sweet escape [c.l.]

chapter twenty one

The sun had barely risen when the streets of Monaco began to buzz with the anticipation of the upcoming Grand Prix weekend. As Charles woke up he turned over in bed to see Rory already awake, her eyes sparkling with excitement and a hint of nerves.

"Good morning, mon amour," Charles murmured, kissing her forehead gently.

"Morning," Rory reached out and kissed his cheek. "Ready for the weekend?"

Charles smiled, his heart fluttering with a mix of anticipation and anxiety. "As ready as I'll ever be. This is my home race. It means so much."

Rory nodded, understanding the weight of his words. "Yes, it does. But it will be okay."

"You think so?"

"I know so," she sat on his lap. "And you know why?" he shook his head, his hands going to rest on her waist. "Because you have been working your ass off to win this weekend and your efforts are going to be compensated."

Charles smiled at her, before reaching for her neck and pulling her down for a kiss.

After a quick breakfast, they headed to the paddock. Since Rory was still taking over for Alejandro, she could spend this whole weekend at Ferrari. The energy was electric, with teams and fans alike buzzing with excitement. Charles squeezed Rory's hand as they walked through the sea of red Ferrari fans, his eyes scanning the crowd for familiar faces.

They spent the morning in the Ferrari hospitality mingling with team members, sponsors and guests. Rory couldn't help but feel a sense of pride watching Charles interact with everyone. This was his world and she was glad she could be part of it.

As the day progressed, they moved to the garage for the first practice session. Rory stood close to the pit wall, her eyes glued to the screen showing the on-board footage from Charles' car. She could feel the determination in his eyes as he navigated the tight corners of the Monte Carlo circuit with precision and speed.

During the break between the first practice session and the second, Charles walked over to her, removing his helmet and wiping the sweat from his brow. "How's it looking from out here?" he asked, eyes glinting with excitement.

Rory smiled, handing him a bottle of water. "You're doing great, Charlie. Keep it up."

Charles smiled back and gave her a quick kiss before running off for practice 2.

As the day comes to an end, Charles and Rory meet with his mother and brother for a quiet dinner at a restaurant overlooking the harbor. The night was warm, and the city lights reflected off the calm waters, creating a serene backdrop.

"I remember the first time I watched the Monaco Grand Prix with Matteo," Rory said, her voice soft and the three pairs of eyes turning to her. "I was just a kid, but I was mesmerized. And now, here I am."

Charles took her hand, his thumb brushing over the knuckles. "And now here you are."

"Is that why you decided to become a sports doctor?" Pascale asked.

"In a way. Matteo always loved watching every kind of sport, and me as the little sister who wanted to be next to him, was always around which ended up with me watching it all the time."

"And I bet the hot athletes helped," Arthur said laughing, earning a slap on the back of the head by Pascale.

"Behave." his mother warned him.

The four of them spent the rest of dinner just talking about nothing and everything and ended the night with a stroll through the streets of Monaco, the atmosphere buzzing with anticipation of the race. While Pascale and Arthur continued the walk, Charles and Rory stopped at a spot overlooking the track, where Charles wrapped his arms around Rory.

"I have a good feeling about this weekend." she said softly, after a little bit of silence.

"Yeah?" He rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Yeah," she turned on his embrace, "I think that this weekend is going to be amazing and that you will be amazing. No more bad luck."

Charles' smile faltered a bit. "I don't know. This is Monaco, basically the whole weekend will be decided by tomorrow's qualifying."

"In which you will be amazing, okay? Trust yourself and your abilities."

The second day of this race weekend dawned with a palpable sense of anticipation. Everyone knew today was a big day. The pressure was in the air.

Charles spent the morning in meeting with his engineers, discussing strategy and making last-minute adjustments to the car. Rory, to ease herself of the nerves, went to spend the morning with Kika. Quickly making her way to the Ferrari garage as the qualifying session approached.

When she got there, Charles was in his race suit, helmet in his hands and sat down trying to calm his nerves.

She approached him softly and knelt down in front of him. "Hey."

"Hey, where were you?"

"With Kika," Charles just nodded, not really looking at her. "You got this," she said, standing up and taking his face in her hands. "You've worked hard to earn this moment."

Charles nodded, his eyes meeting hers. "I know. But I'm still scared."

"It's normal, amour." she leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Now, go out there and show them what a Leclerc is made of."

The first qualifying session began, and Charles immediately set competitive lap times. Rory watched, along with the rest of his team, the tension in the garage increasing with each passing second.

The first two sessions went out without any incidents. But the third was the one that was going to determine everything.

The screens lit up with green and purple sectors as Charles pushed the car to its limits. The whole garage was holding their breath as he crossed the line, the time flashing on the screen indicating that he was in provisional pole.

The final minutes of the session felt like ours, every driver trying their best, lap after lap, to beat Charles' time. But as the clock counted down to zero, it was clear - Charles had secured pole position.

The garage erupted in cheers, and Rory felt a wave of relief and pride wash over her. Charles climbed out of the car, his face flushed with exhilaration. He spotted Rory and ran over, lifting her off the ground in a tight embrace.

"I did it, Rory," he said, his voice filled with emotion. "I'm starting from the front."

Rory hugged him tightly, her own eyes shining with tears of joy. "You were amazing, Charles. I knew you could do it."

"Thank you," he said as he settled her on the ground.

"For what? I was just here cheering, you were the one who did all the work Mister Superstar."

Charles laughed and then kissed Rory putting all of his happiness into that kiss.