fast lane - c.leclerc

chapter six

CHARLES

CHARLES WAS SURE of one thing: Lauren Evans was going to pay for her actions. He would make sure of it. After riling him up, she'd turned on her heel and left him wanting. He'd only briefly seen her later that night dancing with Max and Lando without a care in the world. Little did she know he'd spent fifteen minutes in the club bathroom because of her. It had been a week since the incident and he couldn't wait to see her again.

'Are you even paying attention, man?' Carlos waved a hand in front of Charles' face, snapping him out of his thoughts.

'No, sorry, I was distracted,' Carlos sighed. He was pretty annoyed with his friend. They'd been preparing for qualifying together, but Charles' head wasn't in it.

'What's going on with you?'

'Nothing,'

'Is it Lauren?' Carlos just knows.

Charles didn't bother covering it up. He knew Carlos wouldn't judge and would probably offer advice as well. 'She's crazy and I hate her,'

'She's a pretty girl who likes to bully you and you're weirdly into that,'

'I am not,'

'You want her sexually,' said Carlos, wiggling his eyebrows.

'That's not even close to the truth,' It was in fact, very close to the truth, though Charles could never admit that. Carlos snickered at his denial.

'Can I ask you something, mate?'

'Sure,'

'Has anything ever happened between you two?' Charles was caught red-handed, his cheeks turning maroon. He checked to see if anyone could hear them. The coast was clear. He cleared his throat and got to talking. He looked around to see if anyone could hear them first.

'Lauren and I have a history. When we were teenagers we never got along but we shared some friends we knew from karting. One of those friends was Madison. Anyway, I once attended her birthday party and Lauren was there as well. We were both drunk and we made out in Madison's garden. We had a really fun night and back then I really thought, this girl is it. After that night, I never heard from her,' Carlos' eyes went wide as Charles finished his sentence.

'How old were you guys when this happened?' Carlos questioned.

Charles absentmindedly licked his lips, trying to remember. Images of a younger Lauren flooded his head. She'd barely changed. Her features had become more defined, but her smile remained the same. The way she throws her head back, her big eyes shrinking to nothing. And that mouth. That goddamn mouth, always challenging him. Charles loathed her. 'She was 17 and I was 18,'

'Charles, you know I love you like a brother, right?' Charles nodded. Carlos continued, 'I think it's silly that you consider a teenage kiss to be history. You were kids then. You're adults now. You still have some masochistic arguing thing going on and honestly, it's childish. Look what she's done to your head. You have a qualifying session in an hour and you're sitting here trying to figure out a girl who's just received the opportunity of her life. Do you honestly think she would risk her image and career by getting with you?' Carlos' words pierced Charles' like bullets. He knew he was right. It was time for the Spanish Grand Prix, almost a week since the incident.

'You're right, man. I am an idiot. I'm gonna go for a little walk. If anyone asks, tell them I will be back in time,' Charles got up, clearly frustrated. Carlos got a hold of his shoulder.

'Don't do anything stupid, okay? I know you're feeling a lot and it's confusing you. Just get through this weekend and we'll get you a girl to take your mind off Lauren,'