woman to start from the pole position in Indy!" Her heart was full of joy, and her hubby-to-be was proud of her. "I have the fastest fianceé in the world!" "I won't be late at our wedding, I promise" she laughed.

But the most amazing thing happened on Sunday. She overtook Will Power at the last corner and won the race! She was the first woman to win at Indy. On the podium she bursted into tears. Stoffel kissed her. "I love you" were his only words. "Me too" Then the couple announced live on ESPN their wedding. "We're getting married in Las Vegas in two days"

Their wedding party was fantastic. Food was delicious and music was fantastic. All the attendants enjoyed it. Vicky and Louis got married in Vegas too, and it was nice for them to visit again the "Sin City".

But among the attendants there was someone who was not so happy; instead, she was starting to realize some things. She was Giulia. She was starting to understand that her marriage to Alex Lynn had been a wrong choice. The love she thought to feel for Alex was not so real. It was more similar to a teenage crush than to a real husband-wife love. She had been dreaming about marrying a racing driver since her earliest childhood, and married Alex only for convenience, only to escape from her life in the deep province of Italy. And now Giulia was a prey of an huge dylemma.

RACING TO THE FUTURE - #4: A DIFFICULT BEGINNING

The new Formula European Masters, born from the ashes of the old FIA F3 which merged with the old GP3 Series, finally saw the light. The first race was scheduled to be at Hockenheim on May 5th. Erjona was the first girl of the championship and she was so excited to compete there.

"Lando, I'm so excited" Erjona told at the phone with her tutor driver as well as crush. "You will do your best, I'm sure of this" Lando didn't have any Formula One races that weekend, so he could have reached his friend in Germany.

Obviously Arlinda, Iris and their parents were excited too for her debut. Erjona wouldn't have been the only of the three "Daughters of the Wind" to race in Hockenheim that weekend: her sister Iris would have competed in the DTM race. After the farewell to the championship by Mercedes, Iris signed a contract with Audi.

Iris was not that lucky: there were only two laps until the end of the race and her engine blew up. She cried so much about it: "When as a child I used to dream to become like Alonso, I didn't mean this!" she told to journalists who interviewed her. Her boyfriend Nyck tried to make her smile: "At least you will lie on a chair on the track as Fernando did!" Iris did so, making the whole paddock laugh.

Seeing her sister hugging and kissing Nyck, Erjona was feeling a bit alone: she would have loved to do the same with Lando. She was head-over-heels for the young Jewish-English McLaren driver, who was in all her thoughts. The race was hard for her: Erjona was not used to such powerful cars! And she was distracted by her heartbeat for Lando, which made her spinning a tons of times. She ended the race in 14th position, but the male drivers who ended behind her were disappointed: "That unexperienced girl defeated us! It's impossible!"

Erjona was disappointed too, not only by the race, but also by the fact she had thought about Lando all the time. When she saw him, she threw herself into his arms and started crying. "It's only the beginning..." A little smile appeared on her face. "Yes, my time in motorsport is starting now"

MY FIRST LITTLE BIG LOVE - #4: ROY IS MY HERO!

At the airport, Chanoch and Roy were waiting for us. "Shalom, girls!" they greeted us. Chanoch shaked hands with us and Roy kissed me on the cheek. I was melting! "Nice to see you again, Janet!" "For me too, Roy! You grew up so fast in these months" We laughed together.

Here I won't talk about Chanoch Nissany's test, you already know about it. That Friday night our dinner together was scheduled. "As a Jewish I know that I mustn't go out on Friday evening, as it's the beginning of the Shabbat, but you are English so we can do it!" Chanoch joked. 

The restaurant in which we were going to eat was a luxury one, so we had to dress smartly. Roy recognized the now-famous white dress, and just like during our first meeting he kissed my hand. 

The evening began nicely. We talked about various topics and laughed a lot. But suddenly, we realized that a smell of smoke was in the air. Cooks escaped from the kitchen and screamed to customers: "Fire, fire!" Big flames were destroying the kitchen. People were escaping from that hell on Earth. "Let's run away, Janet!" I held strongly mum's hand, and Roy did so with his dad. Unfortunately I stumbled into a chair, I fell and I lost my senses due to the dense smoke, while my mum, my Prince Charming and his father were already out of the burning restaurant. 

I suddenly opened my eyes and I was still surrounded by smoke, but I managed to hear a voice that I knew very well. "Janet! I'm coming to save you!" "Roy!" I whispered, even though I was short of breath. My Israeli young hero took me in his arms and pulled me out of fire. I lost my senses for a second time. And Roy, like a real Prince Charming, brought me back to life with a romantic kiss on the lips, with all the people watching.

When I woke up my mum gave me lots of kisses. "You are alive! I'm so glad" "But my dress is a disaster!" "Don't worry, we will wash it." Chanoch was really proud of his son. "And I realized that my Roy is such a brave and chivalric boy. At the beginning, when he had this idea, I tried to stop him, but he knew that his friend risked her life!" "They're more than friends" "What do you mean, Theresa?" "My daughter has a crush on him" Chanoch smiled, and my mum and him looked at Roy who was practising on me the artificial respiration. Our faces were black of soot, and while we were hugging the each other our parents photographed us in order to always remember that moment.

Before sleeping, I whispered to my mum: "I thought that these things could only happen in fairytales" 

Surely I would never have forgotten my Roy, my charming and fearless friend from Tel Aviv. 

MY FIRST LITTLE BIG LOVE - #3: FINALLY, I CAN SEE HIM AGAIN

The Formula One season started. I woke up early in the morning to watch the Australian Grand Prix live on TV. Every time the Minardi box was framed, my heart was fluttering. Well, surely Roy wouldn't have attended every Grand Prix, as he had school commitments too, but I always hoped to see him. Finally... I felt my heart in my throat. My prince was by his daddy's side. He was so handsome! I blew a kiss to the television. When the race came to an end, my mother told me: "Let's dress up, today we have lunch at grandma's house" I decided to wear the white dress I had when I danced with Roy in Tel Aviv, which, I don't know why, I had not worn since that evening.

Surely you know that love takes your appetite away. It happened to me too. "Janet, why aren't you hungry?" "There is no a reason. I don't feel like eating" "Do you feel unwell?" "No, I'm not ill" "But there's something wrong! You've always eaten my food..." I didn't have the courage to say her that I was in love with an Israeli boy. My stomach and my mind could do nothing in front of my heart in love.

The season went on and, when the F1 Circus arrived to Europe, I attended several races with mum. We met again Chanoch, who remembered about us, but unfortunately Roy was not with him. However, Chanoch became a close friend of us, and invited my mother and me to visit him and his family in Budapest sometimes.

Meanwhile, the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix was about to come... it would have been the best race weekend of my life. Not only for Chanoch's laps... 

One evening, while we were having dinner, the phone rang. My mother answered and when she came back to the table she announced: "Janet, I have great news!" "What?" "I let you guess" "Will Chanoch attend the Hungarian race?" "In a certain way... yes, he will. But only in the free practices!" "Cool!" "And we will go out for dinner in Budapest with Roy and him!" My heart was beating faster and faster... On the plane from London to Budapest, I was so excited. 

MY FIRST LITTLE BIG LOVE - #2: THAT'S TRUE LOVE

The following days were tough for me. I was struggling to concentrate myself on school and homework. My teachers and classmates had noticed that my mind "was up in space" and "I needed to come back to the Earth", as Avril Lavigne sang in "Sk8er Boy".

It was stronger than me. Israel had a big impact on me, or better, a charming Israeli boy had stolen my heart. For me this was incredible.

One night I was watching the sky full of stars from my bedroom's window, when a night butterfly came across me. I blew a kiss and I asked her: "Please, carry it all the way to Israel, it's for a boy named Roy" And she flew away. After that, I grabbed my secret diary and I drew a big red heart pierced by an arrow. In that heart I wrote two initals... J + R.

My mum had understood that something was not as it had to be, too. "What's up, darling? I hope you won't get offended, but I noticed that since we came back from Israel you changed a lot" "And how can I explain it to you, mom?" "It seems more like an answer from a teenager, not a child" "I'm not sure if I can talk about it to you" "Okay, I respect your decision" But then... I bursted into tears! "For the heaven's sake, why are you crying, Janet?" "I'm... I'm in love!" "In love?" "Yes, with Roy... Chanoch Nissany's son! Do you remember him?" "Yes, I do... he was very nice to you. You danced together, too!" "I have to find a system to see him again" "It's possible!" "And how?" "You will come to races with me, maybe he will be there with his father" I was really excited to the idea to see him again.

My dreams about Roy had various settings. Mostly I used to see him as a knight who rescued me from terrible dangers, or sometimes I had dreams in which he was wearing a kippah. I was in love for the first time and I was so excited and scared at the same time. Was I too young for saying I was "in love"? Maybe yes. Or maybe not. Once the school psychologist told that Cupid's Arrow can hit children too. Obviously it's not the kind of love experienced by adults, but it's a magical feeling which makes you happy.

That night at the Hilton Hotel my mum took a picture of Roy and me while we were hugging before going to dance. I printed it and I used to keep it among my diary's pages. Whenever I looked at it, for me it was like going back to the best evening of my life. It was therapeutic for me.

MY FIRST LITTLE BIG LOVE - #1: IT HAPPENED AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE

This is not a story about Louis. But it's motorsport-themed, so I decided to post it. The male main character is Roy Nissany, one of Louis' closest friends.

"Janet! It's late, we will lose the plane!" "Yes mum, I'm coming!"

This was the conversation I had with my mum early in the morning of February 1st 2005. We were about to leave for Tel Aviv, where the following day we would have attended the press conference announcing Chanoch Nissany as Minardi's reserve driver.

When we arrived in the "Mediterranean Miami", as many people nickname it, I felt really happy. For me it was love at first sight. The beaches, the Bauhaus architectures, the alleys of the old town... I couldn't imagine that the following day I would have experienced another kind of love. A different kind of love.

The alarm rang early in the morning. We woke up. After breakfast we arrived at the Hilton Hotel in which the press conference was scheduled. We sat down just in front of Chanoch. He was such a nice man. I liked him, because although he wasn't a professional racing driver, he seemed to be a good person. 

At the end of the press conference, we shaked our hands. "My name is Theresa and I come from England. She is Janet, my daughter" "Nice to meet you both! How old are you, Janet?" "I'm 8!" "Well, I have a son named Roy, he's a bit older than you, as he turned 10 last November"

And finally it happened. I noticed a blonde woman with a dark-haired and dark-skinned young boy by her side. She surely wasn't Israeli. Chanoch explained us: "She is my French wife, Michelle. And he is Roy, our boy" 

There was something charming about Roy. He greeted me kissing my hand, as a real gentleman. Just like in a beautiful dream, I was astonished by his black hair, his olive skin and his dark eyes. "Oh my God! He's so handsome!" was my only thought in that moment.

My mum surely had noticed this, I heard her whispering in my ear: "Is everything okay, darling?" "Yes, it is" I lied. I couldn't help it. A Cupid's Arrow had struck my heart. 

"This evening there will be a dancing night. Will you attend it?" Chanoch announced. "I'm sorry, but I'm alone... I will sit down watching other people dancing" was mum's answer. 

At the beginning I was sitting next to her, too. But suddenly Roy came there and proposed me in a perfect French: "Voulez-vous danser, Mademoiselle Janet?" "Oui, garçon" My mum agreed, so Roy began to spin me around the hall on the notes of Astor Piazzolla's "Libertango". He was very good at dancing, I was proud of having him as my knight for that night.

When I fell asleep, I had a dream about Roy and me walking in a Japanese-styled botanic garden.

RACING TO THE FUTURE - #3: A BETRAYING INTERVIEW

The following afternoon Giulia and Erjona sat down at the table on the porch. The young driver was about to release her first interview in English land. And also for Giulia it would have been the first interview since she was working for Autosport.

"What are your goals for this season, Erjona?" "First and foremost I want to put my whole committment to obtain good results, I don't build castles in the sky saying that my target is the title. I try to be down-earthed, then I will see!" "And what do you think about being in Team Carlin?" "Trevor Carlin is a good man, my sisters some times ago tested for his team and talked me about him" "And what about your tutor driver, Lando Norris?" That was done. It was just the last question Erjona wanted to hear. She blushed and put down her head. "I exchanged only a few words with him... but... he seems... ehm... a nice guy" It was clear, that was a taboo topic.

After Giulia wrote down the interview, Erjona proposed her to have a walk. "I have to tell you something..." While they were walking among hills, the young driver was looking around as she was looking for something or someone. When they arrived to a little lawn, Erjona told her friend to sit down in front of her. "So... I think it's the right place to tell you what I have to" Giulia was itching to listen her. "I like Lando so much. I like everything about him: his hair, his eyes, his mouth, his dark skin... but his sweetness and sensitivity too" Giulia had been understanding it since the evening before. Erjona sighed and came back to her speech: "But... but I don't know if we will be able to have a real love story, since we will race in different championship... And we are both drivers, too!" "It's not impossible" "You are a journalist and got married to a driver... when you met he was the GP3 championship leader, it was a category you followed... but here's different, we are both drivers!" "If you don't kiss or cuddle on the race tracks, what's wrong?" 

That evening on the phone she opened herself to her sister Iris, who was in a luxury restaurant in London with her boyfriend Nyck. "Everything is okay, lil' sister?" "Yes, it is, Giulia and Alex are like elder siblings for me, I feel so good with them!" "Well, but remember that we are your elder sisters" Erjona felt a bit guilty for having said this. Iris asked her: "Have you met your tutor driver?" "Yes, I met Lando, and I have to say that..." The girl stopped. She was about to say something important... she took courage and said: "...I have to say that I like him so much." "But as a person..? Or...?" "In that sense, yes... but, why am I keeping going around what I want to say? I have a... crush on Lando!"

RACING TO THE FUTURE - #2: LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

Erjona arrived at the Heathrow Airport a few days later. Alex Lynn was waiting for her with her name written on a piece of cardboard. When she saw him, he greeted her kissing her on her cheek. "In England we are not used to kiss people, but I suppose it's all right with you"

On his Lamborghini, on their way to Oxford, Alex explained Erjona: "At home you will find a room on you own and we will treat you like a daughter" "I don't know how to thank you, Alex... but you and your wife can't substitute my parents" "So we will treat you as a younger sister, it's okay?" "Certainly!" "This evening we will have Lando Norris as a guest, do you know him?" "Yes, I heard about him... seems he's very fast!" But that evening Erjona understood that he was not only a very good driver. When she arrived home, Giulia put an hand on her shoulder and told her: "He's Lando. Say hello to him!" Our heroine reached him, but looking at his eyes she blushed and hided her face into her hands. When she raised her head, she whispered him a shy "hello" and he blushed too. Maybe Cupid had done something... During the dinner Erjona and Lando were sitting close to the each other. They were both not so hungry. 

After dinner guests went out on the house's patio to look at the stars. It was a very beautiful night. It was a bit freezing, but everyone was wearing warm clothes. Erjona and Lando were close... he put an hand on her shoulder and caressed her. The girl's body was crossed by a very intense shiver. Nobody of them said a single world. That would have been Erjona's first night in English land: when she went to sleep she put the pyjamas on and entered in the very confortable bed that Giulia and Alex gave her. She was thinking about her parents, her relatives, her sisters who were making a way for themselves in the motorsport world, just like her. And about Lando. Lando. She was developing a strong infatuation for him. The night, the stars, his caresse... she would have never forgotten all this. 

RACING TO THE FUTURE - #1: REALIZED DREAMS AND THE "DAUGHTERS OF THE WIND"

Hi everybody! Did you miss me? Sorry for my inactivity on my blog, but I was quite busy in these weeks. But now I'm coming back stronger than ever.

If you follow me on Instagram, you have surely noticed that between the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 I posted some chapters of a fanfiction named "Correndo Verso Il Futuro" (in English: "Racing To The Future") which was written in Italian, not understandable by the majority of my followers. It was a nice story, but now I decided to modify it a bit and translate it into English. It's a story of racing, passion, love, determination and courage, a version of "Beautiful" set in the world of motorsport.

Here we go with the first chapter! 

"Vicky, where is my credit card?" "Sorry Louis, I think you forgot it in your jeans' pocket that I washed!" And it was true. Louis' credit card was destroyed by the washing-machine. When Vicky and her husband discovered that, they bursted into a fragorous laugh.

Vicky had realized her lifelong dream: marrying a racing driver. And her long-term boyfriend was the Swiss Louis Delétraz, son of former F1 and Le Mans driver Jean-Denis Delétraz. They had an happy life in a wonderful mansion in Geneva, and sometimes they used to share a GT car in the ADAC GT Masters, the German GT championship. There was not so much time to think about having children.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the English Channel, Giulia, one of Vicky's closest friends, had realized her dream too: she got married to Alex Lynn, another famous racing driver. The two met in Monza while Giulia was attending the 2014 Italian Grand Prix. In Italy she used to write for the online magazine LiveGP.it, and in England she found a job as a journalist for the prestigious Autosport. In their house in Oxford they would have been three soon. No, Giulia was not pregnant. One evening, after dinner, Alex announced her: "Darling, do you feel like having someone more in our home?" "Are you asking me to give you a baby?" "No, she is too grown up for being a baby..." "Can you explain yourself better?" "Do you feel like hosting Erjona in our house? She will race for Carlin this year in FIA F3, and as I am her manager I think it would be good for her to live in England..." "Fantastic! We have an empty room here..."

Giulia had been knowing who Erjona was since she was racing in the Italian F4 Championship with Cram Motorsport. She was part of the McLaren Junior Program along with her elder sisters Arlinda, who was Stoffel Vandoorne's wife-to-be and was racing in IndyLights, and Iris, who was racing in FIA F2 and was engaged to her colleague Nyck de Vries. The three sisters were called "The Daughters of the Wind" and had Albanian origins, although they had spent the majority of their lives in Italy. They used to be into motorsport since their early life, and they remembered the hot summers of their childhood spent on Albanian beaches trying to hear something about Formula One races with a little old shortwave radio. Albania never had a tradition in motorsport. There weren't Albanian professional racing drivers or riders to date. So the three "Daughters of the Wind" had to carry a whole country on their shoulders. And maybe, if they did it, they would have opened the road to other boys and girls.

HOW PORTE BONHEUR WAS BORN

Do you remember when I told you about that fairytale dedicated to Porte-Bonheur, the association of which Louis is ambassador and volunteer? Well, here it is! It was written by me. Enjoy it!

On that evening Sacha, Simon and Camille asked their father to tell them a fairytale before going to sleep…

“Daddy, daddy, please! Tell us a new story!” Romain Grosjean thought a bit about it and then the story started…

Once upon a time there was a prosperous kingdom in which justice and peace reigned, thanks to King Jean-Denis and his wife, Queen Anne, who were loved and popular among people. There was only a problem: they struggled to have a child.

But in an hot afternoon of July Anne, while she was walking close to a lake, met a frog who told her: “My dear Queen, you are going to give birth to a baby who will do great things and will help people in needing” First Anne didn’t believe it, but exactly nine months later she gave birth to the most handsome baby boy you could have ever seen. People came from every corner of the kingdom to see him, and his parents named him Louis.

Years went by, and Louis became a very handsome boy, slim, light brown-haired and green-eyed, but also brave and strong, and above all honest and generous. His parents were proud of him, and all the girls of the kingdom fell in love with him. But he didn’t care so much about it. Finally for him the moment to visit Earth came. He would have been accompanied by his mentor, Romain; it would have been a sort of initiation rite.

Romain recommended him: “Young Louis, Earth is not as happy and peaceful as our kingdom. You will see a lot of things you have never seen, and you will know a lot of things you have never known”

And indeed on Earth they saw War, Poverty, Desperation, Sadness… Louis was shocked. At the end of the trip they visited Switzerland. Apparently it was an oasis of peace, with its majestic mountains, extended lawns and tiny villages protected by mountains. But it was there that Louis saw what shocked him the most: many children and teenagers who were orphans or whose families were in difficulty. They were sad and resigned, they believed they would have never been able to be happy and make their dreams come true.

“Romain, we have to do something for them!” Louis’ heart was broken. But suddenly Louis had an idea: creating an association to help them and make them suffering no more.

In the evening Louis met a strange man, who was also very sad about this situation. “My name is André. I became an orphan myself when I was a child, and I know what they feel. So I thought about the creation of an association who could help them, and I’m thinking to name it Porte Bonheur and give it a quatrefoil as a logo, because I want it to be like a good luck charm for them” Louis was glad to hear about this project: “I join it as soon as possible!” So this is the story of how Porte Bonheur was born. In these years it helped a lot of children in needing, and Louis is nowadays one of the most popular ambassadors of the association.

After finishing of telling the story, Romain Grosjean told his children: “The Romain of the story it’s me! And Louis is Louis Delétraz. Remember to always support amd respect him. He deserves all the best. He’s an example for you all!”

And I agree so much with him.

BETWEEN LOUIS AND THE SEA - #4: GELAEL... OUSY

Down in the breakfast room I found Louis. For the first time he greeted me in his language: "Bonjour, mon amour"

"Bonjour à toi aussi, comment vas-tu?" 

"Ça va bien, merci, et toi?"

"Ça va bien aussi"

I used to study French only for the three years of middle school, but I reminded something. It's a language I always liked so much, and now I had a French-speaking boyfriend, so... how I couldn't love Flaubert's and Baudelaire's language? Or better, maybe I have to say it's also Rousseau's language, Genevan as my Louis.

At the beach we met again Lady Gilda, who had taken my mother and me in sympathy. "How's going with Louis?" she asked me with disinterested kindness; it was clear that she was supporting our love story.

"Very well, he treats me really like a princess. Wait a moment, Switzerland never had aristocracy... so he can't be a prince."

"He's the prince of your little kingdom... of your life, in conclusion!" Gilda smiled.

"That's right!" 

"Do you know that when I had your age I was in love with a Swiss youngster too? But I never got engaged to him, you know, it was another age... mixed marriages weren't as popular as now... he used to come here every summer, he belonged to a rich family, he was son of bankers... he was so handsome, he had wilted wheat-colored hair and blue eyes like the clear sky... he looked like an angel fallen from the sky. I always counted the days that were missing at the beginning of the summer, and when he was here I did nothing but watch him enchanted and fantasize about how nice it would have been to be in his arms and receive kisses and caresses from him." She shut up, and I noticed that her eyes had moistened talking about that sweet memory of her distant youth.

"Have you known anything about him anymore?"

"Imagine that I had never even talked to him. I was shy, too much shy to do it. And he was quite reserved, too. But I remember his name, that I used to hear from his parents: Julian."

"Such a beautiful name... the name of an handsome boy"

"Yes, you're right. Maybe was Julian's memory which prevented me from finding an husband. You're lucky, Vicky, you found Louis, you love the each other and you're happy. I'm cheering you!"

"Vicky, here we are!" I heard Louis' voice. 

"Thank you for the chat, now I have to go!" 

I apologized with Gilda and I headed for my boyfriend. I almost tripped on the deck chair, but Louis cavalierly held me back... "Be careful!" I looked into his eyes and we bursted together into laughs. Gustav was looking at us amused. "You are a very nice couple, do you know it?"

"Yes, Gustav, I know"

"I wish I had a girlfriend like you..." the blond from Malmö sighed.

We were about to go for a swim, when Gustav held us, beckoning us to sit next to him. He started to tell: "Yesterday evening, while you were at the funfair, I heard Sean and Norman who were talking about you"

"Why were Sean and Norman talking about Vicky and me?" Louis asked.

"Sean revealed to Norman, who is his best friend, that he likes Vicky"

I winced. "But... I'm engaged to Louis! I have nothing against Sean but he has to realize that my heart belongs to Louis"

"It won't be easy..." Gustav grimaced. "Sean is very hard-headed, and when he wants something he has to obtain it in every case"

"Two days ago, when I arrived here, I had a walk with Sean. It was clear that he liked me. While we were strolling around the village, he tried to take my hand, and while we were taking selfies our noses touched"

Louis and Gustav were astonished. I was a bit intrigued by the situation... "I've never had crushes on engaged boys" I explained.

"It's the most absurd thing who can happen" was Louis' opinion.

Gustav echoed him: "I agree. There are so many single girls in this world, why fall in love with an engaged one?" It was clear, all three were in agreement about this.

On the shore, Louis and me drew an heart with our initials inside. We spent a long time contemplating it, until the waves took it away with them.

"I swear I will always be faithful to you" Louis sweared with a deep voice.

"Wherever I will go, you will always be in my heart" I whispered to Louis' ear. I whirled around and our lips pressed to each other. Even our tongues touched, passion was growing more and more. Everything had disappeared: the beach, the sea, the umbrellas, the noise, the crowd. There was only my beloved and me. I began to tread his soft yet strong athlete's back with his hands, and he did the same on my delicate girl's back. Louis was an exceptional lover. Once I had read a sentence according to whom in Heaven lovers are Italian and in Hell they're Swiss. In my opinion that's not true at all. We were getting closer and closer, I was feeling our hearts beating together, the burning touch of our bodies... when that enchantment ended I could hardly breathe anymore... I had the strength to murmur with a faint voice: "Je t'aime, Louis"

"Je t'aime aussi, Vicky" he confirmed. And how could we not love the each other after those moments of burning passion?

Hand in hand we entered the sea, where the other drivers had already entered before us. They were looking at us with sympathy. I noticed that there was a strange smile on Sean Gelael's face, and his eyes were veiled with disappointment. He watched me while I was holding hands with Louis. Gustav was right to sell. When I met the Indonesian of Arden, he had seemed like a quiet little fellow, not a quarrel-starter. And even Louis would never have to fight with anyone.

During the afternoon nap, I heard a rustle under the door of the room. I saw a sheet of paper folded in three stuck there. I picked it up and realized that it was a letter...

"Dear Vicky, while I'm writing you this letter I'm shivering a bit. All that I want to tell you is that since the first time I've seen you you made inroads into my heart. Before meeting you I've never considered dating a girl. And now with this completely new experience it's like my train has changed his platform and it's travelling to an unknown destination... And I'm so happy of this! Well, now I have a question for you: can we go out with each other, sometimes? It can be a way to get to know us better. We can go to the cinema, or have a dinner out... or simply walking hand in hand... Love, Sean"

I had no desire to answer him with another letter. Or rather, I would not have known what to say... But certainly I could not ignore his feelings towards me and behave as if nothing had happened, I did not want to see him suffer because of me. With these thoughts in my head, I knocked on the door of Gustav and Louis's room.

"I've found this letter below the door" I explained.

Gustav and Louis read it. It was my Swiss sweetheart who spoke up: "But all the other drivers know that we have a relationship! When we are at the beach it's impossible not to see that we kiss on the lips and we walk hand in hand"

"It's more than clear that Louis is your boyfriend" Gustav pointed out.

"You gave me an idea. This evening, before dinner, I will talk to Sean, telling him simply that I have a romantic relationship with Louis"

And I decided to do so. I approached Sean and I told him, kindly: "May I tell you something?"

"Yes, you can. Have you read my letter?"

"Yes, I have, and it's exactly the thing I would like to talk about"

"Good! So, what do you think about my proposal?"

"The letter is very nice, I liked it, but I can't do what you want" 

"What are you saying?" 

"I'm saying that I'm engaged to Louis Delétraz, he is my boyfriend, so..."

"So... we can't go out together..."

"But we can be still friends, and you can always count on me"

Sean now was more relaxed, it was like he had taken a weight off his heart. He murmured me: "Best wishes and good luck to you and Louis"

"I hope you can find a girl who deserves you"

"I thought you were that girl... But this is life" Sean tried to smile, but you could see in his face that he was suffering again.

After dinner Louis and me sat on a wicker bench on the porch. The sun was almost completely gone. Louis leaned his head on my shoulder and patted my stomach.

"Je t'aime, mon amour" I whispered.

"Moi aussi" Louis answered with a very low voice.

"You are my Lindor... my sweet Swiss chocolate..." 

"And you are my Raclette..."

From behind the door-porch window, Sean was watching us. A tear slid down his nose and cheek. I was sorry to see him like that.

BETWEEN LOUIS AND THE SEA - #3: A SOFT TOY AS A TOKEN OF LOVE

After lunch, Louis and Gustav went upstairs with us, and we discovered we were neighbours of room! But I had thought about it, as we were neighbours of umbrella, too. "That's really nice, if we have some problems we can count on you!" I sentenced.

"Same for us!" Gustav echoed me.

Before my mum and me entered the room, Louis held me. "Do you feel like going to the funfair with me this evening, after dinner?" If I was feeling like going with Louis to the funfair after dinner? All right if I was feeling like! "Yes, I do." We greeted with a quick kiss on the lips.

I talked about it with mum: "Louis asked me to go out with him after dinner, we would go to the funfair" "Go!"

In the afternoon we had a nap. Or better, my mum had, I could hardly close my eyes for the emotion. I would have gone out in the evening with Louis!

Before going downstairs for dinner, that evening, I decided to dress up with a bit of elegance. I put on my beautiful white dress, the one that makes me look like a young bride, and I untied my hair on my back. I made a nice, sober and light makeup, with foundation, a pinch of blush, glitter on eyes, brown pencil and lip gloss. I sprayed some perfume on me. Mum observed: "You look enchanting! Louis will like you a lot"

As I did at lunch, at the table I sat down with him. Sean was looking at us sideways, as he was jealous. "He will resign to the fact that I stay with Louis" I thought.

I brushed my teeth and I retouched my lip gloss. Louis and me went out from our rooms almost contemporarly. "You are a real Swiss! You are always in time!" I joked.

The funfair was situated in a park not so far from the seafront. We paid the entrance tickets and we entered. Holding our hands, we started looking around. There was really everything: carousels with horses and cars, the "Apple-Caterpillar", the bumper cars, the stalls who were selling sweets and cotton candy...

"Do you like the funfair?" I asked him.

"I'm not mad about it, when I was a child I used to go more often"

"Same for me... It's been a long time since my last visit to a funfair"

Louis pointed at the shooting gallery stand. 

"Can I try?" 

"Yes, you can"

On a shelf behind the attraction's owner there were some pots which had to be shot with a little ball; according to the quantity of shut down pots you would have won a different prize. Louis grabbed a little ball... took aim... threw it with all the strength he had in his arm... and... bull's eye! He shut down all the pots! The owner gave him a long applause and with a big smile gave him the prize: a peluche teddy bear who had in his hands a red heart on which was writted "I love you". When we went away, he gave me the bear he had won: "This is for you, darling" 

"I can't believe it!" And we exchanged a very intense kiss. 

We walked a little further between attractions and stalls, and sometimes we took some pictures, too, including cheek to cheek selfies and... lips to lips.

"I've never had a girlfriend" Louis confided to me.

"I used to have a boyfriend about two years ago. Our relationship lasted six months"

"When I was younger I used to have some crushes, but you are my first official girlfriend"

We stopped at the sweets' stall and we bought a lot of liquerice. We sat down on a bench and we started to eat it.

"In Switzerland we're not used to eat liquerice" Louis explained me. "We're more used to chocolate"

"I know, Swiss chocolate is famous worldwide!"

Two beautiful black mustaches had appeared on Louis' lips. In my purse I had my portable mirror and put it in front of him so he could see them.

"Can I clean you?" I asked him. And without waiting for his answer I took out a paper tissue, I bathed it with water from a fountain and I passed it on Louis' "mustaches".

"With those liquerice moustaches, you looked like a F1 driver from the 70s" I joked. And he bursted into laughs too, and then he gave me a kiss on the cheek.

When we came back to the hotel, we wished good night to the each other.

"Good night, Vicky"

"Good night too, Louis"

And we exchanged the now inevitable kiss. I entered the roome tiptoe, not to wake up mum, who was already in the dream world. I scrubbed, I brushed again my teeth, I tied my hair and I put on my nightgown. That night I sleeped hugging the peluche Louis gave me, a symbol and reminder of our young love blossomed in the enchanting landscape of Versilia.

The following morning I showed my mother the peluche: "It's a sign that your Louis feels for you a big and deep love"

"I believe it too, I feel he won't let me down. Certainly I mustn't have so many illusions, but..."

"But he doesn't seem me a guy you could hurt you in some way"

BETWEEN LOUIS AND THE SEA - #2: THE BEGINNING OF A FAIRYTALE

The following morning, my mum and me had breakfast with the rich buffet offered by the hotel. Sean got closer to our table... "Good morning, Vicky. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Good morning, Sean! Yes, I did. What about you?"

"I had a wonderful night." He looked at my mother. "Are you Vicky's mother?"

"Yes, I am" she answered with a big smile. They shaked their hands. I noticed that Sean was hiding someone behind his back. Even though I was watching carefully, I couldn't understand who he was. At the tables there were all the drivers who were eating their breakfast... all of them, but... Sean made a sly smile and moved away, revealing that behind him there was hidden... Louis. I didn't believe to my eyes. We remained a bit looking at the each other. All of a sudden Louis kissed my hand. 

"Nice to meet you, Vicky"

"It's a pleasure for me too"

I was very excited. When we ended our breakfast, my mum and me went to our room to get ready to our first day on the beach. The holiday was officially started! When we went in search of our umbrellas and deck chairs, we realized that our neighbours were right... Louis Delétraz and Gustav Malja. The blond Swedish was lying in the shadow and was spreading sunscreen on his body. "As he has such a delicate skin, he has to put on a lot of it!" my mother whispered. Louis arrived too, he was very handsome and radious. As soon as he saw me proposed: "Do you feel like having a walk with me?"

My mother agreed: "Go with your Louis!"

The Swiss son of art took my hand. My heart was beating very fast. I was walking hand in hand with Louis Delétraz! When my feet touched the sea's water, I was scared of waking up from that magnificent dream. But no, I was still there with Louis. 

"Why did you choose this place?" I asked him.

"It's beautiful and liveable. We really like it."

"It was my mum's idea to come here on holiday"

"Good choice!"

It was so beautiful to walk with Louis and talk to him! He was radious, with shining eyes and cheeks on fire. It was clear that he was happy, as well as I was. He threw me in the sea and proposed me: "Let's swim!"

I'm not very good at swimming, but with Louis I was feeling protected and safe. Without leashing our hands we went a bit more far from the beach. We parted and we faced each other. Louis, before I really realized it, rested his forehead against mine, pressed his pointed little nose against mine and kissed my lips intensely. I threw my arms to his neck, I opened very slowly my lips and I let his tongue touching mine. We stayed it that position for a long time I don't know exactly. I was feeling in paradise. His hands were going through my hips and thighs. When a wave bigger than the others came, we abandoned ourselves at the sea's waters, tickling and spattering ourselves, having great laughs. In the meanwile the other drivers were entering the sea, observing us with partecipation. 

I heard Antonio Fuoco who was whispering to Charles Leclerc: "Delétraz started to be in love!"

"They are a lovely couple, aren't they?" the Monegasque echoed him.

Robert Visoiu, who has lifeguard license, was looking after his colleagues and friends with the zealous care of a Saint Bernard dog, while Ralph Boschung was letting himself be lulled by the waves, floating on his back, with hair who made him appear like the sun surrounded by rays. Along the shore, Nyck de Vries was picking up shells. A little further, Luca Ghiotto, Artem Markelov, Nabil Jeffri, Norman Nato and Alex Albon were committed in the realization of a majestic sand castle. At a certain point Louis stirred. "Who the hell bite me?" 

From the water Jordan King and Gustav Malja went out. Jordan advised Louis: "There is a shark here!"

"Is this shark named Jordan? Or Gustav?" I questioned.

"Oh, what a pity. The prank failed!" Gustav commented. And we bursted all in  a fragorous laugh.

It was like talking to people I've been knowing since ever, as I was at ease. And I couldn't forbear to realize that drivers, without their racing suit and helmet, are boys like me and anybody else.

My fingertips were beginning to suffer from the time spent in the water, so I decided to exit and come back to my mother. Louis followed me. My mother was under the umbrella, chatting with an old lady. 

"My daughter has always been into cars and motorsport since her early childhood... she used to play always with toy cars!"

"In my day, instead, girls who followed motorsport were few, and the drivers or anyway sportsmen in general weren't so much popular among women. Now I see all these young Formula 2 drivers who are really handsome boys."

"Here my daughter comes... she's hand in hand with a driver!"

I introduced myself to the lady: "Nice to meet you, I'm Vittoria!"

"My pleasure, Gilda. And who's this handsome youngster who's here with you?"

"He's Louis Delétraz, a Swiss Formula 2 racing driver."

"Are you engaged?"

"From today... yes, we are!" I announced. My mother was about to be moved. And it was just so: Louis and me since that moment were officially a couple. We had exchanged our first kiss, we stayed hand in hand... what else could this mean?

At lunch I sit at the table with Louis and other drivers. There were a lot of questions for me.

"How long you will be staying here?"

"What's your favourite song?"

"What's your dad's job?"

"Are you vegetarian?"

"Do you believe in God?"

"Have you got brothers or sisters?"

So they all were very curious boys!

BETWEEN LOUIS AND THE SEA - #1: THE BEGINNING OF AN UNFORGETTABLE HOLIDAY

Last summer on my Instagram page I posted this fanfiction; as far as I know it's the first one ever about Louis. It was written in Italian, so my foreign friends couldn't understand it. I made an English translation. 

The original title "Tra Louis e il Mare" comes from a song by Laura Pausini, "Tra Te e il Mare" 

Suitcases were ready, train tickets too, the hotel was already booked... Finally my mum and me would have left for our little holiday in Lido di Camaiore, on the marvellous coast of Tuscany. Dad was not there. We were only two of us. I've never been particulary fond of sea and beach life, I've always been more for cultural tourism. But when my mum had proposed me this holiday together I had not hesitated to answer her yes. We wouldn't have stayed only on the beach, we also would have visited the village and other towns, bringing home many wonderful memories.

The journey on the train went well; there weren't delays or failures. When we arrived at the Viareggio station we took a bus which would have finally taken us to our destination. The hotel in which we would have stayed immediately pleased me, it was sober and without too many frills, with friendly staff... but the thing that struck me the most was the fact that there were some boys in the hall. I was surprised, because from what we had read on the Internet the average age of the clientele was quite high. "Well, better that way" I thought, "maybe I can make friends with someone". However, at a certain point, I couldn't believe my eyes. One of the guys looked amazingly like Norman Nato, the Formula 2 driver! I actually underestimated that: "Maybe he's only a guy who looks like him..." After we settled in the room, my mother announced: "I take a nap, you can have a stroll in the village..." I came out of the room and I started to discover the village. Here and there I took some selfies. The smell of the sea was channeling in the narrow streets, I was hearing that many languages were spoken: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese...

When I arrived in a small square, my eyes met the ones of a boy with Asian features and a dark skin. He surely wasn't Chinese, Japanese or Korean. He looked more like a South-Eastern Asian. And thinking about him, he reminded me of someone I had already seen somewhere. "No... it's not possible he's Sean Gelael... maybe I have allucinations... first the boy in the hall who looked like Nato and now Gelael's double..." In the meantime, he had set his eyes on me.

"Hello, lady! What's the matter?" he asked me. 

"My name is Vicky. I'm here on holiday. My mum is sleeping in the hotel room" 

He gave me his hand. "I'm Sean, nice to meet you!" His name was Sean, like Gelael. And moreover he looked amazingly like him. 

"Where are you from?" I asked him. 

"I'm from Indonesia, but I live in London" 

"Do you race in Formula 2?" 

"Yes, I do"

I didn't believe my ears. So he really was the driver! "We're here in Italy for some relax. We arrived this morning; We are staying in a very nice hotel close to the beach"

"When I arrived I noticed a youngster in the hall who looked like Norman Nato"

"Cool! So we are in the same hotel. If you want we can sign you some autographs and you can take some photos with us!"

"That's fantastic! My mum is a fond of Formula 2, too"

Sean and me walked together for about an hour in the narrow streets of the old town. I understood that he was a bit flirting with me. He was trying to take my hand while we were walking. I was leaving him to do it; he was doing nothing of bad. We stopped close to a souvenir shop. 

"Let's take a selfie!" he proposed me. 

"With your phone or with mine?" 

"Both" 

I took my smartphone and I opened the front camera. We put ourselves in pose. I felt our noses touching and rub each other. I was speechless. I saw that we both were fiery red. When we took the selfie again, but with his smartphone, the scene was repeated. It was obvious that Sean liked me, there wasn't so much to do. How would he have reacted to knowing that my heart was beating for his colleague Louis Delétraz? When we returned to our hotel, I had a confirmation of what I thought... "You are a very nice and polite girl. Do you feel like going out with me again, tomorrow?" 

I thought Sean was a nice and polite boy, too. But he didn't give me the same emotions as Louis. But... who had known it, maybe through him I could have get in touch with the Swiss driver of Racing Engineering. So I told him: "I'm afraid to tell you that I like Louis Delétraz" 

I heard a little hint of jealousy in the Indonesian driver's voice: "Oh, Louis. He is here, too. Do you already know him?"

"We exchanged some messages on Instagram direct"

"Maybe I can introduce him to you"

"That would be awesome! See you soon, Sean"

"See you soon, Vicky"

I've always been a little skeptical about introducing boys through common friends. When I was in high school, it happened that my classmates and other friends introduced me to boys known by them. But I've never liked them very much. The boys I really used to fall in love with were always the ones that I noticed by myself, without others' interference. However, this time the situation was different. I had already exchanged messages with Louis, I loved him... so it was only about knowing him in person.