Lock Up ⏐Charles Leclerc

Chapter 57

"Definitely what?" Charles asked as he came back with three glasses of iced tea.

"You definitely shouldn't be carrying that." I said when I saw him struggling to hold the three glasses. Two were wedged in between his chest and arm while one was being held by his left hand.

I immediately stood up and carefully took the glasses from him, setting them on the table in front of the chairs. "Thanks." Charles said, smiling down at me when I took the last one and handed it to him properly. "So, what have you guys been talking about?"

"That's between me and Valentine, dear." Pascale said, smiling behind her glass as she looked up at the two of us.

"Come on." Charles groaned, bumping my hip. "At least give me some of the tea."

I raised my eyebrow at the terminology he used. "Where did you learn that word?"

"Twitter and I keep hearing it from Daniel." He chuckled and I shook my head.

We spent the entire morning in the backyard and I watched the mother and son duo interact the whole time. There's a refreshing look on Charles when he's around his mother and I find myself realizing that it's the same look he has whenever I see him in Italy.

Relaxed and at peace.

It was nearing eleven when we decided to leave and Pascale was walking out with us. I changed into a blue floral romper since it'd be too hot to wear the sweater and shorts I had on earlier. We were taking the Stradale again to avoid unwanted eyes.

"It was lovely meeting you." I said, giving Pascale a hug as well all stood by the garage.

"You too, dear." She said, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Take care of Charles, okay?"

I nodded my head and left the two to bid goodbye before getting into the passenger seat. Charles kissed his mom on her forehead before helping her get in her car. He gave her one last wave before walking towards my direction.

"You look happy." I said when the smile on his face didn't disappear as he drove away from his house.

Charles glanced at me before turning his eyes back to the road. "It's nice to see her especially when I consistently travel around the world. Arthur's the same and most of the time Lorenzo accompanies him."

We arrived at the harbour after a few minutes and Charles and I placed some caps over our heads. From what he told me, we were using Pascale's boat since it was smaller while Charles' would've been better for at least five people.

"How did you learn to drive a boat?" I asked as I watched him check if everything was in place.

"It was Jules, actually. If piano was my past time, this was his." Charles stood in front of the wheel and I felt the boat move away from the dock. "Whenever I needed a break from karting or even when we were both in Formula One, we'd do this and just spend half of the day on the water."

As Charles continued to tell more stories about Jules, I whipped out the notebook and charcoal pencil I brought, making myself comfortable as I drew him. The water was making it difficult to steadily draw against the paper but I found myself loving the imperfections I accidentally make.

We had ventured out into a space that was far enough so that people wouldn't see us clearly. As Charles shut down the engine and let the anchor loose, that was the only time he noticed that I was sketching on my notebook. He peeked over my shoulder and I didn't bother hiding the drawing I made of him, only half of his face visible as I drew some finishing touches on the view behind him.

"I see you're making me your muse again." He smiled, sitting down beside me and bringing out some food from the packs we brought with us. "I may have to start charging a fee."

I kicked his foot with mine and stuck my tongue out, Charles laughing in return. "I'll make Pierre my muse then." I said and Charles' eyes turned into slits.

"Don't you dare."

"Sell me the Stradale and I wouldn't." I smirked and his glare didn't waver.

"You're making it really tempting to throw you over the water right now." I ignored him and flicked his forehead before standing up to stretch my back from all the sitting I've been doing today.

"So, I have a question." I started and Charles raised an eyebrow at the seriousness of my tone. Charles nodded his head and passed me a sandwhich that he made earlier. "Has Giovanni always been so intimidating?"

Charles shook his head, leaning back so that his head was sitting on the edge of the boat. "He was actually a good manager ever since he took me in as a client when I was in F2. The way he's acting right now, this is only a recent occurrence."

"Have you thought of getting a new manager?"

"I have." Charles nodded his head and I waited for him to explain. "Jules' manager, Nicolas Todt, has always remained in contact with me since we've become friends as well. I haven't talked to him about Giovanni yet because I still have to review the current contract I have with him."

"Giovanni's not going to like that." I cringed, already imagining how he will lash out. I have an inkling that he's going to blame me for this when it's entirely up to Charles.

"With all the bullshit he's put me through this season, he had it coming."

*****

Bit of a filler chapter in between races but we have Monza in the next chapter 👀

✧Reese✧