fast lane - c.leclerc

chapter seventeen

CHARLES

CHARLES COULD NOT believe Lauren's audacity. She kept going on and on how he was making her career difficult. That was complete and utter bullshit. He knew it was an excuse. There was another reason why she wasn't letting him in. Oh, how he'd love to just pry in her brain. It would make matters much easier if he could get a look at what went on in that pretty little head of hers. He'd driven around Positano for at least an hour, wasting gas. At least, he'd let off some steam. He listened to the engine's angry revs. It calmed him down.

After gathering his thoughts, he put the car out of its misery, parking it in front of the apartment. There he found Lauren waiting for him on the porch. Her expression was unreadable. Her baby blue sundress didn't match her mood. A beach bag was slumped over her shoulder. Charles had a difficult time approaching her. He felt numb. The annoyance and anger had transformed into a state of emptiness. How could she share such genuine intimacy with him and then selfishly pull away? She was about to date him for the public eye. How was he still ruining her image then? People would know. They would talk about it and eventually accept it. Why was she so hesitant?

He decided to be neutral. Emotionless. 'Are you ready?' he inquired.

'Yes,' she answered softly.

They remained silent on their way to the beach. After a while, Lauren gained the courage to connect her Spotify to the car. She played Mia & Sebastian's theme from La La Land, the piece that Charles had covered. He could feel her burning stare. She was looking for a reaction. As much as he'd love to comment, he didn't give her the satisfaction. He stayed silent for the minute and a half that took the song to end. Lauren accepted defeat and stared out of the window for the rest of the drive. She silently hummed to the music.

'We're here,' Charles announced curtly. They got out of the car. The beach was quite crowded for a weekday. It was only a matter of time before they got recognized.

'What do we do now?' Lauren wondered as they walked beside each other, looking for a spot to settle.

'We're being watched now. I guess we have to act like we're in love, Evans. Do you think you can do that for me or are you going to freak out and walk away from this arrangement too?' his sarcastic tone was hurtful for once. They dropped their bags in the sand.

'You don't understand. I'm not even going to bother explaining, because you won't get it,' Lauren said dismissively. She lifted her dress over her head, leaving Charles mesmerized for a moment. All the training paid off for her. Her stomach was toned and her body suit did her curves justice.

Charles forced himself to look away. He was angry today. No distractions. 'You don't know that, but I guess you have a fondness for drawing conclusions for both of us,'

'Can you stop being catty for one minute? I can't hide my anger and we're supposed to be in love, remember?'

'Fine,' Charles didn't say anything but abruptly pulled her into a hug. Skin to skin. Heart to heart. Lauren was breathless. His grasp was so firm. His hand got comfortable on her hips. His mouth found her ear. 'This is what you could've gotten for real, Evans. I could've treated you so good,'

Lauren wouldn't let him get to her. She smiled up at him. The look in her eyes was seemingly one of love, though in reality, it was frustration.

'I'm good,' her grin remained plastered on her face as she placed a hand on his cheek, 'now behave or this hand will be strangling you,'

'Don't threaten me with a good time,' Charles placed a quick kiss on her neck. Camera shutters were heard. The paparazzi that were given a very useful tip about their whereabouts by a certain team principal had taken position already. Game on.

'Alright, now let's go into the water,' she suggested.

'Are you sure? It's warm but not that warm,' Charles seemed uncertain. He wasn't really in the mood to catch a cold.

'You scared of a little cold? I bet you don't last 5 seconds in an ice bath,' she said mockingly and gone she was. She ran off without him. Diving into the water without giving it a second thought.

Charles watched her come back up. Her hair stuck to her skin. Small streaks of mascara painted her under eyes. She looked so careless and alive.

No. Charles get it together.

He looked away. He knew he had to follow her in. Pictures were taken already. A group of fans was coming his way. They hadn't prepared a story to sell yet, so he spared himself the awkwardness by jumping into the ocean as well.

'Lauren, come here,' he ordered. Lauren swam up to him. He shivered, having a difficult time adjusting to the sudden cold.

'What is it?' she asked, enjoying the sight of his freezing chest. She too was angry, but not too angry to enjoy God's perfect creation.

'We've been spotted already. There's a group of girls coming our way as we speak. We have to do something to throw them off because we have no story,'

'Yes, we do. We were old friends who grew apart. We rekindled on the track. We soon figured out that we'd mistaken our fights for passion. We fell in love and now we're dating,'

'You say it like it's nothing. That's such a cliché,' Charles complained while keeping an eye out for the swarm of fans scanning the beach.

'Well, what do you suggest?' Lauren asked. Charles made eye contact with a girl whose jaw practically dropped at the sight of him. Too late.

'We had a fling when we were younger, though too immature to pursue it. Then we had to race each other again and we suppressed our feelings. One night we went out with our friends and gravity brought us together. We looked at each other and just knew. Now we still bicker, but we do it out of love. That's nothing new because we figured it was always out of love. You were hesitant at first because you were scared of your career which is why it took so long for us to finally just go for it,' Lauren's body heated up. Charles noticed her scarlet cheeks. She looked so hot, all red for him.

'Yeah, that should cover it,' she lifted her chin, trying to appear more composed, 'you and Christian should start a writing club. The ladies would love it,'

'Shut up it's Charles and Lauren,' they heard a fan comment.

'Should we go up to them?'

'Chrissy, that's weird. Don't you see them being all romantic in the water?'

'Yes, but what are the odds we will ever run into them again? Screw it, I'm going in,'

'Chrissy, you're so embarrassing. No wonder you've been single forever,'

'Oh, you just had to go there, didn't you?'

Lauren erupted into a fit of laughter. 'Quick,' she said, 'do something romantic so I can go take a picture with that poor girl,'

Charles smirked, then turned to address the crowd. 'Who wants to see me drown a Red Bull driver?'

He didn't wait for an answer.

He lifted her without a warning.

'Charles, if you don't put me down right now I will-,'

Her threat was drowned by the ocean.

a/n i missed writing so much. i will be rereading the story tonight so i can get a glimpse from your perspective. please do tell me what you think of it. it gives me a concrete direction to work with (+ some of you are really funny. I'm talking about you orangetaxis