I continued to speak and hang out with Lando throughout the rest of our days off, but we kept it strictly friendly after that night. I hadn't heard a single word from Charles though, and I was admittedly starting to miss him. Friday came around and we were in Budapest for the Hungarian race. Our practice race was the second of the day, right after the first free practice for the f1 drivers, so I had to be at the paddock pretty early.
Walking in, I noticed Isack and Arthur were stood in the middle of the paddock, talking, once I arrived. I gave them both a hug and we proceeded to small talk for a while, until the topic landed on me and my break.
"Isack told me you went on a date with Lando Norris?" Arthur spoke up and I glared at Isack while hitting his arm. "I did not go on a date with him! We just went for dinner with George and Carmen." I rolled my eyes. "Well, everyone thinks it was a date." Arthur said in defence, Isack joining in, "Even Lando did!" I groaned out loud. "He did not! I spoke to him already, we are just friends!"
I noticed, Arthur glancing at the Ferrari garage and then back at me, having a mischievous look on his face. I was about to ask him about it, but Isack was quick to change the subject again, having just as a mischievous look on his face. "Let's take a picture and post to our Instagram guys! Show everyone that we're back on the track!" This wasn't unusual for us, we took pictures at almost every race together.
This time, we took a selfie, standing in a circle and looking down at the phone. Isack captioned it 'Back on track - FP gonna be fun today!', then tagged both Arthur and me. I reposted it immediately, and then Isack and I left to get to our garage.
The day went by quickly, free practice went pretty well and it was nice to be back and working with the team. I felt my mind finally back to normal, and I could focus with no problem whatsoever. I finished P4 in the free practice and could relax mostly for the rest of the day since qualifying wasn't until the next day.
I did have a few PR things to get done though, such as a video for the F2 social media with Isack. Every team had to do it, it was a 'how well do you know your teammate' kind of video. It took place in an open room in the middle of the hallway between the garages though, meaning people kept passing by.
At one point, Max and Charles walked by and Max noticed us immediately. Isack and I both waved, but suddenly Max wanted to come to say hi on the video, leaving Charles awkwardly in the background. I tried to ignore him the best I could, but it was hard as I felt his eyes on me the whole time. "Max, Max! Do you have any good advice for your junior drivers?" The producer said and Max sat down between us, thinking about it. "Come on Charles, let's give them some advice!" He yelled and Charles had no choice but to join as well.
Charles sat down beside me, greeting the cameras. "My advice to my junior drivers is to not stress out too much on the track!" Max spoke up and Isack and I both chuckled. "What about you, Charles?" Max then spoke, and we all looked at Charles now. "Yes, I agree, no stress and eyes on the track." He said awkwardly and we all laughed at the whole situation.
"How close are the f1 and f2 drivers this year?" was the next question and we all looked around at each other. "Closer than ever!" Max then chimed in and we all nodded in agreement. "Especially in our case, Max is always wishing us good luck and giving us advice before the races," Isack added, to which I nodded. "Yeah, I mean, we haven't received anything but support from all f1 drivers and their teams as well," I added and Max proceeded to wrap his arms around me and Isack.
"We're like one big family!" He joked and ruffled our hair before abruptly leaving the interview with Charles. "One big family, he said," Isack repeated and we both laughed while fixing our hair. On their way out, Charles ran into Lando and they stopped to speak. I couldn't help but watch them, while we were taking a break from the video.
Suddenly, Charles's eyes landed on me while Lando was saying something and he smiled. Lando looked at me as well and gave me a thumbs-up before he walked away. I gave Charles a confused look and he just shook his head while taking out his phone, typing something. When he was done, he looked up again and pointed to his phone and then to me. I took out my own phone and received a message from him. "Will you come to my driver's room when you're done?"
I looked up and tilted my head while looking at him. He put his hands together in a pleading manner, so I nodded my head and he flashed me a smile. Why was he suddenly so happy again? We hadn't spoken in a week at this point, which made me even more confused. What did he want?
As soon as we were free to go, I did as he said and went to his driver's room. I knocked on the door and opening was a happy Charles, letting me in and closing the door after me. "What did you wanna talk about?" I got straight to it, as I didn't know how to feel about the whole thing. "How have you been?" He asked.
"I've been pretty good, thank you. And you?" He nodded and scratched the back of his head. "I've been alright..." I just kept silent and looked at him, as I was expecting something else to come out of his mouth. "I missed you..." He admitted. This wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it did give me a nice feeling inside.
I was surprised and he could probably tell because he continued. "I know it's my fault we didn't talk more during the break, I acted strange and all, but I did miss you, Carter." He took a step towards me and reached for my hands and held them in his. "Why did you act so strange?" I asked, trying to search his face for answers, but all I could see were hints of regret. He hesitated, but finally said out loud, "I don't know."
Unknowingly I had rolled my eyes at him, knowing he wasn't speaking the truth. "Charles, if you don't wanna talk that's fine, but don't lie-" He stopped me from speaking any further by spontaneously pressing his lips on mine. I felt my face heat up by his touch, as he let go of my hands and placed them on my face instead.
The kiss was slow and careful, but so sweet. When he pulled away he stared into my eyes, only inches away from my face. "I think I was jealous..." He whispered and I could tell he was desperate for a reaction from me. "Of Lando?" I asked and he nodded. "Charles, I told you that I didn't-" I tried but he shushed me and placed his index finger gently on my lips. "I know. You did, and I believed you, but at the same time, he was right there, in London, with you. He was open and honest about his feelings, and I was neither. I thought that maybe he could win you over because of that..."
"Oh, Charles..." I spoke, taking hold of both of his hands. "He couldn't." I tried to reassure him. "That's what he told me... Arthur came to me before your race and told me that you had called Isack that night and that you had rejected Lando. Then he came himself just before and confirmed. So I knew I had to talk to you, to prevent this from happening again."
"What?" I had gotten a little confused from all the things I had to process so suddenly, and I didn't know what to say, do or even think. "What I'm trying to say, is that I like you, Carter. I really like you." His eyes were sparkling like they always did when he was talking about something he was passionate about. I knew he was telling the truth, I could feel it deep to my core. "I really like you too, Charles," I replied and his smile grew even wider.
We wrapped our arms around each other in a tight hug, while he lifted me off the ground and gave me a spin. "Ugh, finally I can tell you that I don't want you hanging out with guys alone." I laughed at his comment. He put me down again but kept his arms around my waist as he looked at me. "Let me take you out to dinner tonight." I raised my eyebrows and gave him a teasing smile, "Charlie, are you asking me out on a date?" I asked and he cringed at the memories of that night on the boat. "Well yes, mon Ange, I am." He replied and I couldn't hide the smile on my face. "I would love to."
"Good." He glanced down at my lips, and as he was leaning down to place his lips on mine once more, there was a loud knock on his door. He had to stop midway with a frustrated sigh and a bored look. He went to open the door and outside stood Carlos, "Mate, you have to-" He started, but then noticed me standing in the middle of the room. Carlos then began smiling teasingly.
"Carlos, what?" Charles spoke up, clearly annoyed. "You have to get ready for the race man, you guys can do whatever you just did later!" He said, wiggling his eyebrows, causing Charles to push him out of his room and shut the door in his face. I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "You think that's funny, huh?" Charles smiled and I shrugged. "A little. But he's right, I'll let you get ready." I said, approaching the door. "Stay in my garage." He said, blocking my way to the door.
"I don't think Red Bull would appreciate that," I teased and he rolled his eyes. "Please? I need all the luck I can get on the second free practice! I only got P7 earlier in the first one." He explained and I folded immediately as he gave me his puppy eyes. "Alright, I'll be in your garage," I said and he smiled happily and kissed my cheek. "Thank you, chéri! Arthur should be out there, and I'll be with you in a minute." I nodded and left his driver's room.
Outside stood Carlos and Arthur together, and as soon as they saw me come out they both began giggling like little girls. I rolled my eyes and joined them, "What are you girls laughing at?" I asked but they seemed to enjoy the scenario way too much. "Charles seemed to be in a good mood, hmmmm?" Carlos said, Arthur joining in, "You should have seen his face when I told him the news." I sighed but couldn't help but smile at their teasing.
"Are you staying in the Ferrari garage today, Cart?" Arthur asked. I couldn't even answer before I heard Charles do so for me, coming from his driver's room. "She is." He stood beside me and then handed me a Ferrari shirt. "Put this on instead of that horrible one you're wearing," He joked, referring to the Hitech x Red Bull shirt I was wearing. "You bought me a Ferrari shirt?" I chuckled, looking at him in disbelief. "Of course not." I looked at it confused, "It's mine." He said, winking at me, then went to talk to his strategist, Carlos leaving to speak to his as well.
"So, I guess I have to call you sister-in-law now?" Arthur spoke earning a slap on the arm. "Stop that," I warned and put on the Ferrari t-shirt over my own. Since it was Charles's it fitted big on me and completely covered the T-shirt I was wearing. "For real though Cart, I've never seen him act like this over a girl."
"Like what?"
"Crazy, Cart. Completely out of his mind."