Race & Rally // Charles Leclerc

10.00

"Thank you so much for coming when it was so last minute Aria, it really means a lot," grins Lewis as we sit down after ordering our drinks.

"I definitely needed the break," I laugh, however the thought of Charles was playing at the back of my mind.

The dinner is delicious, and I'm clearly in good company. I wasn't sure if I had ever laughed so hard in my life. When we began to run out of things to talk about, he wasn't afraid to get personal, and opened up to me about the struggle of his career in the early days. It truly made me gain a new respect for him.

I try not to bring up Charles in conversation but it almost happened on multiple occasions. Thankfully I've been able to stop myself.

"You know, now that I think about it, the tennis and formula one life aren't that different," he observes. We had finished dessert and are now talking about anything and everything.

"Um, Lewis, have you ever watched tennis? I'm not sure if there are many cars involved," I say sarcastically, earning a look from him.

"No I mean like, it's very constant. Race after race, tournament after tournament. It's not easy," he explains.

"You can say that again," I sigh, breaking eye contact with him and looking down at my hands.

"What is that about? Is everything ok?" he questions. I purse my lips wondering if I should tell him or not. He had opened up to me so why shouldn't I open up to him?

"It's Charles," I confess. His face scrunches up in confusion.

"Oh? Charles?" he says and in return I give him a blunt look. The look of realisation hits his face. "Oh. Charles."

I nod in relief that he knows what I mean. "I thought we had...something going on, and now he won't contact me at all. It's almost like he forgot about me. Could it be because of the race?" I ask Lewis as he listens intently.

"Hmm, I'm not sure Aria. I mean Charles is a bit of a flirt. I'll even let you in on a little secret," he gestures for me to move closer. We both lean towards each other, our elbows propped on the table. "Charles even flirts with me," he whispers, and we both can't help but laugh.

"Well Charles definitely did a little more than just flirting with me," I state, causing Lewis' eyebrows to raise.

"Interesting.." he mutters, his voice trailing off. "Well listen, worrying about him isn't going to change anything. And this weekend isn't the best time to reach out to him for obvious reasons. Wait- you don't want to come to the race this weekend by any chance? It would be the perfect opportunity to get him to notice?" he questions, his eyes lighting up at his own idea.

Going to the race would mean seeing Charles and I wasn't sure if I was ready for that yet, especially after the photo I had seen earlier. But Lewis has a point. If he notices me there to support Lewis, it might make him interested enough to talk to me, and talking to him in person would definitely be better than over the phone.

"Ok. I'll go to support my favourite Mercedes driver," I wink at him and he winks back with a playful look in his eyes.

"Just make sure you wear black and not a drop of red. We wouldn't want Charles to think you were there for him or anything now would we?" he smirks, his words laced with sarcasm.

"Is it possible that you have a spare Mercedes shirt lying around?" I add, causing his smirk to grow further.

"It won't be hard to find one," he replies and I nod gratefully. "I'll be back, I'm going to get the bill."

"Wait, I want to capture this moment," I smile, taking out my phone. He poses accordingly, lifting his glass up to the camera. "Perfect" I voice, quickly adding the photo to my story.