𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞 | 𝐜. 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐳

09

[ SAKHIR, BAHRAIN ]
MARCH 2021

THE DOOR TO Reina's room opened up to reveal a beautifully dressed-up girl, beaming up at Carlos. Reina's dark hair was tucked behind her ears, and her makeup complemented her outfit. Oh, and don't get him started on the outfit—Carlos couldn't peel his eyes away. She was always beautiful whether she was in jeans or her Ferrari polo, but this little black dress was something that Carlos couldn't get enough of.

"Are you ready?" Reina asked. She saw him looking, but she disregarded it. She was used to the stares, especially in that dress.

Carlos cleared his throat. "Y- yes. Are you?"

Reina nodded. In her opinion, Carlos looked wonderful too. He wore a white button-up tucked into blue slacks, and smelled of an ocean breeze and wood. If Reina could, she could stand there, smelling his cologne all day.

"Then let's go," said Carlos.

Reina closed the door behind her and the two headed back to his car. Once again, he helped her into the passenger seat, closing the door behind her. After he situated himself, he started the car and the two sped off.

The club itself was a grand marble building with many palm trees and water fountains decorating its entrance. The insides were somehow more luxurious; floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked Bahrain and chandeliers sparkled light all over the walls.

Carlos helped Reina out of the car, and then handed his keys to the valet. At the club entrance, he paused. "Shall we?" he asked.

"We shall," replied Reina, smiling at him.

The two headed in and up a flight of stairs to a lounge where the others were waiting. She recognized Charles, as well as Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris. Two other girls were there as well, neither of whom Reina recognized.

"Hey! Carlos," Lando greeted, bringing him into a side hug.

Carlos patted Lando's shoulder, then gave Pierre and Charles a fist-bump. Reina gave Charles a wave, which he returned.

"Hi, I'm Lando," the driver said, turning to introduce himself to Reina.

"I'm Reina," she responded, smiling and shaking Lando's hand.

"How do you know Carlos?" he asked.

"I'm a photographer for the team."

Lando replied, "Oh, that's awesome! So you travel with the team and everything, then?"

"That's right," said Reina. "I pretty much get to vacation for my job."

"I'm Pierre," the other driver added. Pierre and Charles stood up, along with the other girls.

Reina nodded. "Right. You're friends with my brother Adrian, I think. We met a few years ago in Ibiza."

Pierre made a face of recognition. "Right! You're Reinita."

She laughed. "Just Reina is fine."

"And this is Katerina, my girlfriend," said Pierre, motioning to one of the girls. The girl waved and gave a bright smile.

"Hi, nice to meet you," she said.

Reina gave a greeting back, then turned to the other girl. "And... this is...?"

"I'm Charlotte. Charles's girlfriend," she responded, waving.

After everyone settled back down and drinks started flowing, the conversation picked up as everybody relaxed.

"So Lando, where's Luisinha?" asked Carlos. Turning to Reina, he explained, "His girlfriend."

Reina made an Oh shape with her mouth, nodding.

"Ah, couldn't make it," replied Lando. "She had some work back home."

Charlotte interjected, "Boo! I miss Luisa."

"She'll be here next time, I promise," said Lando. "I'll drag her from her desk if I have to."

As the men talked, Charlotte and Katerina turned towards Reina.

"So, Reina, are you and Carlos dating?" asked Katerina.

Reina nearly spit up her drink. "Hah, what? No. Definitely not."

Katerina raised her eyebrow, laughing. "Could have fooled me."

"W-what would make you think that?" asked Reina.

"Please, he looks like a little puppy following you around!" joked Charlotte. "If there's one thing us WAGs have to be good at, it's being observant. And all I'm saying is that I've observed Carlos... well, observing you quite a lot."

"What's a WAG?" replied Reina. "And anyways, that's not true."

"Wives and Girlfriends," explained Charlotte. "And it so is true."

Katerina nodded in agreement, sipping on a margarita. "He hasn't taken his eyes off of you!"

Reina glanced over, and lo and behold, Carlos's dark eyes were looking straight at her. He quickly turned away, back to his conversation with the guys, but Reina saw him.

Katerina had an I-told-you-so look on her face. "See?"

Reina shook her head. "That doesn't mean anything. Anyways, enough about me. Tell me how you guys met your boyfriends!" she said, trying to shift the conversation.

Katerina explained how she met Pierre and how he romantically asked her out in the streets of Paris under the night sky. Charlotte knew a mutual friend of Charles and the two grew closer, eventually becoming inseparable. She now came to many of his races to show support for him. The girls sipped on drinks and talked for what felt like only a few minutes, but when Reina glanced at her watch, over an hour had passed.

"You both are so sweet with your boyfriends," Reina complemented. "It's like fairy tales."

They smiled. "I have a feeling you will have your own fairy tale too," said Charlotte, nodding to Carlos.

Reina blushed.

"Anything else to drink?" asked Lando to the girls, interrupting the conversation.

"Ooh, how about some shots?" asked Katerina. "You boys in?"

Everyone nodded. And so now, the drinks really started flowing. Reina was careful, watching the amount she drank, but she was certainly not sober by the end of it.

The group moved to the dance floor, jumping and swaying to the music. Reina watched Charles, who had his hands around Charlotte's waist, and Pierre and Katerina together too. They were such it-couples that it looked like a scene straight from Cosmopolitan magazine. Reina stood off to the side drinking a margarita, just smiling and watching, tapping her foot to the rhythm. But, as she quietly observed the scene, she was interrupted.

"Would you like to dance?" asked Carlos from behind Reina. She turned around to meet his eyes, and his outstretched hand.

Reina bit her bottom lip and smiled. "Sure."

So, the two danced the night away, laughing, drunk, and slowly falling for each other.

-

a/n
double upload!! surprise!!
reina's party look will be in the next chapter :)

so weird to write about the drivers' exes 😳 but i love cha-cha so

q: favorite wag/ex-wag?

a: charlotte siné or lily for sure