Flores :: Carlos Sainz

Dieciocho

Bibi looked at her watch when Eleanor entered her place. "You are early?" She closed the door and walked behind her friend to the living area. One hour too early.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Smooth trip, I guess," Eleanor replied. An annoyed breath got pressed through her nose. It was not the right word to say.

"And you are stressed about that?"

Eleanor looked at Bibi, not sharing any emotion. "No." She leaned against the couch and looked down. She had to tell someone about it.

"So what's the matter?"

The purse of Eleanor dropped down on the floor and she let her arms hang next to her body. She pressed her lips into a thin line and closed her eyes. Eleanor was surprised she reacted like this, it was so...over the top. Her eyes opened and they stared at the blue carpet. Tears swelled up in her eyes. Bibi was extremely direct and straightforward, something Eleanor didn't need now. But it also made her see the reality of her weird behaviour. "He called it off," she whispered, clenching her jaw afterwards.

"Who called what off?" Bibi was standing in front of her friend, trying to get a hold of her.

"Carlos."

"What did he do?" Bibi tried to connect all the dots, but she didn't understand it. So Carlos called something off?

Eleanor looked up. "He doesn't want to continue with me."

"Your friendship?"

"He didn't say so, but with other words: yes," Eleanor shrugged. "I'm just so fucking stupid," she breathed and got. She ran her hands through her hair and walked towards the window. It was silence. "I didn't mean to catch feelings for him," she admitted.

Bibi parted her lips and leaned against the couch. She looked at the hopeless person next to her. She wanted to say so much, but she knew it was better to say nothing and to let Eleanor talk at her own pace.

"I caught feelings for him while we agreed on no feelings, no emotions, nothing. We were friends with benefits, so how hard could it be? Well, I proved it wrong. It sounded so easy and perfect. Sex, affection, but no responsibilities of a relationship. It started off right, until we became closer and I began to care about him. I was interested in him. Not in the driver he was, but in him. And F1 is a side part of it. And you know, I always said that friends with benefits will fall for each other at the end of the road. People said no, that was not how it worked. Well, I fell for him," Eleanor frustratedly said and shook her head. "This is the fucking reason why I don't want to be in a relationship, because they will leave me in the end and I get hurt over and over again. So friends with benefits sounded perfect."

Bibi nodded slowly and chewed on the inside of her cheek. The cold hard truth. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and covered her mouth with her hand.

"I am just so stupid to fall in love with him so easily. I'm just a fucking hopeless romantic, fall in love too easily, to have my heart broken over nothing." A sob left Eleanor's mouth. "We never even kissed. We only had sex. I never kissed him. I don't know what it's like to kiss him. And yet he created this...this feeling where I felt loved, home, safe, welcome. But we never kissed, so it was so obvious that he doesn't feel the same for me as I do for him."

"How have you never kissed?" Bibi blurted, that was a weird thing to do...

"I don't know, we never kissed. It wasn't a rule, but...we never kissed."

"Holy shit, El," Bibi loudly breathed. "I didn't see this coming. I'm so sorry."

Eleanor turned around. "I'm so stupid. Of course, this would happen. It's the classic story." She wiped away her tears.