Track Limits

Monaco - The Swim

DailyMail: Beach day with mystery blonde. Does Charles Leclerc have new woman? Where is Alex?

Charles POV:

The first thing I noticed when I got home was Alex's car parked in the drive. It wasn't unusual for her to come over when I was out, but she hadn't texted she was coming over or asked when I would be back. I could feel a slight anxiety building in my body as I rode up the elevator closing my eyes.

The water was clear and I could see marine life darting between the rocks. Different flashes of color as I stayed swimming at the top of water before diving down whenever something caught my interest.

The elevator dinged pulling my attention back as the doors opened to my floor and I made my way towards the door.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the familiar snake like movement against the sand floor. When I turned my body around in the water the movement was gone but it was close to a pile of rocks submerged only a handful of feet down. I knew it was one of my favorite things to see in the water as I dove down to get a closer look. Between the crack I could see the colors of a moray eel. Looking up I could see Mia swimming at the top of the water, her blonde hair feathering out in every direction.

Surprisingly Alex wasn't in the living room when I walked in. I went to the kitchen and threw my keys on the counter. She wasn't there either. I called out to her with no response. There were only three other places she could be. The piano room, bedroom, or balcony.

I peered around the corner to where my piano and books were. She wasn't on the couch there. I pulled one of the curtains back in that room to see if she was on the balcony. Alex was sitting on a chair staring at her phone. She was facing away from me but I could tell her shoulders were slumped. The only option was to join her on the balcony.

My arms and legs kicked and pulled me to the surface of the water where I pushed out the water in my snorkel and swam towards Mia. She seemed happily distracted by the sea floor underneath us that she didn't even notice me. I swam down so I was directly in her line of vision and flipped so I was facing her. I couldn't help but smile under the water and wave to Mia who happily waved back. Now that I had her attention I swam back next to her and stuck my head out of the water for the first time in a solid moment. Her head bobbed up for a second where I told her to follow me.

Alex didn't look up when I walked outside but her body seemed to tense. She didn't put her phone down, so I chose to pull the chair up next to her. When I sat down she finally looked up to me and I couldn't read her expression. Sad, angry, frustrated, confused. It was impossible to tell but it could definitely be defined as withdrawn.

Mia and I dove down towards the rock where I saw the eel earlier. I grabbed onto a rock so I didn't have to fight the water. Mia grabbed on to my shoulder to stay sunk in the water, and I kept my eyes on the rock seeing the body of the eel in the opening. I pointed with my free hand as I felt Mia pull closer so her head could be near mine.

Like it was perfect timing the eel curiously poked his head out towards us and as soon as it did Mia let out a little scream underwater and was kicking to the surface. It took me a second more to follow, looking at the eel up close before I kicked back up to the surface. By the time I got there Mia was half way to the shore which made me chuckle. I kicked back towards her and land.

"Are you going to say something," Alex said flatly.

I felt the confusion wash over my face. "Is there something to say?"

Alex's gaze was locked in and focused. Whatever she was about to say was going to be direct.

Mia was standing now in the knee high water yelling at me frantically. Something about how I needed to get out of the water.

"Hurry up and get out of the water, that thing will kill you," she said frantically. I couldn't help but smile at the reaction yelling back it was fine.

"Charles Leclerc, I will drag you out myself," she yelled back to me. At this point I was honestly impressed at how quickly she was able to book it towards shore.

"It's just a little sea creature," I called back closing the space between the two of us. By the time I made it to her, she grabbed my arm pulling me onto my feet and trying to run out of the water.

I couldn't help but laugh, Mia almost gasping as she clumsily pulled us over the rocks. "Sea snakes are fucking lethal, I refuse to be interviewed about how the heart throb of Ferrari fucking died. Don't do that to me," she said frantically.

Her movements made us trip in the shallow water, us both falling into the crashing waves. "It was an eel," I yelled out fully amused now. "An eel I promise!"

Mia was no longer frantic, but looked at me shocked. "An eel?"

I nodded smiling as we sat in the calm water, the waves lapping onto us. "A little friendly eel."

Mia pulled her mask off holding in what looked to be a laugh. "I thought we were gonna die. Charles you..." she couldn't finish her sentence letting laughs pour out of her.

"Mia I promise you I'm not that crazy of a thrill seeker," I said amused back splashing her. She shook her head and pushed me backwards, a wave hitting so she fell onto me. At this point, shallow enough that she was practically laying on my chest while my back rested on the rocks.

She looked up at me not seeming to be bothered by the closeness, her eyes peering up at me. "I was so scared. Do sea snakes even live here," she giggled.

I shook my head smiling down at her. "I don't think so."

She let out a deep breath perfectly rested on me. We stayed like that for a second. I felt the draw to secure an arm around her. Wrap it around her body which was draped over me. Our eyes locked with both of us grinning, she leaned up against her forearms making our faces aligned as she hovered over me. That moment seemed frozen while I studied her face which was just a reach from mine. It didn't stay frozen though as I felt Mia's body finally tense, her eyes very serious in the moment. All I had to do was lean up and we could kiss.

Was she thinking it too?

It was answered thought when her eyes crinkled with her smile and she managed to splash me again while shifting off my chest. "You'll be the death of me Charles I swear."

I expected the picture that Alex held up into my face to be that moment. It was what I could see on the screen. It was the moment I knew I was playing a dangerous game and it was the reason for the anxious feeling. How comfortable it felt with Mia. The moment I wanted to pull her near me and close the space. A picture that carried all my feelings and secrets. Secrets from Alex, Pierre, and Mia.

When I blinked the image on the phone was different though. A far more innocent picture of me laughing with a blonde on the beach. Mia's face hidden. The title above reading Does Charles Have a New Woman?

"Care to explain," Alex said staring me down over the phone.

I nodded my head knowing I had to make a decision. Words seemed to fail me right now. As innocent as the picture looked, Alex wasn't a fool.

"It's Mia isn't it," Alex said knowingly.