On and Off the Track

F O R T Y N I N E.

Sunday 24th july

I sat with Mila having breakfast whilst Charles was in his strategy meeting. The sun was shining and the paddock radiated excitement for the race. As soon as we arrived at the track I went straight to meet mila.
'I've got something to tell you but you have to keep your reaction to a low' I said half way through our breakfast.
'Oh I already know you and Charles slept together last night' my jaw dropped.
'How did you know'
'B I just know. But that is huge'
'I know, we went on the best date last night. We snuck out of the hotel and went to a cute restaurant and it was so nice. No cameras, nobody around, just us. Well except for this old man'
'Old man?!'
'It was hilarious, he thought Charles was Lando Norris and had no clue who Charles was. You should have seen his face,' I was laughing so hard, I could barely tell the story.
'That's so funny. I bet Charles was furious'
'I think he was the first person to humble him'
'So now that you've sealed the deal when are you going to be official' a part of me already thought we were. Okay there was no official confirmation of it. But I just thought we were.
'I think we already are Mila'
'Has he asked you'
'No not officially'
'Then you aren't official, he has to ask you officially to be official. I forget how new you are to a relationship you've were with the same person since you were sixteen. How did Lando even ask you out'
'Over text' I chuckled.
'Yeah that's not happening, Charles needs to officially ask you' the word official began to sound like gibberish with the amount of times Mila had said it.
'Okay can you stop saying official now'
'I'm speaking the truth. This is a grown up relationship B, you guys aren't in highschool now.'
'Okay, I get it. I will get charles to ask me officially'
'No B. You can't be that dumb'
'What?'
'You can't tell him to ask you, he has to ask you on his own otherwise it loses its meaning' mila said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, causing me to roll my eyes at her.
'This is ridiculous' I glanced at my phone and realised I was meant to be seeing Charles now. 'Okay well i'm going to see my unofficial boyfriend'
'Should be official at this point' she shouts as I walk away.

When I opened the door, I could tell something was wrong. Charles stayed sitting on the couch, his eyes glued to the floor.
'You okay?' I sat down beside him
'It's my fault,' he said sternly.
'I don't understand'
'The crash, now I'm starting from the pitlane.'
'Its okay, it's one race'
'It's not one race bronte, it's the championship. I can't afford to lose points over a stupid mistake'
'You can make mistakes, nobody is perfect all the time. You misjudged a corner, so what.'
'It's the team'
'The team will survive.'
'I don't think you get it Bronte' he finally looked up towards me. His face instantly telling me he was angry. I knew better than to try to say anything else. He went back to looking at the floor. I sat beside him trying to figure out what to say to make him feel better. I did understand, I understood the feeling of being terrified to let anyone down. I exhaled through my nose and gathered myself. Reaching for his hand, I held it in my lap. I squeezed it for comfort and encouragement before I brought it up to my lips and softly left a kiss. As I did this, he could only look down, he couldn't dare catch my eye. He couldn't move, he was stuck in his thoughts. He felt my eyes upon his brow as he continued to stare at the floor. I blew out a sigh as I stood up, smoothing down the crinkles in my dress.
'I'm proud of you no matter what' I leant down and kissed him before walking towards the door. 'I'm going to the garage and I think you need to be there too' I said as I held the door open. The race was happening in just over an hour and half and I knew Charles was needed for race briefing soon.
'Hey, is he okay?' Joris asked as I walked into the garage.
'He will be.' Joris gave me a tight lipped smile. I lent against the wall, lost in thought as the garage bussed in front of me. My back rested beside the corridor which led to the driver's rooms. Everytime I heard someone's footsteps I turned around hoping it was Charles. Hope in my eyes as I turned round to see, each time they faded to disappointment when it wasn't him. 
'Don't worry, he will come. He just likes to make an entrance.' Joris leaned over towards me. I turned to face him with a shy smile barely lifting the corners of my mouth. I jumped when I felt an arm wrap round my shoulder, my face whipping round to see who it was.
'Thankyou'  his eyes, his lips, and his spirit all at once smiled at me before leaving just as quickly to walk towards the mechanics.
'See I told you, he just likes to make an entrance' my body relaxed and I smiled with relief.