If there was one thing Penelope had learnt about Charles Leclerc in the past few days, it was that he wasn't afraid of a challenge.
Penelope wasn't a stranger at teaching people to skate. She'd spent many hours trying not to laugh as her brothers wobbled about on the ice, clinging to each other as they followed her about like ducklings. But Charles was different. He didn't need any encouragement to step out onto the ice, and while at first he clutched the barrier like it was his only lifeline, it didn't take him long to take a few hesitant steps on his own.
"Woah!" he marvelled, eyes bright with excitement while Penelope glided along gracefully a few metres away. "I'm doing it! I'm actually-"
That was until he fell, hitting the ice with a resounding thud. He sprawled out on the ice, his limbs spread around him like a starfish. Penelope was at his side in a second, biting her lip to prevent herself from laughing as she gazed down at him.
"Charles?" she asked as he groaned to himself. "You okay?"
"I fell," he said, voice laced with self-pity.
Penelope reached out her hand, helping him to messily stagger to his feet. "I can see that. Anything broken?"
Charles shook his head, rubbing his elbow. "Just my ego. Does it always hurt that much?"
"Think that hurt? You should try falling from seven feet in the air. At speed, too."
He smiled down at his feet as she held his hand, guiding the both of them along. "Like 200 miles an hour? Because I can relate to that."
She tugged his hand, rolling her eyes. "Shut up," she teased. "I'm serious. This shit is dangerous."
"You get hurt a lot?"
"Things go wrong a lot. Lifts fall through or I mistime a jump...there's not really a week where some part of my body doesn't hurt."
"Does it not make you scared? I would be shitting myself every time I stepped out here. I can barely put one foot in front of the other."
She raised an eyebrow as they shifted positions, his hands now resting firmly on her waist as she skated along. She could tell he wasn't kidding about being a little nervous. Every time she made a move, she felt his fingers grip her a little tighter, like he was afraid to fall.
"You drive cars for a living. Surely it should be me asking you that question."
"Yeah, but there's stuff in place in F1. Rules and safety gear...out here it's just you and the ice. That shit is scary."
Penelope shifted her weight, turning so she was skating backwards, facing him. "I must just be really brave." She leaned in close enough to kiss him, her feet moving with minds of their own as she focused on the way he tasted, the way his hands felt on her skin.
"Brave, for sure," Charles said as she pulled away. "Or maybe just really stupid."
They reached the middle of the rink as Penelope glided to a stop. Charles wobbled on his skates, but managed to stay upright, a little determined smile on his face. His managed to pull her in so that she was leaning against him, staring out at the empty spectator stands, his arms crossed around her.
"And the crowd goes wild!" he joked, mimicking the cheering of a competition. "Penelope Jonas takes gold!"
"I wish. At this rate, Jasper and I won't even make it to the Olympics."
"You will. I can feel it."
Penelope sighed, staring at the vacant seats. She could almost picture her skating coach, Carlisle, barking orders at her in the front row. Don't let yourself get distracted by boys, Penelope, he would say. Put yourself first. Love is only a distraction from everything we've been working for. Remember that.
"Yeah," she said wistfully. "Maybe."
A shiver ran down her spine as he leaned in closer, lips brushing against the soft skin of her ear. "Dance with me."
"Charles, you can barely stand without falling. I think dancing might be a bit of a reach."
"Oh, come on!" he laughed, managing to spin her so he hand one hand on her waist, the other clasped in hers. "I'll let you lead. You can teach me."
Maybe it was a bad idea. Maybe Charles was a distraction, a use of time that she could be spending rehearsing or practising lines. But right now, she didn't care about any of that. Being here with him, spending time with someone who didn't want anything from her, made everything else into the background. And maybe that was a good thing.
"Okay," she said with a smile. "But don't let go! Just follow my steps, okay? Can you do that?"
"Absolutely."
"Good. Okay, move your leg that way."
Penelope had begun to notice little details about him the more time they spent together. She'd picked up on the fact that he got this little frown on his brow when he was concentrating, and it made her heart feel fuzzy. It made her smile to see him putting effort into the things that made her happy.
"Like that?" he asked her, frowning intensely.
"Just like that. There, you got it. Okay, now move your hand up so its resting right there. I'm gonna start moving, okay?"
"Okay. I'm ready."
"Okay. You got this. Easy see?"
Very slowly, they began to glide in time with Penelope's movements, making progress across the ice. A few times he stumbled, but she was there to catch him, laughing as he tried to play it off. She wasn't sure how long they danced for, but eventually they collapsed at the exit steps, exhausted.
"Well," he declared, "I don't think I'll be quitting racing any time soon."
Penelope leaned in and kissed his cheek, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I don't know about that. I think we could make a skater out of you yet."
He kissed her forehead, smiling into her hair. "Now that you've shown me your world, I'm gonna show you mine. How do you feel about driving, hm?"
"Absolutely not. I've seen how fast those cars go."
"Oh, come on! I promise I'd be careful. I'd even go slow, just for you."
"What if we crash?"
"We won't. I'm a good driver."
"Hm. I'm not making any promises."
"So what I'm hearing is a yes."
"No. It's a maybe. We'll see how this is going in a few weeks."
Charles gave her a look, his eyes twinkling. "So you admit that we're a 'this' now?"
Penelope felt her cheeks begin to burn. "If you want to be. I'm open to it. Won me over with your dance moves."
"I would be honoured to be a 'this' with you."
She laughed as he pressed his forehead to hers. "Good. Now come on, let's get out of here. It's fucking freezing."