𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝙁𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙 - Charles Leclerc (CL16) [Book 1]

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚗

8pm. On time. Big plus. I'm tired of waiting for guys, it's surprisingly refreshing to finally go out with one who is on time.

"I'm coming down." I reply to him over the intercom.

One last look in the mirror. One last deep breath. Okay, I'm ready.

I hurry down the few steps to the entrance and when I open the door I almost lose my breath. Carlos is waiting there in his black trousers and a white linen button-up. He does look like a Disney prince. I can't believe it.

He takes a step towards me and leans in to give me two kisses, one on each cheek. I'm taken by surprise when he moves from my left cheek to my right cheek. The Italian way. Trying not to be too obvious I take in the smell of his cologne. He smells so good.

"Liana, wow. You look stunning." Carlos' voice is deep and sends goosebumps over my arms and back immediately. This is going to be a long evening if my body reacts to his voice like this after not even 5 minutes,

"Thank you. I can only return the compliment." I've never been more grateful for the dark because I can feel my face heating up again. It's embarrassing how my face turns bright red as soon as Carlos says something nice.

We stand there and look each other in the eyes for what feels like forever. Carlos is the first to move. With a smile on his face he says, "As much as I enjoy looking at you I think we should get going, I don't want them to give our table away because I'm actually starving."

I can't help but laugh. "We should! We don't want that to happen."

With a little push he moves me towards his car. His hand rested on my lower back again. Stupid goosebumps.

He stops right beside his matte grey Ferrari and opens the door for me. Before he gets in on the drivers side I take a look around the car. I've been in Lando's McLaren before but as an Italian I've always loved Ferrari. This car is just stunning. In combination with the man now sitting beside me, it's an unbeatable combo.

God, I need to clear my mind. I can't obsess over this man that much.

We spend the short car ride to the restaurant in a comfortable silence, quiet music playing in the background. My smile widens more and more when I recognise which song is playing. He has Taylor Swift playing in the background. "I Knew You Were Trouble". Why was this song not playing when I met Charles for the first time? that would have saved me a whole lot of drama for myself. Ugh. Why am I thinking about Charles again, when I'm on a date with this super hot Spanish guy?

Liana, concentrate on the handsome guy next to you.

We arrive at the restaurant and Carlos gets out of the car right away. He walks around the car and opens the door for me.

A true gentleman.

I take his right hand and as soon as I'm standing next to him, his left hand moves right back to my lower back. Like an automatic response.

He gives his car keys to the valet and leads me inside. We are asked to follow the lady through the restaurant. I can feel some eyes on us. Of course people recognise him.

"This is your table, sir. The waiter is coming soon."

Carlos moves behind my chair and pulls it back so I can take a seat. This man was raised by amazing parents. Isn't it sad that no man I've ever gone out with before had manners even close to the ones Carlos displays?

From my seat I have the perfect view of the sea and it's stunning. I grew up in the northern part of Italy. We had loads of mountains around us but no sea, my mum never really had the time to go to the beach with us. When I moved to Nice 4 years ago I couldn't believe I had the sea only 5 minutes away from my apartment. My mum used to always make fun of me because even though open water terrifies the crap out of me, there is almost nothing more I hate than swimming, I've always been drawn to the sea. So, even after 4 years of living here, I still get mesmerised by the sea, especially at night.