Moscow Mule - [Pierre Gasly]

XVII

         Azar looked at the buildings passing by as she sat in the backseat of the car. A driver was taking them to Pierre's apartment. He had called it 'home' as it meant something to them both. Or maybe he meant the two of them, maybe he meant her. There was a lot to talk about, she realized. They hadn't said anything to each other after they left the studio. The pictures turned out great, but she couldn't enjoy the moment fully. The moment she had received his text, she knew she was the one who had to come with an apology. She thought it was funny how she liked that he was chasing her all the time, even while she complained that he never left her alone. When the chase stopped, she was missing him. Instead of explaining why she was scared of him pushing her into a relationship, she just left. It had sounded like a good idea when she took her stuff and just ran out of that hotel room in Monaco, but God, it had backfired on her. Azar looked over at Pierre for a second, and their eyes met. There was a gentle look in his eyes, the one she was used to.

His hand reached out to her face, caressing her cheek quickly. The driver halted in front of Pierre's apartment building, and they both got out. The trunk was opened to get Azar's suitcase out. After her trip to Paris, she had been home in San Diego for a couple of days. It was good to be back in Texas, but she needed to fly to San Francisco soon after, and after that, she contacted Pierre's management to be booked in the shoot with AlphaTauri. It was a favor for him, as he had asked her to join him on his own campaign a long time ago already. Azar rolled her suitcase into the elevator, and she leaned back against the wall, Pierre on the other side. There's a chuckle that leaves his mouth, and she gnaws at her bottom lip to suppress a smile. This had to be the most awkward elevator ride ever. He takes his keys from his pocket and walks in front of the way to his door. The place looks as familiar as last time, where she had spent the weekend with him, when he had cooked an amazing dinner and charmed her with the 'kiss the cook' apron that she made fun off, but it had caused the butterflies to flutter around in her stomach.

Azar puts her luggage aside, sliding her arms out of the sleeves of her coat and putting it up. "I'm sorry for bailing on you, Pierre," she starts. "The whole thing about you wanting to be exclusive just triggered my fight of flight mode," she continued. "I didn't mean to get Charles involved either, by the way. I assume he told you we went to dinner together." Pierre nodded. "Yeah, he told me," he said. "Look, I've been dating before. Some of the guys had a career or something they were passionate about as well, but our schedules never worked. They had a different girl everywhere. In the media, I got labelled naive. The guys who stayed at home or were still studying cheated on me because I was never there. Exclusive lost its meaning to me, Pierre," Azar says, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can get another girl at any race you're at, I didn't want to bound myself to you before I'd lose myself." Pierre leaned against the kitchen counter, biting some dry skin from his lips before he spoke up again. "Have you thought about it from my perspective? That I might have fallen in love with you and there was just this never ending chase and run for me to prove I'm good enough?"

His answer startled her a little. Azar wasn't used to conversation. She had people wrapped around her finger. She never had people tell her 'no' or people questioning her, contradicting her. "What you experienced in your dating life is an exact match of mine. I know how you feel, like there's no one who's willing to accept your lifestyle, that there's no one able to stay loyal," Pierre continued. "I didn't mean to push the topic on you, but we were basically together before you left Monaco, Azar. We didn't see other people. I didn't ask you to scream it from the rooftops or tell the media. I just wanted to be with you. And I still do, but you need to fix that bump in your thoughts and your attitude," he said. "I know," her voice was fragile. "It's just hard because... I'm lonely, you know? And everyone around me is in a relationship and the forced proximity of it all just gives me the heebie-jeebies," she said, making him laugh. "I have great friends, but I'm always alone," she continued. "Some of my friends are having kids and getting married. That's scaring the shit out of me, I know what you mean."