anniebaxterthefuture

[anniebaxterthefuture]

TEXTING: RORY

Annabelle: Happy birthday king 👑 anywayyyy when’s the next book out 🙄

[anniebaxterthefuture]

TEXTING: JUNE

Annabelle: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABYYYYYYYYYYY Annabelle: GIRL I AM ON MY WAY TO MAKE OUT WITH YOUUUUU Annabelle: ((platonically)) Annabelle: I LOVE YOU SO BADDDDDDDDDD Annabelle: Go out there and smash it today girlyyyyyyy xxxxxxxx

[anniebaxterthefuture]

JONAH HAUER KING as Prince Eric The Little Mermaid (2023)

[anniebaxterthefuture]

@annabellebaxter: 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

@annabellebaxter: Tiny baby fashion icon 😍😍😍😍

↳INSTAGRAM: @danteleept uploaded a photo:

Tavvy decided to come see what all the fuss was about in Monaco.

[anniebaxterthefuture]

↳INSTAGRAM: @annabellebaxter uploaded a photo:

Did somebody say date night with Dante? 😍😍😍😍

[anniebaxterthefuture]

@annabellebaxter: @danteleept Thank you baby baby ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Love and miss you!!!!!!!!! Date night in Monaco pls????? 😘😘😘😘

↳INSTAGRAM: @annabellebaxter uploaded a photo:

Back home in time to serve 🫡😘

[anniebaxterthefuture]

@annabellebaxter: @elias_hewitt Looking to enlist? 😉

↳INSTAGRAM: @annabellebaxter uploaded a photo:

Back home in time to serve 🫡😘

[anniebaxterthefuture]

@annabellebaxter: @jaxxyotto4 I love youuuuu 😘😘😘

↳INSTAGRAM: @annabellebaxter uploaded a photo:

Back home in time to serve 🫡😘

[anniebaxterthefuture]

Annie wasn’t stupid. She knew she was beautiful and desirable. She had insecurities just like every other girl in the world, maybe even to a degree that the people around her didn’t always recognise, but she could recognise that she was pretty, her full lips inviting, her curves sitting perfectly in all the right places. She was no stranger to lingering gazes and desperate, needy touches during seedy hookups and quickies in the back of limousines. Still, in all the time that Dante and Jax had been teasing her about Eli’s apparent crush on her, she couldn’t quite see it. Sure, maybe he was attracted to her in some small way – men were simple creatures, they saw a little cleavage and lost all their senses – but she highly doubted it amounted to much more than that. It was carnal, all physical with no real bearing on who she was as a person. Elias was her friend, but she was sure that he’d run a mile if he ever saw the inner workings of her mind for more than 30 seconds. 

Annie’s sense of self-worth was at rock bottom on a good day. Fake it til you make it. That’s what her mom always said, and her father never discouraged that sentiment. She supposed it probably worked. Most people perceived her as nothing more than a brain-dead bimbo whose opinion wasn’t worth a dime. Which is exactly why she felt her heart stutter in her chest when Eli slid his hand into hers, voice gentle as he insisted she was the only one who could’ve gotten him to leave his apartment. She couldn’t attest to how true that was, but it filled her with pride all the same. 

“I’m proud of you, you know that?” she told him, wide eyed and earnest as she met his gaze. 

He was on the verge of saying something more and she leaned in closer, chest pressed to his side as she gripped his hand tight against her thigh. Only, before he could say whatever it was that he needed to say, she was being pulled from him, ass sliding across the leather and towards the other door. She let out a particularly unladylike oof, followed by a stream of curse words and a disgruntled Really, Duncan? You want us to die before we see 2025? that was met with a sheepish look and a mumbled apology. She had no idea what had gotten into him, but Duncan seemed entirely off his game since they’d gone to collect Elias, and she didn’t like whatever attitude he’d picked up along the way. 

With a sigh, she smoothed her dress down against her thigh, shifting her hands and cupping her chest to make sur the girls were secure. She startled as both doors swung open on either side of her, brow arched as she cast them both a confused look. She had no idea what kind of weird ass pissing contest the two of them had gotten into, but she waved away Duncan’s offer of help with one quick motion and slid all the way across to the other side. Carefully, she extended an arm out to Eli, allowing him to take her hand as he helped her out of the car. 

"Thanks, handsome,” she whispered as she leaned up to peck his cheek. 

Flashes of light exploded around her as Annie turned on the spot, noting an array of photographers who had likely gotten wind of her intended location. No doubt they’d been tipped of about Matty’s earlier arrival and had put two and two together, but that was no matter to her. She looked hot, so what did she care? 

"Yeah, yeah. Get a load of this guy, right?” Annie rolled her eyes, gesturing towards Eli. He did look gorgeous and she was just pleased to see his curls out in full force for a change. As dedicated as he was to his role as a driver, she hated seeing them hidden away. Pressing her lips to the palm of her hand, she blew the paparazzi one last kiss before calling out, “Get a fucking real job.” 

She gave Duncan one last three fingered wave as he stepped in between her and the men with the cameras, ever dutiful before turning on her heels. Sliding her hand back into Eli’s, she pulled him towards the entrance to A Novel Idea. 

“C’mon, let’s go get drunk and find someone to make out with at midnight,” she teased. 

Hey, credit where credit was due: Duncan was navigating the car through the streets of New York like a professional. Despite it being his career, Eli didn’t actually like getting behind the wheel in the city. He did most of his driving on the track, preferring the loop of a racetrack or street circuit to the heart-stopping gridlock of Manhattan. On the few occasions where he had driven in the big apple, he’d spent the majority of his time having to stomp on his brakes, growing more and more impatient as he trailed through the streets at a snail’s pace, his car inching forward every so often and making him yearn for COTA a few states down.

Duncan, it seemed, had no such reservations.

He swung the car around sharp corners and weaved in and out of the rest of the New Year’s Eve traffic with such precision that Eli almost wanted to glance out the rear window to double check if someone was chasing them. Like they were in a Liam Neeson movie or something. Duncan drove like a man possessed. If it weren't for Annie tucked up beside him in the back seat next to him, he might have been inclined to think that Duncan was driving in such a way to make sure he got them killed.

“Yeah, you’re right, he seems totally fine,” Eli said faintly when Annie seemed to find no change in Duncan’s behaviour. 

He tried his best to relax in the backseat of the car, focusing, perhaps a little too much, on the warmth radiating from Annie right next to him. She was pressed against his side in a manner that suggested the car and its backseat weren’t quite big enough for the both of them. He glanced at the empty space next to Annie, which she could easily slide along to and relax quite comfortably if she wanted to. Instead, she stayed by Eli’s side. He found himself smiling at that.

The smile faltered only a little bit when Annie began playing with his curls, messy and never staying where he wanted them to. It hardly mattered when they were slick with the sweat that gathered in his helmet, but he’d hoped they’d stop being so unruly tonight. No such luck, although Annie didn’t seem to have any complaints.

As she began fiddling with the buttons of his shirt, Eli’s eyebrows slowly began to raise as he inhaled shakily. He was only vaguely aware of Duncan slamming his hand down on the horn, blasting a warning to whatever poor pedestrian had been caught in his path.

He felt Annie’s head drop against his shoulder and he obediently slid his hand into hers when he recognised the invitation of her upturned palm for what it was. He knew better than to think anything of it, knowing that’s just how Annie was. Still, if Duncan thought differently when he flashed another narrow-eyed glare at them in the rearview mirror, Eli wasn’t going to be the one to correct him.

“I’m happy to have come out. I needed to leave my flat. Thanks for dragging my sorry arse out of there,” he told Annie. Feeling an uncharacteristic surge of bravery, he smiled down at Annie. “I don’t think there’s anyone else that would have gotten me out of my funk.”

His teeth gnawed at his chapped bottom lip as he took a deep breath, bolstered by his sudden courage.

“Y’know, Annie…”

Whatever he’d been about to say next was cut off when Duncan slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt, more definitive than the rest of them on the trip over. Letting gravity pull him forward before it shoved him back against the seat, Eli quickly recovered and glanced out the window. He immediately recognised the exterior of A Novel Idea. Plenty of people were already filing through the door and suddenly Eli had eagerly pushed his nose up against the tinted glass, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of Matty.

“We’re here,” Duncan supplied unnecessarily. He unclipped his seatbelt and climbed out, and Eli hurriedly did the same. While Duncan rounded the car to open the door closest to the side Annie was sitting in, Eli quickly scrambled out his side, but continued to hold the door open for her.

He caught Duncan’s eye over the top of the car, both of them staring at each other as they waited for Annie to pick a side.

[anniebaxterthefuture]

↳INSTAGRAM: @annabellebaxter uploaded a photo:

Back home in time to serve 🫡😘

[anniebaxterthefuture]

↳INSTAGRAM: @annabellebaxter uploaded a photo:

Did somebody say podium? 😘😘😘😘 @jaxxyotto4 xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[anniebaxterthefuture]

TEXTING: DANTE

Annabelle: I know, I knowww

Annabelle: Boys* 😘😘😘

Annabelle: I’ll take care of Jaxxy I promise

TEXTING: ANNIE

Dante: My flight got cancelled.

Dante: Annie, I’m sorry.

Dante: I’m trying to get on a new one but they’ve got me on standby. I’m sorry.

Dante: I didn’t want to message him something like this before a race.

Dante: I’m so sorry.

[anniebaxterthefuture]

TEXTING: DANTE

Annabelle: I know you don’t want daddy to know but he could have had you on a private jet by now????

Annabelle: I could speak to my mom?

Annabelle: I’m really worried about you now and that kinda overrides the mad if I’m being so real rn

Annabelle: Fuck

Annabelle: I love you

Annabelle: I already said that but whatever okay I’m sorry I was mean 😭😭

Annabelle: Keep me updated okay???????

TEXTING: ANNIE

Dante: My flight got cancelled.

Dante: Annie, I’m sorry.

Dante: I’m trying to get on a new one but they’ve got me on standby. I’m sorry.

Dante: I didn’t want to message him something like this before a race.

Dante: I’m so sorry.

[anniebaxterthefuture]

TEXTING: DANTE

Annabelle: Ffs are you kidding me???

Annabelle: I wanna be mad at you right now but I know this isn’t your fault

Annabelle: Yeah, okay. I get it

Annabelle: Miami SUCKS this year omg

Annabelle: Mostly because you’re not here but also Seph called me a dick this morning lol so

Annabelle: Just get here as soon as you can?????

[twenty minutes pass]

Annabelle: Is he okay?

Annabelle: Are you?

[half an hour passes]

Annabelle: I love you xxxxxxx

TEXTING: ANNIE

Dante: My flight got cancelled.

Dante: Annie, I’m sorry.

Dante: I’m trying to get on a new one but they’ve got me on standby. I’m sorry.

Dante: I didn’t want to message him something like this before a race.

Dante: I’m so sorry.

[anniebaxterthefuture]

TEXTING: CARRIE

Annabelle: BOYS ARE USELESS I TOLD HIM TO LEAD WITH STAR WARS

Annabelle: MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU QUEEN

Annabelle: And happy birthday xxxxxxxxxx

[anniebaxterthefuture]

@annabellebaxter: @elias_hewitt Idk I wouldn't mind a McStuffin from Eli-ghtning McQueen [This tweet has been deleted.]

@elias_hewitt: P6! Not ideal, but we'll do everything we can to maximise our chances for a podium tomorrow. @elias_hewitt: does anyone know how to change your disney+ icon when it's broken btw i keep putting it back to lightning mcqueen but it just CHANGES BACK

[anniebaxterthefuture]

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Room service and snuggles with the BEST guy in the world xxxxxxxxxxx