Love in the Dark

Chapter Seventeen: Everybody Knows?

"Oh, how I wish I could pan these cameras on their stupid faces," Max muttered with a grin, standing in the group of drivers. His frustration was evident, but the smile tugging at his lips was enough to draw chuckles from the others nearby. They were all grateful there weren't any mics around to capture the Dutch driver's unfiltered thoughts, sparing him yet another round of media criticism.

"Tell me before you do it, and I'll join you," Lando chimed in, shaking his head. "I hate Netflix for this."

The group laughed again, but Daniel raised his hand in a mock-serious gesture, his voice dropping to a hush. "Let's keep it down, guys. Lover boy here is trying to concentrate," he teased, gesturing toward Carlos with a cheeky grin.

Carlos, who had been standing quietly with a light frown on his face, snapped to attention at the mention of the word "lover boy." His eyes darted toward the group, confused at first, and then he felt a wave of shock wash over him as he realized they were referring to him—and Charlese.

"Concentrate? On what, glaring at Reginald?" Charles teased, joining in with a smirk. "He's been sulking ever since the incident at the paddock."

Carlos tried to suppress the embarrassment creeping up his neck, but his expression betrayed him. He knew better than to dive deeper into this topic with the likes of Max, Lando, and Daniel. They were the grid's unofficial gossip kings, and any word or glance could become the next big thing whispered around the paddock.

Carlos cleared his throat, attempting to recover his usual calm demeanor. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, trying to brush off the teasing as he adjusted his cap.

"Oh, you definitely know what we're talking about," Daniel said, waggling his eyebrows. "I mean, you're not exactly subtle, mate. You've been moody all week—and we all know it's because of a certain photographer."

"Mate, don't act like we didn't all see it," Charles continued, clearly enjoying this too much. "You were burning holes through poor Reggie the entire time. I thought you were going to fight him or something."

The group burst into laughter, and Carlos crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to let his friends catch wind of anything. Once these guys had gossip, it was like announcing it to the entire grid.

Lando grinned wickedly. "Oh yeah, I heard he was hugging your girl too—calling her 'Char' and everything. That must've been painful."

Carlos clenched his jaw, trying not to give them the satisfaction of knowing just how much it had annoyed him. He glanced over at Charles, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "You seriously shared that with everyone?"

Charles shrugged, innocent. "Hey, they asked. What was I supposed to do? Keep it to myself? You know how we are."

"Yeah, we're your friends," Max added with a chuckle, "So naturally, we're gonna make this your problem until you deal with it."

Carlos sighed, shaking his head. "There's nothing to deal with. It's not like that."

"Oh, come on, Carlos," Daniel chimed in, eyes twinkling with mischief. "You can't fool us. You were giving Reggie the death stare, and don't even try to pretend it wasn't because he was all buddy-buddy with Charlese."

"Exactly," Charles jumped in again. "You were acting like he stole your favorite dessert."

Carlos' patience was thinning, but the teasing was relentless. He knew the more he pushed back, the worse it would get. He cast another glare at Charles, who wasn't even trying to hide his amusement. "You didn't have to tell everything."