AN ENDLESS SMILE// DANIEL RICCIARDO

SEVEN

Josephine hadn't even realised that the Ricciardo man had moved his arm away from her shoulders so that he could gently clasp her hand, intertwining their fingers together to make sure that they didn't get lost or separated in the crowds before they made it to the cafe.

In fact, her mind had only caught up to it when he gently squeezed her hand just before he released it and sat down at the cute and quiet cafe.

"Unless I change my name to Umbrella or something, then I doubt it."

The two of them slowly sat down at one of the tables of the cafe, sitting opposite each other with small smiles on their faces whilst they were looking at each other, keeping eye contact.

The pair began to pull funny faces at one another whilst they waited to be served, bright grins on their faces as they challenged each other to make the silliest face possible.

"Hey, what can I get you?"

Daniel and Josephine both jolted in surprise, since they had been too busy pulling faces at each other to notice that a server had made their way over to the two of them, immediately bursting in to laughter.

"Can I get a chocolate brownie and a milkshake please?" Josephine tilted her head up to smile at the young server, who looked to be in their mid teens.

"Of course. What about you, sir?"

Daniel glanced out of the corner of his eye to admire the Rankin woman, who was busy pulling her wallet out from her bag, before he turned back to the server, giving them a friendly smile.

"Can I just get the same, please?" Daniel spoke, since he wasn't too bothered about what he wanted to eat.

"Of course. What milkshake would you both like?"

"Chocolate."

They spoke in unison, their answer exactly the same making the two of then shift their gazes to one another, the smallest of smiles aimed at the other, their eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

Since the two of them had become acquainted with one another again, and had spent time together in their home city of Perth, Australia, the two of them seemed to become very close friends.

If he travelled to a different country, he would sometimes bring Josie along with him so that she wasn't alone, or worrying about him every time that he raced.

They would always stay in hotel rooms that were next to each other, since he had been made aware that she suffered quite often with nightmares, with him having discovered it due to the fact that she had stayed at his house once in Perth and had woken him up in the middle of the night with a scream.

He hadn't even realised that she had memorised what he liked to drink, or eat. He hadn't even realised that she had memorised what things he liked to do, like photography, cooking and drawing.

But what he had realised, now more than ever was that he really did enjoy her company, not only because it was almost as if he still had his best friend around, but also because she made him laugh and smile, but that she also made him feel a little less lonely.

A little bit less alone.

____________________________________________________

"I got your message."

Charles Leclerc glanced up from his phone upon hearing the voice of his auntie, seeing her walking towards him and one of his friends who had been waiting with him.

"Hi auntie Josie." Charles smiled as he wrapped his arms around the Australian woman, hugging her as tightly as he could without crushing her.

"Hey kiddo. Who's your friend?" Josephine smiled at the Monégasque, before turning to face the new face, a tall boy with light brown hair who was waving at her.