𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐒, charles leclerc

02 ; ten seconds

The next morning it was already so hot at eight o'clock that we had to give the drivers an ice vest so that they didn't get heatstroke. Lewis walked around the track under an umbrella with the woman who worked for him and checked the corners carefully before he had to explain what had happened in an endless number of interviews.

I stood with George under one of the shelters and drank an ice-cold glass of water, which he couldn't finish due to his strange habits.

Formula One drivers had a chip on their shoulder, but you could only love them.

George desperately tried to wipe some cool wind to his face with his hand, but failed miserably. He was lucky, at least he had an ice vest on and I was standing next to him, desperately trying not to fall over.

My circulation wasn't really going well today and the heat and stuffy air weren't doing anything to help me.

He tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to the man in red next to him, whom I hadn't noticed at all. Charles gave me a smile that I would have fallen for forever if I hadn't been holding on to the table. I did return the smile, but I opted out of any conversations that required me to concentrate.

George and Charles smiled next to me and again I found myself cursing myself for not being able to hear.

I wanted to laugh with them too and I wanted to know what they were laughing about.

"What's so funny?" George didn't notice me trying to communicate with him because he was so deeply involved in the conversation with Charles that I felt completely invisible. I sighed, dropped my head on my hand, bored, and propped it up while I looked at Charles.

He had really beautiful, precise facial features and his eyes were just awesome. I could lose myself forever in the sea mixed with some green and would be happy to stare into his eyes for hours.

His gaze kept sliding to me and he gave me a wry grin when he noticed how uninhibitedly I was staring at him.

His hand brushed my shoulder and a pleasant goose bump spread over my body. The heat made me unable to think straight and I hated how I felt in Charles' presence.

He was incredibly attractive and my thoughts were far too inappropriate because I barely knew him.

I couldn't quite realize when something icy cold enveloped me and I noticed Charles behind me, his hands on my bare skin for an unnecessarily long time.

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When I looked at him, he gave me an open smile and it took me a few seconds to realize that he had put his vest on me. I smiled to myself, trying to ignore the rising feeling and tear my gaze away from the handsome man, but no matter what I did, my body didn't obey me.

"Thank you." I tried to form the word as best I could with my lips, not wanting to embarrass myself in front of him by starting to speak and my mouth not obeying my brain. His smile turned crooked again and he looked at George, seeming to ask him something before replying, "No problem."

I was sure my glow could light up the darkest sky and I couldn't ignore the warm feeling that flashed through my body.

When Charles turned away to talk again, I tried to read his lips to see what they were talking about, but his French accent made the situation unnecessarily difficult for me.

"He's like a golden retriever when he's around you." Lewis joined us and seemed to sigh as he put his arm around his teammate and grinned at Charles. I looked at him questioningly and all I got in response was a nod in the direction of the man next to me.

I smiled and shook my head.

"He's making an effort. That's worth a lot." I raised my eyebrows challengingly, waiting for Lewis to say something I didn't have an answer for. It had always been that way and it would always be that way. "His looks say 'undress me and do what you want with me'." Laughing, I slapped the Brit in front of me on the chest and shook my head with a grin on my lips.

We were old enough to talk about such topics without blushing and I was glad he knew he could talk to me like he did.

"Oh yeah? I've known him since yesterday, Lewis. And I haven't even spoken to him yet, remember?"

My counterpart shrugged his shoulders and briefly looked like a disappointed child.

"You don't know one-night stands either and sometimes you can't get rid of them anyway."

"Lewis!"

I couldn't stop myself from laughing, I'd really tried not to let on what Lewis and I were talking about but George could understand everything anyway so there was no point in hiding.

"Speaking of which, do you want to tell me something?" I raised my eyebrows, expecting an honest answer as I stared at the adult in front of me. "Later," he grinned. "In the hotel room." His grin didn't disappear. It lingered on his lips like an annoying insect, only adding to the tension.

Because the Mercedes team had booked everything, the drivers' rooms were relatively close together and the two Mercedes drivers had made it a ritual to sleep at mine when they didn't have women with them.

George's reasoning was that I couldn't hear the alarm clock or the knocking, but if Toto found out he would cut all three of our heads off and have to get new drivers in process because his actions were faster than his thoughts.

"You're impossible," I shook my head in amusement. "Both of you!"

I could tell Charles felt left out when suddenly both Mercedes drivers tried to right themselves, throwing their hands up in the air in many signs at once.

He smiled wearily at them as he said goodbye to me in sign language and then disappeared to the annoying cameras in the background. Knowing that they had recorded our conversation, I was glad that I knew a wordless language.