ma chérie | cl16

chapter thirteen

Adeline was looking at herself in the mirror. It was a large, vintage mirror with golden frames. She was staring more at the mirror than her reflection, even though she was attending a party in five minutes. She didn't feel like going at all.

She was wearing a black pantsuit with a white strapless corset. Her hair was in a tight, high ponytail, and she was wearing golden loop earrings. She got used to the pair of her new high heels she had brought to Barcelona last week. She immediately thought of Charles while the memories of last week came flooding back. As if she wasn't thinking about Charles all day.

The Sunday after-race party was supposed to be a joyous occasion. But it wasn't. After Charles had gotten the pole position on Saturday, everything had seemed almost too perfect. Even during today's race, Charles was on top of his game, he'd been driving so well. But then, a strategy mistake happened. Although, the word mistake couldn't even describe the mess. It was a disaster, which cost Charles a win, even a podium. He ended up fourth. He put blood, sweat, and tears into the race, and it still wasn't enough.

Adeline had been wearing headphones in the AlphaTauri garage when the Ferarri strategists had messed up. She'd stopped focusing on Pierre for a while. She'd been holding her breath while listening to Charles' frustrated screams over the radio.

The sound of loud knocking on the door brought Adeline out of her thoughts. She took a final look at her outfit and grabbed her white purse. She opened the door, her eyes meeting with Pierre's. He was wearing a simple white shirt with a few buttons undone and jeans.

"Uh, did I tell you that it was a party? Not some lawyer-classy-ass-meeting?" Pierre cackled as he stared at Adeline from her head-to-toe. "Did you seriously not bring any dresses?"

"I did, but I'll wear dress when I want to. I look hot and classy!" Adeline pouted her lips in annoyance.

"You are hot. But you're hotter in a dress, every guy would agree," Pierre shrugged his shoulders. Of course, he thought that Adeline was beautiful, but he wasn't a fan of her pantsuit obsession.

"And you're hotter with your mouth shut," she rolled her eyes. She loved Pierre with her whole heart—but he was acting like an immature asshole sometimes. Specifically, he was saying inappropriate things. "I'm not dressing up for a male gaze. You really need to work on those compliments before you get a new girlfriend, honey," she added, shutting the door behind her.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Pierre muttered. He didn't want to make Adeline angry, so he quickly decided to change the subject. "Anyway, ready for the party?" He asked as they made their way to the elevator.

Adeline let out a deep breath. She didn't know if she was in the mood to celebrate. Before joining Pierre and his Formula 1 life, she had never been really going out or partying. This was all new to her. And, even though she didn't want to admit it, she kept thinking about Charles. "Uh, kind of. I'm knackered, though."

Pierre lifted an eyebrow. "You're what? Knackered?"

"Tired," Adeline explained. She tried avoiding the British slang, but sometimes she slipped. As the elevator made a ringing sound and opened, Adeline and Pierre stepped into the elevator together. "I've slept like three hours in total these past two days," Adeline added, biting her lower lip. She immediately felt bad that she had told him about the nightmares.

Pierre widened his blue eyes in worry. "Why? What's going on?"

"Nothing," Adeline shook her head, looking at her watch to distract herself.

"Yeah, and I've known you for a day. You're lying!" Pierre exclaimed as he pointed with his index finger at Adeline. The elevator made a ringing sound again, this time to get off the elevator.