Book 2: Beginning Again -Carlos Sainz

Chapter 24

Marie made a list. It was the only thing she could do to even try to attempt to figure her shit out.

#1 Tell Erin

#2 Finish emails

#3 Tell dad and get out of going to Baku

#4 Find a hotel room

#5 Book a flight the hell out of Madrid

#6 Process what the fuck just happened

She decided on no particular order for the list as she looked at the last item listed. She pulled open her phone as she stood in the middle of the Metro station, deciding that #4 would be the most pertinent, considering she had nowhere to go and wait this out. She quickly found a cheap last-minute hotel room in the northern suburbs of Madrid, planning out her metro ride as she confirmed the booking. She decided on two birds, one stone as she opened her texts. Seeing his name at the top of the screen made her heart hurt as she quickly selected Erin.

Hey, you got a few mins in like 15? I'm hopping on the metro but I need to chat: Marie

Next up, flights.

**

It wasn't long before Marie found herself in her cheap hotel, having crossed off all but one thing on her list. Try as she might, but she still couldn't process what had just happened. She had the TV on, her computer open, her phone open, painted her nails, sorted through her personal emails and work emails, called her dad (no answer), called Erin (no answer), took a shower, ate some mediocre food from the place next door, and opened and closed instagram enough times to make the app crash. She saw another post from Chad, dramatic as usual. She couldn't stop herself from looking at her own profile, scrolling through the pictures of her and Carlos. An endless stream of photos in beautiful places, all reminding her of just how damn happy she was. She couldn't attest to how he felt in those photos, because she felt like she didn't know him at all. She had no idea who the man was that started pulling out all the best breakup lines like it was the easiest thing in the world. Her phone auto-locked, forcing her to tap the screen and see her background photo.

"Fuck," she thought as she was brought back to the day in the photo.

It was a warm day in Monaco as Carlos trekked in front of Marie who was trying to hide how out of breath she was. She wasn't in bad shape, just not nearly as good of shape as he was. He looked back to her, smiling. The sun practically absorbed into his skin, making him tanner and glowier with the sweat that adorned his whole torso. Marie stared, unashamedly, because he was hers.

"What you staring at?" he said, smiling at her

"You," she said with candor as she caught up to him.

"Okay, we're here. This is my favorite spot," he said as he gestured to the small beach that was hidden by some rocks. It was a beautiful spot and the waves softly lapped up the shore. She stared, with her hands on her hips still trying to catch her breath, as Carlos moved down the rocks, waiting and holding out his hand.

"You know this feels like straight out of a movie," Marie said as she moved towards him, placing her hand in his. He led them down the rocks, looking back up to make sure she was okay every few seconds until their feet hit the soft sand. Carlos set down his backpack, getting out the blanket and spreading it over the sand, a few feet from the shoreline. He worked intensely as Marie stood there, taking it all in. Eventually, a little picnic appeared in front of her feet, complete with a bottle of prosecco too.

"Okay, I know you said you like Cava but I could only find prosecco so I'm sorry. But there's gruyere, gouda, goat cheese, and a variety of cured meats in there. I had my assistant run and I sent her a list of all the things I remembered that you like," Carlos said as he fidgeted around with the blanket. He looked... nervous.

"Carlos," Marie said as she sat down next to him and put her hand to his cheek. He looked at her, letting a small smile across his face. "This is beautiful. Thank you,"

"I love this spot, and I was so excited to bring you here and then I had the idea to do a little picnic. I wasn't sure if it was too corny or something but you know I still haven't really got the hang of this relationship thing yet," Carlos replied.

"What do you mean? All I want is for you to show me the places you love, just like this," Marie said as she looked out to the ocean.

"Really?" he said with surprise.

"Yeah, It's just hanging out together and... eating good food. Sharing memories, getting to know each other I guess," Marie said.

Before Carlos could reply, he spotted another couple down the beach, standing up quickly and jogging towards them. Marie watched with confusion as the three of them walked back to the picnic. Carlos sat down next to her as Marie caught on, scooching next to Carlos as he snaked his arm around her waist. She looked at him for a moment as he looked at the camera, then looked up to the camera. He thanked the couple and signed an autograph for them, sitting back down to look at the photos. He sent them to her so she could look too.

"I think this is the first photo we've ever taken together?" Marie said with a bit of disbelief. She still couldn't believe that she was here with him, on this perfect almost-Bachelorette-or-Love-Island type date.

"And now it's my lock screen," Carlos said with a smile, showing her.

Marie felt her heart practically melt. For someone without any relationship experience, he was absolutely smashing it.

"Me too," she said, showing him the matching photo.

He pulled her closer to him, keeping his arm draped around her and letting his fingertips run over the soft skin of her thigh. She nestled her head into his neck, fitting together like it was the most normal thing in the world. They talked, laughed, drank the entire bottle of prosecco, and ended up making out on the beach. It was a perfect day for Marie, even though she got sunburnt and had a raging headache that night from dehydration. It was the first time she really had her walls completely down and let him in. It was the first date to end all first dates. And somewhere, in the back of her mind, she hoped it would be.

Marie felt the tears in her eyes before she felt them run down her face. She wasn't normally a crier, but that memory held so much happiness for her. He put so much effort in, he remembered her favorite drinks and foods, and he listened to her when she spoke. He actually gave a shit about her, which made the whole thing even more confusing for her. How could he just break up with her like it meant nothing? Like it was the easiest thing in the world for him to sit there and end things, pretending like they didn't know each other down to their souls. The anger hit her as she sat up, grabbing her phone to book her flight to London. The sooner the better, as she felt like she was angry enough to burn down the whole city of Madrid. She needed to be as far away from him as she could possibly get. She tried to stop loving him, right then and there. She commanded her brain and her heart and her body to stop feeling what she felt, the love and the pain all the same. It was no use, as she knew as good as anything that she was in love with him and would be for quite some time.