Look who it is!" George said laughing
"Hey you two" He said "you guys are up and about early after our late night last night" he finished
"I had a yoga class booked for this morning, didn't realize I would have company" Isla said quickly and gestured to George.
"That explains the sweaty clothes" Charles laughed
"Well you are the one with the even later night last night" Said George "When did you even have a chance to meet someone last night?" He asked
Charles looked immediately at Isla, raised his eyebrows. Then back to George. "Long story he said, but when the person is that great, you have to move quick" he said smiling and quickly glanced at Isla, who was trying her hardest to not smile or blush.
"Isla, did you see who he left the bar with?" George asked.
Isla inhaled sharply
"Or did you not see Charles leave?" He continued
Thank gosh, he gave me an out, Isla thought to herself "I didn't see him leave, I was too busy following google maps to get home" she said smiling
"Charles, want to join us?" Asked George
"Uh, I better get going, have to meet my trainer soon" he said and started to walk away.
"Hey what about tomorrow night? A guys' night?" He asked as charles was walking away
"Oh, I have plans" he said casually
"No worries" George said and turned back to Isla
"Good to see you Charles" Isla smiled as he walked away and he turned around as he walked past George and winked at her. Her heart fluttered in her chest.
George and Isla finished breakfast and were just chatting when a fan of his came up and asked for a photo. He obliged and took a selfie. Isla looked away to try to avoid being the background of yet another photo. She didn't need anymore drama or speculation before this first testing weekend.
George was kind enough to pay for their meals, but Isla tried her best to not let him. "It's my pleasure," he said. "Oh question for you, has your phone number changed?" He asked
"It hasn't" Isla said and wondered why he would ask that
"Figured it would be easier to text you rather than messaging you through insta" He said
"Oh okay" she said still confused why "Well it was good to see you and catch up" She said as she started to walk back to her place.
"Isla! Wait, would you like to see each other tomorrow night?" He asked quickly
Isla smiled "I know it sounds crazy, but I already have plans for tomorrow night" she said
"Wow, I'm zero for two today, I guess I should really pack for spain" he said "See you on saturday in the paddock" He smiled
"See you then" she smiled and waved goodbye.
Isla continued her day with Heather doing some training at her apartment's gym. She came home and after a bit of some downtime she made herself some dinner and sat down to watch some tv.
Her phone vibrated, she picked it up and read the text.
George - Hey, see you at yoga tomorrow?
Isla - Yup, it's a great way to start the day!
George -It is! See you there!
Isla smiled, she thought it was nice seeing George again and having someone that she had a friendship with before entering Formula 1.
The next morning, Isla met George at Yoga and then had to leave quickly to make sure she could get her other training done and have enough time to get ready to meet Charles. Isla wasn't sure if it was a date or not, so she thought it would be best to go in with no expectations.
Isla got ready, put on her outfit and headed out to lobby
In the elevator Isla realized that she didn't know where to meet Charles. She walked out of the elevator and there he was smiling at her.
She blushed "Hey"
"Did you think I would leave you in a lurch?" He laughed
"No, I just didn't know where I was going to meet you, I got a tad nervous" She laughed back
"Let's get going" He said opening the lobby door
Isla followed him out onto the street. She didn't know where they were heading but she was excited "So where are we going?" She asked curiously
"One of my many favorite restaurants here in Monaco" He grinned at her
They headed out down the street, Charles reached out and held Isla's hand as they walked. Isla was super curious about where they would end up. They passed a couple of restaurants and the third one they approached had a huge outdoor patio.
"Follow me," Charles said as he opened the door to the restaurant. He had arranged a reservation and the waiter took them to their table outside on the edge of the patio where they were able to see the water.
Isla appreciated this restaurant because it was so busy with locals, she didn't feel like a tourist here.
Charles pulled out the chair for Isla to sit down in, Isla smiled and sat down. Charles sat down and smiled at Isla.
"This is one of my favorite places. It is so busy yet you feel like you have your own space here. No one is going to bother us, it's a nice feeling." He said
"Oh I totally understand what you mean" Isla agreed
The waiter came over and Charles ordered a bottle of Champagne for the both of them.
They sat and talked about their favorite things, hobbies they had as kids and childhood memories. Isla thought it was adorable that Charles had so many good memories with Pierre. She smiled at Charles when he talked about his Karting memories. Isla shared things about growing up on the West Coast of Canada and the gorgeous outdoors, and how she would love to go back to visit.
The waiter returned to the table with their champagne.
"So how excited for testing this weekend?" he asked as he poured Isla and himself a glass.
"I am so excited to actually get behind the wheel and not just drive on the simulator" Isla beamed.
"Well it will be weird eventually competing against you" he admitted
"Oh totally" She nodded "I am excited to get into the paddock on Saturday, get to see what it feels like to be a F1 driver" she smiled
"It will be cool to see you there" He smiled at her, he reached his hand across the table to hold hers. "It will be hard not to let everyone know how much I like you" He said
Isla was shocked, he was so open about his feelings, she still didn't really know if this was a date or not. But she felt that it was safe to assume that's what he meant. "Keeping it a secret may make this more fun," Isla teased back.
"Well then" he smirked and squeezed her hand.
"We will just have to pretend to hate each other, or at least dislike each other" She smirked back
His eyes twinkled mischievously "I think I like the sound of that" he said as he winked and held up his glass of champagne to cheers with Isla.
They clinked glasses and took a sip, the entire time Charles didn't take his hand off of Islas' hand. She felt his warmth from his hand and felt the butterflies in her stomach swirl with excitement.
"Charles? Isla?" They heard from somewhere in the restaurant. Their hands recoiled quickly to their own sides of the table and they turned to search for the voice they heard.
Authors Note: I'm trying to have a title for each chapter. Let me know in the comments if you have an idea!