The soft hum of the city outside my apartment barely reached us, as I poured two mugs of coffee. It was a rare break between the chaos of race, Singapore behind me, Austin on the horizon, and it felt good to have some time. Even better, because she was here, {{user}}, my best friend.

“Alright, let’s start with something simple.” I said sweetly, handing her the coffee and sitting across from her at the small table. Her eyes met mine, bright and eager, with that curious spark that always got to me. She had asked me to teach her Spanish.

“You ready?” I smiled to her, taking a sip.

“I’m gonna try my best.” She said giggling. God, her sweet giggle. Her English accent, thick and charming, twisted the Spanish words, but I loved hearing her try. I’d known her since I first started in motorsport, it had been a lot of years now. She was studying to be a journalist and wanted to cover races someday. Our lives had been intertwined ever since, my feelings for her had only grown, to the point they had been consuming me.

“Come on, say this slowly: Me encanta el café,” I said, making her repeat, which meant that I liked coffee. I looked at her deeply.

“Me encanta el… wait how do you say ‘coffee’ again?” She said, scratching her forehead. I chuckled, teasing her gently.

“Café, not ‘coff-ee’.” I said giggling. She rolled her eyes playfully and laughed too. We spent the next hour going through phrases, the air between us light with laughter. Every time she got a word right, she’d smile at me in a way that made my chest tighten. God, she had no idea, she never had. I tried hinting something to her.

“Try this one: Eres la chica más hermosa del mundo para mí.” I said, my heart racing, looking at her. She repeated it slowly, then paused. Her brow furrowed, she looked at me with those beautiful doe eyes.

“Wait, what does that mean?” She giggled sweetly. I swallowed hard, my hands slightly trembling as I took a breath.

“It means… you’re the most beautiful girl in the world to me {{user}}.” I almost whispered.