Charles did a bit of a double take when he got out of the car at the end of the third practice session and realised that Laura was actually still stood in the garage, headphones around her neck and talking to a member of the team. She was more or less exactly where he'd left her, and he'd been all but convinced she was going to sneak off the second he got in the car.
But there she was, more or less where he'd left her, and dare he say it there was even a hint of a smile on her face. The thought that she'd actually been in there having a good time brought a smile to his own face, that was luckily hidden by his helmet that he was yet to remove. So when she turned to look at him she couldn't tell that he was actually grinning at her like an idiot. The combination of having roped the time sheets in the final practice session before qualifying in his home race and the fact that she was still there definitely gave him a reason to smile.
He hopped out of the car, stopping to speak to a few members of the team and thank them for all their hard work, before he pulled his helmet off and put it down on the side, dragging the balaclava over his head and taking out his headphones. He quickly unzipped his race suit, tying it around his waist and then turned to look for Laura.
He didn't have to look far, because while he'd been getting himself sorted she'd made her way through the crowd and was now only a couple of steps away from him. "You're still here." He grinned. "I thought that you might run away once I got in the car."
"I thought about it." She laughed. "But actually that was pretty impressive to watch, I got carried away."
"Told you that you'd enjoy it if you actually gave it a chance." He smirked, running his fingers through his hair in attempt to tame it back into place.
"You might be right." She agreed. "Plus like you said it's easy to hide from Anna down here. She's been texting me non stop. I think she saw me on the tv in the back of the garage."
"Don't worry, I'll save you from her." He promised. "Come on, let's go." He wrapped an arm around her waist, causing a few raised eyebrows from the people in the garage around them, and ushered her towards the exit of the garage.
"Where are we going?" She frowned.
"Somewhere we can talk properly." He told her, arm still firmly around her waist and guiding her into the back door of the Ferrari motorhome. Instead of heading through to the area she'd seen the day before, he grabbed her hand and dragged her up a staircase and into a small room, closing the door firmly behind the two of them.
"What is this? Have you just dragged me into a cupboard?" She laughed, looking at him in confusion.
"My drivers room, but yeah it's pretty much a cupboard if you want to put it like that." He laughed. "It's not all as glamorous as it looks, but no one will bother us in here."
"Alright." She agreed quietly.
The room was small, and the way they were standing left little room between them. One of his hands still held hers, their fingers intertwined and the other had somewhere along the line fallen onto her waist. His fingers traced over her waist, moving in small circles, in a way that was more than a little distracting for her.
"So?" She prompted.
"Huh?" He looked at her blankly, her words snapping him out of his internal dilemma about whether or not he should just lean in and kiss her, the way he'd been wanting to do since he first saw her.
"You were the one who dragged me in here and said you needed to talk, so start talking." She prompted. "You're just staring at me like a weirdo at the minute."
He let out a nervous laugh. There were a lot of things he needed to say, but now he was standing there in front of her and she'd actually agreed to hear him out he was struggling to remember how to form a sentence in English.
"Charles?" She prompted.
He hesitated for a moment, looking at her as she dragged her bottom lip through her teeth, looking at him expectantly as he stuttered over the words. Then, before his brain had even really caught up with the actions of his body, his hands were cradling her face and his lips were on hers.
It caught her by surprise initially, but she kissed him back almost instantly. Her fingers winding into his hair, still dishevelled from the helmet, a little gasp escaping her as he suddenly picked her up and deposited her on the massage table in the small room without breaking the kiss.
It was the kind of kiss that had her questioning why she'd ever resisted him in the first place, and just left her wanting more. Her fingers winding into his hair in an attempt to pull him closer to her.
Neither of them heard the knock at the door the first time, or the second, it wasn't until Carlos opened the door and peered around, muttered an apology and very quickly closed it again, that they seemed to realise what they were doing.
The two of them broke apart, Laura resting her forehead against Charles's chest as they both tried to catch their breath.
"That was..." Laura laughed nervously.
"Not what I brought you up here for." He told her, shaking his head, disappointed in himself for letting himself get so carried away. "I'm sorry."
"You don't need to be sorry." She laughed. "Now, are you going to tell me what you wanted to say?"
"I uh... I wanted to say I'm sorry. This whole thing has just been one big misunderstanding... I've been an asshole, it's not you it's just... I don't know, it's been a weird year." He suddenly realised he was rambling. "None of that matters, my point is that I really like you, and I'm really glad that you finally got rid of that asshole. Maybe now we can have dinner? Like a proper date?" He looked at her hopefully.
"I'd quite like that." She grinned.
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"
