#jto

You're sprawled out on Lando's couch, your bare feet propped up on the armrest as he flips through the latest additions to Netflix. The warm Monaco breeze drifts in through the balcony doors, but it does nothing to cool the tension in the room.

It was never supposed to feel like this—charged, unpredictable. Lando is your brother Max’s best friend, the guy you’d grown up around, teasing and tormenting in equal measure. Somewhere along the line, though, your banter had started to feel different.

“You’re impossible to entertain,” Lando teases you, tossing the remote onto the coffee table and starting Drive to Survive. Obviously giving up on finding something to watch and wanting to annoy you.

“That’s because you have the attention span of a goldfish,” you shoot back at him, a grin on your lips.

He rolls his eyes, but his gaze lingers on you just a second too long. These playful insults have been your routine for years, ever since Lando had turned into one of your friends as well, but now there was something simmering underneath, something that neither of you want to address—but also can’t really ignore.

It started a few nights ago at a party Max had hosted. You’d been halfway through your fourth drink when Lando had cornered you in the kitchen. “You ever wonder what it’d be like?” he’d asked, leaning ever so casually against the counter like he hadn’t just sent your pulse racing.

“Wonder about what?“

“Us,” he said, his voice low enough that no one else could hear. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

You’d laughed it off, obviously, calling him ridiculous. But the way his eyes had lingered told you he wasn’t joking.

Now, back on his couch, the question hung in the air, unspoken but palpable. You catch him sneaking another glance at you, his lips curving into a smirk when you do. “You really meant it, didn’t you?” you blurt out before you can stop herself.

“Meant what?” he asks, though the way his smirk deepens says he already knows.

“At Max’s party,” you say, sitting up a little straighter. “What you said about us.” Lando sets his drink down, turning to face you fully. “What if I did?” Your heart is racing.

“Lando, you’re my brother’s best friend. This—” You gesture between you two. “This isn’t a good idea. This shouldn’t even be on our minds.”

“Why not? Max doesn’t have to know.” His voice is teasing, but his eyes betray the intensity behind his words. “It’s just… curiosity, right? Just once. To get it out of our systems.” Your heart is pounding now. You want to laugh, to tell him he’s being completely ridiculous. But the way he’s looking at you—with heat and determination—makes your knees weak and your resolve waver.

You take a deep breath. “One time,” you finally say, but your voice is barely above a whisper.

Before you can even second-guess your words and decision, his lips are on yours, hot and insistent. Logic evaporates in the heat of the moment, your hands finding his curls, tangling in his hair as he pulls you closer.

A quiet sigh leaves your lips, against his. And it’s like a spark igniting a wildfire. Lando‘s hands slip from your face, trailing down to your waist and then your hips, pulling you closer until you’re practically sitting on his lap. Your fingers still in his hair, his curls slipping between them as your tilt your head to deepen the kiss even more.

The world outside ceases to exist. There's no Monaco skyline, no brother waiting for your response to his last text—just the feeling of Lando‘s lips, insistent and skilled, and the heat coursing through your body.

Lando breaks away just long enough to look at you, cheeks red and panting, “You have no idea how long I’ve thought about this,” he whispers, his voice husky.

Your mind starts racing, because you too have thought about this one too many times, but before you can respond, his lips are back on yours, hungrier this time. The kiss feels like he’s been holding himself back for years, like he has to make up for all the times he thought about kissing you but didn’t. His teeth graze your bottom lip, drawing a gasp from you and he takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue sweeping against yours in a way that sends a shiver down your spine.

Your hands leave his hair, your fingertips sliding across his shoulders and arms to settle on his chest. The action makes him shiver and he groans softly as you draw circles with your fingers. While you’re still overthinking everything about this, Lando’s reaction sends a jolt of confidence through you.

“Baby,” Lando murmurs against your lips, trying to catch his breath. A term of endearment now, but usually used to tease you.

The mention of your nickname in relation to all of this, makes you pull back slightly, your breath coming in shallow gasps as you let your forehead rest against his. His eyes meet yours, dark and stormy and filled with something that looks a lot like longing.

“This insane, Lando,” you whisper, your fingers now tracing the outline of his jaw. Feeling light stubble in his skin.

“Yeah maybe,” his voice low and rough as he still tries to catch his own breath, “Insane, but it doesn’t feel wrong,”

And then Lando kisses you again. This time slower, more deliberate. His hands now starting to roam from your hips to under your shirt, feeling the skin on your back. You let yourself get lost in it, in him, your worries melting away as his lips leave yours and travel to your cheek and then find the sensitive spot beneath your ear.

He tries to pull you even closer, your legs settling on either side of his lap now. Letting you feel everything. You know there’s no going back now, how could you ever pretend you don’t know how this feels now? This isn’t just one kiss, this is everything they’ve been holding back, every stolen glance and lingering touch coming to a head.

Just as you pull his lips back onto yours, there’s a ring sounding through the apartment, followed by a knock on the door and Max‘s voice, “Dude, I’ve called like seven times. I’ve got the snacks and you’ve got the streaming set,”

Lando’s eyes widen, and your heart drops into your stomach. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” you whisper loudly, scooting off his lap and onto your feet. Your hands now flying up into your own hair to smooth it down.

“Shit,” Lando mutters, glancing toward the door and then back at you. “I forgot he was coming over to stream.”

“Well, don’t just sit there,” you hiss at him. “We need to get it together before he gets suspicious,“

Lando frantically grabs his hoodie off the couch, yanking it over his head to hide his mussed hair. You cross over to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water to busy yourself and hope you don’t look as flushed as you feel.

Then Lando opens the door, Max steps in with his usual laid-back grin firmly in place. “Finally,” Max says, holding up the bag of snack. “What were you doing, hiding?”

“No, just… cleaning up,” Lando says, his tone just a tad too casual as he steps aside to close the door. Your brother looks past him and spots you leaning on the counter, sipping from your water. “Movie night, huh?”

“Yep,” you reply brightly, ever so grateful that your voice doesn’t betray you. “I fell asleep though.” You add, hoping it’ll explain the redness in your face.

Max laughs and walks over to grab a handful of popcorn from the bowl on the table. “Wow, you didn’t invite me? Rude.”

“You were busy with Petra earlier,” Lando answers quickly, shooting you a subtle look to make sure things between you are okay.

Max shrugs, “Fair enough.” He turns his attention back to you. “What did you guys watch?”

“Oh, um…” You blink, your mind drawing a blank for a moment. “Drive to Survive,” Lando interjects smoothly. “Can you believe she hasn’t seen the latest season yet?“

Your brother snorts, “You’re seriously watching yourself on TV now? That’s some next-level narcissism, mate.” It’s your turn to laugh now, thankful for the distraction. “It was his idea, not mine,” you tease, rolling your eyes playfully.

Max shakes his head and drops the bag of snacks onto the counter. “You two are weird. Alright, shall we get on with it?”

“Yeah, sure,” Lando answers with a nod, throwing a quick glance at you. “You okay here?”

“Yup, I’ll just finish the popcorn and crash on the couch until you’re done,” you say breezily, hoping your tone comes across as casual. Max doesn’t even think twice about it. “Cool. Don’t eat all of it.”

Lando hesitates for a fraction of a second before following Max toward the streaming setup in the spare room. As soon as the door shuts behind them, you let out a breath and sink onto the couch, your heart still pounding in your chest.

Your fingers brush over your lips, still warm from the kiss. You thought the sudden interruption might douse the heat between you and Lando, but if anything, it made the tension even worse. Your mind keeps replaying the way Lando had looked at you, the way his hands felt on your body.

From down the hall, you can hear the muffled sounds of their voices as the stream starts. “Alright, chat, let’s get this going,” You hear Lando say, his voice cheerful and animated, as if nothing had happened.

You let out a small, wry laugh. Of course, he can compartmentalize everything so easily. Meanwhile, you are sitting on his couch, replaying every second of what just happened like it was burned into your memory.

You tell yourself to let the moment pass. But something in the pit of your stomach tells you this isn’t just a fleeting lapse of judgement. Whatever this thing between you and Lando is, it’s dangerous.

And you aren’t sure you want to go back to the way it was before.