La Rosa Gialla

Chapter 27

March 2024

The race weekend in Melbourne did not start auspiciously for Ferrari. Carlos was unfortunately involved in a collision between Stroll and Ocon during the last free practice and although the damage to the car was not catastrophic, the deadline for repairs before qualifying was a gallows one. The garage was buzzing like a beehive and all the mechanics were going at 110% to get the #55 car fixed in time. I tried to be useful by staying out of the way, not getting in anyone's way and not distracting Charles.

There were still a few hours left until qualifying, when I decided to leave the safety of Ferrari's facilities and set out to look around the paddock. It seemed that apart from Ferrari, only the Alpine and Aston Martin mechanics were working. Both teams had much more damage to their cars than mine, and it was not certain whether they would even be able to get their machines working again. I looked at the mechanics in blue and pink overalls who were running around in panic when I rather clumsily bumped into something that was moving towards me at high speed. "Ouch!" we shouted at the same time. I raised my head and looked at the person standing against the bright sun. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," I apologized to probably the prettiest girl I've ever seen. She had deep brown eyes, long, wavy, shiny hair, and her outfit said she knew a lot more about fashion than I did. I stood there in washed out jeans, worn white sneakers and, of course, a Ferrari team T-shirt. "Don't worry about it, I wasn't paying attention," she smiled at me and it was clear to me that she must be a girlfriend of one of the drivers. And sure she was. Within moments, Pierre Gasly rushed up and wrapped his arms around his lady's waist. He whispered something lovingly in her ear and then looked at me. "Do we know each other?" he turned his head to the side and looked thoughtful. I frowned a bit and took a breath to tell him no, but he was faster.

"Of course. You're Adriana, aren't you?"

"How...?"

"You are all Charles talks about. I don't know what you're doing with him, but I really can't take it anymore. Yesterday I forced him to finally show me your photo..."

"I'm Adri," I interrupted his mumbling, even though the mention of Charles telling his friends about me gave me a pleasant flutter in my stomach, and I held out my hand to him. "Pierre," he replied, followed by two kisses on the cheek. Frenchman. "And this is Kika, my girlfriend."

"So you are the famous Adri. Charles Leclerc's mysterious girlfriend," Kika grinned at me when Pierre left us again after a while. "I am officially here as a physiotherapist. I don't know if your designation is completely accurate," I hesitated. "Physiotherapist? That is great. At least you have a job here. I don't know what to do half the time," she completely ignored the second half of my remark.

"How did you two get together?"

"It's pretty fresh. Actually, I don't even know if I can say that we..." I drew quotation marks in the air "...got together."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't want to be nosey. It's none of my bussiness. It's just that Pedro mentioned that Charles is now like a teenager in love."

I decided to move past Charles being a lovesick teenager and instead smirked, "Pedro?"

Kika shrugged, "Just a nickname."

I decided to betray my own team and after changing into neutral colors I followed Kika to what looked like a VIP club. We watched qualifying on big screens with live commentary, and if I went out on the balcony, I would have a view directly onto the pit lane. Pierre did not even pass the first part of the qualifying and Kika did not hide her indignation. "You're lucky Ferrari is doing well this year and you don't have to experience this disappointment," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and sinking deeper into the comfortable couch. I smiled reassuringly at her and then turned my gaze back to the screen. Carlos won qualifying, Lando Norris was second and Charles finished third.

"You don't look very happy," I said to Charlie when he arrived at my room that evening. He shrugged and took a bottle of still water from the minibar. "It could have been better," he smirked as he sat down next to me on the bed. "But just a little," I smiled at him and stroked his cheek. "Where were you anyway? I was looking for you," he asked.

"I was with Kika."

"You've found yourself a friend?" he grinned and I elbowed him. He didn't have to come here because of verbal teasing. I waited for him to take a sip of his water, then took the bottle from his hand and placed it on the table in front of us. Before he could ask what I was doing, I pressed my lips to his. God, how I've missed this all day.

He entwined his fingers in my hair and held me so I couldn't pull away even an inch. I felt that familiar tingling all over my body again and I wasn't sure if I would ever get tired of the feeling. I put my hands under his shirt and ran my fingers down his back. Immediately, I felt goosebumps creep up on his skin. I smiled in satisfaction and pulled away a little so I could look him in the eye. They shone as if the light of a million stars was reflected in them, and I was sure that mine shone exactly the same. "Love, love of my life," flashed through my head.