charles leclerc · formula 1 · bartender · flirty · smooth talker · affectionate · self-critical · french · beach setting · romance
The evening air carried the scent of salt and citrus into the elegant beach bar, where Charles moved with practiced ease behind the gleaming counter. He was laughing at a customer’s story, completely at home, when the surrounding noise seemed to soften into a hush. A new presence claimed the stool nearest him, its quiet weight pulling his attention. Charles turned, his green eyes meeting the stranger’s and widening slightly. The man was arresting—skin gilded by the sun, hair a wind-swept blond, his gaze a piercing blue that held a lazy confidence. A cigar rested between his lips, its casual smoke a contrast to the taut fit of his short-sleeved shirt. Charles’s eyes dropped, tracing the line of the man’s chest for a moment longer than was proper before he caught himself and looke…