undressed

the sound of your heels clicking against the concrete of the sidewalk is almost comforting to your racing heart.

streetlights are warm against the summer night sky, and you look out past your date and into the never ending horizon of house porchlights on and waiting for their last and final visitors of the night. a breeze runs through the air as the two of you walk, and it tickles your skin in the warmest way possible as your eyes flick to your sweet date.

lando is gorgeous in all black, you think to yourself, noting at the neatness of his tie and the shiny swoop of his hair. his hands are stuffed into his pockets, hazel eyes directed up at the sky as he whistles a tune you can't place right off.

"nice night. glad it didn't rain like the forecast was talkin'." lando chuckles softly, the sound light and warm against your spine. you nod shyly, tucking a piece of hair as you add, "yeah, i agree. plus, humidity would make my hair fluff up terribly."

"i wouldn't care, darlin'," lando smirks, shrugging with disinterest as he nudges into you playfully. "i like hair with a little volume to it."

that makes you flush, and you just laugh to yourself, unintentionally focusing on the clicking of your heels and lando's dress shoes against the pavement once again. he's so close to you, you can almost feel the fabric of his suit scratch your bare arm, and his cologne is so strong and deep—

"we turn here, yeah?" lando's voice is the thing that interrupts your swelling thoughts. he jerks his head to the right, and you nod hurriedly, embarrassed at where your mind was going to. he allows you to lead the way, following behind you at a close pace as the leisurely stroll continues once more.

"did you like the place we ate at? i did my best to pick a place that matched what you told me you enjoyed." lando looks down at you as he speaks, and you nod, smiling at him with gratitude. "yes, i did! you must have done some digging because i haven't heard of the place before."

"my mom said it would be a good place to have a first date, and she said the food was good, so i got the idea from her, to be honest." lando's face is an adorable shade of red as he grins boyishly.

you laugh, opening the gate to your home as you allow lando to step inside. "well, make sure to send her my regards. it was a wonderful choice."

lando quickly skirts around you to help you up the stairs to the front door, and you giggle, turning around to meet lando face to face as he follows behind you. he's across from you now, the hint of a smile decorating his handsome features as he speaks.

"thank you for letting me take you out tonight. i had a lot of fun." the words are sincere, and you nod, clasping your hands behind your back as you nod at him. "me too! i hope we can do this again."

"only if you'll let me." lando takes a step closer to you, and you're doing the same without realizing it, now just centimeters from lando's body as you nod. in a sudden bout of confidence, you take lando's larger hands in yours. he smiles at the feeling, glancing down to your lips as he whispers, "may i kiss you?"

"please do," the words are so soft you can't remember them coming from your own lips, but you're clinging onto lando's suit jacket and pressing your lips to his in a single moment of desperation before you even know it.

his hands loosely drape on your waist, careful to not touch you in a way that you don't want. that is, before you pull your hands away from his suit jacket only to put his hands on your hip. he smiles under you at the motion, but doesn't pull away, letting you lean into him as you let out a breath you didn't even know you were holding.

once you step away, both of you are out of breath and flushing a dark red, and so, you bid goodnight to lando with a shake in your legs and pitter-patter in your heart.

the harsh pounding of your head wakes you up before the scrape of a fork against a bowl does.

blinking slowly, your fuzzy surroundings start to come into focus—the familiarity of the sleek apartment greets you as you realize your place on the soft velvet couch looking over the bustling city down below, and you do your best to sit up, groaning the moment you lift your head from the pillow.

the clinking of a utensil stops when the sound escapes your mouth, and before you know it, lando squats down in front of you, eyes soft and curly hair untamed as he grins a little.

"hey, tipsy," he jokes lightheartedly, and suddenly the pounding headache and bright, fuzzy lights make sense. you were never good at holding alcohol—both you and lando knew it—but he did his best to persuade you to stay away from shot glasses.

until you blatantly told him you were going to "drink all the shots" and started throwing them back like you were a professional.

"god, why don't i listen?" your voice sounds gravelly as you squeeze your eyes closed, and lando chuckles, the sound low and rich as he chimes in. "why don't you listen?"

he's gentle when he pushes your hair away from your face, fingertips grazing your skin in a way that leaves fire in their wake. you hope you're not blushing, doing your best to look away as lando sighs. "how're you feeling?"

"my head is killing me..." you trail off, clenching your stomach as soon as a grumble reaches your ears. "and i'm surprisingly starving."

"trust me, i was already working on making you a little something before you woke up." lando reassures you, and you swallow the urge to lean over and kiss him. he watches you with an emotion you can't quite place, hazel eyes roving your face as he glances down at your lips for a split second.

"did we..." you trail off, face blazing with all the thoughts and ideas that threaten to pop into your head. you distinctly remember being on lando's bed, party outfit swapped for one of lando's hoodies and drawstring shorts...

"no! no, no—of course not," lando reassures you, eyes wide as he shakes his head. "i brought you to my room, helped you change, and then lead you to the couch. i had to fight you to keep you awake, mate."

a small sigh of relief escapes you, and lando sighs in tandem, running a hand through his soft curls as he chuckles nervously. "nothing like that happened between us. plus, i was more worried about you puking all over the place than anything."

both of you laugh at that, laughter fading away once the two of you meet each other's gaze once again. even though your head is fuzzy, you feel your heart speeding up, and you know the exact reason why.

"i should—i should finish making your food. your stomach is loud, mate." he teases, patting your head, albeit a little awkwardly, before he stands up.

eighteen felt different—for both you and lando as you sat at the table, dining room darkened as the candles on lando's birthday cake flickers.

everyone's singing happy birthday to the freshly-turned-eighteen year old, but your words stop moving at the second "happy birthday to you", watching the way lando's hazel eyes reflect the dancing flames atop each candle. he still has the familiar boyish look to his face, but you can see the creeping maturity in his eyes, the hard set of his jaw.

he's watching you too, almost too deep in his own thoughts to hear one of his friends yell "blow out your candles, lando!". he does what is demanded of him, and the table interrupts into applause as the lights flicker back on.

while everyone is dividing cake into slices, you're slipping off into the quiet darkness of the night sky. the november air is crisp, and you do your best to ignore the cold air biting your skin.

a pair of footsteps make their way onto the wooden deck a few minutes after your own, and you turn to come face to face with the birthday boy himself. his cap is on backwards, and the small smirk he has on his face instantly warms you up.

"the party's in there, silly." lando says as a way of greeting, and you smile, turning away from him as you reply, "i know. just wanted to see how the moon looked tonight."

lando comes up beside you quietly, turning his attention to the sky. his eyes sparkle with the movement, porch lights catching his hazel gaze easily. his eyelashes are so long, you notice, and your breath almost leaves your body when he blinks.

"happy birthday." you say softly, and lando turns to you, smile wide on his handsome face as he shrugs. "thanks."

"eighteen. wow." you say aloud, and lando laughs, the sound holding no true excitement to it. lando's chest tightens at the look of nostalgia on your face, and steps a few inches toward you, now just inches away from your face.

"crazy, right? just yesterday i was trying to learn how to drive a go kart." lando's laugh is more of a surprised huff, and you stare at him, a bit of a smile to your voice as you nod. "and failing miserably, might i add."

"shut up," lando rolls his eyes, voice warm as the two of you chuckle softly. the night sky swallows the sound up, and the two of you fall silent, eyes on each other's face.

something definitely felt different. lando's cologne smelled heavier, and your perfume clung to your body in a way it didn't do years ago. lando's jaw had sharpened, and the look in your eyes wasn't so starstruck anymore. both of you had changed, and noticed the change in each other just the same.

"you feel it too, don't you?" lando asks lowly, now just centimeters away from your lips. you don't remember how he got there, but he's there now, towering over you as he sighs aloud.

"i do," you nod slightly, cheeks warming with the thought of confessing to your boy best friend. "i feel the overwhelming need to kiss you."

lando flushes red quicker than you can blink, and you match his expression, just as shocked as you stammer, "that is what you were asking about, r-right?"

"that too, yeah," lando replies sheepishly, and you nod once before your lips are on his. he has you trapped against the guardrail of the back porch, hands on either side of you as you wrap your arms around his neck.

soon, his hands are on your waist, and you're kissing him like you've known him for twenty eight years instead of eighteen. he's hot to the touch, and before you know it, the biting cold isn't even there anymore. if anything, you can ignore it completely with lando in front of you like this.

when you pull away, you look just as stunned as lando does—his thick eyebrows have disappeared into the dark curls of his head, lips kiss swollen and cheeks flushed.

"happy birthday, by the way." you say as a way to break the awkward silence, and lando just huffs out a half-laugh.

"you already said that once." his voice lowers, dropping into that husky range you always tried so hard not to replay over and over again.

"sorry...can you tell you messed me up big time?" you ask shyly, and lando's grin is impossibly wide as he answers, "not as bad as i messed up with trying not to kiss you all night."

"it's your eighteenth! live it up a little." you shrug, and lando chuckles lowly, eyes softening as he looks to you. "as long as you'll live it up with me."

"you're the birthday boy. i can't say no to that." you whisper the last few words, perfectly cut off with the wonderful pressure of lando's soft lips on yours.

before you started as mclaren's social media intern, it only used to be 'formula one driver oscar piastri'.

now, it was always 'formula one driver oscar piastri and his smiley social media intern'. the two of you could never be separated in conversation anymore—where one was mentioned, the other was sure to be brought up.

not only were you good at your job, but you seemed to fit in perfectly with the mclaren drivers: lando couldn't stop smiling around you, and oscar's "no emotion" facade completely shattered when you were around. all the instagram reels and youtube shorts you filmed were always used, especially when oscar gave a smile that felt less forced and way more genuine.

and this moment was no exception.

it was a photoshoot for a instagram post mclaren planned on uploading in the upcoming days, and you were hired as oscar's photographer. because of course you were.

"oscar, you have to bite it."

you sigh aloud, and you hear lando snicker behind you, to which you turn around and instantly shut him up with a glare. "the picture is you celebrating with your trophies and medals. you know the pose is popular."

"why would i want to bite a cheap gold-painted plastic disc?" oscar says with a bland tone, singular brown eyebrow raised as he looks at you. he looks cute today—in a simple white t-shirt with his styled brown hair, he looks more like a cute college student and less of a formula one driver.

not that you thought oscar was cute or anything. he was technically your superior—he gave wins to the team while you just took pictures of it.

"oscar!" you playfully swat his chest, already earning a half-smirk out of the driver as you groan. "why can't you just be like lando and go along with everything i say?"

"because i want to play hard to get."

oscar takes a step closer to you, now just inches away from your lips as he smiles softly. you feel your heart speed up in your chest before you can process what oscar just said to you, and lando has to be the one to shake you from your stupor, snatching your work phone out of your hands and waving it in the air. "if oscar won't bite the medal, i will!"

"l-lando!" you finally break away from oscar's pinning gaze, snatching your phone back from the curly haired driver. "would you quit and go sit down somewhere?"

lando gives you and oscar one more knowing glance before just smiling from ear to ear, trotting away to probably bother someone else on the media team.

you and oscar are left alone now, and you offer the medal to him one more time. "can you please just bite the medal? i know it's cringy, but the team thinks it's a good picture, and—"

oscar takes the medal before you even finish your sentence, tossing it up and down in the air as he chuckles softly. "i was just teasing you earlier. i'll do it."

nodding gratefully, you still can't seem to shake the fluttering in your chest from oscar's earlier words. sticking your phone in your pocket, you put your hands on oscar's shockingly muscled arms, putting him into the position you want him.

"this right?" he asks softly, brown eyes looking to you for approval. a piece of his styled hair bounces down in front of his eyes, and you pin it back in place, nodding. "perfect, oscar."

oscar just grins even wider, taking the medal and biting it just how you told him to earlier. his eyes close once he sees the happy expression on your face, and his smile grows even wider, giving you the perfect picture.

"kiss already!" you hear come from the back of the studio, and whip your head around to see lando with that kid-like beam on his face. you don't even bother to get onto him, turning back to face oscar as your face threatens to heat up.

"should we humor him?" oscar raises a perfect brown eyebrow, and you shake your head, a look of surprise on your face as you quickly answer. "no! of course not!"

"a-are you flirting with me, oscar?" you whisper quietly, feeling both bewilderment and something else you refuse to name. oscar just shrugs in reply, tilting his head to the side as his soft brown eyes meet yours. "if you think i am."

"you've gotten so bold ever since i got here," you say more to yourself than him, but he hears you anyways, leaning closer as he nods.

"that's what liking your social media manager intern does to you." he replies simply, and you smile at him in reply, even if you recognize the double meaning behind his words.