Book 1: Leap of Faith -Charles Leclerc

Chapter 5

Chapter 5: February 9th, 2023

Charles was slowly awakened by the brightening of his surroundings, not quite yet realizing exactly where he was. His memories quickly filled in as he smiled thinking about the wine, the dancing, and that kiss. He glanced over at the girl who was fast asleep, curled up into a tiny ball under a mountain of blankets. She was already quite petite in stature but looked almost miniature in this position. He took in the beautiful chocolate color of her hair as it laid messily around her head, face, and neck. He thought about what it would feel like to run his hands through it and kiss her neck.

"Oh god what if the kiss was too soon?" he thought quickly to himself as he fumbled around for his phone, curious about what time it was. He found it folded under a pillow, grateful that it didn't slide off into the ocean during the night.

"Fuck... fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!" he cursed a bit louder than he intended to as he leaped out of the warm, safe pile of fabrics that the two had created. The clock on his phone told him that it was 7:48, only 12 minutes from the start of his first team meeting of this season. Caroline started to awaken, haphazardly pushing the hair out of her face, as she was still half asleep. Charles stopped to look at her for a moment, noticing the lack of concern over how she looked first thing in the morning. All of Charles' past girlfriends would secretly get up early, do their hair and makeup, and then return to bed. It drove him crazy thinking how insecure they must have felt, even though they were all beautiful. The urgent matter returning to his head, he carefully lowered himself down next to Caroline, who had started to drift off back into sleep. He took note that she was not a morning person.

"Bon matin, uhm, I'm so sorry about this but I have a meeting in 12 minutes and I cannot be late. Are you alright to stay here by yourself? I'd hate to wake you from your restful slumber," he smiled as he reached the end of the sentence, focusing his attention on her adorable, sleepy face. He resisted the urge to brush her hair away, cup her face in his hands, and plant another soft kiss on her lips. Leaving her was definitely not his ideal situation the morning after the first night with a girl, especially this girl.

"No, no... I'll get up. I have to get home and change before work anyway," she said, sitting up straight and flinging her hair into a loose low bun as she let out a big yawn.

"Okay," Charles said as he checked his phone screen once again; 7:52. "I really wish this wasn't how I was leaving after last night, but I do have to go. After all, je suis ponctuel" he spoke, letting his words trail off as he exited the boat and stepped onto the pier.

Caroline let out a small laugh, watching him take off into a dead sprint towards the town center, assuming the location of his meeting this morning. She couldn't help but enjoy the sight of this man so gracefully running down the street- something only a physical therapist could appreciate.

Charles arrived at the building at 8:00 on the dot, acutely aware of the fact that he had not changed clothes, brushed his teeth, or put on deodorant in more than 24 hours. He quickly made his way to the meeting room, where everyone was greeting each other, and plopped himself down into a chair with a long exhale.

"You look like hell mate. What on earth were you doing on a Wednesday night?" asked Carlos, who had turned in his chair to face his teammate.

Carlos had quickly become one of Charles' close friends over the past year together. They were similar in a lot of ways and Charles liked that Carlos never bullshitted him, like in this moment. Charles avoided his large, brown, peering eyes that were now burning into him as he presumed Carlos was smart enough to come to the conclusion on his own. Charles buried his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to bring his mind to this room from where it still remained, on his boat. Carlos laughed in response, spinning himself around in his chair.