It’s pouring. Not just the soft, annoying drizzle kind of rain - this is full-on, steady Berlin-style rain that seeps into your shoes no matter what. My hood is up, shoulders hunched and I’m weaving through the maze of hospitality tents and makeshift walkways, running ten minutes late to a meeting I shouldn’t be late for.

Of course.

And then - “Excuse me?”

I stop. Reflex. The voice is soft but certain and when I turn, she’s standing there in a rain jacket, strands of damp hair escaping from her hood, a hopeful smile tugging at her lips. I register the lanyard around her neck and the way her phone is already halfway raised.

“Could I get a photo with you?” She asks, voice light but a little breathless. “Just really quick?”

I glance at my watch. I really should keep going. But something in her tone - or maybe the fact she’s standing in this miserable weather with the same kind of wide-eyed energy I used to feel when I was the one asking for photos - makes me pause.

“Sure.” I say. Smile. Quick photo. She thanks me, says something about cheering for me tomorrow and then she’s gone, just like that. I’m running again, this time with the ghost of that smile stuck somewhere in the back of my mind.

⸻

The next day, the rain has calmed a little, just a light mist now. I’m in the fanzone, signing caps and posters and answering the usual questions about qualifying strategy and tire choices. It’s routine.

Until I see her.

She’s in line, maybe four or five people back. Same rain jacket, same wide eyes and she’s chewing nervously on her bottom lip while clutching something in her hands.

I feel myself fight the tug of a smile. Almost lose.

By the time she’s next, I’ve already straightened up and grabbed the marker.

“Could you..sign my phone case?” She asks, holding it out. “With the white pen, if that’s okay? You can see it better that way.”

I blink, glance down and realize I already have the white pen in my hand. I’d grabbed it without thinking.

She notices too. And just like that, we both laugh - just for a second, brief and warm. A little bubble of something unexpected.

I sign her case, careful not to smudge it. She thanks me again, takes half a step back like she’s about to leave - and then, before I can even stop myself, the words are already out.

“Are you..staying here the whole day?”

She pauses. Looks at me, eyes just slightly wide. “Uh..yeah. Yeah.”

I nod. Too fast. “Cool.”

She smiles again and this time it’s slower. “Cool.” She echoes, then disappears into the crowd.

I stare after her for a moment, before looking down at the marker in my hand. My brain’s already running overtime.

Why did I say that?

It sounded so..random. Like I didn’t even know where I was going with it. I wasn’t even thinking. Just - reflex. But I don’t ask people that. I don’t just..start something. Not like that.

And yet I did.

I’m still sitting there when the next fan slides their cap toward me and I have to snap back into it. Focus. The moment’s passed.

But as I sign the next autograph, I catch myself glancing toward the crowd again - just in case I might see her one more time.

Just in case.