MOTH TO A FLAME ☆ CARLOS SAINZ JR

xiii. malibu

MALIBU, CALIFORNIA
AUGUST 2019

song of the chapter:
malibu - the driver era

     The afternoon sun was blazing through the soft blue skies, kissing the Spaniard softly with its rays and bronzing her skin. Sofía had been lounging on the balcony of her rented apartment for the past hour, lost in the twisted, cursive ink spanning across her song book as she gazed out at the breathtaking view of the Malibu coastline stretching out before her.

As the gentle breeze played with her hair and the sound of the waves crashing filled the air, her mind was subconsciously counting down the minutes till Carlos would wake up. Despite the distance that now separated them, their relationship remained as strong as ever, each moment apart only serving to deepen their love.

In the midst of her thoughts, she found herself flipping onto a new page in her song book and writing all that had come to mind. It had felt as though ever since she had started seeing Carlos, her creativity was on a new level. He inspired her to fully express her emotions, more specifically, her emotions towards him and how he made her feel.

It was an hour later, with two verses fully finished and a title of 'The 1' at the top center of the page, when her phone rang. Staring back at her was a photo of her and Carlos at the Sagrada Familia from a few months ago; shockingly neither of them had attempted to be tourists in their own country before and this was their first attempt at doing so.

Sofía quickly shuts her song book and grabs her phone, thumb quickly swiping across the screen to answer the call. She had to slightly squint to see her phone screen properly in the blazing sun, her eyes struggling to focus on the sight of her boyfriends face snuggled into his blue duvet.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Sofía giggles, watching him stretch his arms over his head.

Carlos laughs lightly, shifting upwards onto his pillow. "Fía, it's almost ten at night."

"Semantics, amor!" she waved him off, moving to sit under the awning so they could see each other more clearly. "How was your dinner with the team?"

"It was good! I might have ate a bit too much though."

Sofía chuckles, shaking her head. "You and your insatiable appetite. I swear, you could put away an entire buffet on your own."

"Hey, blame it on all the good food in these countries." Carlos replies with a playful grin. "Speaking of dinner, what did you end up having yesterday?"

"I ordered in some Mexican," Sofía answers, shrugging. "Nothing too exciting. I didn't really feel like cooking."

Carlos remarks, nodding approvingly. "I think I need to start eating more salads myself. Can't be indulging in pasta and pizza all the time."

"You're not so bad," Sofía teases, "You've got those racing driver muscles to maintain, after all."

Carlos laughs, "Yeah, they won't stay looking like this if I keep indulging in carbs every day."

"Speaking of racing," Sofía says, her tone growing slightly more serious, "how's the car feeling now? Has it gotten any better?"

Carlos's expression shifts, his smile fading slightly. "It's been a bit of a mixed situation, to be honest. I want to say the car's doing better, but we've had some bad luck I guess."

"At least today went well though. P5 is a big deal, you know!" Sofía says excitedly, "I know you and the team will bounce back. You always do."

Carlos smiles at her words, a warmth spreading through his chest. "Thanks, Fía. I appreciate your confidence in me."