Back in the hotel I told Olivia everything about my conversation with Toto. It was nice to be able to get it off my chest, otherwise I'd probably get in my head. She could understand his point of view as a team boss, but as a father, he had been handling it so wrong. I chuckled softly when she told me that he should start acting more as a father instead of my boss as he often had stated that his family was most important in his life. I bit my lip. I had told Charles with my drunken mind about my family history or lack of it actually, but Olivia didn't know anything, besides that I hadn't seen Toto too often because we had lived different lives. But she didn't know that he hadn't been around at all, thanks to the manipulation of David, my abusive stepdad. We chatted all night and in the end, we were hysterically laughing about everything, but I still didn't have the guts to tell her about my past. I wanted to, but I just couldn't get the words out of my mouth when I thought it was the right moment. But I did catch her up on the whole deal with Charles, which resulted in her teasing me as usual and us laughing all evening to lighten the mood and making sure that my anxiety wouldn't get the better of me.
The weekly quickly past and it was already time to go to Miami, which I was very excited about. I always wanted to go to the US and Olivia and I had planned a couple of days extra in the US after the GP to wind down from the last few weeks. Because this GP was going to be filled with crazy PR stuff and the most famous celebrities and it made me a little bit anxious, because the cameras would be literally everywhere. We had some fun media stuff planned for the team as well. I was most excited for me and Mick were going to drive around the circuit, or at least he was going to do a flying lap with me in the passenger seat screaming for my life. And Olivia had told me that we'd be doing some video content all weekend around the stadium, and the other teams would be doing the same, it was going to be a crazy weekend.
I had just arrived in my luxury hotel and I was unpacking my stuff with my Taylor Swift-playlist on. I had slept at the right times on the plane so my jet-lag wasn't going to be that bad. I might have started to get the hang of it not letting it get too bad, hurray! After unpacking necessities and dumping everything else on the chair and on the bed, I ordered diner and got distracted as I was watching some TikTok, when I got a message from Charles, which made my heart skip a beat as I read his name.
Hey Teddy, are you free tonight?
I just finished unpacking and I was just wondering if you want to chill and watch a movie or something before the hectics of the GP start :)
My smile widened at Charles's text. It was hard to actually see people outside of the people of Mercedes during the GP's and even Olivia I wasn't seeing all the time. We all had a hectic and tight schedule for the weekends, so I was very happy to get the invite to just spend some private time with Charles, as we hadn't really been able to do so even though he had asked about it last GP. I let myself fell down backward on my bed on my back with a very happy smile as I held my phone to my chest as I felt it buzz again.
If you are busy or if you don't want to, no hard feelings of course! I was just wondering
I probably took too long to react and it made me giggle. I could hear him being nervous through the message because I had left him on read for more than a minute. I thought about it for a second, thinking about my talk with Toto about how every step I was going to take from now on was going to be pulled out of context and twisted into a story if I wasn't careful. I bit my lip as I remembered his lecture. I needed to get used to this whole new chaotic life, but that also meant taking risks and getting out of my comfort zone to explore and do what I'd like to do. I was still young, I had to find my way around this new life. So I texted him back with a smile. I wasn't good at this, but at least my answer was easy.
Hey Charles!
Of course, I'd love to! Which room are you in? Mine is still a mess, so I'll come to you if you don't mind :)
And within ten minutes I had made my way toward Charles' hotel room, which was actually three floors away from mine. I had to admit that I was actually nervous, because the last time we were somewhat alone, we almost kissed. But we were both drunk, we both wouldn't do that sober. That night we had let our intoxicated and probably also touch-deprived brains get the better of us - even though I couldn't believe that Charles would've had an issue getting laid. He was just such a sweetheart and so gorgeous. I had only fixed my make-up and hair a little bit, I figured that if we were going to chill and watch some movies or something so my grey jogging pants and my black Mercedes shirt that I had been using as my casual relaxing and chilling outside throughout all race weekends would be enough. If he would open the door in a full suit, I might have to run back to get changed, but the chances were slim. I felt how my heart started beating louder as I approached his door, looking down the hallway to hope that nobody would spot me and I quickly knocked on his door. Within seconds I was greeted by his cheeky smile as he let me in.
"Teddy! It's so good to see you!" He said happy and I gave him a tight hug with his arms around my waist and mine around his neck as I stood on my tiptoes. He smelled good, like he came fresh out of the shower, his hair was still a little damp so I was not wrong. I was glad that he was also just wearing a sweater and his jogging pants. "How have you been?" I chuckled. As if we hadn't been texting basically non-stop the last couple of weeks, updating each other on everything that isn't even remotely interesting.
"I'm fine, looking forward to the race weekend as this is my first time in the US and we have my first media stuff for the team planned this weekend, so that's very exciting." I chuckled and he nodded excitedly. "And how have you been?" Giving him the same question back, making him chuckle.
"I'm fine as well, looking forward to the weekend, hopefully get another podium. Please sit down, make yourself comfortable." He answered politely and guided me towards the bed, which had nicely been made and the chair. "You can chose, but the bed is very comfy." He chuckled.
"Well, if you insist." I giggled and took of my shoes and climbed onto the bed to sit against the many pillows with my legs crossed. I looked around his hotel room, it was a little bigger than mine. He had put out some of his personal stuff like his laptop, a book - which I had recommended him - some hair products and some Ferrari stuff I probably shouldn't look into, because it would get us both into so much trouble. I looked at him as he jumped onto the bed and sat down next to me. He only now saw that I was wearing my own team merch and he shook his head with a chuckle.
"You know that if anyone saw you walking down the Ferrari floor with that shirt, you'd be in such big trouble. They would actually start believing the spying rumor." He chuckled as he was starting up the huge TV - everything in his room was just a little bit better than mine, but the TV was just a whole lot bigger - and I rolled my eyes.
"I don't care." I said and I laughed after a second as he looked at me in surprise. "Alright, maybe I do care a little, but if I was a guy would it have mattered then?" I gave him a cheeky grin and he looked back at me amused.
"Maybe? But then they'd most likely tackle you in the hallway and tie you to a chair like in the movies and interrogate you about what you are doing here." He joked. "Now they are just confused because we don't have that many women walking around our hallways in general."
"Well, that's a Ferrari problem and not mine." I grinned and Charles laughed.
"That's so true."
"Maybe I should come down more often to spice things up at Ferrari and just leave again without having to do anything besides showing up." I joked and Charles looked at me, he seemed to be staring deep in my eyes. This man loved his eye contact, but his eyes were just gorgeous so I did not mind one bit. He chuckled.
"I don't mind." He grinned cheeky. "But I think that Fred and your father will think differently about that." Charles looked at me with puppy eyes and I rolled mine.
"Well, Toto still needs to learn when he has to be a father figure and when he has to be a boss to me, so maybe it's a good lesson where he can figure out which one to be." I sighed and looked at the screen. I immediately regretted saying that, as I didn't want to talk about my father and the relationship between us at all, so I pointed at the screen in the hopes that he understood to not ask any further. "Which movie do you want to watch?" He understood and gave me a small smile as he placed his hand behind my back on the mattress to support himself, but also leaned a bit more toward me as he leaned back, I could feel his body heat against my bare arm.
"I don't mind, do you have something you wanna see?" He asked and scrolled through the long list of movies.
"That's like asking a child to pick one thing in the toys store!" I exclaimed with a giggle and he tilted his head as he looked at me.
"Ahw, you are such a little baby." He joked and I poked him in his stomach as a warning. He wiggled a little as I touched him and his eyes widened a little bit. Was he a little ticklish? I grinned, but decided to let it slide and use it in the future if needed. Because I didn't know if he knew how ticklish I was and I'd get it back 100% if I tried to tickle him now.
"I'm not, so watch it Leclerc." I giggled and grabbed the controller from his hands to scroll through the options and eventually chose - together with Charles - that we were going to watch a Harry Potter movie, the fifth one to be exact.
After a lot of giggling we settled down. Our shoulders touched as we had made ourselves comfortable, slumped down a bit on his bed against his pillows with his knee touching my leg. It was hard to fully focus on the movie with him being so close. Every move he made sparked my interest and every accidental touch felt like an electric shock. We even both started talking with the movie and saying the lines that were following, which made us break out in laughter every time we both started taking over the lines that were said and eventually almost screamed the lines in laughter. I never guessed that he was such Harry Potter fan.
By the time the movie had ended Charles' arm had made its way around my shoulders as I had used his shoulder as a pillow for my head and my legs were intertwined with his. It was way more comfortable sitting like this and it wasn't all that bad to be more close to him as well, if I say to myself. I didn't want to move from this spot ever again.
"I didn't know you were such a fan." I broke the silence after the movie had ended and he chuckled.
"Well, I grew up watching them with my brothers and my friends and it kind of stuck. It feels so nostalgic to watch 'm" He spoke with his lovely accent. I nodded in agreement.
"You are a Gryffindor, or maybe a Hufflepuff, I don't really know yet, but I think Gryffindor as you are brave and daring." I giggled and I looked up from his shoulder to catch his eyes. He was grinning as he shook his head.
"Well, I took the quiz once and it said Ravenclaw, but that was a couple of years ago and I'd like to think I've become more of a Gryffindor. It also fits the red aesthetic that I have. But I'm sure that I'm no Slytherin." He chuckled and I now lifted my head from his shoulder to look at him with a giggle. He looked back at me and thought for a moment, squinting his eyes a little. "And you must be a Hufflepuff. I don't know why, but I just think so. But like a cool one, not a shy and dorky one. You're cool." He added with a cheeky grin and it made me giggle as I agreed.
"I am indeed a Hufflepuff and a proud one as well." I answered with a smile. "But it would indeed look weird to see you in different colors than the red Ferrari, so maybe that's why you fit Gryffindor so perfectly." I joked and he chuckled. For a moment I got lost again in his sparkling forest green eyes. He looked so happy as he seemed to not let mine go as well. After we had a little silence of staring into each other's eyes he cleared his throat suddenly and got up. Only now I realized how he had kept me warm with his presence as it felt cold as his body left my side. I pulled my legs towards me. I shivered, as I felt the A/C now on my bare arms, after Charles had kept me warm without realizing it. He noticed and put his hand on my leg. He did really like physical touch.
"Are you cold?" He had already gotten up to raid his suitcase. "You can have a sweater of mine" I had barely registered that I was getting cold with just my shirt and he was already looking for something warmer to wear for me. It made me blush slightly and he handed me a big grey sweater. "I have worn it before, but it is not dirty, so if you want you can wear this, I don't want you to get cold." He admitted smiling adorably at me. With a sly smile I accepted his offer and put on the sweater. It smelled like him and suddenly I felt my face heat up. Even though it was such a normal thing to offer if someone was shivering, it felt like a very loving gesture. He looked me up and down when I had put on the sweater, which was clearly too big and he bit on his lip.
"You look very adorable like this." He whispered as if someone else could've heard him if he spoke any louder and I smiled looking down.
"Shut it." I giggled and hit him softly in his stomach, which then made him chuckle.
"Never." He grinned and I knew I couldn't fight him on that. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't suppress my smile as I sat back down on his bed and pulled my feet up. He looked over to me and sat down next to me with his iced tea.
"Are you excited for the race this weekend?" I asked him and looked at him.
"Always." He beamed. "I love coming to the US! Everyone here is just always so excited and it feels like a whole different event with all the celebs and PR chaos. And after last race weekend, I am really hoping to get another podium as we have shown that we can do it." He grinned and I nodded. "Have you already had some time to look around here, as it is your first time in the US." I shook my head.
"Nope." I answered, popping the p. "But I'm going to New York for a few days with Olivia after, as we were having a layover there anyway. So I'm going to explore a little bit after the GP, but this weekend it's gonna be hectic as hell as I'm also doing some media for Mercedes with Mick, Lewis and George as I want to give the fans a little bit more of content about me as they are desperate for it apparently and I'm not ready yet for some interviews, but some doing some fun stuff with the team also helps making me more comfortable in front of some cameras as I do want to do some interviews in the future of course. So win-win and I'm excited." I rambled on and Charles stared at me with a crooked smile on his lips. He chuckled.
"You sound really excited." He smiled as he shifted on the bed and now put his hand so close to mine that our fingers overlap. He didn't seem to mind as he kept them there and I felt my heart skip a beat by this sudden touch as if my body had forgotten that he had his arm around me only minutes ago.
"I truly am." I answered and he chuckled. "I really want to get more comfortable with the whole celeb part of being the daughter of and working for Mercedes and being around the paddock and being recognized more often. So Olivia is helping with some social media posts and videos this weekend and Mick is taking me for a hot lap this weekend as well for some content, which is gonna be awesome and I fear for my life!" I giggled excitedly and saw how Charles's jaw clenched for a mere second when I mentioned Mick, but I let it slide.
"Media during the US Grand Prixs are always so crazy, but also such fun as they let us do the weirdest things with so many celebs as well. Let me know when the videos are online, I'm very curious to see them." He grinned again and I nodded. "And if you really want to test the media, you should do a lap with me." Charles sounded very cheeky at the end and he grinned wide with a quick wink.
"That sounds very appealing, Charles, but I'd much rather not purposely risk a scandal like that.. Yet." I giggled and Charles did as well.
"Good to know that you think like that. Maybe in the future, we shall see. I can also take you karting in Monaco and beat you." He wink with a grin as he now fully intertwined our fingers and we chatted on.
It had gotten quite late and we had talked about literally everything all evening. It was well past midnight and I was still sitting on his bed, talking to the Ferrari boy. My legs were now over his lap and his hands holding my legs. Charles had also put on some music in the background and even ordered some more drinks as the sodas in his mini bar had run out. We had literally chatted about anything, our lives, what we liked to do and how we looked at the future, but also about our family. I briefly talked about my family back in England and told him about my little half-siblings and my lovely grandmother. I didn't really want to talk about my stepdad or about my mom and what happened for that matter, I just spoke about the good things back home in England and Charles listened carefully.
I knew Charles had lost a lot of loved ones in the last couple of years, but hearing him speak about them was just so heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. He was racing for them and beat himself up when he wasn't happy with his results as he wanted to win for his father and Jules. He had been rambling on about it and I noticed that he had gotten into his head again and started doubting himself, that was blaming himself and thinking that he wasn't good enough.
"Charles... Your father and Jules would be so proud of you, hell they are so proud of you. I'm sure they are watching down from above and cheering for you during every race, even if you don't finish first, everyone is so proud of you that you made it this far. You are racing for them and for your friends and family. You are the most selfless and humble person I have ever met, you know." I smiled at him as I put my hand on his arm to squeeze it soft. He looked at me with a small, but sweet smile and soft eyes. "You are so incredibly great at what you do, otherwise you wouldn't be here and yes, there will be times in life there will be moments where you could've done something else to get a different outcome, but that it shouldn't be something you beat yourself up for. It's human and we all have to learn from the past in order to achieve greater things and you will."
"I know, Teddy." He spoke soft. "I shouldn't complain to you, that isn't fair." I shook my head.
"You aren't complaining, you are getting something off your chest, and even if you did I don't mind that you do. I like talking to you and I'm here for you when you need me." I smiled and he gave me one back.
"I just really want to win... For them, I want to make them proud..." He said almost in a whisper, his eyes staring back at me with a soft look.
"You already did, I'm sure of it. And maybe you won't win today or tomorrow or even this year, but you will be victorious someday. I'm sure of it." I spoke. He sighed deeply with a content smile on his lips and nodded.
"I know." He said. "Thanks Teddy.. I just can get into my head sometimes..." I slowly got up from the bed, I didn't want to leave him as I was enjoying my alone time with him, but my alarm was going off in a couple of hours and I needed to get some sleep.
"I figured. It's alright, we all do that sometimes." I winked at him and he looked confused as I removed my legs from his lap and disconnected our bodies by getting off the bed. I buried my hands in his large soft sweater and bit on the inside of my lip. "I do really have to go to sleep as I have to get up early tomorrow. But, I really, really enjoyed spending some time with you, so..." I didn't finish my sentence as I suddenly realized that I didn't know if he actually thought the same. Now he got up, making me have to look up to him again as he was like half a feet or more than 15 centimeters taller than me. The corners of his mouth were curled upwards and the look in his eyes were dreamy again, just like the last time we were alone, at the bar.
"Yeah-uhm, I didn't notice that it was getting so late either.." He chuckled, going through his hair with his hand and scratching the back of his neck. "But I also enjoyed this, a lot. We should do this more often. I like spending time with you..." His voice had gotten a bit lower and he had stepped toward me. I nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, hopefully we have some time in our busy schedule somewhere, because I'd like that." I smiled at him.
"Well, I still owe you a Monaco tour, so that for sure going to happen in three weeks time." He beamed and I giggled.
"But that's three weeks from now. I don't want to wait three weeks." I complained with a grin and put the emphasis on 'three' as I teased him a little and Charles sighed deeply with a grin of his own, fidgeting with his bracelet.
"Well, I'd love to see you again sooner too. But your father slash team boss must not kill me if I do." He joked and I rolled my eyes.
"He doesn't need to know everything I do. A little secret never hurt anyone." I teased and Charles raised his eyebrows.
"So I'm your little secret now?" He asked amused and I shrugged.
"If you want to be." I giggled as he gently connected his fingers again with mine, sending electric sparks through my body. "If Toto finds out that I'm sneaky off the hotel room of one of his greatest rivals in the middle of the night, I think you wished you'd be a secret." He now chuckled loud.
"Sounds very spicy if you say it like that." He chuckled. "I think I'd like to be a little secret. You can be mine. My team wouldn't be happy either if they saw me with the enemy." I rolled my eyes, but my eyes were caught again my his deep stare into my eyes. The gorgeous green in the dim light of his hotel room captivated me. In this moment I knew that he had me wrapped around his finger again and I was completely letting it happen. His hand carefully caressed mine as our eyes locked and we breathed in sync. When did he get so close? My heart started pounding faster than it already had.
"Good to know that I'm considered the enemy." I joked with a cheeky grin on my lips and he chuckled. It sounded a little nervous, but I could've imagined it as well.
"Well, you are from Mercedes, who is one of our biggest rivals and ever since you started working here, my team had to work quite hard to keep transfer rumors down. So yeah, you are in fact the enemy, cherié." He was now teasing me as well with a little smirk on his lips.
"Yeah, and that's totally my fault, I see, I see. You are completely captivated by me and I have you under my spell, so I'm the evil person here in this story. I see, I see." I grinned sarcastically and his smirk grew wider. I tapped on his chest a couple of times when I spoke and my hand lingered on his chest. I could feel his heartbeat through the material of his sweater.
"Yeah that's exactly what happened." He nodded and he paused for a second, staring deep into my eyes as he carefully brought up his hand to let his fingertips carefully graze past my jawline and down towards the nape of my neck. The same place they were a few weeks ago, but this time, we both were stone-cold sober and I was letting him.
Charles had completely wrapped me around his finger and made my heart pound so hard that I might faint if this were to keep going any longer. Butterflies erupted in my stomach by his careful touch and I had pulled my eyes from his gaze to slowly look toward his lips as he spoke in a whisper. "And fuck, I should've stayed away from you, but I didn't want to, je veux être avec toi (I want to be with you)." His French slipped again as he now cupped my cheek, waiting for my eyes to return to his. His face flustered, his eyes sultry and questioning. As if he was waiting for my approval to kiss. I looked at him in awe and with slight confusion. I knew he flirted a lot and I knew we had a connection and I knew that we almost kissed when we were drunk, but I didn't think it would actually be really happening. Girls like me never got the pretty boy, and especially not the hot, famous, millionaire Monegasque boys. But apparently, this time I did and it made my head turn, knees week and face heatened. I let him wait for a second and put my hand to his stubbled jawline as well. His eyes turned hungry as I felt his breath tickle my skin.
I knew this was going to get us in trouble, but I was gonna risk it, I wanted this, I needed this. You only live once, right? I looked at him and gave him the littlest nod, but he immediately noticed my silent answer and brought his face closer to mine. I remembered how they also did in Melbourne. But now I was sober and absolutely doing this. My eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips and his hand traveled from my jaw into my hair, towards the back to my head as I felt his fingers linger in my curls. I looked back up into his eyes as my heart pounded in my chest, his warm breath on my lips. It felt like he gave me another moment to back out if I needed to, to not make everything even more complicated for the both of us, but I couldn't stop myself anymore and he couldn't either. The desire was overtaking the both of us.
I now took control and lifted my body up on my toes to bridge the last few centimeters and our lips met. We kissed, finally. Charles' hand grabbed my waist to keep me steady and I felt how he smiled against my lips. Our lips softly brushed past each other, scared to chase the other away, melting into each other. His lips were soft, warm and just perfect. It was a sweet and careful kiss, as Charles pushed me slowly back down on my feet, cupping He let go for a mere moment, breathing against my lips. I opened my eyes for a second to look at him and I was glad I did, it was an image I'd never want to forget. He looked so happy, hungry and ecstatic at the same time and above all, he looked in awe as he scanned my face for any signs to make him stop, but I didn't want him to stop. I wanted to feel his lips again.
His thumbs slid over my bottom lip and pulled it down softly as my heart was beating in my throat before he now crashed his lips back on me. No more careful, timid, soft kisses. This one was full of desire as if we both had been deprived of any touch for years. I threw my arms around his neck as he towered over me and our bodies slammed against the door of his hotel room while our kiss heated. Nobody had kissed me like this before, so full of desire and it made my stomach turn with the amount of butterflies. Charles held my tilted face as our kiss deepened, now tasting his careful tongue enter and I had pulled him as close as I could possibly get him by the back of his head and by his sweater. We kissed passionately, breathed in each other and it turned the both of us on. Our bodies pressed together and one of Charles' hand grabbed my waist tight, it had found its way underneath the sweater I had been wearing, burning into my skin.
I had no time to process what was happening, but I had to catch my breath and slowly pushed Charles a little away from me, so that our lips disconnected, but our foreheads rested against each other, panting softly with sly smiles. My eyes were still closed, gathering my thoughts. I had melted in his strong arms and never wanted to leave, I wanted to feel his soft lips against mine again. But I also knew that I desired more and I didn't want to give in to that feeling. This was already a very stupid decision - which I fully decided to do myself and stood behind- that I had to figure out how to handle in the morning. I figured that it was better not to make it worse. But it had been magical nonetheless, it had been amazing and just like the movies and horrible romance novels and so worth it. I slowly opened my eyes to meet his dreamy green eyes and it made my heart skip a beat and my smile grew wide as I came back to earth. I giggled and his nervous chuckle that followed sounded as adorable as ever. His hand lingered over my cheek and caressed it as his eyes stared deep in my soul as I rest my back against the hotel room door. I couldn't believe I just kissed him and he kissed me. I craved for his lips again, this was going to get me in so much trouble, but I could only think about how his lips felt on mine. It felt amazing.
"I should really get going." I brought out, with a husky voice followed by a little giggle. My head was still against his, staring into his eyes as he nodded. My heart was still pounding and my head finally realized what actually happened.
"Yeah, we both have a busy weekend ahead." He mumbled with a deep sigh and started moving backward with his hand still lingering on my jawline with a sly smile on his lips. I suddenly felt like a school girl who just had her first kiss behind school as I saw his cheeky smile on his lips, which were red from our little make-out session. He wet them with his tongue.
"And it's getting really late." I whispered and he nodded, his hand still on my cheek and my hand on his chest. The urge to kiss him again was almost too much, but he now stepped back more and disconnected himself from me, leaving me in the cold and bringing me back to earth and onto solid ground with both of my feet.
"Can I take you out on a date in Monaco?" He then blurted out with the most sweetest smile and I nodded with a big smile.
"Of course, Charles." I spoke excitedly. "I'd almost be offended if you didn't." He chuckled and gave me a tight hug.
"Good to know. I just hope that I don't have to wait three weeks before I get you alone again." He whispered in my ear and it sent shivers down my spine, the good kind.
"I hope so too." I teased back, leaving a butterfly soft kiss on his dimple and smiled innocently at him. "Good luck this weekend, in case I don't see you anymore. I'll be rooting for you." My face was burning red, but I gave him a little wink and opened the door we just had been making out against.
"Goodnight Teddy." Charles brought out as he watched me leave and I waved at him as I walked away.
"Goodnight Charles."
I squealed so loud when I got back to my room, in his sweater, smelling of him, not planning on returning it any time soon. I couldn't believe that that just happened. I kissed Charles freaking Leclerc and I shouldn't have, because it left me wanting more. His kiss was addictive and I felt loved, that feeling was even more addictive.
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AN: hope you guys like it!!!! ;)