Book 2: Beginning Again -Carlos Sainz

Chapter 50

Marie was fucked. She knew she was fucked the minute that she was standing on her feet, gripping Erin's hand, sometimes pacing around, and borderline screaming as the lap numbers continued counting up. She was fucked because regardless of her job, boyfriend's job, dad's interest, she was hooked on the thrill of F1. Even watching battles from the Mclaren and Mercedes teams got her cheering. She could feel her heart pounding, especially each time she glanced at the top of the timesheets to see Carlos in P1. He had held onto his pole position from the start, after a very tense first turn where him and Max went wheel to wheel. Erin claims she pulled a Danny ric and fractured a metacarpal from how hard Marie was gripping her hand. It was the last few laps of the race and Max was slowly gaining on Carlos. The lap times were always close, but the high tyre wear of the Ferrari put Carlos in a vulnerable position to Max. A few tenths here and there led to the moment where Max was under the tail of the Ferrari, waiting on a mistake. The seconds went by slowly as the entirety of the stands waited with held breath. The penultimate lap led into the final lap and suddenly every person in every grandstand seat was standing to watch. Regardless of the team, everyone was rooting for car 55 to keep the championship-winning Max behind him and clinch the win. Marie stared at the last corner with all she had until she saw it- the red car making its way around. She couldn't help it as the tears welled up in her eyes. The crowd, the energy, the way he drove by the mechanics and waived as he crossed the line. She wiped the tears and the emotions away quickly, focusing on watching him get out of the car with the energy of someone who didn't just race for two hours straight. It felt like a movie, watching the scenes play out. Suddenly, she was thinking back to all the podium celebrations she got to watch. Every time she saw him up there, feeling filled with pride. It was like a montage of all the little moments that made her fall further in love with him. Her heart felt like a cement block all of the sudden, making her lose her breath. Marie turned to Erin quickly saying,

"Hey, I need to get back to the hotel to get ready for the dinner, but you're welcome to stay if you want?"

"You okay?" Erin replied?

"Oh yeah, I'm so happy for him. I hope the best for him, truly. I just need to get home so I can shower."

Marie felt the cement block lifting the further away she got from the track, away from the life she told herself she was letting go of, and the man she told herself she had let go of.

**

As Marie slipped on her dress, The dress, and she felt her confidence skyrocket. She did a 360 look and smoothed out the front with a smile on her face. She stepped out of the bathroom for her shoes, knowing that Charles would be there any second.

"You look... wow," Erin said, speechless.

"You're never speechless, E."

"That dress was made for you, I'm so serious. Good luck, have fun tonight, text me updates?"

"Sounds good," Marie said with a hug and a swipe of lip gloss, then she was out the door. Within a few minutes, they were in the limo. Charles had been shockingly quiet, tapping his foot incessantly.

"So Charles," Marie started, "Who was that girl I met this morning? Caroline, was it?"
"Oh she's one of our reserve physiotherapists and trainers she fills in when someone is sick or off work."

"Not what I asked," Marie said with a smile. "Who is she, to you?"

Charles' blush gave it all away.

"She's a friend."

"You two were making googly eyes at each other during that whole interaction and she was very wary about me, she likes you just as much as you like her."