Summer 2010
Monaco
The blue-green sea, that reminded Ginny so much of Pierre's sullen eyes, lapsed against the grainy gold sand. The ocean's foam danced wildly at her feet before retreating back into the great expanse. Dark emerald seaweed bathed in the waters, rocking back and forth along the repetitive motion. Seagulls squawked at the roaring waves and people crowding the beach. The sun was bright overhead, kissing the top of the young-girl's scalp as her skin sizzled.
Ginny's feet marched across the sand furrows, past the elderly nude women that sat in their beach chairs without a care in the world, along the edge of dark brown and wet sand that sunk underneath her weight, finally making it to an empty spot for the parents to set up base.
The adults brought a tent for the blazing sun- whose rays were blaring on the weathered rocks by the shore. She dropped her backpack and foldable chair on the ground, huffing. Pierre's shoulder brushed against her sweaty skin, picking up what she dropped in one-swift-motion.
"The tide will be coming in soon." He muttered with a hint of annoyance in his voice. His muscled arms carried her things farther back, beyond the space provided for the big tent. He threw the towel from around his neck on the sand, setting down his black backpack along with her stuff, too.
She wondered if that was his own, odd, way of apologizing for earlier.
The parents put up the white tent, instructing the group of kids to leave their stuff in the shade. Charles, Chloe, and Arthur were smothered with thick sunscreen. The oldest Leclerc watched with a smug grin, listening to the whines of his siblings as he plopped on the sand and stuck his headphones in his ears. Timothée lathered himself with sun-tan oil too, probably wanting to protect his skin for upcoming casting calls. No one wants to hire a sunburnt teenager for a movie.
Ginny and Pierre stood on his towel a few feet away from the others. She found herself watching him in the twinkling light. He looked more angelic on the beach, then at the Leclerc home an hour ago. His long torso twisted as he bent over for a cold water bottle in the cooler. His pointy shoulder-blades flexed, almost creating the perfect foundation for wings.
Angel or Demon... Ginny wasn't sure.
She'd seen both.
But Demon seemed most fitting on a day-to-day basis.
He stood straight again, pouring the bottle of water over his face. He ran a hand through his hair, moving the water over the dry strands. Ginny thought he looked... cute... with wet hair. The regular dirty blonde turned dark brown, like her own.
Through the chatter, Ginny hadn't heard her brother calling her name. She finally snapped out of her gaze, blushing crimson in the cheeks as Timothee chucked his bottle of sunscreen towards her. He chuckled under his breath and Ginny had a funny feeling she knew why. Charles was frowning behind him, but Pierre had his head cocked to the side... smirking.
"Hit me with some of that." Pierre commanded Ginny, turning to face her with his arms spread out. He was still grinning. His shiny white teeth bit down, his jaw clenching as he closed his eyes, awaiting the chemicals.
Ginny gulped, feeling nervous about spraying him. Was it a trick? Was he going to yell after? Would the sunscreen end up backfiring in her face? She pressed her thumb against the blue cap and sprayed the mist all over his firm chest. He let out the tiniest giggle. "It's cold."
Ginny fought back a smile. Pierre Gasly was a mystery to behold. Angry one second, giggling the next. He was a bully, but a protector. He could be so harsh, yet so gentle. She avoided his lingering eye contact and instead focused on his hairy legs. She sprayed them all the way to his toes and leaned back, "Spin!"
"Only if you say please." Pierre raised one of his thick eyebrows.
Ginny placed a hand on her hip, rolling her coffee colored eyes. "Please."
"Good girl." The skin around his nose crinkled. "C'est Bien."
Ginny stared, dumbfounded for a moment, feeling her heart race and thud against her chest. She knew he was teasing her... she could hear the faintest sneer at the end of his sentence... but oh, how she'd felt a herd of butterflies erupt in her gut. She shook her head once Pierre had turned his back to her, trying to rid those thoughts... thoughts of what it might sound like if Pierre ever said-
"Mon Chéri." Charles finished her own sentence, without even knowing. He'd popped up beside her- probably while she'd been daydreaming. She was already spraying Pierre's back while Charles continued. "I can spray you after."
"Okay." Ginny couldn't help but smile in his direction. "Thanks."
Pierre whirled around and snatched the sunscreen from her grip. "I can spray her, Charles. Why don't you check on the water temperature? I'm not trying to swim in a bath tub."
"Why don't you check then?" Charles countered with a grimace.
Pierre opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe interrupted. "Look! It's Max!"
"Verstappen?" Charles and Pierre asked in unison, both sounding perplexed.
They all followed Chloe's line of sight, including the adults, finding Max Verstappen and his father jogging along the beach. Max was really red in the face. They'd probably been running for awhile. He was shirtless, like Pierre and Charles, but his presence didn't cause any stir in Ginny.
But it did in Chloe.
She turned a little more pink in the cheeks. Her eyes traced over Max's pale abdomen. Beads of sweat dripped from his chocolate hair. He had been in town for the OK-Junior Karting Ceremony, but it had been a week. They must've been vacationing.
Max patted his dad on the arm, pointing in their direction. The pair of them slowed to a walk, though his dad did not look pleased. Ginny couldn't say she was really pleased either- Max was like Pierre and that was mean.
"I'll spray myself." Chloe grabbed the bottle from Pierre. She shot Charles an appreciative grin. "You should say hi to your friend."
Charles hesitated, but once Pierre shuffled over to Max, he did the same. Ginny listened to Max greeting everyone. His dad wiped some sweat from his hands and shook the hands of all the adults... and Lorenzo.
Ginny sprayed herself down, awkwardly reaching over her shoulder to spray her back. When she was finished, she squeezed through the tent and jogged over to stand between Charles and Chloe.
"So you've been in Monaco the whole time?" Chloe crossed her arms over her chest, and Ginny couldn't help but notice how Max's eyes darted to her exposed breasts. They were covered, obviously, but Chloe had picked out a neon pink bikini that didn't leave much for the imagination. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Max clenched his jaw, glancing back into her yellowish-green eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging. "My father and I have been training. We've been really busy."
"Oh." Chloe sounded hurt. "Right. Wouldn't want you to waste a single second."
Pierre glanced between them, looking just as confused as everyone else. "Why don't you hangout with us for a bit, Mad Max?"
"Yeah, Mad Max." Timothée patted him on the back. "Stay awhile. Relax."
Max chuckled, showing off one of his rare smiles. "I'm not sure my father will want me too."
"You always follow daddy's rules?" Chloe threw on a wicked smirk. Her wavy hair fell against her smooth shoulders, framing her face in somewhat of a heart. "Are you a daddy's boy, Mad Max?"
"Chloe!" Charles hissed, glancing at her with a frown. He turned to his friend and shook his head in dismissal. "I'm sorry. Don't mind my sister. She must be hot from the sun."
Max paused, licking his bottom lip. "Yes, she must be very hot."
And for some reason, Ginny felt like he wasn't talking about the sun.
"But we'd love for you to stay... if you can." Charles added with a grin. "It's not everyday we get to hangout outside of the grid."
"Agreed." Pierre nodded slowly, "Though Charles might want to play mermaids with his new girlfriend. What color tail do you think he'd have? Pink?"
Timothée tensed, glancing at Ginny with remorse. But he didn't say anything.
"Oh shut up, Pie Face!" Chloe kicked sand at his feet. She shot Max a stern look of disapproval after a chuckle escaped his lips. Ginny sagged, knowing that Charles would for sure dismiss her now. He was being teased by his so-called friend in front of another karter.
"Well at least I can say I have a girlfriend." Charles winked at Pierre. "That's more than you've ever had."
Timothée bit into his lip to stop from laughing. He turned and looked at the sun, but not before smiling at his sister. Ginny slapped a hand over her mouth. It's not like she was Charles' girlfriend...
'Maybe I like her too! Maybe I have a crush on her too!'
The words rang in Ginny's ear. But that didn't make them anything. He was older than her. Like he had said... 'When we're older, we'll be together' Maybe that'd be true. Maybe it wouldn't. It was just the fact that Charles stood up for her, yet again. Max let out a shrill laugh, slapping Pierre on his back. The sound echoed in the wind. Pierre was bright red. "Ferma ta gueule! Tu es mort, mec."
Charles held out his wrist and pressed his pointer finger to the clump of veins. "I'm a dead man am I? I think I have a pulse though... right Gin?"
Ginny giggled, pressing her own finger to his warm skin. She nodded quickly. "Definitely alive."
"They're quite the pair aren't they?" Max rolled his dark brown eyes.
"The best pair." Chloe smiled at them before shifting her gaze to Pierre. "Get a life you fucking loser."
Pierre narrowed his eyes at her. "Why don't you suck Max's face? Because I'm sure that's what you've been dying to do, right?"
All the blood drained from Chloe's face. She shook her head and spat at Pierre's feet. "Fuck you, Pie face. Just because you don't know how to love doesn't mean you have to be an ass all the time. Bastard."
With that, she turned away from the group and started a walk down the coastline. Max shoved Pierre in his chest, which surprised both Charles and Ginny. Charles jutted out his arm in front of her, just like he'd done earlier, trying to protect her. Pierre stumbled backwards. "Didn't know you liked her, Verstappen."
"Shut up!" Max pointed an accusing finger in his direction before glancing over his shoulder at Chloe. He looked conflicted. He glanced at his dad and sighed, turning to Charles. "Can you tell my dad I started jogging again?"
"Sure." Charles nodded.
Max, making sure none of the parents were watching, took off after Chloe. Ginny made a mental note to ask Chloe about it later. She wondered what they were going to talk about... if Max did really like her... and if Chloe really did like him too.
"I'm getting in the water." Pierre said to no one in particular. He sprinted out into the waves.
Timothée rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm gonna talk to Lorenzo."
Charles turned to Ginny. His skinny chest looked smooth and soft. The wind pushed his brown hair all over his forehead. He smelled like the sunscreen, but also like mint. He stared at her for a moment, not speaking. Ginny grabbed her arm in her hand, suddenly feeling self conscious. He cleared his throat.
"You look pretty in red... my favorite color."
Ginny chewed on the inside of her cheek, fighting a blush. Her suit wasn't anything like Chloe's but it was new and Ginny felt older wearing it. "Thanks... we're matching."
Charles glanced at his red swim trunks and chuckled. "Veux-tu correspondre avec moi pour toujours?"
Will you match with me forever?
They smiled at each other. Ginny nodded, biting her lip. Charles flushed as red as his trunks. He cocked his head to the side, "I'm going to tell Max's dad he's jogging."
"I'm going to get in the water."
Ginny turned and ran towards the sea. She could see Pierre floating not that far from her. She felt the cold wash over her. The ocean was refreshing. She hopped over some waves and dipped her hair back. She stayed like that, with her eyes closed, until she felt a pair of hands wrap around her waist. She startled, eyes shooting open in fear. Pierre brought one of his fingers to his lips, shushing her. "What? You think I'm going to hurt you?"
She paused, wondering if it was a trick question. "You've already hurt me, Pierre."
"And you've hurt me, Ginny."
She still felt his hands on her skin, but that was shortly lived. He took a step back, glancing down at her with a raised brow. "Do you really like Charles? Like-Like him?"
Ginny averts her gaze. "Why?"
"I don't think you should."
"Why not?" Ginny gulped. "He's nice. He's funny."
"He's boring, don't you think?" Pierre rolled his eyes. "The fun starts when you cause a little trouble."
"You're trouble." Ginny jumped as a wave rushed over them.
Pierre ducked under and came back up, shaking his wet hair out of his face. "I'm well aware, etoilé."
"But you're not always trouble." Ginny spoke in a hushed voice. "You're nice too sometimes."
"Am I?" Pierre looked away, but Ginny could see he was grinning. "To you, maybe."
"But you're also mean to me." Ginny was scared he might flip that switch at any second and the devil incarnate would pop out.
Pierre stared at the horizon. "I'm..."
Ginny waited. Pierre clenched his jaw. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"Of love." Pierre answered with a frown. "I'm scared of love because every time I love... bad things always happen after."
Ginny wasn't sure what he meant by that. She listened to the sounds of him breathing and the waves crashing on shore. She looked deep into his eyes, trying to find an answer. "I'm sorry, etoilé."
Pierre sucked in a breath and the switch flicked on. "I don't need your sympathy."
He swam back to shore. Ginny floated in the water, staring at the sky in confusion. What had he meant? What did he mean?
Why did the feeling of his hands linger on her waist now?
She blushed and closed her eyes.
She only saw Pierre.