The Longest Lap | Charles Leclerc

2

Juliette may or may not have name-dropped to get us in faster than the average clubgoer. I definitely was not complaining. She grabbed my hand as we ventured deeper into the club. I could feel the music in my chest with each beat that dropped from the music.

It was no surprise that the club was filled with high-profile individuals and kids with way too much money, I and Juliette included. There was a lot to take in, and rightfully so it was Monaco. I pulled my card out of my bag handing it to Jules, "open a tab."

She smiled, "I could kiss you!"

I waved her towards the bar, calling out, "just get me a drink!"

I moved my hips to the sound of the music as I awaited Juliette's return. When she finally did she had my card in between her teeth and two drinks in each of her hands. I opened my bag for her to drop the card in, "what on earth?"

When her mouth was free she handed me two drinks, "double fisting. Makes life easier."

I laughed at her, "you're insane."

She pointed to the dance floor, "let's go."

I took a long sip of my drink and followed her. We easily made our way to where we wanted to be. Close to the DJ, free from annoyance. Or so we would hope.

I was having way more fun than I would ever admit to Jules. Maybe it was the vodka pumping through me but I felt alive. And not that I don't always feel alive, because I do. But I had this rush that I wasn't as familiar with. We were dancing like our lives depended on it. And I offered to get us new drinks when we'd finished the two we already had. Juliette insisted she come with.

We squirmed our way off the dance floor and back to the bar. We ordered two rounds of shots for good measure and another vodka soda. As the vodka made its way down my throat I wished to not end up with my face in the ground. I was drunk now though, to no surprise, I just hoped I didn't look like an idiot.

We found ourselves wandering a bit now. Trying to scope out the scene, for what? Who knows. I posted a few things to my Instagram story, I needed to double-check my spelling, however. Juliette was drunker than me, without a doubt. She grabbed my arm, "I have to pee."

"Okay, but I'm not going in. You know I hate it."

She knew better than to argue with me, "fine."

Juliette was always one step ahead of everything else. She somehow managed to find a bathroom with a smaller line that surely we were not supposed to be using but she insisted it was fine. When she got in I waited for her with my straw in my mouth practically downing my drink. I was scrolling on my phone and started pacing without even realizing it.

All of a sudden I lost my balance, not on my account, well perhaps mine but my body collided with someone. My phone hit the ground and my reaction time was concerningly slow. I bent down to reach for my phone but the figure I bumped into reached it first. I looked up and my eyes met with a pair of gorgeous green eyes. The nameless man reached his hand out to me and I took it as he helped me up.

I had a much better look at him now, piercing eyes, dimpled cheeks, chiseled jaw, soft smile, and just the right amount of facial hair. God, he was gorgeous. Neither of us said anything for a moment, we just started at one another. He started to speak, French. Fuck. Rather than allow him to go on, I interrupted him, "sorry, I don't-"

He cut me off now, "speak French."

I smiled now, fiddling with the straw in my cup, "I'm sorry, about that. The bumping into you."

He shook his head, "nonsense, my apologies."

His accent was everything. I shook my head now too, "no, I wasn't paying attention. It was my bad."