lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

~ undici ~

Monaco, May 2019

The Italian stared at the screen of her phone for almost an hour. Should she call him, or shouldn't she? Max told her that Charles was looking for her, but that didn't mean that he wanted to hear from her. She opened her contacts and searched for his name. She remembered the time when he was saved on her phone as 'amore'. But that was already years ago.

She quickly pressed the call button before she had time to think about it again. She wanted to back out, but it was too late. She was already calling him. She couldn't chicken out.

"Hello," Pia said as she heard the tone that indicated that Charles had accepted the call.

"Pia?" he asked surprisedly. Pia assumed he still had her number, but he was shocked to hear her or receive her call.

"Max told me you were looking for me on Sunday," she let out the reason why she called him. It was ridiculous because it was already Wednesday. It was three days since he asked for her.

"Yeah, I was. I was worried about you after your wild night on Saturday," he admitted. He knew he shouldn't care, yet he did. "Actually, do you know what? Let's talk in person," he suggested. Charles wanted to talk to the Italian in person because he wanted to make sure she would listen to him. He also had a tremendous urge just to check her. He needed to know that she wasn't using again regularly.

"What?" she said, and Charles interrupted her.

"I'll just send you my address via text, alright?" he said, and then he simply hung up. He was lucky Pia was still in Monaco, staying over at Max's.

---

Pia sent Charles a text that she was waiting in front of his apartment and then just waited for him to open the door.

"Hi, come in," the Monegasque invited her inside before closing the door behind her. He noticed how she scanned the pairs of women's shoes in the hallway.

"Charlotte is not here," he muttered. He assumed that she would understand, but perhaps, it was better when she didn't know about this.

"Oh, where is she?" Pia dared to ask while still standing in the hallway. She somehow still couldn't believe she was really in Charles' apartment.

"With her family. Valentine wanted to have girls night."

"Oh, okay. The bathroom is there?" Pia pointed at one of two doors in the hallway. The Ferrari driver just nodded. The Italian opened the door, turned on the light and made her way to the sink. Of course, Charles thought. Pia always washed her hands when she came somewhere.

Pia's eyes scanned the bathroom while she washed her hands. She noticed two toothbrushes, a small cosmetics mirror, a small towel for removing the makeup and a few of Charlotte's perfumes. She was truly home there.

"Do you want something? Water or juice or something?" he asked his guest. Usually, it was Charlotte who was offering such things. He was a terrible host, and they both knew it.

"Just water, please," Pia said as she sat down on a sofa in the living room. Her eyes were once again ticking from one thing to another. She was looking at all those photos on the walls. Some of them were with Charlotte, some of them were with Charles' family and then she noticed one that grabbed her attention. She got up and made her way to the shelf where the picture was.

The Italian grabbed the picture into her hands, looking at it closer. It was a photo of her, Charles, and Arthur from Tenerife. They were all sitting on a beach. Charles' arm was around Pia's shoulders, holding her closer to him, and Arthur was sitting on another side of Pia. They were all smiling at the camera. Hervé, who was photographing them, made some jokes to capture them smiling. Good old happy days, Pia thought.

She was fairly sure that Charles said to Charlotte that the girl from the picture was just a family friend or maybe that he was keeping the photo just because of him and Arthur.

"I still can remember the scorching sand on that beach," Charles disturbed Pia from her thoughts. She quickly returned the picture back to its place. She didn't want to be nosy.

"I remember plenty of things from that day," she admitted. It was the first day they told each other that they loved each other. Pia doubted they knew anything about love back then. They were too young to really understand what love was about.

"Me too." It was an important day for them both. They both remembered that day with love.

"Well, we are not here to talk about that day, right?" It seemed like she suddenly realised why she was there in the first place. She wished it would be because of that day in Tenerife, but those times were already gone.

"Are you using again?" Charles asked. He was straightforward just like Max. Pia always adored this trait of the Dutchman, but she didn't like it that much when Charles used it.

"No," Pia immediately answered. "Well, I'll be honest here. It got out of hand in Spain. I admit that but I don't intend on repeating it," she said calmly.

"I was worried when I saw you in that bed," Charles commented on that moment when he got into Max's room. He noticed the Italian sleeping in Max's duvets. The Monegasque looked at Max unpleasantly, only to find out later from the Dutchman that Pia just got drunk and probably high.

"It was just stupid. I admit," the Italian said, and Charles just nodded. It was stupid, so what else there was to say?

"How are things with you and Lando?" Charles dared to ask. He was curious if that thing from the dinner in Baku was just a one-time thing or something else.

"Yeah, he's kind, thoughtful, well-mannered, affectionate," Pia described the Briton. He was so perfect, yet it seemed like that wasn't enough for Pia.

"But?" This conversation reminded Pia of the talk with her mother. It was just a few days ago, and it seemed like things were different now. So many things had changed because of Anthonie.

"But he isn't you," she said and looked into his eyes. It felt like the world had stopped for a second. They just looked into each other's eyes, and it seemed like neither of them noticed that they were leaning closer to each other.

"He isn't me," he quietly repeated when he was just ten centimetres away from her. He put his palm on her jawline while rubbing the cheek with his thumb.

Then he pressed his lips against hers. Pia wasn't expecting it, but she adapted it fast and without any complaints. His lips tasted still the same as years ago. They were plump, soft, and fitted into hers perfectly, and she wanted more. The first kiss was impetuous, passionate, and possessive, but the second one... affectionate, endearing, and celestial.

Her fingers wandered through his hair, pulling a few strands from time to time, leaving a mess behind. His hand on the other side was on her neck now, keeping her close.

"I think, it's better if I'll go," Pia said as soon as they pulled away. She didn't intend to kiss him. Her mind was notifying me how dishonourable it was towards Charlotte. She did many stupid things in her life, but she wasn't that type of girl. She wasn't a backstabber. She was more than aware that Charlotte didn't deserve something like that, and that fact made Pia feel even worse.

The Monegasque was still sitting on his sofa in utter shock. He was shocked that he had kissed his ex-girlfriend. He was probably even more surprised that he liked it a lot. He probably liked that kiss better than any from Charlotte. He was also taken aback by that quick departure of the Italian.

Pia, on the side, was really quick to leave Charles' apartment. She quickly put on her pair of white Air Force Ones and opened the door. She was so in a rush that she didn't even notice Arthur when she passed him on her way out of Charles' apartment building.