lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

~ ventisei ~

Germany, July 2019

"Hello, Charlotte," the Italian greeted the Monegasque before kissing her on both cheeks. "I hope you don't mind that I invited Joanna to go with us," Pia said with a smile on her face. She just wanted this meeting to be over already. Why was Pia covering for Charles anyway? She could just tell the truth to Charlotte.

"Hi. I thought you said you don't really know anyone." Charlotte felt a bit uneasy from the presence of the Austrian. She didn't even speak to Joanna once.

"Joanna is the only woman I know, at least a little bit closer, but she's busy all the time," Pia explained quickly. She didn't really know if Joanna was that busy. It wasn't like she ever invited her somewhere. Neither did Joanna.

"Well, since I have a broken arm, I have more free time," Joanna joined their conversation smoothly. She could feel this would be a nightmare from the beginning. "Where do you want to go?"

"I would like to go and check out some bikinis. The summer break is almost here," Charlotte smiled at them. She was so excited about the summer break.

"Sure. Why not? I also need some summer dress." A fake smile settled down on Pia's face. Fake it till you make it. This one day was everything she had to survive. Well, she already wanted to kill herself, and that was just the beginning.

"What are your plans for the summer break? We're going to Cancun. I cannot wait." The Monegasque asked excitedly. That question just made Pia realise how lonely she would be. She had no one to spend the summer with. Max would be with Joanna. Camille would probably spend her summer with Pierre. To Pia's surprise, they got closer than she expected, but she didn't mind. She thought she would spend her summer with Lando, but he didn't even want to see her right now, and she understood it.

"I guess I'll be home with Max. Maybe we'll go on some short trips, but nothing special. We're not really good with planning. Something always happens," the Austrian explained. Pia couldn't really imagine them with a kid. They were chaotic already without a little human in their lives.

"That sounds nice. What about you, Pia?" Usually, Pia was the nosy one, but now she felt uncomfortable by Charlotte's questions.

"I don't know yet," she let out after a long silence. She didn't have a clue what she would do this summer. To be honest, the Italian just wanted to disappear. She wanted to be somewhere far away from Charles.

"Do you want to go to Cancun with us? We're going with a couple of friends, and I'm sure you would get along," Charlotte suggested excitedly. The Italian looked at Joanna. She was doing her best to hold her laughter. She was clearly enjoying this.

Pia had to bink a couple of times before answering. "Ehm, it's really nice of you, but I'll have to decline your lovely offer." She would rather get shot than watch happy Charles and Charlotte.

"Okay, but let me know if you'd change your mind," Lotte winked at the Italian before walking towards a shop with swimsuits.

"Please, tell me you have something that you get me high," Pia whispered into Joanna's ear jokingly. She made it sound like she was joking, but she wouldn't actually mind getting high. The Austrian left this request without an answer and followed Charlotte to the shop with summer wear.

---

"What do you think? These or these?" Charlotte asked Pia while showing her two bikinis - one turquoise and the second one yellow.

"The yellow ones. Charles loves yellow," the Italian muttered without even thinking about it while looking for her size. She wanted to punch herself as soon as she realised what she had said.