It's You ✮ Charles Leclerc

Cɦɑpteɾ 23

♫ When you're close to me, I can't breathe
We're already six-feet deep ♫

Charles Leclerc POV

"You did it!" Arthur says as he enters the paddock with me; Lucas is distracted with his headphones on and sees a video on his phone.

"What?" I ask confusedly.

"You and Natalie! I saw how you looked at her at the party, and mom saw her at your apartment the morning after when she dropped Lucas off. You haven't looked at anyone like that in years," he is almost excited, and I shush him.

"Don't make a scene, Lucas doesn't know. This is supposed to be lowkey, so don't ruin it," I say as I look around the empty paddock. I only came here to record a video, and then I will be on my way out. It's Tuesday, and I don't intend to stay long.

"Well, let me know when it goes from lowkey to a relationship. Don't say I didn't warn you," he says confidently as we enter the hospitality, and he stays with Lucas as intended.

I came back half an hour later, the video was done, and I was ready to leave, but I only found my brother. Alone.

"Where is my son?" I ask as I try not to freak out for the next few seconds that will take him to answer me.

"She took him," he says nonchalantly, and I am bamboozled by his tranquility.

"Who? Who the hell took my damn son?" I ask angrily.

"Oh, Natalie. She came by and asked if she could show him something, and they left. It seemed like one of those moments they seemed to have, so I stayed back," he is still very calm, and I can breathe properly again.

"I almost had a heart attack, start by that," I throw my hat at him before I see Lucas entering the room, hand in hand with Natalie who laughed.

"No, but it really made me think of you. Did you like it?" She asks, and he nods profusely.

"Thank you," he says quietly, and she smiles.

"No problem, kiddo," she stops when she sees me, and I give her a slight nod.

"I thought this was your day off," I comment as Arthur stands up to leave.

"It is. I just came here to do some extra hours; they needed the help. I was leaving when I saw Lucas, and I had a really cool game I found on my laptop and wanted to show him," she says as she points to the door.

"Yeah, we are leaving too," I say as we all turn to leave, walking the paddock together.

"The game," Lucas says as he looks up at me.

"You want the game?" I ask, and he nods with a shy smile. "Sure!"

"Let me know when you have it; I will play it with you," Natalie says excitedly.

When we got to the hotel, Arthur went ahead with Lucas with the excuse that he wanted to show him something in his room, so I stayed back with Natalie.

"Is this going to be awkward?" I ask, and she laughs.

"Not when it comes to me. We are adults, Charles; don't make anything simple so complicated. If you don't want it to happen again, just don't do it again. Besides, I'm not stepping away from your kid, so you better not make me do that because I will be fired if you do," she says it so calmly that I almost didn't laugh.

"Why would you be fired?" I ask curiously, and she shrugs as she thinks it deeper.

"I would probably take you to court for custody after I keyed your car and fucked your tires," she says casually, and I laugh harder.

"Court? His mom didn't even do that," I am skeptical, but she looks at me seriously.

"I would drag your pretty ass to court; I bonded with that kid. You can't take him away from me; he is the only kid I will ever like. So our business is ours, and his business is separate. Don't be petty or resentful; if you are, then it's better to stop it here before it gets ugly and I have to pay damages of a busted Ferrari."

"Would you really fight for Lucas?" I ask as I walk closer, and I am damn glad the hallway is empty.

"I would, so you better be ready to fight," she says confidently as our eyes lock.

"I could fuck you right now."

"Because I like your kid? That's weird," her words made me chuckle.

"Because you are so unpredictable, and you look hot as fuck in a Ferrari shirt, but I've seen you with mine on, and it looks better," I admit, and she smirks before kissing me.

"I will see you later, maybe at 10?" She suggests, and I nod.

"At 10 it is," I say before I kiss her quickly before she enters her room.

I walked through the hallway until I got to my room. I had ordered dinner, and Lucas went to take his bath after I took mine, and I leaned back as I relaxed.

"That was a long talk," Arthur comments, obviously fishing for information.

"I don't want to fall for her; she wouldn't like me back."

"She would like you back. Why wouldn't she?" He says confusedly. I shake my head.

"She is a free spirit. I have a kid, and I am always traveling. I don't think she would even want to be tied to a man," I am doubting everything at this point.

"She is a free spirit, but so are you. She loves your kid, and she is always travelling to the exact same places as you since you currently work together. Being in a relationship is not always about being tied to someone, and that is something you can easily find out," he had a good answer to all my doubts, so I just nodded.

"I could be starting a whole damn mess because I am selfish and couldn't keep it in my pants." 

This is what scares me. Fucking something good for something temporary. 

"You could be starting a whole damn family because you finally like someone and decided not to repress those feelings in order to avoid imaginary issues you create to self-sabotage your own happiness."

"Are you my therapist? What is Carla feeding you? You are way too smart for my taste," I am mad that he has an answer for everything because I am using the worst scenario, and he uses the best.

"I'm just sick of you being alone and almost depressed. Ferrari is doing better; you need to take the hint."

The conversation stopped there since Lucas was back from his shower and our dinner arrived right after. Should I take the risk for once?