Say It's Me ☾ Charles Leclerc

49 | Do you trust me?

♪
Troye Sivan - Angel Baby:
'I just wanna live in this moment forever 'cause I'm afraid that living couldn't get any better. Started giving up on the word "forever" 'til you gave up heaven so we could be together'

It was a whirlwind after the fashion show. Noelle and Sophie had been speaking to a lot of reporters, photographers, store ambassadors and other important people for about an hour and a half now. Not having eaten all day long made Noelle feel slightly dizzy and she needed to step out of the room for a moment. While she was carefully picking up a few little snacks from the beautifully filled food table, she felt someone snake their arm around her waist and bury their face into her neck. "Hey, Charles.." She snickered, knowing exactly who would be hugging her so tightly and not to mention, she recognized his cologne. "Hi, princesse". He whispered, inhaling her scent deeply while Noelle tried to turn around in his embrace. "I'm so proud of you". His voice sounded even softer now, while her blue eyes found his bright green ones, immediately feeling the butterflies storm across her stomach again.

She felt a little shy as being the center of attention was not something she enjoyed at all and she had gotten so many compliments already today, that this one seemed to be the last one Noelle could take. "I just saw the last few guests leave". Charles said after a few moments of silence, giving Noelle time to let the blush on her cheeks fade away. "I was just in here to grab some food, I haven't eaten all day". She answered, a small chuckle leaving her mouth when her belly seemed to rumble at the perfect time. "Well, I wanted to take you somewhere. Do you have a lot to do still?" Charles asked while he lifted his fingers to tuck the loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't think so, Sophie hired some people to help us clean up after the show and last time I checked, it was nearly finished. All we need to do is pick up the clothes and take them back to the gallery".

Charles nodded as he stole one of the pastries off Noelle's plate, taking a bite cheekily before holding it up to her mouth for her to take one as well.  "Okay, let's find Sophie and Gabriel and see if it's okay for us to leave. I want to show you something". He said before putting the plate of snacks down on the food table again and lacing his fingers with Noelle's. They walked back to the main hall where the main lights were flicked on and the chairs were being cleared away. Noelle spotted Sophie in the corner, talking to the DJ and made her way over there, her boyfriend following behind. "Hey Soph. Is there anything else we need to do?" She asked as Sophie had been the one to organize most of this event while Noelle herself had been occupied working on the clothing pieces. "No, I was just finishing up my round of giving all the staff the gift that you bought them. Gabriel is loading the clothes in his car and then we can go". She smiled, but Noelle could see she was tired as well.

"Okay, good. Charles said he wanted to take me somewhere, so if it's okay with you, I'm heading off". Noelle said, trying to suppress the yawn that traveled up her throat. "Yeah, sure. We're all done here! Thank you, Elle, for everything. I'm so proud of you and of us for achieving this". Sophie said while gesturing around the hall. "I have you to thank for that, Soph. You organized the best event I could have imagined". Noelle smiled at her best friend before pulling her into her embrace. "I will see you on Monday, okay? We'll assess the damage to our free time in the next couple of months then". The girls giggled before they let go, with Sophie waving goodbye to Charles before they made their way out of the hall. But when Noelle wanted to walk to the exit of the hotel the event was being held at, Charles pulled her arm gently to make her spin around in front of him.

He had grabbed the bouquet she saw him with earlier from somewhere again, as if he could just magically make it appear and he chuckled when he saw Noelle frown a bit. "I left them in the hall earlier. Here, these are for you". He whispered when he handed over the gorgeous bouquet to her. "You shouldn't have, Charles.." Noelle said, taking in all the colors of the flowers, still in awe of how well they went with their collection. "Well, I did and there is more. Do you trust me?" Charles asked while his hand stroked the small of her back gently. Noelle looked up through her eyelashes, feeling the emotions well up again. She had barely slept the previous night and all the nice things everyone said to her, made her on the verge of tears all day. But here, looking into her boyfriend's eyes, she knew he would help her relax. "With my life". Noelle answered him before she gently pecked his lips.