The Escape ( Paddock Passion Series Book 1)

Chapter Two

As we disembarked from the aircraft the warmth of the sun prickled at my skin, it was, according to the captain of the flight 32 degrees.  “I am going to be like a tomato in this heat!” Sam exclaimed.  That was something I never had to worry about, as I tanned easily, and always went a golden brown, “Trust you to get Dad’s dark skin, and I get the short straw with mother’s fair skin” he continued.

Sam’s hair was as black as night, but his skin was very pale, I used to tease him when we were younger calling him Mr Snow White! That often ended in a play fight of some sort or other, and always me coming off worse.

“I go brown Sam” Myla interrupted smiling up at him, oh no here we go, let’s hope she doesn’t start with her crush on him, she had carried a torch since we were 13, and Sam was not in the least interested in her, which only caused her want of him to deepen.

As predicted my brother just stared at her, changing the subject.

We walked through the concourse, and I noticed a lot of posters, with a Dark haired man in Purple leathers holding a black with purple stripes helmet under his arm, he was extremely good looking, with chiselled features, and a big smile, and dark brown eyes that would melt and iceberg obviously Spanish not only from the amount of posters around but by breath-taking good looks.  The hashtag #SA39 in bold letters across the bottom along with Champion.  My ability to understand Spanish was limited however I could make out that in there was a Motorbike Championship race at the Circuit de Catalunya.  The penny dropped, my brother had offered up his services for coming on our holiday, not just to help me but also because it was a race weekend, and I knew he would make every effort to get me to attend with him.  I was not a fan, I had watched one of the races with him on the TV a few years ago, the only race I had ever watched a rider had lost his life, right in front of my eyes.  Tears sprung to my eyes at the memory, and needless to say I had never watched another race with him again. 

I turned to my brother, as he was looking at the poster, “Well isn’t that a coincidence Sam!” I exclaimed sarcastically, he looked sheepishly back at me, “Sorry, but please can we go?”

 Myla stepped in saying “Yes Nat, don’t be a baby lets go” oh dear, she really hadn’t got over her crush on my brother, and I knew I would be fighting a losing battle, with both on my case but maybe, hopefully, the tickets  would be sold out.

“You two can go, I will have a day round a pool somewhere” I responded.  Myla went to protest, but Sam interrupted her “please just think about it, Nat, I have already got us tickets for the weekend, you will enjoy it, honestly,”  So he had planned this all along, probably since I had confided in him about my holiday plans!

I huffed, and turned on my heal, as much as I loved my brother, I should have realised that to make this trip with both me and Myla, there must have been something in it for him.  A race weekend was three days, I suppose I could manage to compromise for three days out of fourteen, but I was not going to let him know he had won just yet.

Another poster was in front of me this time of an older man his head shaved, in dark green leathers and a yellow helmet, with the hash tag #AS 61 and the polish flag. This poster did not hold my attention, and I quickly turned away. It was just over a week away, so I had plenty of time to make my brother squirm and beg and plead to go.

As our taxi pulled up at the hotel, I noted how beautiful the architecture on the building was, the sand coloured stone, with miniature bay windows and small iron balconies expanded across the street, anywhere else the hotel would look magnificent and beyond compare, but here, it looked almost ordinary surrounded by the fantastic buildings and cathedrals throughout the city. This place was truly beautiful and even more beautiful than I had dreamed of.  I could not wait to start to explore. Myla, however, could not wait to get into a bikini and strut her stuff around the ample swimming pool.  She shrieked with delight at the bronzed men laying sunbathing, turning to me, saying “now this is the view we want, not those stuffy buildings Nat” I smiled and laughing said “Trust you Myla! There is more to life you know!”

“Yeah, Nat there is, like motorbike racing!!” Sam quipped at me, smiling and winking.  I turned and gave him my best look of aloofness I could muster but could not fully suppress the small giggle in my throat, at the boyish look on his face.

We checked in at reception, the lady behind the desk was clearly making eyes at my brother, I smiled as she was making her interest perfectly clear, and he had not picked up on any of the signs at all. The bell boy showed us to our rooms, I was glad to not have to share, something Myla had insisted on, stating I would “Cramp her Style” and that she “Needed” to have a room to herself so we “HAD” to find the extra money.  At first this had annoyed me, as it had took so long to save up just to afford the holiday, and having to find yet more, just so Myla could live her s****l fantasy’s on this holiday had been more than a little irritating.  However, now we were here, I was glad to have a place of my own, to escape when needed, and not have the worry of being “Locked Out” for a few hours whilst she was enjoying the locals. My room was ornate, with a large double bed in the centre, and dressing table off to the side.  The wardrobe looked like it had been transported from a CS Lewis novel, and my mind wandered to the possibility of being transported to another world through the back.  My phone pinged a text message. Mam ‘Are you there yet?’ it read.  I quickly picked it up and rang, thankfully she had agreed to cover the cost of the bill, if I promised to keep in touch. 

“Hiya, I was just about to text you, we are here.  The hotel is beautiful, and from what I can see the city is amazing!”

“That’s good, what are you doing now, have you managed to find somewhere to eat” she asked concerned.

“Not yet, we have just arrived, Sam is going to ask at reception for recommendations, don’t worry, but I have to go unpack, and meet up with Myla and Sam, so I will text you tomorrow.”

“Okay, your Dad said to enjoy yourself, but be careful”

“yes Mam, bye”  I hung up the phone smiling, my family, this was so difficult for them, I was the baby, and as Damon had often screamed the one on a pedestal so high that one day I would fall off and break my neck! he was charming like that.

I unpacked my suitcase, and as it was only 15:00 hours, I decided to put on a black swimsuit with white shorts, I looked in the mirror, and tied my long brown hair up into a pony tail, I placed a small amount of sunscreen onto my face, arms and shoulders, picked up my bag and headed out to Myla’s room.

Myla was stood in a two piece white bikini that left not a lot to the imagination, she looked me up and down and tutted, “Trust you to look like the local Nun, even in a swim suit, we are on holiday !”  “I will make one promise to you Nathalie Sutherland, by the end of this two weeks, you will realise what a beautiful figure you have, and will learn to show it off a little more!”

“I think you look beautiful Nat,” Sam was already in her room, that was a bit strange, as normally he would avoid being anywhere near her especially alone, maybe he was making an effort for my sake, or was conspiring with her to get me to the Race.

“So, what is the Plan? I thought we could check out the pool, catch some sun, for a couple of hours before food” I said

“We were just talking about that” Myla said with a huge smile on her face, “ We are going to eat at the hotel tonight, but Sam has found a nightclub we can go to later, let’s get this party started, and Do not dress like a NUN!”

I laughed; she was really on a mission to find someone this holiday!

The pool was warm, and although many people were at the hotel, it was large enough to swim around without the need to take avoiding action.  The water felt good, after the long flight and early start.  Sam joined me, and Myla soon followed, he playfully splashed me trying to dunk me under the water, Myla joined in splashing Sam, however again he ignored her, and concentrated on his attempts to nearly drown his little sister.  We were all laughing and joking around when suddenly Myla got out of the pool, and sat, looking like thunder on the sun lounger. 

“someone is upset she isn’t getting the attention” Sam quipped

“behave Sam, you know she gets no attention at home, I am going to see if she is Okay”

“I would ignore her, she wants you to run after her, and you do it every time Nat” It bothered me how my family refused to see her good side.

I swam to the side of the pool and shouted across, to Myla to come back in but she was not in the mood to come over and looked down in the dumps.  I got out of the pool and lay on the bed next to her.  She looked at me and said “Is he going to be with us all the time Nat, This should be our holiday and he is leaving me OUT!” she exclaimed, I looked on at my friend, I knew Sam was right that she was just wanting the attention, but I could not handle a fall out on our first day.  “Sorry Myla, we will make sure we have girly time tonight” I smiled at her.  She wasn’t impressed and the atmosphere changed from pure delight to being very uncomfortable for over an hour, till eventually a waiter came over and asked her if she would like a drink from the Bar, this cheered her up as she flirted with him and he with her. 

“Dinner is at Seven guy’s, and I need to get out of this sun before I get even more red.  I will see you downstairs Okay” Sam suddenly announced as the waiter “accidently” dropped an ice cube on Myla’s chest. 

“Yeah, see you then Sam” I smiled at him. 

“I am heading up soon Myla are you staying here or going to get ready” as asked

Myla looked at me smiled and winked, then said, you go up now I will stay here.  I looked at her, I knew that meant she wanted to be alone, with waiter boy, so I dutifully collected my belongings and headed up to my room.

I had chosen a knee length red tight V neck dress, made of Saturn.  The dress nipped in at the waist with a black belt showing off my slim figure, I was more comfortable in Jeans and a dress top, however, I was not going to have Myla berate me for not being dressed up enough.  I picked up a black pair of high heal open toe shoes and my black clutch bag, looking in the mirror hoping I looked okay.  V necked dresses or tops were not something I would wear, as I tried to hide my ample bust, however we were on holiday, and I needed to at least look confident even if I did not feel it.  I touched up my lipstick and with a final spray of Channel Allure I had picked up from the duty free this morning, I headed out to Myla’s room next door. 

Myla looked me up and down and said, “I suppose you look Okay” she smiled at me and although I knew my friend was teasing my confidence took a dive,  Myla was dressed in a short black sequenced dress, that left little to the imagination, she looked stunning, and I wished I had more of her care free attitude to clothing.

“Are we heading down, Sam will be waiting we are already 10 mins late Myla” I asked.

“yeah sorry, I got distracted” she smiled at me and winked.  Oh, dear another notch on her bed post it seemed. 

We headed down the staircase where Sam was stood, he looked excited like a small boy in the candy store.

“You will never guess who I have just seen Nat” he exclaimed as we approached him

“Micky Mouse” I responded laughing at him

“Ha, Ha, No I saw Sabino Antlia “he grinned down at me

“Who?” I asked, I had no clue who he meant.  “Oh Nat, the rider on the Posters at the airport” Myla interrupted

“

I recalled the image of the man from the poster, he was really attractive, and for some reason sent a shiver through me.  That was unusual, I had never been a girl for having crushes on celebs and definitely not a Motorbike racer.  In fact, I had never really had any sort of major crush. I secretly hoped it was him and not the other guy.

“He and his teammates are staying here for the race build up, and to see his surgeon, he had a fall a few races ago, and they are doing a check-up” Sam said excitedly,

“How on earth do you know that Sam?”   I asked impressed by how much information he had managed to glean “I asked the receptionist; she is a fan” he answered.

“Of who, him or you?” Myla asked in a sarcastic tone.  “both” Sam retorted looking at her with annoyance evident from the stiffening of his body to the hardening of his face. This could get awkward if he could not control his dislike for my friend.

The thought of the man in the poster staying at our hotel, was intriguing, more than it should have been, my mind wandered throughout our meal to his image, and how he was staying here in this hotel.  I really needed to get a grip of myself, maybe it was the heady excitement of my freedom and the holiday feeling, but I was dwelling on the thought of maybe meeting this man. Myla was busy chatting to Sam, about the club we would be going to, and he was listening, but only giving the odd one-word answer, still she pushed on attempting any sort of conversation with him.  Again, I found myself daydreaming of the poster boy I now knew to be Sabino Antlia.

“Your quite for once Nat” Sam said looking at me, “are you Okay?” he sounded concerned

“Yeah of course I am Sam, I am probably just a little tired” I smiled at him

“Not too tired Nat, we have some partying to do tonight, and talking of which let’s get this party started with a few drinks “Myla interrupted excitedly.   Sam rolled his eyes but refrained from commenting. 

After a few drinks and a bite to eat we headed to the club, it was called Opium and was according to Myla the in place to be.  The music was loud, and with so many people conversation was near impossible, which was just as well, given my brothers reluctance to engage with Myla. We headed to the bar bought some drinks grabbing my hand Myla pulled me to the dance floor.  I glanced over to my brother, and he was stood watching over us, with a careful eye, but seemed content enough with his beer.  All of a sudden people were starting to stand still, looking in the direction of the VIP area some of the girls were screeching, I looked over and saw a Tall man with curly hair standing in one of the booths, with a large entourage.  Sam was looking over and waved at me to go to him.  Myla and I went across the dance floor to where he was stood.  “That is Adamo Stravinsky , he is another racer”  I glanced over and the face did seem a little familiar, maybe from the other poster at the airport, Adamo seemed to be enjoying the attention, and was working the crowd like a rock star, which they loved.  “He is Polish, Nat, and was the world champion, until Sabino came on the scene, he is getting older now at 36” I glanced over again.  To be honest I didn’t understand the fuss, and why the girls including Myla were so taken with him, he was not in my option that good looking, and seemed to love himself just a bit too much for my taste.  The men were just as enthralled by his appearance and the club was filled with the shouts of “Stravinsky, Stravinsky “

Within a few minuets’ things settled down, and the music started up again, Myla and I headed back to the dance floor, she was edging closer and closer to the VIP area, obviously wanting a better look at him.  She turned and shouted into my ear, “I wonder if his package is as big as his motorbike”  I laughed I wished I could be as carefree as she was with such talk, but I was incredibly shy, and given I had no experience in the area of a man’s package I just nodded at her,  If ever a woman could find out you could bet that Myla would make every effort possible to do so.

After around an hour on the dance floor I motioned at Myla that I was going to find Sam, I needed a drink again, it was getting increasingly hot, Myla however wanted to stay where she was, in prime position for the eyeline of the rider. I headed off and whilst standing waiting at the bar, my brother found me.  “are you okay Nat?” he enquired 

“Yes just hot, do you want a drink?” I asked him

“Can do, I have been making friends” he smiled at me, I looked over at the direction he was nodding at, why don’t you come and join us?” 

“What about Myla?” I responded

“She is Okay, she can look after herself no problem that one, come over for a chat” he insisted

Sam got our drinks and headed over to the rear of the room in a secluded corner to the booth where his newfound friends were sat.

“This is my little sister Nathalie” he spoke in slow English.  Around the large oval table 6 men and one woman sat,

I looked around the table, smiling politely when a pair of dark brown eyes looked back at me, my heart stopped for what felt like an age, I needed no introduction to the man I had found myself fantasising about all evening.  Sabino Antlia was sat, staring at me, I smiled and nodded,  he did nothing in return, just sat motionless staring, it instantly made me feel uncomfortable, suddenly her turned without acknowledgement and continued to speak in very good English to the man next to him. 

“That is Mark Johnstone the Australian rider talking to Antlia” Sam whispered in my ear, “the other man is Colin Cornwall, the British rider, with his wife Emily, the rest are part of Sabinos crew” 

Emily smiled up at me and said “take a seat Nathalie, come rescue me from the testosterone “ I instantly liked her,  she had no airs and graces, and seemed down to earth,.  “they are talking shop again, and it’s getting heated, do you like racing?”

I smiled “not really, I only ever watched one race and a rider died, so never watched again, my brother is a huge fan though” I instantly regretted mentioning that, given the company I was in, and felt embarrassed that I had answered so honestly, the feeling was only intensified as Emily looked at me with a look of concern her features instantly changed a small frown forming on her face that ached of worry “that was a sad day, thankfully it doesn’t happen that often, but the worry is always there, such is the life of the family member” I could see the pain behind her comment as she looked at Colin.

“Sam said you arrived today, and that he is trying to convince you to go to the race next weekend” Emily added, with a smile, she had obviously noticed how embarrassed I was at my faux pa, and it only strengthened my thought that she was a very likable person.

“yes, my friend Myla, wants to go as well, so I suppose I will go, I am just not telling him that yet “we both laughed. 

I suddenly felt un easy, and looked over to where Sabino sat, he was staring at me intensely, his face hardened as I looked over at him, he looked annoyed at my presence, a knot formed in my stomach, I felt like I wanted to run away from him, his disapproval, was to upsetting to me.  I quickly gave my head a shake, and told myself, what did it matter, I didn’t know this man existed until earlier today, and why should I care, I don’t normally care what a man thinks of me.  Just then the tall figure of Adamo Stravinsky I approached he had the smile of an assassin and you could tell the friendly persona was for show.

“Oh, I did not know you were all here, I am happy to see you” he said with a thick Polish accent. 

The men all looked at him smiling, but the smiles did not reach anyone’s eyes.  I instantly noted that nobody truly liked this man. Adamo sat on the seat next to me blocking me in between himself and Emily.  His arm went around my shoulder, and I flinched away from him.  “who is this beautiful lady, I can show you good time no” he said, I looked at him, I really did want to run away, the feeling of distrust swept over me.  Sabino stared over again, the look of anger on his face was clear for everyone to see. He spoke in Spanish to one of his team, and they looked at me in shock and shook their heads at him.  I could not understand this reaction or what it meant, I felt resolved to leave the table as soon as possible to avoid his obvious objection to my presence.

Suddenly Myla was stood, glaring in my direction, “Nat, here you are, I was looking everywhere for you!” she shouted, then stopped in her tracks as she noted the people around me. Uninvited she pulled up a stool and placed herself as close to Adamo as she could possibly get, then placing a hand on his knee she reached over to my drink and took a big gulp.  Myla was on a mission to have this man and my brother had now made it possible.  Thankfully Adamo’s attentions turned to Myla, however this in turn meant I was now unable to escape this increasingly uncomfortable experience.

“How on earth did you manage to get to speak with these guy’s Sam” I whispered to my Brother.

“Actually I knew Emily years ago from a school trip I went on to the Isle of White, she recognised me, as we all hung around together, for the week, didn’t think she would as it was nine years ago when I was just 13”

I remembered him going on some trip or other, I however was never allowed to go on any school trips, in-case anything happened to me, such was the overprotective nature of my family.

Again, I felt the heated stare of Sabino, and again my heart skipped a beat, I glanced up at him, he did not smile just continued to stare his lips set in a hard line.

“What’s up with your face Sab” I heard the Australian Mark Johnston shout, he seemed like a fun man, with a quick wit, “you always smile mate, you look like I have just beaten you on the last lap!” Sabino turned and smiled at Mark “you wish you could ride that fast” the company laughed except for Adamo, who had a look of annoyance.  Emily turned to me smiling “it this a little daunting for you Nat?” I had to admit that it was more than a little.  I was annoyed that even though I had done nothing other than say hello, Sabino looked at me as if I was something he wanted out of his sight, and what angered me even further was how much that bothered me. 

“Oh! I am just a little tired” I said smiling at Emily. She really was so easy to like.

“Your friend, Myla is it? She is undaunted, she is getting right in there” I turned to look at Myla who was now all but sat on Adamo’s knee as he was stroking her thigh.  I sighed and shook my head.  “humm I can see”.

“Don’t worry Nat, we are used to the “Racer Chasers” around here, and Adamo, is happy to give them their one night of pleasure before going off to his adoring public” Emily informed me.  The tension between the people sat at this table and the new addition to the party was tangible, I made a mental note to ask Sam if he knew why.

As the night ended, we all said our good buys, Myla decided to share a cab with Adamo, when he offered, I went with Sam giving me a chance to speak with my big brother.

Sam looked like at me with excitement “Nat, I cannot believe how lucky we have been tonight” I looked at him and asked, “what is the story regarding that Adamo, and is Sabino always hard faced and miserable?” I was to sleepy and had a little too much Bacardi, to beat around the bush regarding this, or to hide my annoyance, or was it hurt I was feeling?

Sam looked at me concerned, “Nat, Adamo was a world champion, however over the last few years he has hardly won a race because of Sabino, he took the racing world by storm.  Adamo is known to play mind fames off the track, to try and rattle any competitor, however none of his efforts with Sabino worked as he wanted, they just washed over him.  Those guys are competitors, not really friends.  As for Sabino, he comes across all smiles and friendly a really nice guy on TV, and was so when I was introduced, he was very friendly.   I don’t know why he turned the way he did, something obviously upset him, maybe something to do with Adamo” he ventured.  I found it hard to shake the feeling it was more to do with me.  I thought to myself how narcissistic that would sound if I ever said it out loud, however I was unable to shake the feeling, again It was probably due to the mixture of tiredness and excitement of the day.

As we entered the Hotel Lobby Myla was stood arm in arm with Adamo, she smiled and waved snuggling closer to him, it reminded me of a young teenager with their first boyfriend.  She shouted over to me “See you at breakfast Nat” she winked and walked towards the stairs Adamo in tow.  Sam looked stone faced.  “She has no respect for herself, how could any man form any serious feelings for her” he muttered to himself.

As we stood at the reception desk waiting for our room keys, I heard Emily shouting over “Night Sam and lovely to meet you Nat, we must have a catch up tomorrow if your free” I smiled and waved I looked forward to speaking with her again.

Colin her husband was taking to Sabino behind, I overheard Sabino saying “I do not need this distraction, it will be dangerous, I cannot let myself get involved”

I looked over and again he stared back at me, only this time he looked a little embarrassed and said “oh f**k” Colin laughed, and responded “Welcome to the world of new temptations”