Second Lap

Smooth Operator

Y/N's POV - Tuesday 22nd, right before Zandvoort

             Despite this week not being just any race week, but the first one after summer break, Carlos had insisted we do at least one activity as a family before Summer ended. After a lot of discussion, we settled on spending the day at the beach at Castello di Lerici. The 2h drive was the ideal duration for driving with a toddler. Since I loved this kind of trip, I insisted on packing our picnic and later we would all have dinner at Carlos.

              As soon as we arrived at Larici, Ben practically flew out of the car in order to get to the water, but Carlos' reflexes proved valuable as he managed to grab Ben before any accidents happened. I took this opportunity to slather Ben in sunscreen, much to his disapproval.

''Carlos,'', I asked, ''could you please help me put sunscreen on my back?''

''Sure.'', he gladly complied.

              I handed him the sunscreen and he soon started lathering it. His firm touch on my back felt amazing. His hands lingered on my back a little longer than required for him to put on some sunscreen, but I couldn't find the courage to complain. Once he was done, he asked me to do the same to him and I felt the heat rising to my face.

''Don't pretend you're not going to enjoy it, Leclerc.'', he whispered in my ear, his warm breath causing my heart to beat a little faster. Smooth, Carlos, smooth.

            I grabbed the sunscreen from his hand and started applying it on his back. He wasn't wrong... I was enjoying it. Those sculpted muscles were really tempting. Before I got carried away, I suggested we all went swimming, much to Ben's delight. The three of us splashing around all morning long, having lots of fun. Almost as if we were a real family...

           Lunchtime came around and I set up our picnic while the boys played in the water a little longer. I bought a little bit of everything and Carlos had even brought tiramisù from some fancy bakery. Once done, I called them over.

''Ben, why don't we splash your mother with our hair?'', Carlos suggested.

''Yes!!!'', he squealed.

''No!!!!!!'', I exclaimed as they both tackled me on the towel and started splashing me.

              Carlos was a fit man, but somehow his weight on top of me felt heavenly, reminding me of when we first met. However, our son was with us and it was definitely not the time or place to reminisce about this. After a few minutes of laughter, we finally settled down and started eating. I could see they were both happy with what I had chosen and it really warmed my heart. By dessert, I was already full, but I hadn't tasted the tiramisù Carlos brought.

''Come on, have a bite.''

''No... I'm so full.''

''But it's pistacchio, I know you like it.'', he insisted.

''How do you know I like pistachios?!?'', I asked, clearly surprised.

''You, uhm, you mentioned it when we met... the ice cream, remember?'', he said, scratching the back of his head.

''I, uh, I...''

''Don't be stubborn. Try it.''

''Fine.'', I said as I grabbed a spoon to try it.

              Carlos was right, it was good. So good that I had some on my cheek. Before I knew it, Carlos leaned towards me and wiped it off, his thumb igniting a trail of burning sensation on my cheek. Unfortunately, it was over as fast as it had started. I quickly decided to change the subject and suggested we rest a little and then visited the famous castle in town before heading back to Carlos'.

             After visiting the castle and stopping by some local fare, where Carlos even won me a teddy bear, we decided it was finally time to head back. The silence on the drive back was only broken by the music on the radio playing softly: Ben had fallen asleep by the first curve of the road and Carlos and I didn't speak to each other.

Carlos' POV

           We finally arrived at my place and I woke up Ben, before removing him from his seat, so that he could eat dinner with us and still sleep the rest of the night. As we got inside, Ben ran to his room to play and Via and I went to the kitchen to finish the last details of the dinner I had prepared. As we did so, we started making some small talk. We asked each other some simple and silly questions... just like we had done when we first met. At some point, she started talking about her career and all I could do was stare at her and smile. Wow, she's such a cutie, especially when she talks so fervently about things she's so passionate about... she's making it hard for me to not kiss her.

''Via, when was your first kiss?'', I blurted out before I realized what I was saying.

''For real?''

''Yeah...''

''Uh, well, I wasn't expecting that question, especially from you." she chuckled softly, ''It was, uh, it was you actually.''

''Me?!? Are you serious?''

''Yes, I wouldn't lie about this, not to you.''

''I was your first- why didn't you tell me that night?''

''I don't know...'', she replied, her eyes looking at her feet.

''Then that means I was also your f-''

She nodded.

''I was- I probably hurt you! You should have told me. I took y-'', I choked out as I raked my hands through my hair.

''Carlos, I chose to sleep with you and I don't regret that decision. I'm glad it was with someone like you and not some obnoxious guy out there. Plus, we wouldn't have Ben if I hadn't made that decision.'', she said as she placed (???) her hand on my forearm.

''No, we wouldn't...'', I sighed, ''And I can't imagine my life without him.''

''You and me both...''

''Uh, why don't I go get Ben so we can eat?''

''That be great.''

            Dinner went on smoothly, but I couldn't take Via's revelation out of my mind. I was her first... why?!? It should have been someone else, someone who would have stayed. We all said our goodbyes and she went back to her place with a very sleepy Ben. Later that night, when I was already in bed, I decided to text Via. I wasn't there for her then, but I could be now.

Via, I had an amazing day today. Thank you for agreeing to it and for bringing that amazing picnic.

My pleasure.

I'd just like to let you know that you can call or text me whenever you want... even if you don't have a reason to.

Thank you, I really appreciate it...