Not That Into You: a Carlos Sainz fanfic

Two

Carlos

"It's just an art gallery Carlos it's not the Met Gala," Carlos heard his teammate tease from
his comfortable perch on the couch. "Seriously mate," Charles chuckled, "It's just a suit, how long do you take to get dressed?" he asked as Carlos continued fixing his tie. He made sure he did it extra slow just to annoy Charles even more.

"You're so impatient Charles," Carlos said as he finally walked out of his bathroom, he stretched his hands out, "What do you think?"

Charles cocked his head to the side, "Now twirl, I need to see everything,"

Carlos obliged.

The two were grinning when Carlos stopped, "You look okay," Charles said, "Not as amazing as I do," he said with a wink. Carlos rolled his eyes at him, "yeah yeah whatever you say Lord Perceval," he mocked as he fixed his tie again. For some reason the knot was too tight but any amount of tugging and loosening wasn't doing him any favors. Finally deciding to just leave it as it was, Carlos grabbed his coat and followed Charles out of the room. Charles was already bounding down the stairs of his apartment and Carlos had to hurry to catch up with him. He sensed Charles's enthusiasm to attend one of Alexandra's first galleries, they had been dating for quite some time and this was one of the very few events where Charles would be seen in public with her.

The thought of going under the glare of all the cameras made Carlos wince as he got into Charles's car. He also felt a little uneasy seeing Charles take the wheel but he convinced himself that his teammate wouldn't be driving like a maniac during the evening traffic hours.

They spent the car ride discussing possible driver contracts and the new grid for the 2024 season. Both agreed that it was nice to see some of the drivers like Danny and Mick come back on track although they didn't share the same opinion when it came to certain driver pairings.

"All I'm saying is that Ashton Martin shouldn't have gone with that option," Carlos said as Charles drove up to the venue. Already a lot of photographers and news people had gathered outside, probably tipped by those who spotted Carlos and Charles during their drive here. Charles stared at the crowd waiting outside and sighed, "Are you ready?" he asked Carlos as he parked his car in the front and opened the door. Carlos only shrugged before he got out and was immediately swarmed by both photographers and bodyguards.

After posing for a few pictures with Charles, Carlos left him and walked inside to the venue. He could see Alexandra's friend, a leggy blonde in a bright silver dress- glide across the gallery like she owned it. That must be Diane Davis, he thought to himself as he made his way to a waiter who was holding a tray of champagne. Taking a glass he stopped to survey a few of the pieces on display. From the vivid colors and bold strokes that danced across the canvas, Carlos guessed that it was some form of abstract art. This was Diane's work, as Alexandra was into a more Realism/ classical style. He must be on her side of the gallery. He could feel the cameras flashing as he inspected the art, he tried his best to ignore it.

"Mate I almost got mobbed out there," it was Charles who had a flute of Champagne gripped firmly in his hand, "How did you manage to slip away?" He asked.

Carlos was cut off when he heard Alexandra call out Charles's name. She was a quiet and shy person. Always so graceful and polite. His mind immediately flashed back to Isa and he downed his glass in an instant. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of his ex girlfriend.

"Carlos!" it was Alexandra. She was beaming as she came up to him and embraced him in a quick hug. "I'm so glad you could make it," she said.

"Ah darling is this your boyfriend?" Diane Davis had joined in on their little trio. How she had managed to teleport herself from one end of the gallery to here, Carlos didn't know. Her pale blue eyes zeroed in on him as she took him in, and Carlos couldn't do anything but tip his head politely as Alexandra did the introductions. "I saw you admiring my piece," Diane said as she gestured at the massive canvas in front of them, "What are your thoughts?".

Carlos turned his attention back to the painting, he wasn't a fan of abstract art but he doubted voicing that was the way to go, "bold," he finally said, feeling a bit silly and proud of himself at the same time. If that wasn't the answer she was expecting, Diane didn't show it, instead she gave him a luminous smile. She reminded him of Mia, a model he had been spotted with at a party a couple months back.

The four of them remained conversing about the gallery. It was a joined project put together by Alexandra and Diane and judging from all the paintings hung up here, Carlos figured it wasn't a small feat.

"Oh sorry darlings my sister is here," Diane said, interrupting Charles's narration of Alexandra's pieces. "Oh, she's brought her friend Morgan with her," Diane's expression was sour prompting Carlos to turn and find two women at the entrance who looked like they'd be anywhere but here. One was being enveloped into a hug by a big man and the other was awkwardly balancing three flutes of champagne between her fingers. Diane was already making her way towards them and Carlos noticed the girl with the flutes throw a barely concealed cold look that disappeared just as fast as it came. He found himself grinning slightly.

"Carlos, come on let's go see Alexandra's side of the gallery," Charles said, leading him away from Diane's. Alexandra's paintings were more calmer, the colors and tones were blending seamlessly into each other. He liked her paintings and some of her mosaic sculptures. This side of the gallery was where he'd stick to, he thought to himself as he looked at a painting of an angel and a weeping man. Alexandra was immensely talented.

Charles and his girlfriend were taking their time and Carlos didn't feel like hanging around like an awkward third wheel. He was about to move on to the next painting when he caught sight of the woman from earlier. Champagne flutes brandished she now was tugging at the shawl around her neck, her face twisted in irritation as she felt for her purse at the same time. In this sea of people she both blended in and stood out. She had deep brown eyes that complimented her dark hair which was tied back and full lips that were parted in frustration as she struggled with the shawl. He couldn't tell if she was Hispanic or South Asian but either way she was beautiful.

Carlos mentally kicked himself when he realized that he was staring at her like some creep and just as he was about to make his way towards her to introduce himself, she slipped in between a hidden alcove, disappearing out of sight. He stopped in his tracks, confused as to why she just disappeared.

"Oh there you are!" It was Diane and beside her stood the other woman who Carlos had seen at the entrance. "This is my sister Alyssa!", everything Diane said was like a cheer of sorts Carlos realized. The woman beside him cringed slightly at her sisters over enthusiastic tone and offered Carlos a small smile before extending her hand. "Carlos Sainz yes? Big fan," she said as he shook her hand, "So you're here with Charles I'm assuming?", she asked as she scanned the room for his teammate. Carlos nodded, "Although I doubt he's around here anymore," he said as he looked around for Charles too. Charles and Alexandra probably were somewhere either hooking up or doing some PR stuff. That was the one thing Carlos was relived that he didn't have to do anymore. While he was dating Isa, the press were on them like mosquitos and they had way too many press related responsibilities to fulfill before they could actually settle down and enjoy an event.

Diane's sister Alyssa shrugged, "Probably doing some PR stuff," she said as if reading his mind.

"So Carlos, what do you think of the show so far?" Diane asked. Her eyes were shining in that weird way again. Carlos managed a meek 'it's extraordinary' as a response before Diane was called to meet some more guests by her manager. Once she had left Alyssa gave him a polite smile in return, "Listen I'd love to stay and chat but my best friend is probably out here somewhere and I gotta go find her," she said. His mind immediately went back to the woman he had spotted a few minutes ago, "Oh yes the one in that funny looking dress? She went that way," he said pointing in the direction of the alcove where Alyssa's friend had disappeared into. She still hadn't walked out and for a second Carlos thought he might've hallucinated the whole thing.

"Oh thank you!" Alyssa said as she began walking in that direction. She stopped a few paces away from him and turned to face him, "And mind you, that dress is Vintage," she sounded both angry and passionate about that last comment as she turned on her heel and walked towards the alcove to go look for her friend.

Carlos watched her go, confused as to why she was intent on announcing that last bit.