"I think I'm gonna head back now." Mike announced as the second practice session began to draw to an end.
"I'll come back with you." Laura offered, starting to get to her feet.
"No, no." He shook his head. "You stay here and enjoy, keep Anna company. I'll see you guys later."
"Oh, okay." Laura mumbled, leaning into him as he gave her a quick kiss goodbye.
"That was weird." Anna raised an eyebrow.
"I should go after him, right?" Laura asked uncertainly.
"No." Anna shook her head, grabbing hold of Laura's arm as though she thought her friend might disappear if she didn't keep hold of him. "If he's not enjoying it then that's on him, you're not going running off after him. We're going to make the most of this weekend."
"We have the whole weekend, I can still go back with him and then I'll stay tomorrow." Laura suggested, glancing over her shoulder to find Mike had now disappeared completely out of view.
"No, he's already gone and you're staying." Anna said firmly.
"Fine." Laura sighed, admitting defeat and relaxing back into her seat.
"Great." Anna beamed. "This has actually been so much fun! I'm so excited for the rest of the weekend."
"Yeah, it'll be good." Laura answered weakly.
Somewhere around the end of the session Josh had reappeared from wherever he'd been, chatting away animatedly about something that made very little sense to Laura and Anna, but he seemed to be having a good time.
She had no idea how long they'd been sat there when she was aware of someone standing behind her, Josh's wide eyed expression giving away what she already knew.
It was Charles.
"So you are still here." He joked. "I was wondering if you wanted me to show you around the garage? It's quiet down there now."
"That would be so cool." Josh grinned, already jumping up.
"Oh, I-" Charles looked back and forth between the three of them awkwardly.
"Oh we've got to go actually. We've got dinner plans." Anna interjected, grabbing hold of Josh's arm. "Maybe tomorrow? Laura is free though and I'm sure she'd absolutely love you to give her a tour."
"What dinner plans are you talking about? We haven't-" Josh frowned.
"Shut up, I'll tell you later." Anna hissed, getting to her feet and dragging Josh away.
"You really don't have to give me a tour." Laura said awkwardly, the two of them now stood alone. "You must be tired and have plenty of things to do."
"I've got time." He smiled, shooting her a smile that made her stomach flip. "Shall we go?"
"Okay." She agreed reluctantly, chewing on her lip nervously as she followed him.
He'd been and got changed since she'd seen him earlier. The race suit replaced by a Ferrari jumped and a pair of shorts, his hair still damp and ruffled from the shower. He looked just as good as the first night she'd met him, and she knew she was in trouble.
"I was really expecting you to have disappeared by the time I was done." He joked as the two of them walked along, his words filling the awkward silence.
"I did try and leave but Anna wouldn't let me." She admitted, but she couldn't help but smile as he laughed.
"Is it the first race you've ever been to?" He asked, pointing her in the direction of the garage as they made their way through the paddock.
Laura nodded. "Clearly I have not followed the sport because I had absolutely no idea who you were until this morning. Were you ever going to tell me?"
"Probably not." He shrugged. "I was quite enjoying it. Things are a bit... crazy... especially this weekend. It's nice to talk to someone and just be Charles, to be normal for a little bit. You know?"
"I don't know, I am very very normal all of the time." She laughed. "But yeah, I can imagine life is pretty crazy for you."
"So, what are you doing here then?" He asked curiously.
"Anna's husband Josh, his dad's company is one of your sponsors." Laura explained. "I just got dragged along for the ride as I do with most things Anna comes up with."
"Ah, I see." Charles laughed. "She's a force to be reckoned with?"
"You could say that." Laura agreed.
The way his hand landed on the small of her back as he ushered her into the back of the garage sent a shiver down her spine. The head from his hand radiating into her skin, and it lingered there as the two of them walked through the garage.
Charles had paused, saying goodbye to a few of the Ferrari staff as they began to head out for the night. Then before she knew it, it was the two of them standing alone in the garage beside the car.
"So..." she asked awkwardly.
"So... your tour." He grinned. "This is my car..."
The two of them slowly made their way around the car, Charles pointing out various features of it and telling her how things worked, and his hand stayed firmly planted on the small of her back as he guided her around the garage.
"You know..." his voice was low and quiet in her ear, a hand resting on each of her hips as he stood behind her. "I'm really glad that I ran into you today. I've been thinking about you."
It was true. Every time he went to the yacht, saw that stupid pair of shoes that she'd left behind in hurry to get away, it took him back to that night. How many times had he wondered how things might've turned out differently if he'd just kept his mouth shut?
"Not used to the girls you take back to your yacht running off and leaving you?" She joked, keeping her eyes trained firmly on the car. She didn't dare turn around to look at him.
"I mean, no." He agreed. "But you are the only girl I've ever taken back there. So I suppose I've got a one hundred percent fail rate there."
Laura couldn't hold back her laughter, the whole thing sounding so ridiculous. She could feel him laughing behind her, his chest pressed against her back.
"They aren't even my shoes." She admitted. "I borrowed them from Anna, I don't think she's even noticed."
"We could go and get them?" Charles suggested. "You might need them on Sunday. There's always a big after party."
"You're going to throw yourself a victory party are you?" She asked, trying to ignore the way his grip tightened slightly on her hips.
"If I win it will be the biggest party you've ever seen." He agreed. "But this race... it doesn't usually love me. So I'm not going to hold my breath on that one."
"Well, shall we go and get my shoes so I've got them to wear to your party on Sunday?" She suggested, taking a step away from him, his hands falling awkwardly to his side as she turned to face him.
"Sure." He nodded. "Can you ride a bike?"
"What?" She looked at him blankly.
"I cycled here this morning." He explained. "The team have a couple of spare bikes. We can borrow one to get down to the harbour? It'll be faster."
"Okay." She agreed. "I'm not racing you though."
"Only because you know I'll win." He gave her a mischievous look.
"Maybe it is a race after all... what's the prize when I beat you?" She asked. She followed him to the back of the garage, spotting a couple of bikes she hadn't noticed earlier.
He handed her one bike, pausing for a second to adjust the seat so she could actually get on it.
"If I win, you have dinner with me." He suggested. "And you don't run away from me this time."
"And if I win?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"I don't know, what do you want?" He raised an eyebrow suggestively.
"I'll think about that." She laughed, shaking her head. "Come on then, lead the way Leclerc."
YOU ARE READING
Escapism (CL 16)
Fanfiction"Just a heart broke bitch High heels six inch In the back of the nightclub, sippin' champagne Drunk calls, drunk texts, drunk tears, drunk sex I was lookin' for a man who was on the same page"
