lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

~ diciotto ~

Great Britain, July 2019

"Hi, Cami. I just wanted to ask if you're still in England," Pia asked when her friend picked up the phone. She had this sudden idea of inviting Camille to go with her to the British Grand Prix.

"Hey, yeah, I'm still here. I'm leaving next Wednesday. Why?" The Frenchwoman asked confusedly. Pia could hear noise from cars and pedestrians. Therefore, she assumed Camille was somewhere outside. She was probably on her way to or from a photo shoot.

"Well, are you free this Sunday? I thought you could go with me to watch the Grand Prix. What do you think?" Pia liked to spend time with Camille back in Monaco. She thought it would be nice to refresh some of those memories. There were times that she enjoyed with her.

"I would love to, but I don't have a ticket." The euphonic giggles reached Pia's ears. Pia just imagined that a few guys probably turned around to see the blond woman.

"Oh, leave it to me. I'll take care of it," Pia said, noting that she would have to ask Lando for a paddock pass before explaining a few more details.

---

"I'm so glad to see you here," Pia greeted her friend as she saw her walking through the paddock. She looked breath-taking as always. The sunglasses were on her nose, the white dress contrasted with her tan, and her white teeth were visible thanks to her smile. Pia would swear that Camille was born for the spotlight.

"Hi. Thank you so much once again for the ticket," Camille said as she kissed Pia's cheeks. So typically French. The Italian grabbed her hand and led her to the McLaren garage.

"Camille, this is my boyfriend Lando," Pia said when they reached the Briton who was waving at them.

"Lando, this is my friend Camille," the petite Italian introduced them while they were still standing in front of the McLaren facility. Lando wanted to go for the handshake, but Camille automatically went for kissing his cheeks. They both blushed, but eventually, they laughed it off.

"Camille? Is that really you?" Pia heard the voice she knew way too well behind her back. Charles spoke French, and Pia assumed he did it on purpose. This way, Lando couldn't understand them.

"Charles," the Frenchwoman exclaimed while Lando wrapped his arm around Pia's shoulders to indicate that she was his. His arm felt so heavy when the green eyes stared at Pia. She could feel how Charles scanned Lando's arm. She could feel his burning stare on her skin. Pia noticed Charles didn't come alone only because Pierre spoke up in order to introduce himself to the model in front of him. She probably wouldn't notice his presence without this act of his.

"What are you doing here?" Charles asked Camille. That left Pia surprised. If she remembered correctly, they weren't really friends in Monaco. So, when did that change?

"Pia invited me to watch the race," Camille explained with a smile on her face. The Italian watched closely the Frenchman standing in front of her. Pierre was clearly taken aback by the beauty of Pia's friend.

"Really? I didn't know you were meeting each other again," Charles said while looking directly at Pia. The Italian knew what he was trying to implement. Camille belonged to the group of people that were using back in Monaco. He was probably trying to find out if Pia had something to do with drugs again. It made her wonder if he would ever see her differently. Will she be a junkie in his eyes forever?

"We met by accident in London last week, Charles," Pia said his name in a warning tone. She didn't want to bring this conversation back. Lando's grip on her shoulders tightened when he heard Charles' name. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but he could tell that his girlfriend wasn't the biggest fan of this conversation. So, he was just trying to make her comfortable.

To be honest, he wasn't the biggest fan of this conversation either. He hated that he didn't understand what was going on. He hated he was the one being left out. He hated that it was once again Charles who controlled everything.

"Chill out, you two," Cami said as she could feel the tension. She could feel that there was some unfinished business. "We should go for a diner," the Frenchwoman suggested out of nowhere. 

"Yeah, I agree," Pierre contributed to the conversation. Pia was sure he agreed with dinner because he wanted to get Camille to know better.

"And Pia? Leave your protector at home. Let's make it a French dinner." Cami was talking about Lando, which was still standing by Pia's side. His arm was still wrapped around Pia's shoulders, and in the second one, he was holding a phone. He was clearly bored, but no one could blame him since he didn't understand a single word.

Camille didn't have anything against Lando. She just wanted to get Pia and Charles into one room and let them talk without anyone around.

"If Lando is not coming. I'm not coming," Pia said and grabbed his hand on her shoulder. She lightly brushed the top of his hand with her thumb. Talking only French in front of him was disrespectful enough. Why should she go to dinner without her boyfriend? She would understand if Camille liked to go just with her and Charles. She could say that she wanted to bring back some memories, but she wouldn't invite Pierre otherwise. It just seemed that she didn't want Lando around for whatever reason.

"Oh, don't pretend you're so loyal," Charles muttered angrily. He wanted to be in Lando's place. He wanted to be that person that Pia would protect when he wouldn't understand. He wanted to be that person to have his arm around her shoulders.

Pia knew that Charles wasn't talking about the dinner but about their kiss. They haven't addressed it ever since it happened. Neither of them knew if that meant anything. Was it just a mistake or not?

"Shouldn't you be bothered by your loyalty?" the Italian said before grabbing Lando's hand and walking away. It was Charles who kissed her. She didn't start it - it was him. He should be the one to question his own loyalty toward Charlotte.

"What was that about?" the Briton asked her worriedly. He wanted to understand. He wanted to be reassured that he was better than Charles. He wanted to know that nothing bad wouldn't happen just because of the young Ferrari driver.

"Oh, nothing. Camille just brought up something from the past," she lied to her boyfriend. What else should she do? "I was wondering. Would you like to go to dinner after the race?"

"I would love to, but I promised my mum I would be with them. They don't see me that often." His voice was apologetic even though there was nothing to apologise for.

"Well, that's okay. I understand. Enjoy your time with your family," she smiled at him lightly. She knew how important family time was.

"If you would like, you could join me. My mum wants to meet you anyways." That information caught her completely off guard. She didn't expect something like that. Yeah, she talked about Lando with her mum once, but that was it. Were they really that serious? Wasn't it a bit too early to do something like that?

"Oh." That was the only sound Pia made. Then she looked at Lando, and she saw that disappointed look on his face. "Of course, did you already book some table somewhere, or should I cook at yours?" Pia asked him with a smile. She didn't want to disappoint him even more.

"I booked a table in a nearby restaurant." The Italian smiled just because she saw the smile on Lando's face. His smile was somehow addictive. Suddenly, he just bent and planted a little kiss on the corner of her lips.

"Do you think they will like me?" Pia asked and wrapped her hands around his neck. Their foreheads were touching, and they were smiling like teenagers in love.

The young Ferrari driver had to turn around when he saw that scene. It was too much for him. He couldn't bear it. He dreamt about moments like this ever since he met her. When did they go so wrong? When did they take the bad turn?

"They will love you. I'm sure about it. Who wouldn't love you?" You shouldn't love me, Lando, she answered in her mind. She realised how hard that evening would be. She would meet his parents and siblings. She would sit at one table with people who loved Lando unconditionally, but did she belong in that group of people?

"Pia? I'm really happy with you. I mean like really, truly happy," he whispered. The Briton was waiting for Pia's reply, but she just kissed him. It was the only answer she could provide him and he wasn't happy about it. He wanted and needed to hear that she was happy with him too because he couldn't silence all those bad thoughts in his head.