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Kez paused her movements, frowning as her music was paused. "You know, I love your adorable painting hobby, but I was not expecting you to spend your birthday in here." Kelsey spoke, leaning against the doorframe. Kez hummed, setting her mixing palette down, "it's not my birthday yet."

"But it's coming up and you've been buried in this studio so much it's starting to worry me." She replied, going to walk over to her but Kez quickly got up to stop her so she didn't see the painting. "It's not finished yet." She frowned in confusion, "why won't you let me see it? What is it?"

"A beautiful work of art that is uncompleted. You cannot see it until it is perfect." Kez stated. "But I've seen your other paintings," she argued. "This one is different, okay? You can see it as soon as I finish. You will be the first one to see it, I promise." She reassured, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Okay. I came to remind you that we are going to the factory to do the hot laps. Not sure if you remember since you've been in here day and night like a vampire." Kelsey said, pulling open the door to walk out, the singer turning off the light and following her, her brown skin still covered in swatches and smears of dried paint, also adorning her favorite white overalls.

"That's today?" Kez frowned, her brows furrowed slightly.

"Yep. A'ja landed last night, and you would know that if you paid attention to anything I said." Kelsey responded, plopping down on the couch as Kez grabbed some wipes to clean her arms. "Fuck, I'm sorry." She sighed, running a hand down her face. She pulled off her overalls and tossed them into the basket in the hall before going over to the couch.

"I know I promised you a beautiful vacation in London and I'm already blowing it. I'm so sorry. My mind has just been...everywhere. It's difficult to explain." Kez sighed, giving her an apologetic look as she sat down next to her. "Well, try to explain it to me. I want to understand you. I want to know why you've been so off. You can trust me, Kez. I'm here for you, always." Kelsey reassured, cupping her face softly before moving her hands down to take hers.

"I'm sorry, I--I can't. I should be taking a shower." Kez quickly pulled her hands away and retreated upstairs.

Kelsey sighed, burying her face into the pillows, but she wasn't given much time to ponder because there was a loud knock on the door. She got up, pulling on some sweats before rushing to the door, opening it to Kezie's mum, Kaikara Kumalo. "Oh, we weren't expecting you today. Come in." She smiled, pulling the door open wider.

"Apologies for barging in like this. I just wanted to check up on Keziyah. She hasn't been returning our calls." Kaikara explained, pulling off her sandals and setting them on the shoe rack against the wall. "Uh yeah, she hasn't been in contact with anyone lately. She's kinda just been hibernating in her art studio for most of the day and night. I can call her down for you but she's probably in the shower right now."

"Oh, that's alright. I can wait." Kaikara waved it off, moving to the living room to sit in there.

Kelsey sat down a few ways from her, still always a bit nervous around Kezie's parents, but especially her mother. "Uhm, is there like a reason she's been so...off? I feel so ridiculously out of the loop. Nobody will tell me anything. Lewis came over yesterday for a few hours when I was out shopping so I still have no idea what that was all about." She spoke, hoping Kara would tell her something so she could help.

Kaikara pursed her lips, searching for the proper English wording. "Uhh, this time of the year has always been a difficult one for my daughter. I cannot really go into it, because it's not my place. The most you can do is just be there for her. Be understanding. If she's comfortable enough with you, she will tell you."

"I just want her to trust me with whatever she's going through. I want to be there for her." Kelsey sighed, running her hand through her hair. "You are, by being here, and putting that pressure on her to talk. She doesn't like talking about her feelings but she will if she doesn't want to lose you. And trust me when I say, she does not want a day where you are not apart of her life. I know when my daughter cares for someone. She cares for you. She won't put your relationship at risk just for her own feelings. She's not that type of person. When she loves, she loves. She takes after her father in that department."

"How will I know that she loves me?"

Kara smiled warmly, "trust me, you will know when you know."

"Hey Mums, what are you doin' here? We're meetin' up later, no?" Kez leaned down to kiss her cheek before moving to sit down on the armrest. "I just wanted to check up on you, but I see now that you're well. That's good." Kara said, her usual voice providing much warmth. "Ja, of course. I'm good. Has Lewis been good to you? He said you guys were staying with him."

"He's been great, he always is. I haven't seen much of him though, being at the hospital and your father working at the factory all day and night." She explained. "You need to take a vacation, Mama. You work too much." Kez said, her tone filled with all kinds of concern. "We plan to as soon as the season is over. I promise, KeiKei."

"Anyways, I will let you both have some time. I shall see you at the factory, yes?" Kara brushed herself off as she stood up. "Two o'clock, yes. Thanks for coming by." Kez smiled, pulling her into a quick embrace. "Always, my child." Kara smiled, and gave a bow of her head to Kelsey before making her exit.

"She didn't say anything about me, did she?" Kez questioned as soon as the front door was closed. "No. What would she have said?" Kelsey returned the question, the singer avoiding her eyes. "Nothing," she forced a smile, removing her eyes off of the floor. "I'm really sorry for being so distant."

"You don't have to apologize--"

"--yes I do. I haven't been treating you as you deserve and for that, I am sorry." Kez spoke, her eyes mirroring sincerity as she moved to sit next to her. "Let me make it up to you, baby." Her voice dropped a few octaves, eyes filling with lust as she cupped her jaw gently. Her hand slid back until it reached for the back of her neck, reducing the distance between their faces and lips. "I'll do anything to make you feel better." She whispers softly before finally connecting their lips.

She returned it, eagerly pushing closer to the point she was straddling her lap, her hand trailing lower to untie the strings of her sweats. It wasn't the first time she took control, but it was a bit rare as Kez was a giver more than receiver--not that she didn't enjoy it, because she really did. And there was certain hotness it brought Kelsey to see Kez at her mercy, no longer always in full control.

"W-What are you doing?" She stammered out, Kelsey pushing her down onto the soft cushions and hooking her fingers in the band of her sweats to pull them down her long legs. "You didn't think I was actually gonna give you control after the way you've been acting, did you?" She scoffed, discarding the sweats to the floor somewhere.

"I mean...I-I was hoping," she stuttered out, her body growing more heated by the second. It was such a sight to see her all stuttering and flustered. All that cockiness just disappearing in a flash. "I'm in control now. Unless...you don't want me to forgive you?" Kelsey spoke knowingly, a faux glint of guilt in her eyes.

She sat up, shaking her head with a rush of urgency. "No, I do. I just don't get this from women often. I'm difficult to please so I'm usually in control. It's hardly the other way around," she shrugged. Kelsey leaned forward, her hands trailing up Kezie's smooth legs, fingers playing with the waistband of her panties. "You're not difficult to please, Keziyah. You just have high stamina. So, it's a good thing I'm an athlete, right?" She smiled, her words making the singer feel all kinds of things but lust was the main one.

Without wasting a second, she leaned up and pressed their lips together in a searing but desperate kiss. "I love it when you're desperate for me," Kels smirked, pushing her knee between Kez's legs, a small gasp slipping past her lips.

"What can I say? Cockiness looks good on you. Let's see if you can back it up, baby." Kez winked.

"I know I can back it up."

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"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Kez muttered under her breath, leaning up against the Jaguar with her arms crossed, watching A'ja and Diana being led down the track by Nakila. She turned to Kelsey who was staring off into space to avoid eye contact, "you said it was just A'ja." She pursed her lips awkwardly, "did I forget to mention she brought Dee with her? Whoops. That's my bad."

She received a blank stare from the singer. Kez leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I am so taking away your ability to walk when we get back."

"Where's Ms. Kumalo at?" Diana asked, looking around and not seeing the woman.

"It's Mrs. Kumalo. I think you forgot the part where she's married." Kez shot back swiftly. "Looks like we got that in common then." Diana retorts with a grin, and A'ja snorts in amusement, holding a hand over her mouth to withhold a laugh. "Very funny," she smiled tightly as Kelsey and A'ja greeted, the other two just glaring at each other, but Dee held more amusement in her eyes compared to the spite Kez held in hers.

"Nakila, call them to the track," Kez ordered.

"Yes ma'am." She nodded, walking a few feet away and using her radio to contact them. They got there shortly, Kaylen and Mick stepping out of the car with Jae-hyun and Kaikara. She first went to greet Kelsey and A'ja, being the most familiar with them. Then she turned to Diana who was not-so-subtly looking her up and down. "Hi, I'm Keziyah's mum. It's nice to meet you." She extended her hand politely.

"Pleasure is all mine, mama," Dee smiled, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to it. Although Kara didn't think much of it, Kelsey had her hands gripping around Kezie's waist to keep her calm. "Murder is not an option," she mumbled, causing Kez to frown. "Doesn't mean it's not a good option."

Kaylen and Mick introduced themselves next, and A'ja wanted two hot laps so she could experience the way both of them drove. Diana didn't seem to want a ride, too focused on her conversation with Kaikara the whole time they set up the cameras in the cars. "Don't crash with me in the car, a'ight?" A'ja retorts as they helped her with a helmet for her first hot lap with Mick.

"Understood," Mick chuckled softly and A'ja climbed into the passenger seat, jittery with nerves.

"Can you drive an actual F1 car on this track?" Kelsey asked, leaning into the singer. "Yeah, of course. We use this track to test the cars all the time," she confirmed, her eyes still watching Diana carefully. Kara was explaining everything to Dee because apparently the woman was "confused" about it. Kelsey glanced up at her with curious eyes, "have you ever driven an F1 car yourself?"

She nodded, taking her eyes off of the interaction to put them on Kelsey. "Yes, I have a few times. Lewis taught me a lot. I set a really good lap time on my first try, almost beat his."

"So basically, you're good at everything?" Kelsey deadpanned, a laugh erupting from the singer as she shrugged. "I guess so. I don't know, there's very certain things I'm terrible at." She raised a brow of disbelief, "oh really? What could you possibly be bad at?" She pursed her lips in thought, knowing there was always one thing she was bad at. "Uh, normally I'm great at learning other languages...but I suck at German."

"German? That's all? What about Russian? Or Portuguese?" Kelsey asked, brows scrunched softly in confusion. "No, I'm very good at Portuguese and Russian. The only one I struggle with is German. I don't know why. The language just doesn't like me." She shrugged nonchalantly and Kelsey couldn't even response as the car stopped and A'ja was climbing out like she had just witnessed death.

"I don't know how y'all be doin' that every week," A'ja exclaimed, holding a heart over her chest. She collected her breath, "let's do it again so I can get up out of here quickly." They chuckled at her reaction and Mick traded places with Kaylen who looked very excited to go next. Soon A'ja was finished and they moved onto Diana who was very against it but Kara encouraged her to give it a try so she listened. She hated it.

"You should put a helmet on. Sis drives like she's being chased by the cops," Kaylen comments towards Kelsey, causing Jae to smack his arm.

"Don't listen to him. I'll keep you safe." Kez scoffed, throwing him the middle finger. "Don't make me regret trusting you," she mumbled, stepping into the passenger seat as Kez held the door open for her. She smiled, shutting the door and walking around to the driver's seat. She climbed inside and started it up, smiling at the sound of the engine. "I might have to get one of these for myself," she murmured.

"Don't you have enough cars?" Kelsey retorts.

"You can never have enough cars, baby," she grinned, pressing her foot into the accelerator.

"Oh, my God! Slow down! What the fuck!" Kelsey exclaimed, grabbing onto something to hold her as Kez turned on the first corner, not slowing down in the corners in order to keep the pace. "You can't tell me to slow down on a race track," she snickered, and as the woman went to reply, she slowed a bit before drifting the corner. "You said nothing about drifting! Keziyah!"

"You complainin' but you smiling? Make it make sense!" Kez shot back with a laugh. "I feel like I'm in a fast and furious movie right now! I don't know if it's a good or bad thing!" Kez smiled at her words, taking one hand off the wheel to grab her hand and bring it to her lap. "Nobody dies in those movies so it's a good thing."

"That's true...speed up some more then!" She grinned, giving her thigh an encouraging pat. "I think I just fell in love with you." Kez smirked, speeding the car up for a second lap cause one wasn't enough.

"We need some music." Kelsey mumbled, trying to distract herself from what Kez just said.

"Put living room flow on," she suggested.

"Now- Kez, I'm not putting that freaky ass song on."

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Kez sighed softly, leaning down to press a kiss to Kelsey's exposed shoulder. "I'm thinking of going on tour again, but I don't want it to clash with any schedules next year. Marvel wants me to be apart of this new project next year and I'm not sure if I should do it. They think more people will watch the movie if I'm in it- which of course they would, but I wrapped up Makena's story, so it feels wrong to bring her back."

Kelsey turned around to give her full attention so she knew she was being heard. "I don't think you should do it. I mean, the whole reason you even did the second movie was for Chadwick, and the third was just to finish up your contract so you wouldn't have to be tied down anymore. I know you don't like to talk about it, but Marvel brings you a lot of pain. Don't put yourself back in the position for more."

"I'll call them in the morning to decline it. You're right. It's not a good position for me." Kez smiled softly, pressing a kiss to her hand. "But...I am very here for the tour idea. I've only been to one of your shows and that was when you were an arena artist." She winced at the memory, "damn, that was a long ass time ago. I don't remember the last concert I've held in an arena."

"You're a stadium filler now," Kelsey chuckled, her fingers still subconsciously tracing the tattoos along her back.

"If I do it, what would the tour be called?" She pondered.

"You should call it the magic tour since you make magic on stage," Kelsey playfully suggested, not at all being serious. "That's actually a good idea. I can just imagine the set- fuck, I gotta go paint it." Kez muttered with determination, pushing off the blanket and getting up from the living room floor. "Wait- babe, I wasn't being serious!" Kelsey sat up with wide eyes.

"I will be right back." Kez slid on some underwear and clipped on a bra before running down to her art studio.

"Why must I inspire her?" She mumbled to herself, getting up and wrapping the blanket around her. She descended down the hall, pushing open the door to the art studio. Kez was sitting on her knees, paint cans next to her as she brushed her fingers over the canvas with black paint. Kelsey sat down next to her as she spoke, "I don't want it too flashy. It has to be a chilled vibe with flowers, bright colours, and nature. I don't want it to look anything like Bey's or Taylor's set. I'm already compared to them enough as it is."

"What if there's a flower in the middle of the stage that rises when you sing?" Kelsey suggested, pointing the middle where Kez had already formed what the blank stage looked like. "That's good. You got vision, ma." Kez smiled, wiping her hands of the black paint. "What colour should the flower be?" She asked, looking at her options of paint. "Uh pink? And maybe you could add multicolor lights that make it pop more."

"Yes, that's gorgeous. And everything's gotta be covered in moss, so we can give it more of natured vibe." Kez mumbled, dipping her fingers in paint and brushing them against the canvas. "You could also do two sets and make the second one more of an ocean vibe to match the theme of your other albums," Kels added helpfully.

"Oh, I love that. You're a genius, babe." Kez grinned, pressing a kiss to her cheek and getting up to grab a second canvas.

"You could do two pianos, one of them covered in moss and the other one with a realistic ocean blue and sand," she suggested again as Kez got to painting it up immediately. "Since you like to walk through the fans and to the back of the stadium, maybe you could have one small set in the back that's like a pirate ship to match the Sail Out album, and cover half of it in moss for the first set?" She added.

"That is so incredible. Are you visionary or something?" Kez asked incredulously, grabbing another small canvas to paint the ship set.

"Your music is inspiring," she chuckled with a small shrug.

Kez paused her movements and wiped her hands moving over to sit in front of Kelsey. "I feel really upset with myself for the way I've been treating you. I'm really relieved that you're here with me. This time of the year is probably the worst in my life and normally I like to spend it alone, but your presence brought me so much comfort that I couldn't not spend it with you." She took her hands in her paint stained ones, Kelsey's eyes boring into hers with the same softness that made her feel comfort.

"Hey, I'm here for you, always. You can tell me." Kelsey soothed, pressing a kiss to her hands.

"There was a boy that I met when I first moved to America. He was just like me. He was smart, and he was my age, and we just got along immediately. He had a scholarship like me, but he lived in a terribly poor neighborhood, I'm talking shootings every day. He was born into a gang, and his brother wanted nothing more to keep him out of it. But then his mum died, and he felt as the man of the house, he had to join. 2006, it was my birthday, and I had only found out he joined a week before so I was mad at him that whole week. He got shot on the way to my party, and the whole time he was lying there in a pool of his blood, I was mad at him."

"So, there it is. Nobody outside my family know about this. That's why Lewis came to visit. That's why I sent you out shopping. It's why I- it's why I couldn't face you. I don't want you to be mad at me. I don't like it when you're upset with me. I have no desire to keep secrets from you. Every year I am stuck in this studio just painting my feelings away." Kez gently pulled her hands away and stood up, going over to the large canvas in the corner of the room that she had been working on for the past few days.

Kelsey stood up with curious eyes and Kez pulled the sheet off, revealing the unfinished painting of her friend, who she viewed a brother. "His name was Darien. And there is so much that I want you to know about my life, cause God it has been such a roller-coaster of emotions, but I just ask you to be patient with me, cause I'm not used to talking about my feelings with anyone other than Lewis. He's the only one I've trusted for the entirety of my life, but he shouldn't be the only one."

A soft smile curled up her lips and she stepped forward to take Kezie's hand, giving it a small squeeze as she observed the portrait. "He's the brother you're always mentioning in your music, right?"

"He is. Painting him helps me preserve his memory. Sometimes I forget what he looked like and then I'll go back to see the portraits and I start to remember again. For a long time it wasn't that way. At one point I had just cleared him of my memory. I wanted to forget for the longest time when I should've just found a way to cope with it. Painting him is my way of doing that."

Kez pulled her closer, "you okay? You're not saying anything."

"You're just nothing like how I pictured you'd be. I didn't know you were going through so much. I'm glad you're opening up to me. I want you to keep doing that, and I'll do the same. Cause I really like you, Kez." Her breath was caught in her throat, words jumbled on her tongue as her eyes bored into Kelsey's. "You shouldn't say that to me. I'm not good for relationships."

"Who said it had to be a relationship?" She replied a bit too fast, not entirely sure what she was thinking. But she didn't want to lose her. Not for something like this.

She squinted slightly, "isn't that what you want from me? Don't you want me to settle?"

"I want whatever you want. I don't expect you to settle. I don't even know if I'm ready for that. I just know, I wanna be in your life and I want you to be in mine." She affirms, her tone soft and understanding. A flash of silence emerged between them, staring at each other, neither knowing what to say. "I want you too, more than you know." Her hand trailed down her jaw, eyes flickering to her lips before she leans down to press them together.

Her hands reached up to slid around her neck, causing the blanket to fall completely, a shiver running up her naked spine. "Don't worry. I'll warm you up," Kez whispered into her ear with a small smirk etched up her soft lips. Kelsey pulled her head back with an amused curl to her lips, disbelief hiding behind her irises, "you're seriously gonna fuck me in your art studio?"

"It seems the most fitting, does it not?" Keziyah smirked knowingly.

Kelsey smiled, her cheeks growing a bright red, "are you callin' me a work of art?"

"Yes. I'm so serious."

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It was the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and it was going to be exciting for sure.

"Technically, it's still my birthday so you are inclined to give me a kiss."

"Am I now? Wasn't your birthday two days ago?" Kelsey scoffed, running a brush through her hair. "No, my birthday is the whole weekend. It's a rule. You have to kiss me or it's bad luck." Kez insisted with a frown. "That sounds made up," she retorts, continuing to slide the brush through her dark brown hair. Kez groaned, sliding her arms around her waist and burying her face into her neck, peppering kisses by her ear, "why must you insist on torturing me?"

"Is it really torture that I wanna keep the ability to walk?" Kelsey quipped up, glancing up in the mirror to see Kezie's exasperated face. "A little bit, ja." She squinted her eyes, grabbing the gold bracelet on the counter as Kez watched her movements, almost as if she was studying every little movement even if it was the smallest. "You sound obsessed with me. Is that what you are, Keziyah? Are you obsessed with me?"

"What? That's not true. I'm very normal about you. I'm not like obsessed with you." She responded, growing quickly defensive like it was a personal attack at her reputation.

"Okay, then you wouldn't mind if me, Syd, Jackie, and A'ja just go to race by ourselves, right?" Kelsey queried, grabbing the matching gold necklace that Kez bought for her. "Mhm, sure," she mumbled under her breath. "What was that? I didn't hear you?"

"I said, sure. I will just go with Lewis...again." Kez smiled tightly, her hands subconsciously gripping onto the counter top. "Great. Thank you, baby. You can go now." Kelsey pressed a peck to her cheek before returning to her routine.

» »

"She called you obsessed? That's ridiculous."

"I know right! I don't get obsessed," Kez scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she stood near him, the Jaguar and Merc garages very close so they could stand and chat before the race. "The only way to know you're obsessed is if you get like a tattoo of her name or something but you wouldn't do that." Lewis spoke, but he paused upon noticing her face.

"Keziyah- please don't tell me you've gotten a tattoo of her name..."

She scoffed in objection, smacking his shoulder. "What? No! Of course not. I just...may have designed one...for future purposes.."

"Fucking hell, you really are obsessed. That's actually really sweet." Lewis grinned, playfully nudging her arm. "Shut up. This is why Victoria won't reply to your dms." She scoffed, pulling her glasses back on and walking back into her garage. "That was really uncalled for," he mumbled to himself as he returned to his own garage.

She pulled her headphones on as they began to send the cars out there. Kaylen was starting P2 on the grid today, his rival Max with pole position. They soon began the formation lap to line up on their respective grid places. Her focus was majorly on Kaylen this race as he was the fighting for his 1st world championship and the team's first one. "Sit down," Jae insisted.

"I prefer to stand," she mumbled, her eyes focused on the screen as she listened in through the radio.

"She looks really good with that headset," Syd smirked teasingly, knowing Kelsey was already staring. "Whoa, we are not gonna do that. Get your own woman." She argued before turning her eyes back to look at the concentrated singer. "What kind of dress is that? It looks good on her," she added to further tease her annoyed friend. "Keep your eyes to yourself. She's mine."

Keziyah pressed her finger to the button that allows her to speak into Kaylen's ear. "Stand your ground. Keep your focus. You got this." He didn't reply as she always told him not to, but he heard her, and he took her words of encouragement seriously. She stared up at the screen, the lights going out and the cars charging forward. Into the first corner, Max forced Kaylen off the road when he had a clear overtake.

"Did he seriously just do that?" Kez asked, scoffing in disbelief.

"We'll report it," Jae replied in a calmer manner as the cars slowed for the yellow flag.

Kaylen's complaints came through the radio and that was what made Kez far more frustrated. "No, no, I'll talk to them myself. Golden boy isn't gettin' away with that. This isn't '21." Before Jae could intercept, she pressed the button to connect her to the stewards, spilling all kinds of words of frustration and such. "Don't fuck with me. We saw the same thing. Max forced him off in the first. You make him give the position back or you give him a fucking penalty. It is that simple. Do your fucking jobs."

Jae was quick to take her hand off the button before she got fined..again. Also because they had a camera on her. "You need a minute?"

Kez shook her head, brushing him off, "nah, I'm good."

A few laps in, they gave him a simple five second penalty because himself and his team refused to give the position back. "Five seconds? They gave us 20 for that in Mexico. What kind of biased shit is this?" She scoffed. "Same shit you watched Lewis deal with," Jae comments knowingly.

"I can't stand this fucking sport sometimes," she muttered, glancing at the other screens that monitored his car. "Can I talk to him?" She asked towards her dad, knowing he knew the right times to talk to their drivers. "Go for it. He needs your voice right now." She pressed on the button for Kaylen's radio, "get that position back now. Don't let him stretch out that gap. Keep pushing. You're on mediums so use them for what their worth. His won't last long."

"You got it, sis." Kaylen replied.

Jae glanced at his daughter, a bit stressed because she hadn't sat down yet and they were 14 laps in. "Will you sit down now? You're in heels."

"No, not until he's in P1." She replied, staring at the screen intensely. Lap 15, Kaylen came up on Max's inside to take his rightful position back, gaining cheers from the fans and the Jaguar garage. "That's what I'm talkin' about. Race leader baby! Let's keep it that way." Kez grinned, throwing an arm around her dad's shoulders. "Now can you sit down?"

"Ja," Kez smiled, sitting down in the chair next to his.

Max was called to the pits after the overtake where he served his penalty and changed his tyres. He got knocked down many places, keeping him far away from Kaylen, for now. They had Kaylen pit for new tyres at lap 22 where he dropped down to P3. Perez and Leclerc would need to pit anyways so he was still technically in P1. Mick was doing his best to keep Verstappen from getting closer to Kaylen, and he was doing a pretty good job at it.

"Keep defending. You're doing good, Mick. We may be looking at a 1-2," Kez added into his radio.

"Thanks, Kez."

It was a battle for 4th, Max and Mick speeding down the track. Into turn 12, Max came up on his inside, making contact with Mick and taking the position for P4. "What the fuck is he doing? Does he not know how to turn?" Kez scoffed, listening into Mick's radio to make sure he was okay and to hear what damage he had. Hopefully it wouldn't effect his race too much but the side of his car was not looking pretty.

"He's claiming it's Mick's fault," Jae informed from what he got from Max's broadcasted radio.

"Then he's gotta be fucking blind. He gave him no room to turn and he's surprised when Mick uses that little space to turn? His car is fucking fine. Ours is fucked. So my driver is not the problem." Kez expressed, watching the reply on the screen, too focused on this to even see Kaylen was back in P1 after Perez took a pitstop during the yellow flag that was called soon after the incident with Max and Mick.

"Call him to retire," Jae instructed his daughter, his engineers already discussing the damage with him and it was clearly too much. "Bring him in. Retire the car. He won't finish high enough for any points. Too much damage." Kez reported to James, Mick's race engineer.

Mick came into the pits and they moved the car into the garage where he climbed out and walked over to his bosses. "You good?" Kez asked, handing him a headset. The cars were awfully loud considering the many cars that were coming into the pitlane. "Yeah, all good. Is he being investigated? He left me no space to turn." Mick asked, sitting down in Kezie's seat because she chose to stand and insisted that he sat down.

"You're both being investigated. Verstappen insisted it was your fault and you the opposite so now your both being looked at. Fuck ass stewards ain't gonna do shit about Max though. That's their golden boy. Be prepared for a meaninglessness penalty." Kez informed, gaining a small chuckle from Mick. "At least it protected Kaylen from this," he added.

"Ja man, you did good." She smiled, patting his shoulder as they stared up at the screens.

"You got a penalty for causing a collision," Jae informed from what he got from the stewards, and they all cracked a laugh at that. The green flag was given and the race continued. Max was under investigation again for unsafe release in the pitlane, and as Kez said before, they did nothing about it. There was no further investigation. Typical.

Kaylen was leading, and Max was back in P5, but he wasn't his focus right now. Charles Leclerc was his problem right now. He was battling him for first and after a tough couple of laps, Charles got DRS and overtook Kaylen on the apex. "That was a cute little pass," Kez mumbled.

Kaylen was basically trapped between a Ferrari and Red Bull in the next laps. A place you never want to be in. Max was getting the fastest laps, bringing a little bit of worry to the Jaguar team. Lap 35, Kaylen cleanly overtook Charles on the same corner Verstappen hit Mick. "Now that is how you make a clean and respectable overtake," Kez expressed proudly.

Two laps later, Max overtook Kaylen for that P1 position again. Kez wasn't all too worried given they would need to pit soon anyways. "Ten laps left, let's pit him. I want the fastest pitstop, team. We ain't losin' this race." Kez spoke into the radios of Kaylen's team and mechanics crew. James called him in, Kaylen came into the pits and his team of mechanics was on it immediately. 1.9 seconds and he was back out, landing just behind Piastri in 5th.

"Everyone's getting a bonus for that," she grinned, giving her mechanics a thumbs up from afar.

Kaylen was quick on that overtake on Piastri, and spent the next two laps catching up with the Red Bulls and Charles. Lap 43, he caught up to Leclerc and overtook him at the apex again. She knew Kaylen would've liked to play it safe, so she knew to input. Mick pressed the button to Kaylen's radio for her. "We're not settling for podium tonight, Kaylen. Get that fucking win."

"Understood. Keep my line quiet. I need to focus," Kaylen replied swiftly.

"He's locking in. Keep it quiet," Kez informed his race engineer who was very quick to understand what that meant.

Perez was in the battle with Max for P1, himself not settling for podium when he had a win in his grasp. Kaylen came up behind them and his DRS wasn't triggered, but with the small slipstream he gained, he turned on their inside and overtook both Red Bulls, only one lap left in the race. "Let's go! Yes!" She shook Mick's shoulders excitedly as the whole garage erupted in supportive cheers.

The next lap and last was certainly nerve-wracking to watch. Max was closing in on Kaylen with every millisecond and had tried several overtake attempts but Kaylen wasn't letting up for one second. He defended his place like his life depended on it. The chequered flag was waved, Kaylen flew past it to take the win in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

"Yup, that's my baby brother. He did that shit." Kez grinned, shaking hands with everyone around her. The whole garage thrilled with the results. She didn't even notice that Charles Leclerc had barely put himself on podium by overtaking Perez at the last few seconds. She walked over to her special guests, pulling off her headset and handing it to Nakila who just followed her around like always. "Y'all wanna go see the podium?"

"You don't have to ask me twice," A'ja quickly got up, gaining a chuckle from them.

"Follow me," Kez took Kelsey's hand without a second thought and they all followed her down to see the podium. Jae helped through to the front, the barrier crowded with the Jaguar, Red Bull, and Ferrari teams. Kaylen parked his car at the sign and climbed out, jumping off the top and running over to his team, jumping into their arms and they always caught him.

After they set him down, he hugged his father, his uncle and race engineer Sang, Mick, and then shook hands with A'ja, Syd, Jackie, and shared a hug with Kelsey. "Take off your helmet," Kez said, smacking the side of it because she wanted to his face. Kaylen chuckled and pulled it off, and A'ja snatched it up with a smile. "I'll hold it for you." Syd grinned, pulling out her phone to take selfies with the helmet.

"We gotta do the handshake! Climb over!" Kaylen exclaimed towards his sister. "I'm in a dress!" Kez scoffed, hitting his shoulder. He rolled his eyes, locking an arm around her and the other around her legs to lift her over the barricade. "I told you to stop picking me up," Kez scowled. "You'll get over it." Kaylen snickered, and they did their special sibling handshake.

"Yoh, that overtake was tough, yeah?" Kaylen grinned, always looking for her approval, she nodded with a chuckle, "hell yeah, I thought I had Lewis Hamilton in the car for a second there." He smirked, "time I get some championships like him, too."

"I'll be there when you do. Go get weighed man." Kez chuckled, patting his shoulder and A'ja passed her the helmet. She set it back in his hands and he bowed his head to her before going to get weighed. He obviously couldn't get weighed without the helmet. She sat on the barrier and Kelsey held onto her as she slid around to get behind the barrier again. "We gonna go to the club after this to celebrate. You wanna come with me?" Kez whispered to her.

"I would love that, yes," Kelsey smiled.

"We would also love that," A'ja input for her and Syd. Jackie wasn't the club type so she was definitely going home after this. "Yes, we would," Syd smirked, getting right in between them.

Kelsey scoffed, shooting her a side eye, "I'm sure you would."

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a/n: fever and mercury lost today...aces pls do me justice 😭😭 next chapter will time skip to 2024

favorite wnba players rn?

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