down bad | c. leclerc

THIRTEEN

monza was beautiful, kennedy had to admit.

charles had made good on his tour, showing her some pretty sights as well as taking her to the ferrari factory, which was incredible.

friday rolled around quickly however and it was safe to say kennedy was a bit nervous for her friend.

"hey rhodes, want a ride?" charles knocked on her door the morning of the first practice.

kennedy bounced over to it, opening it to see the boy, still in his pajamas.

"good morning to you too mr. leclerc. and yes, i would love one." she said with a smile.

the girl had already been up for an hour, she had gotten mostly ready but she still had to put in her contacts and get dressed.

charles grinned when he saw her, the warm feeling hitting his chest again.

"good morning miss rhodes." he said, almost breathlessly, taking in her appearance, blushing at the fact she was only in a robe.

kennedy smiled, letting him in.

he looked around, it was well organized and she had her laptop perched up on the desk.

"sorry, i know it's a bit of a mess but." she trailed off as he sat at the foot of her bed.

"are you kidding? this is much nicer than mine, all my clothes are everywhere." he said with a laugh.

kennedy's mind went to how much she wanted to see the room, or just be in there alone with him, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away.

she just gave him a smile before opening a drawer to get out an outfit, "so, are you nervous for today?" she asked and he shook his head.

"nope!" lies, "just another day at the office." but this time she would be cheering for him from his garage.

she just shook her head with a laugh, "i don't know how you do it. i would be freaking out by now." only because one of the only men to give me butterflies is sitting on my bed while i'm only in a robe, she thought.

if only she knew how nervous i am, he thought before smiling, "it's just life at this point."

she just gave a nervous giggle, "maybe i'm just taking all the nerves for you."

"probably." he said, "are you okay to leave soon? i'll head back to my room, i still need to change."

kennedy nodded, "yeah, i should actually be ready in like ten."

charles nodded before standing up, "well then see you in ten minutes miss rhodes."

kennedy grinned as she walked him to the door and letting him out. after the door shut she leaned back against it and put her face in her hands, trying to hide the massive smile covering her face.

she giggled and jumped around before collecting herself.

stop this. he's just a man kenny, she thought before going to her outfit she picked out for the day.

she opted for black cargo pants and a white, short sleeved cropped top, putting her red leather jacket over it just in case she got cold.

finally, she put on her new ferrari hat that she had gotten earlier that week.

just as she put the hat on, charles knocked on her door.

she opened it to see him in his ferrari shirt and khakis, which she thought he looked really good in.

"nice hat." he remarked as she smiled.

"nice shirt, let me grab my purse and i'll be ready." she said and rushed over to grab the black purse, making sure her passes were in there.

once she had double checked everything was there, she walked back to the driver and took his arm, making sure the door locked behind her.

the two made some light conversation as they walked to the ferrari the driver had been given for the week.

once they got to the paddock, charles escorted her to the ferrari garage where she could wait for him in.

"good luck today." she said, giving him a small hug.

he just smiled in response, knowing if he opened his mouth he would blurt out something stupid.

the first free practice went well, as well as the second one. the ferrari boys almost dominating the track.

the next day went just as well, charles getting pole for sunday.

went he got back to the garage after qualifiers, he searched for the blonde hair he had grown to look for.

when he found her, she was smiling at him from across the way.

"congratulations!" she said and gave him a big hug, making him blush bright red.

carlos walked by the two, giving charles a knowing grin.

"god, this is so exciting!" he said as they let go of each other.

she smiled at him, enticing him with her big, blue eyes, "i just know you're going to do great tomorrow leclerc."

he nodded, a big smile still on his face, "do you want to grab dinner?"

kennedy nodded, "let's invite carlos too, he did good these last two days." she suggested and charles agreed, his smile faltering slightly.

the two found carlos and invited him for dinner, who agreed immediately.

the drivers changed out of their racing suits and the three headed back to the hotel, charles and kennedy in one car, carlos in the other.

"okay, so we'll meet in my room in thirty minutes? is that okay with you guys?" kennedy asked as the trio made their way into the hotel.

"sounds perfect." charles said as he flashed her a smile, "it's a nice resturant so do with that as you will. carlos and i are dressing in suit pants and button downs."

kennedy nodded, rushing off to her room as charles stood there watching her.

"charles, let's go!" carlos laughed, pulling his teammates away from the spot he stood standing in.

the boys went to shower and get ready while kennedy was in her room, freaking out because she didn't know what to wear.

after digging in her bag for what felt like forever, she finally pulled out a long, silk like, yellow dress with no back.

"perfect." she decided, putting it on and throwing on some strappy white heels.

she touched up her makeup before tossing her hair around, trying to get it more volume.

finally, as there was a knock on the door, she had been trying to move her things to her white purse, trying not to imagine how good charles would look tonight.

she opened the door to the two men, one who smiled at her and the other who just stared, his mouth open a bit.

"so are we ready gents?" she asked, picking up her purse and walking past them, trying not to stare at the monegasque driver.

carlos just laughed as the girl put her fingers under charles' jaw.

"don't catch flies while looking at me leclerc."