Still Learning [C.L]

In Laws

The next day Emma and I wandered around the paddock as the boys took part in free practice sessions, occasionally stopping to take photos to post later.

We bumped into Daniel as he was heading to his motorhome

"Oh hey" I smiled "is that FP1 finished?" I asked him
"Nah still 15 minutes left, fuckers pulled me in early when I was just getting into it" he grimaced
"Aw I'm really sorry about that Daniel" I frowned

Zak definitely saw Lando as his golden child out of the driver pairing and had pushed Daniel aside this season. He tried to play it off to the fans that he wasn't affected by how Zak was treating him but it was clear for everyone on the paddock to see he was hurting.

"Charlie's looking good out there" he smiled at me "Giving Max a run for his money" I smirked at Emma who was pouting after Daniel's statement

We said our goodbyes to Daniel and returned to the pit lane, weaving through hoards of mechanics and engineers. I made my way in to the Ferrari garage and found Arthur standing talking to a couple of the engineers.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Leclerc" I smiled, putting on my thickest French accent
"Très mauvais, terrible en fait" He laughed back
"Not a clue what you just said so I'm going to take it as a compliment"
"Definitely not a compliment" he continued to laugh as I shoved his side
"How did practice go this morning?" I asked him whilst we watched Charles on his last couple of laps
"Yeah really good, finished P1 so hopefully we can do the same in qualifying this afternoon" he smiled
"Oh look at little Arty on a winning streak" I tried to pinch his cheeks again but he managed to flinch away just in time
"Stop that" he laughed, dodging a collision with one of the mechanics by centimetres
"What? You need an embarrassing motherly figure and I'm happy to step into that role when your mum can't be here" I joked
"Speaking of maman, Lorenzo is driving her through tomorrow for the race on Sunday." he paused "And she wants to meet you over dinner on Saturday"

I swallowed down the lump that had formed in my throat and forced a smile. What would Charles' mother think of me after all the drama that had entailed in such a short space of time. I hope she approved of me as I didn't want anything to disrupt our journey now it seemed to be back on track

"Oh that'll be nice" I forced out "I've not met Lorenzo yet either, will everyone be at dinner?" I asked, the nerves evident in my voice
"Yeah, you can sit next to me and I'll be your translator" he joked, nudging my arm
"I'm not sure if I trust you with such an important role" I laughed

Charles returned to the garage not long after and joined Arthur and I in conversation

"Oh Charles, I was just telling Jen about dinner tomorrow night" Arthur said as Charles walked over
"Ah yes, I was going to say this morning but I got, uh, distracted" his cheeks flushed and I smirked, knowing he was thinking about the present he received in the shower this morning
"Please stop talking" Arthur cringed, turning to face one of the engineer's screens
"Sorry Arth" Charles laughed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder "Yeah I've booked a restaurant for tomorrow night and you can meet Lorenzo and maman" he squeezed my arm reassuringly as I smiled back at him

Charles finished FP2 a few hours later and we returned to the hotel, did some training in the gym with Andrea and had an early night ahead of qualifying tomorrow.

- -

I woke early the next day, went for a shower and washed my hair before looking out an outfit for the day. I took about an hour to get ready today as I wanted to dry and curl my hair, hoping it would stay styled for dinner tonight.

The nerves were already rapidly building inside as I thought about meeting Charles' mum so I made sure to pack my antisickness meds and take some at breakfast.