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STRANGE ... chapter two !
monte carlo, 2018
LIGHTS FLASHED erratically throughout the club, some matching the beats of songs, while others flashed whenever they wished. it was almost blinding to natalia, who couldn't have wanted to be there less. though, she started to match her blinks up with particularly bright flashes, which helped slightly. however, she wasn't able to find a way to combat the music — that was just way too loud. nothing seemed to drown the music out, not even the meaningless shouts coming from people dancing.
maybe natalia would've enjoyed it more if she was drunk, like most other people in the club. but, the coke in her drink diluted the vodka to the point she could barely taste it, so she had no hopes of getting anything out of it. plus, shots were off the table for her. natalia knew if she even dared to sniff one, she'd be feeling the effects the next day, which was the last thing she wanted.
the party was only happening due to the formula one race earlier that day. not that natalia followed the motorsport closely; she'd just been invited by her childhood friend, who also happened to be a driver, charles leclerc. natalia had only gone to support him, since it was his home race in his rookie season.
sipping the remains of her drink, natalia planned to go and bid her goodbyes to charles and hastily make her way home. though, that plan was quickly ruined by the rowdy crowd of men in the centre of the club. she tried to make her way past them, but quickly ended up tangled amongst them. they were all too drunk to notice her struggle, apart from one. he was at the centre of the crowd, clearing being celebrated for something, as they all cheered around him. she froze as his eyes focused on her, watching how she was wedged between two of what appeared to be his friends. he moved towards her, nudging his friends slightly out of the way so that he could stand next to her.
"are you okay?" he yelled over the music, looking down at natalia. his hand came to rest on her bicep, sending chills throughout her body.
brown eyes, natalia noticed. dark, deep brown eyes that she really could get lost in, and not in the stupid cliché way, his eyes were just the perfect brown. curls framed his face as well, matching his eyes with a slightly darker brown colour. he had stubble coating his face, which enhanced his jawline. god, he was attractive, natalia thought to herself. even in the dingy club lighting, she could still make out his tattoos that coated his large arms and hands.
"hello?" he spoke again, leaning down to be face to face with her. "can you hear me?"
natalia's eyes widened — she'd forgotten to respond. "yeah i'm fine thank you. sorry the musics just really loud."
he laughed, "yeah it is, isn't it? but i guess it is a club."
"i guess so," she nodded in agreement, "what are you and your friends so excited over?" natalia questioned.
dumbfounded was the look that crossed his face, and then he slightly smirked. though, before he could reply charles came crashing into natalia, tightly wrapping his arms around her.
"natty!" he exclaimed drunkenly, "did you watch the race?"
natalia looked over at the mystery man seeing his jaw clench, before replying. "yeah i did charlie, you did great!"
charles let go of natalia and turned to face the other man. "daniel! i see you met natalia." he smiled oblivious to the jealous look on daniel's face.
"natalia," he murmured to himself. "your girlfriend?"
the pair barked out a laugh, as natalia pretended to retch. "no, god no!" she wheezed.
daniel cocked an eyebrow clearly confused, so she continued to speak. "me and charles grew up together, our mothers are friends."
"ah," daniel nodded. "you're monegasque too?"
"cant you hear the accent?" she smiled.
shrugging he sipped the beer he was holding, "it's hard to hear much over the music."
"it is," natalia agreed. "technically i'm not monegasque though, just born and raised."
"monaco's a lovely place." daniel smiled fondly.
"yeah it is," she paused, "so, how do you two know eachother?"
charles was far too drunk to formulate a coherent response, but daniel replied, "i race as well, not for sauber though."
"oh really? who do you race for?" she questioned, as daniel moved them over to a table and sat down.
"red bull, we've been celebrating todays race." daniel looked extremely proud as he spoke.
"wow! who won?" natalia asked completely oblivious.
"me."
maybe it was the alcohol talking — even though her drink wasn't very strong — but something made her want to kiss daniel in that moment. the thought of him winning just suddenly made him so much more attractive to her.
natalia's eyes flickered down to his lips as she responded, "congratulations."
daniel not-so-subtly looked her up and down. "thank you."
suddenly, the music seemed to be a lot quieter, and the lights suddenly a lot less blinding. natalia shuddered in a breath as daniel leaned towards her, his eyes fluttering slowly closed. natalia shut her eyes as daniel's lips connected with hers. they were soft against hers, as he gently kissed her. his hand loosely held the base of her neck, as her hands threaded through his hair.
the kiss depended as natalia tugged on his curls slightly. daniel bit down on her lip, causing her to gasp into her mouth, giving him the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. they kissed for what felt like an eternity, before daniel pulled away.
"let's get out of here." he whispered, his hot breath fanning her face.
the next thing natalia knew, she was speeding down the streets of monaco, with daniel's hand clamped onto her thigh. he was driving extremely fast, as he took them back to his apartment. natalia was in for a wild night...
— authors note ! first chapter done!!! well technically second, but it's the first proper chapter. i hope you guys enjoyed, i did not :)
