Love in thirds

7.1 Charles & Sofia

You're walking home on Wednesday. It's been two weeks since you've last seen Charles' face and it hurt more than you expected. He always texted you when he'd board and when he had landed, and sometimes something about what happened at the races in Spa and Zandvoort, but you haven't called or facetimed once. The tickets he booked are for tomorrow afternoon, and you're waiting for him to tell you that he would like to see you.

It surprised you how much you missed him, you missed him too when he wasn't around during the past months, but you would call and facetime then. Now your only way of seeing him is looking at social media or the tv, and it's not the same, because he's not talking to you, but to the fans or interviewers. You sigh while walking into your apartment. Your packed bag is standing in the hallway already, and it's tempting to unpack it and accept that he doesn't want to see you this race weekend. The small bit of hope in you decides against it, and you walk towards the kitchen to see what you have in the fridge to make dinner.

It's quite late already when your phone pings, you're just done with getting ready for bed and you sigh while walking towards it. It's a text message from Charles saying that he wants to call you, and if you're okay with that. Instead of replying you call him yourself, anxiously fiddling with the hem of the shirt that you're wearing. "Bonne nuit" you tear up when you hear his voice before replying with a shaky "boa noite." It's silent for a second before your screen shows a facetime request, and you accept it quickly.

"Hi" he breaths, and you smile nervously, "hey, shouldn't you be asleep already? It's an early day again tomorrow, right?" He nods, clearing his throat before answering that he's going to sleep soon. "I have to ask you something first" you hum while looking at his sleepy face that you missed so much. "Do you want to come to Italy tomorrow?" You look at the screen with wide eyes, "do you want me to come?" he nods anxiously, and you smile a little brighter, "then I would love to come." He nods, smiling slightly before looking away, "I want to talk," your happy face immediately grows upset again, "no, I mean. I think it will be a good talk? I hope at least. And uhm, I miss you" he whispers the last part, and your eyes tear up again.

"I miss you too. I packed my bag already, so I'll leave on time tomorrow. The flight is at 2PM right? So, I'll be there at the start of the evening" he hums, smiling slightly before yawning. "Sorry, I'm really tired. I haven't been sleeping well the last few weeks" you nod worriedly, "I'll let you sleep now. We'll see each other tomorrow. I will text you when I board and when I land." He smiles, "I can't wait to see you again, bonne nuit chérie" you smile at the nickname before telling him that you can't wait to see him either, and that he should sleep well. For the first time in two weeks, you fall asleep immediately, dreaming of a happy and smiling Charles.

It's past 5PM when you finally step out of the airport in Italy. There was a woman in front of you making a fuzz about something while you were waiting at the security gates, so you had to try and stay patient. That was quite hard, considering the fact that your hopefully-still-boyfriend was waiting for you outside. You look around for a Ferrari, since Charles texted you a photo of the red car. So much for being cautious in public. You walk a bit to your left and spot him, and you smile while walking towards the car.

He looks up when he sees you approach, and he smiles before putting his mask and sunglasses on his face and steps out. "Bonjour! You look pretty" he says before wrapping his arms around you. He smells heavenly, and his hands softly rub your back while you melt into his embrace. "You look as handsome as ever" you sigh out, and he chuckles. "Let me put your bag in the car and then we can go. I ordered some food, so we'll pick that up on the way to the hotel. I would like to do the serious talking when we get back so we can hopefully enjoy the rest of the weekend together" he looks at you nervously, but you nod, softly squeezing his hand before sitting down in the car.

You take a quick shower after arriving at the hotel, Charles wanted to share the room with you, so you figure that he won't be breaking up with you anytime soon. You hope, at least, because being away from him has made you realise that you're way more in love with him then you initially thought. Which is a good thing, unless he doesn't feel the same way. You sigh at your thoughts, shaking your head while putting some fresh lounge clothes on before walking towards the little dining area of the hotel room.

Charles smiles when he sees you walking towards him, extending his hand to intertwine your fingers before pulling you into a hug. "I missed having you around, come sit, let's eat before we talk" he says while pressing his face into your hair and you chuckle before nodding. Dinner is spent with chatting about the past two weeks, without touching the subject that's between you like a brick wall. When you're finished and everything is cleaned up you move towards the couch, looking at the view that the hotel room gives.

"So, I will just tell you what I thought about the last two weeks, and then you can tell me what you think of that, okay?" he says while rubbing circles on your knee. You nod, nervously fiddling with your fingers while you look at him. "So, I spent the last two weeks thinking about how I would see my future. I think I told you before that I never really thought about children that seriously in the first place. I just figured that I'd probably have them and that would be fun" he takes a pause to breath and squeezes your thigh while intertwining your other hand with his, you smile at him, and he smiles back reassuringly. "So, I was thinking about it, and I talked about it with a few of the guys here, since they're also my friends, and then I talked about it some more with my mom and my brothers and I realised something."

He looks at you, searching your face for something before continuing, "I realised that I love children because I love their energy, you know? I love to be around kids, they're so fun and energetic, and they want to learn so much all the time. But I also realised that I don't really want my own kids, I just like being around them. I have friends and family with kids, the guys here might have their own families soon and I can be around their children. So, what I'm trying to say is that not having kids is not a problem for me." You look at him with a little uncertainty and Charles smiles at you.

"I really thought this through, as long as you don't mind babysitting, I'm fine with not having kids. I do want pets though, not immediately but if we live together someday..." he trails off and you smile at him when you finally register what he's saying. "If you ever feel differently, you should tell me though. But if you are sure, then I won't mind babysitting and I would love to have pets with you in the future."

His eyes shine when he looks into yours before his gaze travels towards your lips. He cups your cheeks in his hands, rubbing his thumb over them before leaning in, softly brushing his lips over yours before kissing you deeply. When you breathlessly pull away you feel Charles wipe a tear away that escaped your eye, and you smile when you see that his eyes are also watery. "I missed you so much, I slept horrible the last few weeks because I wanted to talk to you but also realised that we both needed to think" he says with his voice cracking. You nod, softly kissing him again while playing with his hair.

"I realised how in love I am with you; I knew I was, but I didn't realise it was to this extent. I'm really happy to be here with you again now" you say softly, and he smiles brightly when he looks into your eyes. He places small pecks on your lips before whispering "I love you" shyly. You feel like your heart might burst from the love you feel before whispering it back, softly kissing him again.

You fall asleep with a smile on your face later that night, tangled in each other's embraces, happily in love.