Life Changes » Marcus Armstrong

Four.

"Hey," Jane smiled and wrapped her arm around Marcus for a few seconds. She took off her sunglasses.

Marcus let go of her and sat down again. "Good morning," he said. Jane took place across from him. "How are you? You look beautiful, Jane."

It came to Marcus attention Jane's hair was longer than that evening, but overall she didn't change much. Well, she looks less nervous...

"Thank you," Jane politely said and looked away while stroking the front piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm fine, thanks. How about you?" It made her look back at him. "You look handsome too, by the way," she whispered.

He couldn't help it, but his face softened. Jane was nervous; Marcus could see that. It looked adorable. "I'm fine too," Marcus replied.

Just to Jane her luck, since she didn't know what to say anymore, the waiter showed up and asked if he could take their order. Jane decided to go for a cornetto - it looked like a croissant, and a cappuccino.

"For me the same, please," Marcus said. "And a small bowl of mixed fruit, if that is possible."

The waiter nodded and grabbed the menu's from the table. "Of course, no problem. It will be right here." He walked away.

"I had no idea you worked for Giuseppe and Emma," Marcus started. "I saw you walking on the driveway, and I had to look twice to see if it was actually you. You looked pretty... annoyed and strict."

"So I really look like a strict tutor, great," Jane painfully said, but could laugh it off. "Don't get me wrong, Federico is a lovely kid, but when he has a bad day... And a dinner at his own house where he is not allowed to be... Pain in the arse. But everyone has those days; I don't mind him."

Marcus only smiled. "That's true. But he likes you, just like Francesca. We all could see that at the football match."

"They are amazing."

"You are their nanny?"

"Tutor on paper." It made Marcus raise his eyebrows. "I usually pick them up from school and spend an afternoon on homework and some languages, but over the months, it became taking care of them as well. I don't mind it, I get paid for it, and they are lovely people," Jane explained. The cappuccino's arrived. She grabbed a sugar stick and emptied it into the cup. "I can't quite put my finger on your presence at the investor's dinner."

A short laugh rolled over Marcus' lips. "I don't know if you can tell, but I'm absolutely not an investor. Giuseppe is an important guy in the motorsports world, and I'm a F2 driver. I believed they invited everyone over because it was Emma's birthday, also an important woman in this world."

"Ah, I see. Makes sense now," she nodded and carefully took a sip from the cappuccino. Jane didn't want to admit is, but she forgot that Marcus told her he was a F2 driver before. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea what is going on in the motorsports world. I grew up in a football family."

"Don't apologise," Marcus said straightaway and also took a sip from the cappuccino. "You can't always know everything - no offence."

Jane was shaking her head, just to let Marcus know everything was fine. "But everything is going fine in F2?"

Their breakfast got served.

"We are actually still in the winter break."

"Ow."

"No, no, it's fine," Marcus replied and gave her a comforting smile. He could see it made Jane insecure. "You didn't know it. We are starting in a couple of weeks, so we are mainly prepping things: making the car ready, office days, a lot of simulator sessions."

"And that is going fine?" Jane bit on the inside of her lip, she should have asked Luna about all of this. She felt insecure and stupid for not knowing the basics.

His eyes lit up, she was trying to be interested and trying to understand everything of it. "It's different from last year. I raced in F3 last year, and I'm going to race in F2 this year. It's different, but challenging. I really enjoy it so far."

Jane nodded. "That's good."

They both started to eat in silence. The temperature slowly began to rise to a more pleasantly warmth.

"I heard from friends the exams of the semester are about to start," Marcus changed the subject. Jane nodded. "How is it going?"

"I'm starting tomorrow. And I already cannot wait for it to be over," Jane said and deeply breathed in and out. "It's so much work, it isn't fun anymore."

"What are you studying again?"

"Literary and Cultural Analysis." She looked at him.

He nodded. "Sounds... interesting?"

They both laughed.

"Let's say it can be interesting," Jane cheekily said and took a small sip of the cappuccino. It tasted good.

Marcus slowly nodded. "But you don't like it?" He was scanning her face, trying to figure out what she meant.

"Nope." She pressed her lips into a thin line. "But you know, it is what it is."

»

After a few hours and two cappuccino's later, Jane paid for breakfast. She thanked the waiter and left the cafe. The sun was warm; it was the perfect weather to go out to the beach and just relax.

Marcus was waiting in front of the cafe. "How much was it?" He looked at Jane once she arrived.

"No," she stopped him. "This is on me. You paid for dinner two months ago... Really still can't thank you enough. And because of two days ago."

"You really don't have to thank me for that, Jane," he replied. Jane was standing in front of him, locking her eyes with his. "But you are very welcome, and thank you for breakfast."

Jane nodded. "No problem," she smiled and put her sunglasses on her nose. She looked around her. "Hey," she friendly said to a man she vaguely knew.

"Hey," the man politely said.

Marcus and Jane started to walk. "It is really none of my business, but how did it end up with your boyfriend?"

"I broke up with that dickhead," Jane shared emotionless.

He couldn't help it, but softly smirked. Just the way Jane said it, was just brilliant. "Good," he mumbled.

"And you have the right to ask about it. You were basically the reason why I broke up with him."

"I what?" Marcus squeezed his eyebrows together. "You're welcome, I guess..."

Jane's eyes widened. "Gosh, no. I don't mean it like that. It's just... Leonardo and I weren't on good terms anymore, that dinner was also the last hope. And then he didn't show up. But you did, you saved my arse that evening. While talking to you, it made me realise I was not in the right relationship."

"I have no idea who Leonardo is, but I could tell from that evening how much of a dick he was," Marcus blurted without even thinking about it. "You are such a wonderful person, and you shouldn't be left alone at dinner dates like that or be treated like nothing."

Her cheeks heated up by Marcus' words.

"That chapter is closed, and I'm not here to talk about that," he finished the subject. His eyes were scanning the surroundings; he knew they were almost at Jane's home. "Thank you again for the fun morning, I really enjoyed it. We should do it more often."

"Absolutely," Jane happily smiled. "That's good to hear, I really did enjoy it too."

This morning was fun, it was just a simple breakfast, but it meant much to Jane. For the first time in two months, she opened up to someone again, it made her feel appreciated again. It made her happy.