Book 1: Leap of Faith -Charles Leclerc

Chapter 22

Chapter 22: October 19th, 2023

Caroline's cheeks hurt from smiling so much as she clinked glasses with her best friends at dinner. She also invited Nicole, knowing that the girls would take her in within a second and badger her with questions about being a WAG. Caroline knew her friends well and as soon as Nicole arrived, Lily, Kara, and Emma all started freaking out. They had never been so close to someone in the F1 world, completely unaware of the relationships that Caroline had.

"Cheers, bitches," Kara said, as she raised her pink frothy cocktail.

The various responses rang out from the table of girls and Caroline felt for a minute that she was home. She loved her life in Monaco, but there was something about being around people who knew her to the core of her soul.

"Ok ladies, listen," Nicole started, immediately causing a hushed silence over the girls at the booth.

"I wanted to make a good impression on all of you, so I got us VIP at one of the best clubs here in Austin. It's where all the F1 people go, and I've been assured that it's awesome. And don't worry about the cost, I told the owner it's a group of hot girls and they were more than happy to comp the price. Logan may have helped me out, but that's irrelevant," she finished with a bright smile painted on her face.

Caroline took in the looks of her friends' faces. They ranged from emotional to shell shocked.

"This is insane, Nicole, thank you so so much," Emma said.

"Seriously I don't know what to say! I'm beyond excited," Kara exclaimed.

"I'm definitely blacking out tonight," Lily said, tailing off the others.

Caroline giggled, feeling the pain in her cheeks again. This was the most perfect moment between all of the people she cared about. Her mind briefly flashed to Charles, but she couldn't linger on it for too long before she was brought back to the moment by her friends.

**

After feeling like she was back in college with the getting-ready scene in her hotel room, Caroline had decided on a black, tight, sparkly mini-dress. She thought back to her last all black outfit, and how it ended up in a pile on Carlos' floor. Caroline glanced over to her friend Kara, who would die if she knew that Caroline knew Carlos, much less had slept with him.

"Kara, can I tell you something? No judgment?" Caroline started, letting the drinks she had already downed speak for her.

"Yeah, of course, what's up?" Kara replied, still focused on curling her hair in the mirror.

Caroline was stopped from her confession by Nicole screaming from the other room that it was picture time.

"GET YOUR HOT ASSES IN HERE WE ARE TAKING PICTURES!"

"Nevermind, we can talk later. Let's go," Caroline said, linking her arm through Kara's as the two ran out to meet them.

They took about a thousand group selfies, and then switched to solos. Nicole's solos made everyone practically drop their jaws, as she was such a natural model. Caroline finished her drink and yelled,

"Okay my turn!"

She stole some of Nicole's poses, laughing at the cheers and compliments from the group. It felt like she was back in Chicago, far, far away from any of her boy troubles. She swiped through the photos, stopping on one of them. It showed her curves, and she had a happy smile on her face. Impulsively, Caroline threw it up on her instagram story, along with one of the group shots. She clicked off her phone, jumping in the thousandth and one selfie from the group. A few minutes later, they were in the Ubers on the way to the club.