When we first met [Charles Leclerc]

10 - Charles

I woke up with Caroline still lying next to me. We spent the night at my hotel room, not wanting to be parted after we got interrupted again. Again, nothing but a few kisses happened. It felt right for us, not jumping the process of getting to know each other properly. It's Friday which means it's free practice day and I couldn't be more happy and sad about that at the same time. I loved racing, it was my life but I wanted to spend every single second getting to know Caroline.

"Someone's up early I see" Caroline said rather sleepy. A small smile formed on my lips and I gave her a kiss on her forehead. She smiled back at me and cuddled into my arms. I could've stayed like this for hours but I had to get tonte track soon. Finally, it was time for racing. I was looking forward for this even tho Zandvoort was about to be drowned in orange.

"Are you nervous?" Caroline asked with a smirk on her lips.
"Hell yes, but it's gonna be fine. I'm always a bit nervous when I'm about to get into the car. I never show it" Care gave me an understanding nod before she moved herself on top of me leaving small kisses all over my neck.
"If you continue like that, I will miss practice and we won't be able to leave the bed for another couple of hours. Plus this would ruin our agreement on going slow, getting to know each other" I said, feeling him getting uncomfortably hard beneath Caroline.
"I hate how right you are" Caroline said while groaning. She gave me one last kiss and got up. She was only wearing one of my Ferrari shirts and god I never want to see her in anything else.
"How are the chances of you wearing my cap to the track today?" I asked with a smile on my face while Caroline got changed back into her dress.
"If you want me dead than sure, no problem but I'm gonna spend the day at Red Bull with Victoria and Max and I'm not sure the team is gonna let me in in if I wear a cap from their biggest rival" she admitted which sadly I had to agree on but it was only a matter of time until she was gonna be dressed in all Ferrari gear for her internship.

"Imma go and smoke on your balcony, wanna join?" Care asked with a smile on her face. I got up and put on my grey joggers to join her, spend a little more time before we were back in reality.
We made our way to the little balcony that came with my hotel room. The air was still cold but we knew it was not gonna be this way later for practice. Care lit her cigarette and I hugged her from behind.
"I honestly can't wait for the Race in Monaco! It's my home race and your first one as our intern. Double win I'd say" I smiled into her neck and I knew she was smiling as well.
"I finally got something to look forward to. The last couple of months were hard, especially because my dad lives so far away so this seems like the light at the end of the tunnel. I know it's gonna be a lot of work but I got something to focus on and not keep drowning in grief" Care paused for a second to take a draw from her cigarette.
"You gotta teach me a lot about Formula 1 before I start, sure as hell don't wanna make an idiot out of myself for not knowing anything about what you guys actually do" her statement made me chuckle. I turned her around so she would face me and put her cigarette besides.
"Don't worry about that, I'm sure Max can tell you all about that. Just join him next week in Spain too and you'll learn more than you might think. And all the other things you will learn during your internship" I paused to see her reaction. Fear and disbelief spread all over her face.
"I'm just kidding, at least partially. But I do think you should join Max, or me, next week. Prepare for your new task and if you have any questions in the meantime you can always call or FaceTime me" Caroline nodded along and smiled. We stayed on the balcony for a couple more minutes before Caroline left to meet with Victoria to watch the free practice sessions from RedBull. I tried to wrap my head around what was happening and where this was leading but came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. Not at this stage. We only met a couple of days ago, no one could say what the future might bring. Yes, I really liked her and spending time with her but we both had our package. My girlfriend just left me and Caroline was dealing with the loss of her mother. There are only two ways his could go: 1. We are the perfect match and will live happily ever after or 2. We destroy each other and drag the other one down.

~•~

„Morning Charles, how was your evening?" Seb asked as I entered the garage. He knew I was out with Caroline, Victoria and Daniel last night but knowing Sebs not existent interest in gossip he had no idea that we got busted.

"Let's just say that it was really eventful but very nice nonetheless. Caroline is going to be our new intern in the media department starting in Monaco" I said with a big grin on my face. See knew me long enough to know how happy I was.

"Nice, good to see you happy again. I feel like this is exactly what you need, just don't screw it up and drag her into your problems. I know your life isn't easy right now but it seems like she has a lot on her plate too and doesn't need more to worry about" by Sebs statement I knew that Pierre and Daniel must have talked to him. Normally he doesn't care that much about my personal life or is that informed about it.

"I really appreciate how concerned you all are about my intensions but how about you all just let me be. It might doesn't seem like it but I actually know what I'm doing. So if you don't mind" I made my way over to my Andrea, my performance, coach to start getting ready for the first free practice session of the weekend.

~•~

FP1 went good, the hard tyre seemed to be a good option for the race and the medium tyre also lasted way longer than we expected. I came P2 which is good but not that important in free practice since we focus on tyre wear for the race. FP2 is where it gets a bit more exciting because we test for Qualifying as well. I also came P2 in the session, so a good omen for the weekend. I needed a good qualifying spot ahead of all my rivals. It was only the fifth race of the season but it seemed to be a battle between Ferrari, RedBull and Mercedes for the championship, really difficult to say who was a head. By now Max, Lewis, Seb and me all had won a race, just waiting for Alex and Valtteri to win as well. This was going to be one of the most exciting season Formula One had seen in a long time and I was ready for it. I couldn't believe I was fighting for a championship, hell even fighting for wins regularly in only my third year in F1 and my second year with Ferrari. This is what I always dreamt about but the dream becoming true so soon was something else.

I promised my dad and also Jules that I would make it to Ferrari one day but how everything had turned out was surreal. I knew that they would be proud of me for everything I had achieved so far but I still had to make up for telling my dad that I singed with Ferrari when I didn't. This was my way of saying that I'm sorry for lying to him in his last moments. I struggeled a lot after I lost both my dad and my godfather, then also Anthoine in Spa but winning that same weekend was a change for me and my career. I knew it could be over any second but I love what I do, so I gave it my all. This is what I always worked towards, no turning my back on it now.

A/n: the bitch is back writing! I know it's been a while but I did a lot of planning in the meantime so be prepared! This story will go crazy real soon, so stay tuned