Book 2: Beginning Again -Carlos Sainz

Chapter 54

Marie twiddled her thumbs over her phone.

"Why do I feel so weird about this? I can ask him out, it's the 21st century!" Marie thought to herself as she swallowed the impending nausea.

Morning, I'm heading to Monaco for a few days to meet my dad there, would you want to meet up?: Marie

Carlos: Absolutely, when will you be there? I'm in Italy right now but I'll make it back

I'll be there tomorrow: marie

Carlos: Keep your saturday open.

Marie took a deep breath through the rapid heartbeat. She looked back up at her computer, ready to head back to work. Before she could get back to her endless outlook inbox, she clicked open her phone to see a photo of her and Erin. She smiled at the memory, thinking about all the times that Erin told her to follow her heart- all else be damned.

**

Marie felt an odd sense of nervousness and calmness. Her anxiety felt superficial, like thinking about what she would wear and what they would talk about. But on a deeper level, she felt an intense calmness. The plane landed early on Saturday morning and Marie opened up her phone to tell her dad she had arrived.

Dad: Emergency meeting for both of us at 4pm.

Marie groaned and rolled her eyes upon reading the message. she knew these "emergency meetings" were mostly bullshit, and they always happened on weekends with plans.

Hey, I have a work thing at 4. Any chance we can change our plans for an evening thing? Maybe a walk on the beach?: Marie

Marie tried to take a deep breath. The one time she decided to ask him out, she had to change the plans. People started filing off the plane as Marie waited for the text bubbles to pop up. She knew he might still be in Italy also doing work things, hoping he would get her message quickly. The rest of the morning and afternoon involved emails, meetings, and discussions with her dad, all in between checking her phone for a response. One of the more senior members of the company had just announced his early retirement, throwing everyone off as they all had to scramble to fill the position. Apparently, his wife had just been diagnosed with cancer and he chose to be with her- the notion and similarity was enough to make her dad tear up a bit. Amidst the chaos, Marie continued to feel oddly calm. Normally she would be nose deep into her work, but it was all a reminder that there are some things more important than work.

Carlos: meet at our spot at 4:30?

Marie smiled at her phone, remembering all the times that he was the calm in the storm. He was the safe spot for her, never making her feel like she was drowning in her life. A word she once never would've used for him in the past popped into her mind- dependable. The smile lingered in the back of her mind as she got back to work.

4:30 came and went, which resulted in consecutive sighs from Marie as she kept Carlos updated. The guilt festered from the moment that her last meeting ended to when she was booking it down to the beach. Gavin watched with confusion as his daughter borderline ran out, down to the beach shore, and into what was turning into a beautiful sunset. Marie climbed the rocks, focusing on each step she took as she finally saw his shadow. She waved, jumping up and down, before she continued climbing over the rocks. She briefly thought back to their first real date there, when she was pretending to be in better shape than she was. The shadow got bigger and bigger until Marie put one foot down on the soft sand beneath her and looked up. She looked up almost into him, he was standing so close. It had been a few weeks since they had seen each other and Marie still felt her breath taken away just slightly. As many times as she had seen him, sleeping, awake, in any state, he never ceased to amaze her.

"Hey, i'm sorry about being late the-"

Marie was stopped in her words as she felt the heat from his hand around the side of her jaw. He slowly wrapped his hand around her neck and brought her face to his, forcing her to place a hand on his chest for stability. What was a normal few seconds played out like it was ten minutes long.

"Hi," Carlos said with a sly smile as their lips parted.

"Hey," Marie replied before silence fell between them. His fingers toyed with the soft hairs by the nape of her neck and she could barely string two words together let alone a sentence.

"You were saying something?"

"Oh, yeah," Marie said as she was shaken out of her trance. "I was late, there's been a company crisis."

"Crisis resolved?" Carlos said as his hand moved from her neck, finding her hand by her side.

"Crisis... in progress."

"Able to take your mind off it?"

"Yeah, it's mostly just my dad's problem," Marie started as Carlos had started to lead them over towards the little sand bed where they had their first date. "Just lots of people panicking for literally no..."

Marie trailed off as they rounded the edge and saw a little blanket and picnic setup, just like how it lived in her dreams from their first date.

"I thought we could, uh, have a little picnic like we used to. Do you have time for that?"

Marie couldn't take her eyes away from the little setup. The details, the way the sun was just starting to paint colors on the horizon, the wind that softly blew through her hair.

"Yes, I definitely do. No more work for me tonight," Marie said with a sincere smile.

"Really?" Carlos replied with a questioning look. "Never thought I'd hear those words out of you."

"Well work is always there. I don't always get to spend time with you."