Love and Rivalry {Female F1 driver}

Don't get distracted.

The second free practice went flawlessly for Charles, resulting in a P1, and I was beyond proud of him. When he came back and got out of the car, he immediately came to give me a hug, which I welcomed with open arms. "Well done, Charles! You did great!" I said, congratulating him. "Thank you, chéri. It must have been my good luck charm being in the garage." He said and winked at me.

When he took off his helmet, he was reeking of sweat, but oh how good he looked. His smile was blinding and I was more than happy that his day had been so good. He was making his way around the garage, talking to everyone and discussing the race shortly, before he made his way back to Arthur and me. "Go back to the hotel and get ready, I'll pick you up at seven. Sounds good?" He said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Arthur just stood beside us with a teasing look, obviously wanting to comment. "Sounds perfect. Where are we going?" I asked, wanting an idea of what to wear. "It's a surprise. Not too fancy but not casual either." He smiled and Arthur finally spoke up. "Where is my invitation?" He joked and Charles rolled his eyes. "You don't get one," he spoke and patted Arthur on the shoulder. "Alright, I'll get going then. See you in a bit. And I'll see you tomorrow, A." I smiled at both of them and then left the garage to go home. 

I decided to wear a pretty summer dress and dress it up with some classy accessories and stilettos. I left my hair down naturally and applied a small bit of makeup. I wore a small cardigan around my shoulders, in case it got cold later on and went to wait for Charles in the living room. I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous inside, as it was our first real date. However, knowing it was just me and Charles, nothing could go wrong. We always had a good time together, and now that the whole Lando situation was over, there were no problems. 

I heard a knock on my hotel door and checked the clock, 7 pm on the dot. I smiled and went to open the door, finding Charles in white pants and a white button-down looking as handsome as ever. "You look beautiful, chéri." He smiled and pulled out a bouquet of roses from behind his back. "Charles, you shouldn't have..." I said with so much gratitude inside me. I took the flowers and he kissed me on the cheek, stepping inside the room while I went to find a vase for the flowers. "They're beautiful, thank you so much!" I said, putting them in some water.

"Only the best for you, Carter." He said and lent out his hand for me once I was done. I happily took it and intertwined our fingers as we made it out the door. "Any papz today?" I asked, looking up at him and he shook his head in response, "Nope, all clear," he squeezed my hand and I felt safer than I probably ever have. 

Charles ended up taking me to an amazing rooftop restaurant, where we could see across the whole city. It was an Italian restaurant, so we had some pasta and pizza to share as well as some wine. We talked and laughed like we always do and I felt us click on a whole other level. It was like something fell into place, there were no more secrets or worries anymore, there was just us. 

At one point during the dinner, Charles took out his phone and looked at me. "Would you mind if I took a photo of you? Just to keep for myself." He asked so politely, he was absolutely adorable. I nodded and posed a little for him, which caused him to smile even wider. "My turn then," I said when he was done, and he comfortably smiled for my pictures as well. This was definitely going to be a dear memory of mine, and having this photo meant that I could relive it as many times as I wanted with just one look. 

With the qualifications the next day, we decided to call it a night rather early on, but as we reached my hotel room, it was as if none of us wanted to part ways. So, when we stood in the doorway of my room, I decided to invite him in and he accepted. We decided to watch a movie together on the bed and ended up snuggling up together, and from then on, it didn't take long for us to fall asleep in each other's arms.