The Darkness Between Us || [C.L.]

// s e v e n t e e n

"There are three rules on this boat." Daniel declared, standing on a ledge that elevated him above everyone else. In his hand, he held a half-drank bottle of beer. His arms were spread open, revealing his torso beneath an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt. By his side stood Heidi, his girlfriend, shaking her head as she had clearly heard this a thousand times before. "Firstly, what happens on Usain Boat, stays on Usain Boat. Secondly, no drink goes undrank. And thirdly, no girls are allowed in the bathroom." He paused, a grin on his face. "I'm joking, this isn't Lewis' private jet. In all seriousness, don't have sex in the bathroom. It's too small. I know. We've tried."

Heidi reached over, softly smacking him on the chest. "No. We haven't."

The night had been impromptu. Charles and Nina had planned to spend their first evening alone, but once Lando had told Daniel that she and Rosie had touched down, he had insisted on having a party on the boat to start summer break off 'the right way'. Due to its lack of organisation and general geography, not everybody had been able to attend. Max was off on holiday with Kelly and Penelope, and Alex and George had already returned to England, but planned on visiting Monaco a little later in the break. Carlos would be attending, but said he was unable to make it until later in the evening due to prior plans. Luckily, the numbers were made up a little by the arrival of Pierre and Yuki, who were staying in Monaco for the week. Nina was particularly excited to meet the former, who Charles had talked about frequently due to their long-term friendship.

It was strange meeting them both in flesh. She had seen the others in person before she had ever seen them on the TV, or even knew they were on TV. But these two, she had only seen during interviews. It was a weird reminder of the kind of life they all lived.

It wasn't until after about half an hour that a chance to talk had even arisen. Breaking the ice had consisted of Lando, Rosie, Charles and Nina standing talking at one part of the boat, and the other four on the other side. It was clear alcohol was necessary to get them all mingling, so after finishing her first drink, Nina made her way inside to top up.

"Hey." Pierre smiled, appearing by her side. "You're Nina, right?" His smile was very kind.

"Yeah. And you're Pierre?" It felt so weird to say that when she clearly already knew the answer.

"Yeah." He nodded. "It's so cool to finally meet you, Charles had told me so much about you. I am sad I didn't come to London in the end, it seemed like a very fun weekend for you all."

"Oh, yeah, it was really great. It's a shame you weren't there."

"Well, I have this week in Monaco to make up for it." He shrugged. "Have you ever been out here? It's so much fun. Me and Yuki were going to go tonight until Daniel organised this boat thing."

"No, I actually haven't been here before."

"Really? You'll love it. It's hard not to."

They made a little more small talk about Monaco and even Pierre's own home France before Lando showed up, smiling. The curly-haired boy joined in the conversation for a moment before Yuki began to call for Pierre to join him on the deck, leaving only Nina and Lando, who both silently poured their drinks and each took a sip.

"Can I ask you something?" Lando blurted, the rashness of the question taking Nina by surprise, causing her to choke a little on her drink.

"Uh..." Nina faltered for a moment, regaining her composure. "Sorry. Yeah, of course you can. What's up?"

"So, Rosie..." Lando started. Nina could immediately sense where this may be leading. "I know her and Marco only broke up a month ago and I don't want to rush her at all or make her uncomfortable, but, I don't know. I don't know what to do."