Recipe for Love

Chapter 25

Just so you know, my exam period started, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to post regularly. So please bear with me :)
Thank you for reading, voting, and commenting, it means a lot <3
-B.

Charles

Finally, a podium. I could almost hear the thump as a huge stone fell from my heart as I crossed the finish line. In addition, Lewis finished right behind me, so at least it was confirmed that the last upgrade was a step in the right direction and that the season is not completely going to shit. Standing on the podium again, albeit on the lowest step, was like a caress to my soul.

From Bahrain, we moved straight to Jeddah, where our improvement was confirmed again. I finished second and Lewis finished third and we were able to fly home with a clear head and complete peace of mind. Well, I won't lie. It'd be more peaceful if I didn't have to spend nearly eight hours on the same plane with Lewis, but since we were flying to the same destination, I'd look like an idiot if I turned down his invitation. Most of the flight was filled with awkward silence because we had already discussed the race and there were no other common topics. Well, the Anna theme could've come up, but I still didn't know if Lewis knew about her jerk of a boyfriend, so I stuck my headphones in and slept the rest of the flight.

Immediately after landing, I resisted the temptation to go to the restaurant and explain to Anna that Gabriele was absolutely not the right fit for her, but firstly, I didn't want to get punched by him and secondly, maybe I was mistaken, and he was actually a nice and loving guy. Even though, let's not lie to ourselves, he probably wasn't. Instead, I picked up Joris at the airport toilets and we headed to my apartment together.

The next few days were filled with training with Andrea and resting with Joris, which on the one hand suited me, but on the other hand, was terribly boring. I wanted more and more to see Anna, but at the same time to do it as discreetly as possible so as not to cause her problems.

"Would it be awkward to invite Lewis and Anna to dinner?" I blurted out one day. Joris turned to me, startled, and then narrowed his eyes as if to see if I was serious.
"You want to cook?" he asked me.
"No, you will cook," I explained to him, because of the two of us he was definitely the better cook. Not by much, but he was better. Jo frowned but finally nodded in agreement.
"Under what pretext do you want to invite them? Do you want to propose to her or what?"
"You're bursting with wit today," I snorted. "It will be purely about strengthening the relationship with a teammate."
"Yeah, sure," he chuckled. "Then call him. And put it on speaker, I want to hear it." Joris scowled mischievously, but I already had Lewis's number ready and all I had to do was call. Desperate people do desperate things.

"Hello?" came uncertainly from the phone. I had never called Lewis before, and neither had he called me, so I can only imagine how surprised he was when my name popped up on his phone screen.
"Hello. I was wondering if you and Anna would like to come to dinner tomorrow. Long time no see," I mumbled.
"You're right, three days is a long time," Lewis chuckled, Jo beside me holding back a laugh. I punched him in the shoulder and took a deep breath to stop myself from spouting more stupidity.
"I thought it would be nice to meet outside the garages because..."
"We'll be there at seven, is it okay?"
"Yeah, great. I'll look forward to it," I screamed and hung up.
"Every time I think you can't get any more lame, you surprise me again and again," Joris chuckled next to me.

Ten minutes to seven, all the food was ready, the table was set, me and Joris dressed in decent, and above all, clean clothes, and my palms were sweating as if I was in life danger, and not expecting dinner with a teammate and his niece. At exactly seven the bell rang, and I rushed to the door to open it with a charming smile. I said a quick hello to Lewis and then turned to Anna who was the only reason I had organized this stupid dinner. She stood there dressed in a pretty black dress with long sleeves, her hair loose and falling in soft waves over her shoulders, her big brown eyes staring into me with full force. Her floral perfume whizzed pleasantly in my nose. "Come in," I smiled at her, but she just silently walked past me to stand next to her uncle. We're off to a good start, I thought.