Book 1: Leap of Faith -Charles Leclerc

Chapter 30

Chapter: 30

Charles woke up early the next morning as a ray of sun splashed over his face. He groaned slightly at his lingering champagne-induced headache, rolling over to grab his phone- 8:45am.

"Why the fuck am I awake?" he thought to himself, mindlessly opening his phone to respond to messages from family. They all commented on how wonderful Charles and Caroline looked last night, sending over a few images that were no doubtedly circulating on social media. Charles took a deep breath before he opened his Instagram, deciding that it was finally time to make their relationship social media official too. He always found social media to be a double edged sword, both enjoying that he could share his life with his fans but also having to read negative comments from complete strangers.

He had saved several photos of the two of them, but one stood out to him in particular. Caroline was staring straight forward into the camera, with a stunning smile on her face. He saw his face turned to her, gazing at her softly, looking as if his pupils were actual hearts. He looked so in love with her and the thought made him smile as he stared at the image for a while. He posted it on his instagram, tagged her, and set his phone down. He didn't want to have to deal with the negativity right now, especially on what had been such a happy, amazing, and long night. Charles smiled at the memory and how they managed to destroy the hotel suite. He knew she wouldn't be up for at least another hour so he slid out of his bed and rummaged through his suitcase to find some workout clothes.

It was technically the offseason, but training never stopped. Plus, he needed to sweat out the rest of the alcohol. Luckily, the penthouse suite had a little mini gym attached to it, so he didn't have to even think about seeing other people this morning. He hopped on the treadmill and started a quick run. The playlist he had picked was one of his favorites, but nothing could drown out all the thoughts and feelings swirling in his head. Charles decided that increasing the intensity of his run might help, so he tapped the button to increase the speed. As his heart rate increased, so did the volume of his thoughts.

"Last night was so amazing. I have to tell her that I love her soon or else I'm just going to blurt it out at the wrong time which would be... horrible. I just don't want to drive her away. I have no idea how she feels about all this. She still may not fully trust me and I know that just takes time. But I can't lie to her? I'll tell her today, over breakfast in bed. No pressure. After last night she will be in a great mood and it will be perfect."

By the time Charles' inner conflict was resolved, he had run about two miles. Taking a deep breath and lowering the speed for his cool down, he tried to practice what he would say to Caroline after she read the note. He could already see the surprise in her eyes already as she looked to Charles for an explanation. Caroline would look so cute and Charles knew it would leave him at a loss for words. Hoping his English would find him when the time came, he climbed off the treadmill, singing along to his favorite music. The nerves and excitement were building, and Charles was running out of patience. His good mood fueled him to do some lifting before he rushed back in the bedroom to wake up Caroline.

The plan was all set in his head. After a quick shower, he would order room service for them, asking the hotel staff to write out a small card saying "I love you" that he could put on their breakfast platter. She would look up at him with those beautiful green eyes and the most gorgeous smile on her face, making Charles feel all his emotions at once. He would say something to make her laugh and then they would kiss. From then on, they would live happily ever after.

Charles felt confident his plan would work as he closed the door of the gym behind him and walked towards the bedroom door. Before he entered, he gave himself a five second pep-talk. He was going to do this and it was going to be great. Charles took a shay breath as he twisted the door knob and saw a motionless Caroline still covered in sheets. He walked back towards the bed as Caroline rolled over and groaned.