The first few months of third year hit you hard. With an overwhelming amount of assignments to complete and exam preparation to do, you barely had time for yourself. Therefore, you barely had time for Lando. You still messaged him whenever you could, specifically after races to congratulate him on his finish or make him feel better when he needed it, and you called him on his birthday, sending him a gift to his address (a silver bracelet with your initials engraved on the inside and the date you two got together) that he put on immediately and couldn’t stop smiling about as well as the card you’d handwritten and shipped to him in Monaco. He loved it, though he was still slightly upset with the fact that you couldn’t be there to celebrate with him. He understood, of course he did, but he was needy, an overthinker and borderline obsessed with you. So as your responses became less and less frequent, and your daily calls almost turned monthly he’d had enough. He messaged Maya asking about you first and of course her response was one he’d already received before.

‘She’s busy, and exhausted. Don’t be angry at her.’

Lando wasn’t angry, he just missed you. Missed your face and your voice and your touch.

That was when he decided to fly out to Geneva without telling you and using Maya as a guide to find you.

When a knock sounds from your apartment door, you wake up from where you didn’t notice you’d fallen asleep at your desk over your notebook that looked like something from a psych ward.

“Shit,” you whisper out, letting your eyes move over the mess of textbooks strewn about your room, a few torn out pages scattered over piles of clothes–both clean and dirty–before standing up and rushing to the door.

At the sight of him standing on the other side, you swear you can feel your heart expand in your chest.

“Lando?” You ask, your voice slightly hoarse when you glance down at the massive bouquet of dahlias in one hand, a giftbag in the other and a warm smile on his face. 

“Hey, love,” he speaks before you throw yourself on him–wrapping your arms tightly around his shoulders.

“What are you doing here?” You ask, suddenly feeling self conscious. Your hair’s pulled back in a messy bun that you haven’t taken out in about two days, you’re wearing one of his hoodies and a pair of joggers, and your eyebags are so prominent they look like they’ve been embedded into your face.

“Missed you. Came to see how you were doing,” he replies, kissing your forehead before you pull away and he holds out the flowers and the bag in your direction. Though you don’t miss the way his eyes move around your face, taking in your features.

“God, I look a mess, don’t even–”

“You look beautiful. You’re always beautiful,” he interrupts when you take everything from his hands and step aside to let him in. His eyes move across the room, at the mess haunting every corner before looking back at you. 

“I’m sorry, I just–” You let out a weak sigh, feeling him follow you to the kitchen. 

“Don’t apologise. You have nothing to apologise for,” he speaks firmly as you fill a vase with water before placing the flowers in them. 

“These are beautiful,” you say softly, smelling them and placing the vase in the centre of the kitchen island. You turn to where Lando’s leaning against the counter, smiling at you like you’re the centre of the universe. 

“I’m so happy to see you,” he says warmly, walking towards you. “I missed you so bad, love. You can’t disappear on me like that.”

His arms slip around your waist and you melt into his embrace, letting out a deep sigh as you close your eyes and finally let your running mind come to an abrupt halt.

“Have you been sleeping? Eating?” He asks then and you feel his hand cup your cheek to tilt your head back before his thumb swipes beneath your eye.

“Sleeping is a privilege I haven’t experienced in a while,” you joke, opening your eyes to find his expression far from amused.

“Y/n,” Lando says with furrowed brows, “you need to sleep.”

“I am sleeping. Just not for long and not consistently,” you shrug, rubbing your cheek against his hoodie and breathing his scent in. His cologne re-etches itself into your brain, along with something that smells so uniquely like him you couldn’t forget it even if you tried.

He sighs then, resting his lips on the crown of your head whilst his thumb draws small shapes across the skin of your cheek. 

“I’m worried about you,” he says honestly then. “Are you taking breaks? Talking to people? Taking care of yourself?” Lando doesn’t even let you reply before he answers for you. “You’re not because if you were, you’d be answering me.”

“Lan, I’ll be fine. I just have to make it through these next couple weeks and then it’s Christmas,” you shrug, looking up at him again to find him clearly unhappy with your decision. As if on cue, your stomach growls in response and at the sound his brows shoot up.

“Let’s go and get you food,” he announces, slipping his arms off and taking your hand in his.

“Lando, I can’t. I need to–”

“Eat. You need to eat. We’re going.”

You frown, though the hunger is starting to override the stress gnawing at your insides. You’ve always been a stressful person, everyone around you could see that, and you thought it would go away eventually. Much to your dismay, it hadn’t. Instead, it changed shape, carving itself into you silently as it shifted into a dull hum in the background. It’s always there in the back of your mind as if waiting to be activated by something. 

In this case it’s leaving your mountain of assignments to spend time with your boyfriend.

“Lando, you don’t get it,” you try, making him turn around to look at you. “I seriously cannot leave. I can’t waste time I don’t have.”

“Y/n, you need food. How are you expecting to work if your brain isn’t functioning?” He asks, his voice turning sweet when he looks at you.

“But–” “Okay, we’ll go out and eat, then we’ll go buy a bunch of food to fill your fridge, and then we’ll come back and you can do work whilst I sit with you. How does that sound?”

You sigh in defeat, knowing there’s no way out of this.

“Fine.”

“Thank you,” he breathes out, kissing your forehead. “But first open your present,” he smirks, picking up the gift bag you’d left on the counter and holding it out to you.

“Lan, you didn’t need to get me anything,” you try but he just shakes his head.

“I did. It’s your birthday soon. This is just the starter,” he replies smugly as you begin to open the bag, only to let out a soft gasp.

“Lando, I can’t take this–”

“Yes, you can,” he counters. “Open it.”

You clench your jaw, your insides screaming when you pull out the red Cartier box, placing it down on the marble before popping it open. The gold Cartier love bracelet looks up at you, your lips parting and a gasp falling from your mouth once more. You can feel the way Lando’s arms wrap around your waist from behind, his head resting on your shoulder as he grins at your reaction when you look at him.

“Lando. Lando, Lando, Lando–”

“Put it on,” he says, and you stare at him for a moment before looking down at the bracelet and clasping it on your wrist. It fits perfectly. “See? It’s perfect.”

“Lando this is too much,” you try again, turning to look at him again but he just shakes his head.

“It suits you. You need it,” he responds, grinning at you when you pull him in for a bone-crushing hug that knocks the oxygen out of him.

“Thank you,” you murmur against his chest. 

“You don’t need to–”

“Lando, shut up,” you almost groan into his hoodie before he chuckles, his arms warm around your waist before he kisses you.

“Okay. Let’s go eat,” he announces when you pull apart, his fingers interlacing with yours when he leads you to your apartment door.

—

You’re sitting in a booth of a McDonalds in the corner, an assortment of food in front of you. Lando ordered almost everything on the menu after realising that you didn’t know what you wanted. 

“Are you supposed to be eating this? Are you going to get in trouble?” You ask before you take a bite from the chicken nugget you’re holding. Lando shrugs, shoving a chip in his mouth.

“Are you gonna tell Jon?” He asks, turning to look at you. You smile, shaking your head whilst chewing. “Well, then.”

Both of your hoods are up, and he’s even wearing a hat because you can never be too careful out in public. To be fair, nobody’s looked twice at either of you, so it seems like everything’s working out in your favour. 

“What are you doing for Christmas?” Lando asks after he finishes a burger, watching you as you reach for your water.

“Nothing really. Was going to just do something with my friends,” you shrug when he hums thoughtfully.

“What if I asked you to come with me to my parents’ house?” He asks then, eyeing you closely. You freeze, eyes locked on his when the corners of your mouth turn up into a smile.

“Really?”

“Yeah. My mum and my sisters have been dying to meet you. It’ll be fun. You don’t need to stress about presents or anything, just come.”

“Lando, I would love to,” you practically beam.

“Good. I can’t wait,” he grins before taking another chip from the box and reaching across the table to bring it to your mouth. You chuckle before taking it with your teeth, his smile only widening at the sight of you eating what he’s feeding you. 

You spend the rest of your date eating until your bellies are full and laughing until you can’t breathe, and the weight on your shoulders finally feels like it’s been lifted. When you both leave McDonalds, you head together to the local shop.

“Basket,” Lando says, picking up the basket and holding it whilst his other arm remains slung around your shoulders to keep you close to him. “Right. What do we want?”

You trill your lips, letting your eyes move over the aisles as you start from the beginning and work your way around. Lando just puts basically everything you hesitate on into the basket, up until it’s practically overflowing. When you go to pay, you don’t even realise it’s happening until he’s already tapped his card and thanked the worker.

“Wait, Lando–”

“No, come on. Let’s go,” he nods his head, taking all of the bags himself whilst you clutch onto his bicep and follow him. You realise that trying to argue about it is futile because of how stubborn he is, so you decide to switch the conversation topic instead.

When you arrive back at your apartment, he leaves the bags on the counter as you let out a quiet sigh.

“I need to go back to work,” you groan, slipping your arms around his shoulders and leaning into his chest. 

“I’ll put everything away and then come find you.”

“You think you can manage that?” You joke when he snorts, his arms coiled around your waist tightly.

“Yeah. I’ll find my way.”

“M’kay,” you hum, looking up at him to find him tilting his head down to you with pursed lips. You smile, accepting the kiss he’s offering when he deepens it for a split second. “I need to–”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lando nods in understanding as he gives your cheek one last kiss before you reluctantly slip out of his arms and head back to your bedroom.

—

You’re halfway through relearning about heat and mass transfer when you hear footsteps getting louder and when you look up, you find Lando walking into your room. His eyes are locked on yours when the corners of his lips turn up into a fond smile.

“Hey, megamind,” he greets, taking a seat on the space on the floor beside you.

“Hey, you don’t have to–”

“No, I want to be with you,” he counters, his arms wrapping around your leg before he rests the side of his head against your thigh and takes his phone out of his pocket. “I won’t be in your way.”

You smile at his cuteness, softly scratching his head through his curls before you return your attention back to the sheet in front of you.

“Wait, how long are you staying for?”

“As long as I can,” Lando replies, tilting his head back to look at you to see you beam down at him. “Might need to fly out sometimes but it’s worth it. As long as I get to be with you.”

—

The first week of Lando staying with you feels like pure bliss. He’s been taking care of you, reminding you of when to eat and helping you relax when you need it (in more ways than one). 

Though one evening, when you return back to your apartment after a long day of lectures–it feels like the walls are threatening to close in. Sometimes you feel like a pot of water–boiling over when the heat is too much. In this case, the heat in question being the building anxiety caused by university. Maybe you care too much, or maybe you’re just an easy target to its dark embrace.

The door shuts behind you with a slam that almost rattles the walls, your bag dropping on the floor as you run your hands down your face with a deep exhale.

“Hey. What’s wrong?” Lando frowns, getting up from the couch immediately to wrap you up in his arms. You let yourself fold into him, burying your face in the crook of his neck as the tightness in your chest only begins to worsen.

“The lecture. I just… I was so tired I could barely focus and I was so lost and then I started panicking and then–”

“Sh, sh, sh,” he hums, carefully rocking you in his arms before he kisses your temple repeatedly. “Don’t worry about it now. I’m here,” he reassures you, “come on, let’s go sit down.”

You follow him to the sofa, taking a seat on his lap as you clutch onto his shoulders tightly. Your body shakes a little with sobs as he draws comforting shapes against your upper back, his warm touch making everything feel softer around the edges. 

“Come here,” he whispers, tilting your head back with his other hand before his mouth meets yours in a gentle embrace. You kiss, your mouths moving together as the oxygen you felt like was missing finally returns to your lungs. 

You pull apart not long after, though you keep your faces close together. Your forehead rests against his whilst you pant, your breaths mingling together when he rests his hand on the side of your head. 

“Let’s go to bed, yeah? I don’t like seeing you upset,” Lando speaks in a way that makes your stomach explode with butterflies. Your bottom lip gets caught between your teeth when you nod, feeling him kiss your lips once more. “Good girl,” he whispers before standing up. 

Despite your legs feeling like jelly at his praise and the gush of heat in your core, you stand up after him and attach yourself to his side as you both head towards your bedroom. You brush your teeth together, take a shower filled with kisses and loving touches before you collapse in bed with Lando wrapped around you completely. He’s warm and smells faintly of his cologne, and you find yourself falling asleep incredibly quickly as soon as he starts kissing down your neck. He feels like home.

—

Over the course of the next few weeks, you’re still attending lectures, still coming home to Lando most days when he’s not flown out for sim training or marketing, still falling more and more hopelessly in love with him. 

Yes, spending as much time together as you have has made you boldly start to assume that your heart beating faster and your palms becoming clammy just whenever you’re around him isn’t something that happens when you just like someone. You’ve fallen for him, even though you’re too afraid to admit it. 

Unbeknownst to you, Lando has been feeling the same way. In fact, he’s known he’s been in love with you since that holiday in Ibiza–and when you partially went ghost on him it only set that fact in stone. You both agreed to go slow, take your time and whatever, and he realised that confessing his love for you a mere few months into your relationship probably wasn’t something that agreed with your words. 

Nonetheless, it’s finally Christmas break and you were convinced nobody was as excited as Lando at the fact that you could finally give him some attention. Since you’re going to his parents’ house, you have an entire flight to fulfill that. 

“Okay, so I’m gonna tell you,” Lando begins as you stretch your legs over his and rest your body against his side. His arm is around your shoulders as the soft hum of the jet engine fills the brief silence. “My mum, I don’t know how she’ll be. She’s a great judge of character, but from what my dad has said I’m sure she’ll love you. If she’s too much, just let me know, okay?”

“Lan, don’t worry about it. I understand,” you respond with a smile, looking up at him as he cradles the side of your face in his large hand. 

“You sure?”

“You’re a millionaire and a celebrity athlete. It makes sense that your parents are going to be protective over who you date. I completely understand.”

Lando smiles at your words, leaning down to press your lips together in a lazy kiss–one that consists of your mouths just moving together in a gentle rhythm. 

You spend the flight making out for about twenty minutes before you both fall asleep on each other–your positions are mildly uncomfortable but since you can feel the other’s breathing you don’t really care. 

When you land at Heathrow Airport, you can feel a slight tension linger in the air. Lando’s nervous. It’s radiating off of him but to be honest you can’t blame him. His family is obviously most important to him, and their opinions of you mean a lot–so when you walk out of the arrivals section together and towards his awaiting parents, you can’t help but feel a little nervous too. 

His mum is standing with a bright smile beside his dad, and you can hear Lando let out a soft chuckle from beside you before you reach them. 

“Hi, sweetheart. I missed you!” His mum exclaims when she pulls him in for a tight hug. 

“Hello, good to see you!” Adam says in the same tone to you before he pulls you in for a kind hug. 

When you separate, you turn to Lando’s mum who’s already looking at you with a warm smile and bright eyes that look far too familiar. 

“Wow you are beautiful, Y/n darling,” she compliments before bringing you in for a hug. You giggle shyly, accepting her motherly hug. “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”

“Me too, Mrs Norris.”

“None of that, please. Call me Cisca,” she beams when she holds you at arm’s length whilst her eyes scan over your features. 

“Okay,” you smile with a nod before she chuckles, just as you feel a hand slide over your lower back. 

“Right. Should we go?” Lando asks when you look up at him with a small smile. 

“Yes, let’s go,” Cisca nods in agreement before you all start heading towards the exit.  

The entire drive to their house, Cisca spends it talking with you. She asks you questions–not particularly in relation to Lando, but just with genuine interest. What you study at university, about your life, your family and friends, how you and Lando met even though he said he’d already told her the story (she said she wanted to hear it from you). You spent a lot of time laughing, and things only got easier the more you spoke. 

Lando also felt the knot in his stomach release at the sight of you and his mother getting along, and even without hearing her say it he could tell that she’s happy with you. She likes you, and that makes him feel a whole lot better. 

“Do you want to work in Formula One?” She asked at some point whilst talking about your degree. You shrugged, feeling a sudden hand on your thigh when you glanced up to find Lando looking down at his phone. 

“I don’t know. In the beginning, I did, yeah. But now… I don’t think I could handle seeing Lando at work too,” you joked, his parents laughing whilst your lover snapped his head towards you with his jaw dropped. 

“That’s so rude!”

“I’m obviously joking,” you retorted, still giggling when he pulled you into his side and wrapped his arms around you tightly. He then leaned down to kiss your cheek and you let him, smiling at the contact. 

When you arrive at his parents’ house, you can’t help but gape at the house. There’s no other way to describe it other than ‘old money’, with flowering vines coating the stone walls and acres of land spanning around the manor. Even from just walking up the pebbled pathway, you can feel the warmth of their family lingering in the atmosphere. 

Lando’s fingers graze your lower back when you reach the door. He steps aside, letting you walk in first before he follows after you as your eyes move around the foyer. 

“Right. Lando you can leave your things up in your room and show Y/n around, I’ll call you both when dinner’s ready,” Cisca says as Lando’s hand trails further up your back before he gently squeezes your shoulder. 

“Okay,” he nods before looking at you. “Let’s go,” he nods his head to the stairs as you follow after him. He takes both of your suitcases, picking them up effortlessly as you follow him up the stairs whilst looking at the pictures lining the wall. Photos of him and his siblings when they were young, some of him karting, some of his sister on horses. You can’t help but smile at the sight of baby Lando holding a trophy that’s almost half the size of him standing in front of his kart with a toothy grin on his face. His eyes are twinkling with excitement and your heart warms. “Oi. You coming?”

“You’re so cute, Lan. Look at you,” you giggle when you look up at where he’s waiting at the top of the stairs for you. He smiles shyly when you reach him, his arm wrapping around your waist. 

“Don’t worry, there’s so many more. First, let me show you,” he begins as he walks you down the corridor. “This is my room,” he introduces, opening a door and letting you in. 

There’s a king’s sized bed sitting in the middle, a dresser to the right against the wall whose surface is almost overflowing with trophies and medals with a shelf above it. You walk over to it, casting your gaze over the engravings at his achievements before you feel an arm around your waist from behind. 

“Jesus,” you chuckle when he rests his chin on your shoulder, kissing the side of your neck. 

“I was good, huh?”

“You still are,” you respond, twisting your head to look at him. He lets out a quiet sigh before groaning softly. 

“I don’t know about that.”

You frown at his words, his brutal honesty and harshness towards himself hitting you somewhere deep in your chest. Your hand buries itself in his curls before you kiss his cheek, shaking your head. 

“Don’t talk about my boyfriend like that,” you say sternly as you brush the tip of your nose against his cheek. He laughs at that, nodding in agreement. 

“Fine. I won’t,” he responds quietly before spinning you around and pressing a kiss to your mouth. His fingers softly grip your chin as he pushes his tongue past your lips to lick into your mouth. As soon as you feel the oxygen leaving your lungs though, a knock sounds from the door. 

You pull away abruptly, hands fisting Lando’s shirt when he looks over his shoulder at the door. 

“Yeah?” Lando calls out when you let him go as the handle twists. 

“Hey, stranger,” a female voice speaks when the door opens and you see a face from the photos you were looking at not too long ago. 

“CJ,” Lando lets out with a smile when he walks over to his sister and brings her into a firm bear hug. She laughs a little when she returns her brother’s hug, squeezing each other for a few moments before he pulls away and turns to you. “CJ, this is my girlfriend, Y/n. Y/n, this is my little sister, Cisca. But we call her CJ ‘cause, you know, she’s junior.”

Cisca turns to you immediately with a beaming smile as you step closer to where they both are, just as she wraps her arms around you in a hug. 

“So good to finally meet you. Just so you know, he never shuts up about you,” she says before you both pull away and you immediately look at Lando. He smiles at you sheepishly with a shrug. 

“You’re really just telling everyone about me aren’t you?” You question before he wraps an arm around your shoulders and pulls you into his side. 

“Yep.”

Both you and Cisca laugh at his casualness before Lando invites her into your room to talk. You follow Lando to the bed where he sits down, and you do the same before the three of you fall into an easy conversation. That’s something you’ve noticed about Lando and his family–they’re all incredibly easy to talk to. It makes everything feel so much lighter, removing a weight off your shoulders. 

—

By the time you’re called down for dinner, you’ve met Lando’s other sister Flo. She’s just as nice as the other Norrises, and when you sit at the dinner table with them they don’t make you feel like an outsider at all. In fact, it’s almost like you’ve been here the whole time. 

When you excuse yourself to use the bathroom, that’s when Cisca turns to Lando. 

“I like her a lot,” she comments. “Your dad was right. You made a good choice.”

“Cheers, mum,” he smiles, feeling relieved at his mother’s approval. “I think she’s perfect,” he says a little softer, more-so to himself. His mum just beams at him before squeezing his shoulder lovingly. 

“Have you told her you’re in love with her yet?” 

He snaps his head to her, his lips twitching a little when he looks down and shakes his head. 

“I don’t wanna scare her away. What if she doesn’t feel the same way?”

Cisca raises her brows at him, sitting up a little straighter in her seat. 

“You think she doesn’t feel the same way?” She asks in disbelief. Lando just looks at her with a shrug. “Sweetheart, she’s just as in love with you as you are with her,” she chuckles. 

“How do you know that?” Lando asks, his stomach feeling a little lighter when he brings his fingers up to brush over his mouth. 

“Because I just do. Mums know everything,” Cisca replies with a smile when she leans over to press a firm kiss to her son’s cheek. Lando sighs, biting at his bottom lip in thought before the chair beside him scrapes back and he turns to see you sitting down. 

“Hello,” he greets with a warm smile, his arm sliding over the back of your chair. 

“Hello,” you return with a slight chuckle before he leans over to kiss your cheek. “What was that for?”

He smiles, shaking his head whilst looking at you. 

“No reason,” he says softly. You nod, humming when you lean back in your chair and rest your head against his shoulder. “Should we go to bed?”

“If you want to,” you shrug when you look at him. 

“Let’s go,” he nods. 

You both say goodnight to his family before he takes your hand in his and leads you up the stairs to his room–only stopping briefly to look at old framed pictures of him. 

“Can we shower together?” Lando asks when you reach his room, closing the door behind you. 

“Of course,” you smile, though your expression falters when you see his face. “Are you okay?”

He looks up at you after he unbuttons your jeans and gently pushes them down by the waistband. 

“Yeah, of course,” he nods, plastering a smile on his features but you still don’t believe him. He looks nervous but you don’t press him for answers. Instead, you let him kiss you dizzy and continue undressing you before you step into the shower. His body remains wrapped around yours from behind, his mouth sucking the skin of your collarbone and shoulder. 

And then, you hear it. 

“I love you.”

He says the words so softly, his voice fragile like he’s giving you the key to something he’s guarded with his life. He sounds vulnerable–almost like he’s standing on the edge of a cliff with you and trusts that you won’t let him fall. 

You freeze for a moment, letting the words register in your mind. Your breath catches and your heart threatens to beat out of your chest–the silence that stretches between you feeling heavier by the second. You spin around in his arms then, looking at his terrified expression. 

Lando feels like he can’t breathe either, waiting for your response. 

“I love you,” you whisper back, the words genuine and coming straight from your heart. 

Lando visibly relaxes, his eyes closing as he rests his forehead against yours and brings a hand up to cup your cheek. 

“Thank fuck. That was terrifying.”

“Is that why you looked so nervous?” You ask with a quiet breath.  When he opens his eyes he nods. “Why?” You smile. 

“I don’t know. I was scared you didn’t feel the same way.”

You almost laugh, shaking your head before you kiss him again. “Y/n, I’ve been in love with you since Ibiza.”

At that, your expression morphs into one of pure love as you look up at him. Your arms slide around his shoulders when you pull him impossibly closer to you, connecting your mouths together again. The water from the shower continues hammering down over the two of you, but you don’t seem to care–both of you are too wrapped up in your confession to focus on anything else. 

“You’re crazy.”

“We should probably go down,” Lando hums, his arm coiled around your shoulders whilst his fingers softly brush up and down your skin–the movement gentle and grounding after the moment you’d just shared.

“Probably,” you return, twisting your head to press a kiss to his pec. Though neither of you make a move to get out of bed, Lando just looks down at you with a warm smile.

“Don’t wanna move,” he groans, twisting his body so he’s facing you. His arms manage to wrap firmly around your waist, pulling you flush against him as you let out a soft giggle–your faces a mere few centimetres apart on the pillow. The way he’s looking at you right now makes your skin heat up, one of your hands sliding up to rest against his cheek–your thumb sweeping across his skin gently.

“Neither do I,” you confess, eyes locked on his before he shuts them and lets out a silent sigh in comfort. “But Maya’s going to be upset with me if we leave her alone with your friends for too long.”

Lando scoffs, nuzzling his face further into your hand before he opens his eyes again.

“Fine. But I’m taking you out for dinner tonight.”

“Okay,” you agree, the two of you reluctantly getting out of bed and ready for the day. You brush your teeth together, his arm around your waist as you look at each other in the mirror and try to hold eye contact for as long as possible without bursting into laughter (which didn’t last long at all). You pull on one of his shirts with a pair of your mini shorts before you both head downstairs–following the sound of voices.

“Finally,” you hear Max call out when you walk into the living room and kitchen, Maya’s head perking up at the sight of the two of you. “What took you both so long?”

You shrug, glancing back at Lando who’s already looking at you with a knowing smirk. You playfully shove him in his chest and he lets out a laugh before you walk over to where Maya’s standing by the kitchen island.

“Morning. I made you a coffee,” she says softly, eyeing you like you’re some sort of criminal. You smile at her, picking it up before looking outside at where the pool sits undisturbed. You look back at her.

“Can we talk?” You ask, watching the way her brows furrow in slight curiosity before she glances over at where Lando’s just wrapped his arms around your waist from behind. He plants a soft kiss to your jaw, followed by one to your temple before he removes himself from you and heads for the fridge.

“Yeah, course,” Maya nods but she looks concerned. You press your lips in a thin line before picking up your coffee and heading outside with her not far behind you.

“What’s this about?” Ed asks with a slight laughter, his gaze flicking between you and Maya but you both ignore him.

“None ya,” Lando speaks for the both of you, and you throw him an amused glance before you shut the door behind you. Their voices filter out, and all that’s left is the soft crash of waves at a nearby beach and the morning chirping of birds dancing between trees.

“What did you do?” Maya enquires as you both take a seat at the sun loungers, sitting opposite each other on two separate ones. You stay quiet for a moment, taking a sip of your coffee before holding the mug in two firm hands trying to keep yourself from screaming. Your eyes are locked on the swirling brown liquid, the steam curling up by your nose and wafting the scent of caffeine. She says your name firmly.

“Okay, I’m going to tell you something but you can’t look at me differently,” you say nervously, finally forcing yourself to look up. But of course, Maya’s smart. She studies economics and finance, and absolutely nothing gets past her.

Her eyes widen, her jaw falling open as she looks at you with a combination of shock, pride and amusement.

“Holy shit he fucked you,” she whisper-yells, aware of the four boys on the other side of the door not too far away, as she brings a hand to her mouth.

You don’t confirm or deny, you just do the only thing you can do: laugh.

“Oh my God. I am so proud of you right now,” Maya continues, placing two hands on your shoulders and gently shaking you–careful not to make you spill your coffee. “You have to tell me everything.”

“I don’t know, it just sort of happened,” you shrug casually, though the wide smile tugging at your lips gives you away.

“Uh huh, right. When?”

“This morning.”

“This morning?” Maya raises her voice a little, her eyes widening in even more shock when you let out a snort. “You horny animals!”

“Maya,” you groan, wincing at her words before she takes the coffee out of your hands and puts it on the table beside you two. Then, she gently takes both of your hands in hers and locks eyes with you–her expression softening.

“Was he big?” She asks, her voice quiet like she’s asking you for some top secret information before you lean forward and close your eyes. You nod.

“Massive,” you confirm, looking up to meet her gaze again. You both fall into a fit of giggles.

“Girl, I am so happy for you. Seriously–he is perfect for you.”

“I know,” you reply, and it’s true. You agree with her because for the past few months you’ve been getting to know each other, you can’t find anything wrong with him. Sure, it’s probably a bad thing, but a part of you is telling you that it’s because there’s genuinely no negative parts of him. Of course, being a driver is sure to have its impacts on him, but you’ll cross that bridge when you get there. For the time being, you just want to show Lando that you can be his safe space. Someone he can go to when everything feels like it’s too much–or even just whenever.

“And he was literally glowing when he came downstairs. I knew something was up,” Maya continues, shaking her head as you pull your hands away from hers and reach for your coffee again.

“He said he’s taking me on a date tonight,” you tell her, and she gasps softly.

“Good, as he should,” she nods in approval before you let out a chuckle. “Ugh, I’m so happy for you, genuinely. I can’t wait to see how this goes–you two are gonna have beautiful babies.”

“Maya–” you almost choke on her coffee when she laughs.

“Kidding!” She returns, though you don’t find it as funny as she does. Nonetheless, you shake your head and put your empty mug aside. “Give me a hug. We need to celebrate this by tanning,” she instructs, reaching her arms out for you. You laugh, standing up and wrapping your arms around her shoulders before dropping down on the sun lounger beside her. Her arms coil around your torso, holding you against her as you both laugh at the position you’ve ended up in.

Suddenly, the door slides open and a voice calls out.

“Are you two hungry?” Tom asks, both of your heads turning to the source of the noise where he’s standing on the threshold looking at the two of you.

“Yeah, coming!” You yell back, giving Maya one final squeeze before you both pull apart and stand up.

When you return inside, to say you find chaos is an understatement.

Lando’s standing at the stove, flipping a pancake whilst Max floats around beside him mixing batter–the pair of them arguing over something you can’t even comprehend. You catch the words “burned” and “stuck” and mentally face palm. Meanwhile, Ed and Tom are sitting at the kitchen island–watching whilst eating pancakes and laughing at the two of them as if they’re quality entertainment.

“What the hell are you doing?” You ask, walking up to stand beside Lando.

“Look, look, watch this, love,” he says after glancing down at you and then back at the pan.

“Lando–” you try, but he’s already picking up the pan and going for it. You practically hold your breath when he flips the pancake, watching as it surprisingly lands perfectly in the centre of the pan again.

“Did you see that?” He smirks, looking down at you with pride when you let out a snort.

“First time he’s done that without failing by the way,” Max notes, “we’ll be cleaning burned pancake batter from the hobs for days.”

You laugh at that, walking around Lando to his other side when he holds a pancake to your mouth. Glancing up at him, you find his eyes locked on you and you let out a silent breath of laughter before taking a bite from the pancake.

“Good, innit?” He asks as he watches you chew before bringing the same pancake to his own mouth.

“Yeah, actually,” you return when he snorts and holds out the pancake to your mouth again.

“Don’t act so surprised, love. I’m good at cooking, I swear,” Lando returns with a smile when he finishes feeding you the pancake.

“No you’re not, mate,” Max reputes, “now let me have a go.”

“Ooh, Max is salty,” Lando mocks, taking the stack of pancakes on a plate before slinging his free arm over your shoulders and moving you both out of Max’s way. “Here you go.”

Max doesn’t even both replying to Lando, you and Maya joining him in eating the pancakes.

“These are actually really good. I’m proud of you,” you say as you look at Lando to find him already smiling at you.

“Thank you, love,” he nods proudly. Maya lets out a laugh.

“Actually I made the batter, he just managed not to burn them all,” Max tries, but Lando just rolls his eyes.

“Jeez, man. Could you be any more of a fun sponge? Seriously?”

Max falls silent at that.

“Lan,” you say softly, nudging him as he looks at you.

“What?”

You sigh, shaking your head before leaning into his shoulder.

“Pool, anyone?” Ed asks in an attempt to defuse the tension. Fortunately, all of you agree and when you’re done eating you go upstairs to get changed.

“You can go first,” Lando says softly when you enter the room, nodding his head to the bathroom as you walk over to where your suitcase is sprawled open–clothes strewn around it messily.

“You need to help me though,” you laugh, digging through your suitcase to pull out your bikini–basic, pale orange, triangle shaped–before you stand upright again to find him sitting on the edge of the bed with a smirk on his face.

“Yeah, course,” he nods, bringing his hand up to swipe at his nose as you walk over to the bathroom. You feel his eyes on you with every step you take until you shut the door behind you and get changed.

“Lan?” You ask softly when you open the door, holding your bikini top over your breasts with one arm to keep yourself somewhat concealed.

“Coming,” Lando chirps from where he was laying on the bed in his swim trunks and scrolling aimlessly through social media. He looks up at you at the sound of your voice and makes his way towards you as he lets his eyes move up and down your body–the ends of his lips curving up into a cheeky smile. “Looking gorgeous as always, love.”

“Oh shut up,” you giggle shyly, turning around and giving him your back as you feel his warm palms smooth over the base of your spine. He’s standing so close to you, you can feel his body heat radiating off of him and his shallow breaths tickling the nape of your neck.

He slides his hands up to the centre of your back with reverence, the callouses in his palms from years of gripping the steering wheel causing the nerve endings in your spine to set alight.

“This is just your excuse to touch me, isn’t it?” You tease, and you can feel the way his breathing stops for a moment before he smiles.

“Am I that transparent?” He asks back, humour lacing his words as he gently ties a knot at the strings. Then, he slides his hands back up to the strings at the nape of your neck to tie that knot too.

When he’s finished, his hands trace down your back and come to rest at your hips, gently tugging at the strings. You let out a chuckle, leaning back against his chest when he presses his soft lips against your shoulder. His arms slide around your waist, holding you flush against him as he leaves a trail of warm kisses from your shoulder to the side of your neck until he reaches your jaw.

He lets out a satisfied hum, his body physically relaxing against yours as if he’s letting himself be present and let go. Be allowed to show you his true self without having to bear the weight of being a Formula One driver in your presence. Here, he’s just Lando. Sweet, charming, gentle Lando who wants everything to do with you and would do anything for you. He doesn’t have to calculate responses, think before speaking or be a robot–he just gets to be himself because he feels comforted in the fact that you like him for who he is, not who he’s portrayed to be.

You remain in your bubble for a few more moments before a knock sounds from the door–a rhythmic tap followed by a voice.

“You two coming out anytime soon?” Max asks. You can feel Lando let out an irritated sigh before he presses a kiss to your temple.

“Let’s go,” he mumbles, keeping his arm around your waist. You can’t help but smile in amusement at his annoyance, leaning into his side as you walk out of your room and head downstairs. You don’t let go of each other the entire time.

“There they are,” Ed smirks from where he’s sitting on one of the sun loungers. The soft music from the speakers fills the absence of noise–something sounding a lot like house that fits the vibe perfectly.

“The king and queen,” Tom jokes when you roll your eyes but smile shyly, Lando’s arm tightening around you as you walk over to the two free sunbeds–one beside Maya and the other beside Ed.

“Have anything else to tell me?” Maya asks from where she’s tanning, looking over at you with a knowing smile–her eyes glittering with curiosity.

“Nope,” you reply whilst taking a seat beside her and looking over at where Max and Ed are heading over to the pool. Tom is calling something out behind them, Lando giggling beside you like it’s the funniest thing he’s seen. Then, within a split second, Ed shoves Max into the pool with a loud crash–water splashing out with an explosion whilst the boys all let out bellows of laughter.

“You guys are so mean,” you point out, watching as Max brings himself up to the ledge of the pool and wipes the water from his eyes.

“You’re so wet, man. All of you,” he shakes his head in disapproval whilst Lando continues laughing from beside you.

“Poor choice of words, mate,” Lando snorts, stretching his legs in front of him and leaning back on his arms as his laughter finally dies down.

“You’re next,” Max narrows his eyes at him before climbing out of the pool, just as Ed jumps in creating the same magnitude of a water explosion.

“You going in?” Lando asks, turning to you as you reach into your bag for the bottle of suncream before shrugging.

“Maybe later,” you return before you start applying onto your skin. “If Maya wants to.”

“Hm?” Maya hums from beside you sleepily, and both you and Lando let out a chuckle before you return your attention to him.

“Can you do my back, please?” You ask, and he nods before taking the suncream bottle from your hands. You turn around, moving your hair aside and shuffle a little closer to him whilst still remaining on your sun lounger. You can hear the way he squeezes the bottle before the warmth of his palms against your back overwhelms any other sense. He moves his hands slowly, carefully as usual like you’re something fragile he doesn’t want to break. He makes sure to spread the suncream across every plane of your back with precision, lifting the tied strings a little to get underneath them before sweeping his hands down to the hem of your bikini bottoms and sliding a few fingers beneath it. When he’s done, he gives both sides of your waist a playful squeeze.

“Here,” he hums and when you turn around he’s holding the bottle out to you with a small smile.

“Thanks,” you respond softly, leaning forward in the space between you to press a kiss to his lips. You’re surprised when a light blush colours his cheeks, but he smiles at you warmly before placing his hand on the side of your neck to keep your face close to his. He kisses you again, a few repeated pecks on your lips before he finally lets you go.

After about an hour or so of tanning, you sit up and turn to where Lando’s almost fallen asleep in the sun beside you.

“Come in the water with me,” is all you say, and with a quiet huff he sits up.

“Only if we get to sleep after,” he returns as you stand up and look down at where he’s sitting.

“Deal,” you nod in agreement. He stands up, following you to the pool but you turn around before you can get too close. He’s plotting something–you can almost hear the way the gears in his head are turning and the cheeky grin on his lips. “Lando,” you warn, trying to stand your ground but failing when he keeps walking you backwards until you reach the edge of the pool.

He repeats your name back with a smirk.

“Please don’t,” you force on a frown, but the laugh you were trying to hide falls out involuntarily.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lando returns coyly when you wrap your arms around his neck tightly, clinging onto him. His arms automatically slip around your waist, keeping you close to him as he lowers his head to yours and smirks down at you.

Suddenly, just as he’s about to try to push you in the water you manage to twist your bodies around and you immediately remove your arms from him–pushing his chest so he falls in instead of you.

A gaggle of laughter follows from behind you, your hand coming up to cover your mouth as you hold back your own when Lando resurfaces with an offended expression on his face. He runs his hands down his face, pushing his wet hair back as he looks up at you.

“I can’t believe you’ve just done that. This is betrayal!” He calls out, dragging out the final word as he keeps his eyes on you.

“You were gonna do it to me!” You defend, taking a seat on the edge of the pool and letting your feet dip into the water as you look at him. “Don’t even think about it,” you say firmly, watching as he comes closer to you. “Lando Norris.”

“Did I tell you how beautiful you look today?” He asks with a smile when he wraps both of his hands around your ankles and looks up at you. You scoff, combing your hands through his soaked curls.

“Uh huh,” you return, focused on the way his jade eyes are almost twinkling through his wet lashes.

“You wanna join me?” He asks then, a smile on his lips.

“If you push or pull me in I’ll be pissed at you. I’m telling you now,” you say, your voice stern and not telling him the opposite of your words.

“I won’t, I won’t,” he reassures you when he removes his hands from your ankles and instead holds them both up to your waist. “Trust me.”

“I don’t trust you,” you return but shuffle closer to the edge nonetheless.

Your name falls from his lips, his eyes locked on yours when you finally get close enough for him to actually hold you. He places his hands on your hips, your hands going to his shoulders when you slide into the pool and your arms immediately wrap around his neck as you cling onto him.

“See? You should trust me,” Lando replies smugly, looking at you with a prideful smile when you roll your eyes. He kisses your cheek when you wrap your legs around his waist, letting out a sigh of relief.

The cold water seeps through your bones, bringing a relief to the heat you were just practically baking in whilst Lando’s warmth keeps you from freezing.

Then, he starts moving.

“Where are we going now?” You almost groan, afraid of what he could possibly do because he likes to take the piss and you know that now.

“Just to the steps, don’t worry,” he says with a slight laugh. He sits down on one of the steps that leads out of the pool, readjusting you on his lap so you’re sitting side on with your legs off the side of his. “Why don’t you trust me?”

“Because you’re an idiot,” you return with a shrug, moving your braided hair to your other shoulder so you can lean against him. He laughs at your response, looking down at you. “Most of the time, anyway.”

“Thanks for that. Appreciate it a lot,” he jokes, shaking his head but clearly not taking any offence to your words.

“You’re very welcome,” you reply seriously, but a split second later you both fall into a fit of giggles.

You feel yourself slipping off his lap, but when you shuffle to readjust your position you can feel his abs tighten–a subtle groan falling from his lips.

“Please don’t do that,” Lando lets out, strained.

“Shit, sorry,” you apologise with a slight giggle, feeling what the growing issue is beneath your thigh. “I guess being partially naked on your lap doesn’t help either.”

“Nope, not at all,” he agrees, looking at you when you both let out a laugh. “But don’t go anywhere. I like being close to you.”

“We can go take that nap you wanted?” You offer when his eyes twinkle with excitement, and you notice his slightly dilated pupils when you meet his gaze.

“Let’s go,” he nods in agreement, letting you get up by yourself first before he stands up and follows after you–but not after readjusting himself in his swimming trunks first. You laugh at him, shaking your head as you head back to where the others are sitting. The boys are playing some sort of card game while Maya’s fallen asleep.

“You two looked like you had fun,” Max says with an irritating smirk on his face, looking between you and Lando who just sticks his middle finger up. You laugh at their exchange as Lando looks at you with a smile before he lays down on the sunbed with a soft grunt. He then reaches his arms out in your direction as you walk around to the side of the lounger and lay down on top of him with his arms wrapping around your waist and your head resting against his chest.

Then, you feel Lando reach for something before he places a hat on the side of your face to hide you from the sun and you find yourself smiling even though he can’t see you.

–

You don’t even know how long you’d been asleep for, but when you wake up and find yourself curled up into Lando with nobody else around you and the sun on its way to set. You tilt your head back, finding his eyes closed but at the sound of your movement he opens them.

“How long have you been awake for?” You ask with sleep practically dripping from your words. He smiles, throwing the hat that had fallen off you on another sunbed before he cups your cheek and swipes his thumb over your skin.

“Not long. Didn’t wanna disturb you,” he replies, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead. Your eyes close in comfort as a hum slips past your lips.

“Are we still going on that date?”

“Of course we are. The reservation is for eight.”

“Mkay,” you respond before he leans down to press a kiss to your mouth. When he pulls away, you see the way his lips curve up into a warm smile as he just looks at you like you’ve hung the moon. “What?”

“Nothing. Come on, we should probably shower,” he dismisses, waiting for you to sit up before he does.

“Together?” You ask with a teasing grin, looking at him as you walk towards the villa. Nobody’s downstairs, and you assume they’re all in their rooms getting ready for whatever their plans are–though you do let yourself think about what Maya will be getting up to.

“You want to?” Lando asks genuinely, looking at you as you walk up the stairs ahead of him.

“Yeah, course I do,” you reply thoughtlessly, and when you reach the top and look at him you find a smirk on his lips. You shake your head, turning around again and heading for your room when you feel a pair of strong hands placed on your waist. He spins you around, his lips finding yours in a hungry kiss as he walks you backwards towards the ensuite, his hands trailing over your almost bare body with a reverence he could only have with you. “What happened to taking it slow? Going at our own pace?” You almost laugh at the stupidity of your own words when you reach the shower.

“Trust me, love. I’m trying,” he lets out, almost like it’s painful when he pulls you into him, mouth finding yours in a fierce kiss bleeding with desperation as he sucks your tongue into his mouth. You let out a soft moan, just as one of his hands slides up your body to gently squeeze your breast whilst the other twists the crane to let the water turn on. Your kiss doesn’t stop though, both of you too consumed by the other to let anything stop you from worshipping each other. In a quick movement, you don’t even feel it before your bikini top falls off and his hands greedily paw at both of your bare breasts in front of him.

“Lando, you just fucked me this morning,” you laugh when he drags his mouth down the column of your neck, alternating between sucking, kissing and leaving gentle nips with his teeth.

“Not enough,” he groans, attaching his lips to your collarbone and sucking like he has something to prove.

Within the next split second, you feel his hands tug your bottoms off and throw them somewhere over his shoulder–the way he does it looks almost comical as you can’t help but giggle despite being completely naked in front of him. He smiles against your skin, his hands planting themselves on your hips again as he crowds you against the wall. You let your hands slide over the planes of his chest, his strong core until you reach the waistband of his swimming trunks and you needily tug at them–desperate to get them off.

Lando’s mouth meets yours then, kissing you hungrily once again before you pull his trunks off and he steps out of them–his cock standing to attention. The tip is flushed red and almost angry, leaking in pure excitement.

The feeling of him pressed against your front makes you almost freeze–all of your nerve endings exploding as the reality of the situation settles deep into your bones. You’ll probably never be the same again, not after getting fucked twice by Lando Norris within the same day.

His hand, big and veiny, comes to rest at the side of your thigh before he hoists your leg up to wrap it around his waist–opening you up for him. The water cascades down the both of you, his eyes locked on yours as your hands rest on his chest. You can feel how rapid his heart is beating, whether it’s from nerves or exhilaration you can’t tell. Both of his hands return to your hips then, his forehead dropping to yours as he keeps you pressed firmly against the wall. A smirk tugs at his lips as he watches your face closely, his tip teasing at your soaked opening like he has all the time in the world.

“Lando,” you let out in annoyance, your nails digging into his chest as you try to get him closer. The bastard laughs.

“Needy,” he comments cockily and you scoff.

“Says the one who couldn’t wait to get in the shower with me,” you defend, and suddenly he buries his entire length inside of you in one quick moment. Your voice dies in your throat, your eyes falling shut as your head drops forward when you feel him bury himself in your cervix.

“What was that?” He teases, though his voice is strained even though he’s smiling. You don’t respond, mostly because you can’t bring yourself to formulate a thought that isn’t him. He stills inside of you, your bodies connected as your spongy walls stretch to accumulate the sheer size of him as he places wet, open-mouthed kisses across your chest and neck. “You ready?”

You nod, your eyes still closed as your forehead rests against his shoulder.

“Give me words, love.”

“Yes,” you force out breathlessly and Lando lets out a satisfied hum against your skin before he pulls himself out entirely, rutting into you again. His name falls past your lips in a whimper as you let your hands trail to his muscular back, your nails digging into the flesh and leaving your own marks on his body as he continues his hard, slow movements into you that have your mind spinning and the rest of the world fading into nothing. “Fuck, right there!” You almost scream when he adjusts your hips against his, the spot his cock hits causing your vision to white out.

“Got you,” he grunts, his hands gripping onto you hard enough that you’re sure you’ll have handprints on your hips and ass. You both let out a cacophony of moans together, his pretty sounds enough to drive you right over the edge, and when he slips a hand between you two and starts fingering your cunt it doesn’t take long before you find that tight coil in your stomach snapping. You swear you can see stars, his name falling from your lips like a prayer because he’s the only thought you can form.

Lando, Lando, Lando.

“My pretty girl, just like that. Coming just for me,” he breathes out, though the movement of his hips thrusting against yours doesn’t falter. He keeps going, your tight walls milking his cock in a way that feels like he’s getting his soul sucked out of him. Your name falls from his lips, almost in anguish as he tightens his grip on your hips. “W-where? Fuck–!”

“I’ll take a pill,” you barely manage out before his mouth crashes onto yours in a searing kiss that sucks all the oxygen out of your lungs before you feel him come buried inside of you. You swallow his moans as his hips’ movements turn sloppy, slowing down and eventually coming to a halt. Your kiss turns lazy, your chests rising and falling heavily with exertion when he presses a sweet kiss to the corner of your mouth. Your eyes lock once again, a smile making its way on both of your lips as you rest your foreheads together before he pulls out. You let out a small whimper at the loss of contact, your combined fluids leaking out of you and getting swallowed by the drain as he gently lets your leg fall down again but keeps himself pressed up against you.

“You okay?” Lando asks softly, bringing a hand up to cup your cheek as he swipes his thumb over the apple of your cheek.

“Yeah,” you breathe before he kisses your lips again.

“Good.”

“We should probably hurry up though. Can’t miss our reservation,” you remind him, your nails gently scratching at his hair as he hums in agreement but then kisses you again.

“Yeah, of course,” he grins but doesn’t make a move to actually do something. He just kisses you a few more times like he can’t get enough of you.

“Lando,” you giggle, trying to pull his face away from yours by his hair but failing. Damn his neck strength.

“Okay, okay. You’re right,” he nods, kissing you one more time before he reaches for the shampoo and squeezes it into his palm. Then, he applies it to your hair to massage it in–his hands so gentle you find yourself almost falling asleep.

After he applies conditioner to the ends of your hair, you swap roles. Your hands rubbing shampoo through his curls whilst you both let out endless laughs because you can’t possibly take anything seriously.

You wash each other’s bodies also, hands exploring like you’re both memorising each other and when you’re finished he passes you a fluffy towel to wrap around yourself.

–

Your date reminds you of why you’re growing to be so painfully obsessed with this man. Lando treats you in a way you didn’t even know a man could possess, holds your hand on the table and listens to everything you say–even when you ramble on about how thermodynamics next year will probably drive you to insanity.

Nonetheless, after you leave the restaurant he takes you on a walk down the beach. The ocean lapping at the coast as he carries both of your shoes in one hand and interlaces your fingers together with his other. You talk about everything as usual because conversation flows so easily between you two it catches you by surprise a lot of the time, up until he falls silent for a moment like he’s thinking about something.

Then, he lets out a deep breath before stopping abruptly. You turn to look at him in confusion from where you’d continued walking a few steps ahead before walking back to stand in front of him.

“Lan?”

“Yn,” he breathes out, jade eyes locked on yours as the reflected starlight brings the deep green swirling within them. His pupils are slightly dilated when he looks at you, and you can feel the way his fingers tighten around yours. Lando can feel his rapid heartbeat, speeding up with nerves as he looks at you like you’re the only person that matters in the world. “I need to be honest with you,” he begins, and your chest tightens in nervousness, but so does his. “Okay, I’m not good with feelings, or words for that matter but,” he says with a slight chuckle and you feel the way your heart speeds up–slamming against your ribs as you await for him to continue. “I know what I feel with you, I’ve never felt with anyone else before,” he pauses for a beat, “and I know we promised to take things slow, go at our own pace but I don’t wanna do that. I actually think that this is our pace, and I just… I want you. I want you in my life as more than whatever this is.”

You bite your bottom lip when you beam at him, your entire face brightening at the way he’s baring his heart out to you.

“What I’m saying is that I want to be your boyfriend. If you’ll have me, that is,” he lets out nervously, followed by a shy chuckle as he lets his gaze trace over all your features in search of a response. At the sight of your smile, he feels something within him relax.

“Of course I’ll have you,” you almost laugh at the way he’s asked you, “You can be my boyfriend,” you tease and he finally lets out a proper laugh.

“Thank God,” he breathes out, letting his arms wrap around your waist when he pulls you in into a bruising kiss. He licks into your mouth, sucking onto your tongue before you feel his hand cup your cheek to tilt your head back and deepen the kiss.

You pull away when you feel your lungs screaming for air, looking up at him when he presses a soft kiss to the corner of your mouth. He smiles down at you, kissing both of your cheeks before he straightens up again.

“Come on, we still have a long stretch of beach to go,” your boyfriend says softly before you chuckle, leaning into his side as he wraps his arm around your waist to hold you close to him.

For that week you spent in Monaco, you genuinely had the time of your life. Lando had given you a paddock pass for the race weekend, though you hid in hospitality and the garage to avoid being caught.

This wasn’t because Lando was embarrassed of you–you knew that for sure–but rather because sharing something personal with the rest of the world that’s still growing just feels wrong. It feels risky, and neither of you were willing to go down that path at all so this was how it was meant to be.

Lando came in P6 that weekend—a great result for him that you made sure to celebrate when you returned to his apartment with a few drinks, kisses and a takeaway order. You’d been doing that a lot since the first time. He’d place his hands on you whenever possible, whether you were doing work on his sofa or cuddled up watching a movie together—he’d always be touching you. You didn’t mind it though, actually you quite enjoyed it.

Nonetheless, as soon as you returned back to Geneva, you felt slightly empty. You checked your phone, messaging back Lando as he’d asked you to text him when you were home, and then you went straight to Maya’s dorm to update her.

The following weeks flew by, exams passing as quickly as they came and your final projects were completed. Finally, your second year of uni was over.

After telling Lando over the phone, his immediate response was: “what are you doing this summer?”

You told him you weren’t really sure since you were planning to play it by ear, probably visiting your parents back home and seeing what your brother had been up to, until he gave you a better option.

“I’m going to Ibiza with some friends. You should come, bring Maya.”

You didn’t even need to think about it. You agreed immediately because you missed him, and seeing him through your phone wasn’t enough. Fortunately, he felt exactly the same way.

So here you are, suitcase in hand with your carry-on on top and Maya beside you as you both leave the train station in Nice to find Lando waiting outside by his Urus just like last time. At the sight of you, he smiles and makes his way towards you.

“There she is,” he breathes, wrapping his arms around you firmly like he’s afraid you’ll disappear as you let out a soft chuckle against his neck. “Missed you.”

“I missed you too,” you return, kissing his shoulder before he tilts his head down at you. You look up at him, your eyes locking as both of you smile like lovestruck teenagers before he leans down and presses his lips to yours. You smile into the kiss, cupping his cheek when you deepen the kiss for a split second before pulling away–feeling the way his lips peck yours.

When you pull apart, you find Maya looking between you two in complete shock at what she just witnessed before she lets out a laugh.

“Hi, Lando. Good to see you,” she speaks first.

“Good to see you too, Maya,” Lando returns with his usual kind smile, holding his arms out for a polite hug they exchange briefly. “You two ready for Ibiza?”

“Hell yeah,” Maya replies for the both of you when Lando loads both of your suitcases into the boot of his Urus before you climb into the car. You’re in the passenger seat, of course, and Maya’s in the backseat looking at you like a proud mother. “You’ve come so far. I’m so happy that you’re letting this happen,” she says before Lando comes in, and her words sit with you for a while.

It’s not that you’ve never been wanted, but rather the fact that you self sabotage whenever things get too good. Nobody’s ever been able to withstand your avoidance, and it makes you wonder whether Lando will. You guess that the difference is that you’re technically doing long distance (of whatever this is) which is probably why you haven’t even thought about pushing him away, because you don’t see him enough to not miss him. Still, the thought lingers like a distant hum in the background.

He’s rambling on about something as usual whilst your responses are on autopilot, but he notices when he glances over at you to find you staring out of the window. He stops talking then, reaching a hand over to rest on your thigh before returning his gaze forward as soon as you look at him. The warmth of his palm spreads across your leg, a wave of electricity moving through you and making you feel like a live wire. Your breath gets stuck in your throat at his boldness, and the way he gently squeezes the flesh of your thigh makes your mouth run dry. It feels right, almost like he belongs there and he has every right.

You bite your inner cheeks, mulling it over for a moment before finally placing your hand over his and gently squeezing. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice the way the ends of his lips curve up into a soft smile. It makes your stomach warm.

“Alright, let’s go,” Lando announces when you arrive at the airport after he parks and switches the car off. You just about manage to lean over the console to kiss his cheek with a prideful smile before opening your door–just as he looks over at you with a warmth behind his eyes. He doesn’t say anything, though even whilst loading your things out of the boot whilst you and Maya are talking he glances over and gets involved in your conversation.

The three of you head inside then, dragging your luggage along with you as you head to the check-in desk before moving through the airport.

“We’ll need to meet my friends in the lounge,” Lando speaks when you’re finally through. He looks down at you. “They’re pretty chill but they also don’t shut up sometimes. If you wanna leave or something, just let me know, alright?”

Your heart swells at his words when you shake your head with a smile.

“Don’t worry about me. I don’t mind it,” you shrug and he lets out a soft chuckle before letting you and Maya enter the lounge first. He follows in behind, glancing up at where his friends are gathered on a sofa.

“Alright, lads?” Lando speaks first, his friends standing up to dap him up whilst they all greet each other. You and Maya hover to the side, hearing the way Maya lets out a slight chuckle before his friends turn to us.

“And which one of you is the infamous yn we’ve heard so much about?” The curlyheaded one asks, looking between you and Maya. When Lando hears, he slings an arm over the male’s shoulders and looks at you.

“That would be me,” you smile nervously before he nods with a smirk.

“Ah of course. Even prettier in real life,” he comments before Lando snaps his head towards him.

“Watch it, Max,” Lando says, a lilt in his tone that makes you feel funny. Max just laughs, shaking his head before holding a hand out in your direction.

“I’m Max. Nice to meet you,” he introduces himself, and you shake his hand with a nod.

“Same goes,” you return before he turns to Maya.

“Maya, nice to meet you,” your best friend smiles politely, shaking his hand.

“Max, nice to meet you too.”

“And this is Ed and Tom,” Lando speaks, gesturing to the two males as you shake hands with a smile, Maya doing the same. “Okay, great,” Lando claps his hands after you’ve all met each other, taking seats on the sofas to wait for your flight.

You spend a lot of the time talking with Max, Ed and Tom, merely getting to know them with Maya with a lot of laughing. They ask you both about uni, and what you do and whether you enjoy it or not, and you talk to them about their past racing careers and what they do currently. Of course, some of the things that Max says makes Lando snap his head to him and disagree, but it only made you all laugh in the end.

He’s sitting beside you with his arm around your shoulders when he tilts his head down to rest it against your hair, his cheek pressed up against it. You smile even though he can’t see you, his childish antics making you hold back a laugh. Nonetheless, you squeeze his hand on your hip in reassurance before going back to whatever Max was saying about their karting days.

—

“Sit next to him,” Maya urges when you board the private jet, her voice low in your ear as you walk behind Lando. Your head snaps around to look at her in distress before you feel a gentle tug on your hand in front of you. When you turn around, you find Lando gesturing for you to sit next to him on the pair of seats–giving you one of those cute looks.

You don’t verbally reply, you instead just let him put your bag up in the overhead storage before you take a seat beside him. Maya takes the single seat across the aisle beside you though, so in reality it’s not that big a deal.

The flight is spent playing a lot of Uno, laughing and taking pictures of each other like it was some sort of game. Lando cuddles into you the entire time, the scent of his cologne now completely embedded in your brain to the point where you can barely even register it anymore. He’s super touchy, you notice, but you don’t complain at all. You lean your head against his shoulder too, and you can feel his body relax at the movement–like he’s relieved to know that you’re comfortable with him too.

When you land, you all go through border control before getting into an Uber that takes you to the airbnb you’re staying at. It’s a beautiful villa with at least eight bedrooms, an infinity pool out in the front and flowering vines decorating the stone walls.

Maya nudges you as you walk side by side, her eyes twinkling with excitement. You let out a soft laugh, shaking your head at the absurdity of it all. Not just the holiday, but rather that you’re here with Lando Norris. An actual F1 driver that’s head over heels for you: a uni student and part-time ‘influencer’ that didn’t even deserve the name.

The boys had walked ahead into the house, exploring already whilst you and Maya trail behind somewhere. You both follow the sound of their voices upstairs after looking around downstairs, and when you climb up the stairs you find Lando walk out of a bedroom and look at you.

He smiles then as you walk up to him, his arm subconsciously wrapping around your waist as you slip past him to peek inside the room.

“You like this one?” He asks then, his voice soft in your ear as you step inside and he follows after you.

“I’m not fussed about it,” you shrug honestly, turning around to find his hands in his pockets as he looks at you. “What?” You almost laugh at the way his eyes remain locked on yours like he’s mulling something over–silently debating something in his mind before he clears his throat.

“Share a room with me.” He’s not asking, he’s stating. He wants you in this room with him, and you can’t help the smile that makes its way onto your lips–your stomach tightening with butterflies that make you feel weightless.

“Since you asked so nicely. I guess I could,” you joke, walking towards him as he lets out a breath of relief–his smile widening as you wrap your arms around his shoulders and his go around your waist. He hugs you tightly, burying his face into the crook of your neck and breathing softly that tickles your skin. You twist your head, kissing his cheek.

“We could go out on a date one of these days. I’ll take you to a nice restaurant before we party,” he offers, his voice slightly muffled as his lips move against your skin as you continue holding each other. You chuckle then, burying a hand in his curls and nodding your head.

“I would love that. I also can’t wait to party with you,” you reply. He stands upright then, resting his forehead against yours because you’re almost as tall as him, before you bring a hand up to cup his cheek.

“Okay, lovebirds. I’m gonna start grilling some shit before tonight. Want me to bring your luggage up?” Max’s voice disturbs your moment, Lando turning his head around to look at him in annoyance to find Maya appearing out of nowhere and shoving him away.

“Stop ruining their moment,” the blonde complains when Max puts his hands up in defence.

“Hey! I’m not ruining anything!” Max retorts before their voices fade out. You let out a laugh that makes Lando look back at you again, his eyes softening before he leans down to kiss you. It feels like the world stops then. He takes your breath away, his tongue exploring your mouth like he’s trying to permanently embed it into his mind as he possessively licks into your mouth. Your skin heats up, a soft whimper slipping past your lips that he swallows before pulling away for air.

“Let’s go before they set something on fire,” Lando suggests then, and you nod before he pecks your lips.

When you return downstairs, you immediately make a beeline for where Maya’s standing in the kitchen pouring herself a glass of water. She looks up, as if sensing your presence, before a knowing smirk makes its way onto her lips.

“He’s so forward, I love him,” Maya whispers to you when you stand beside her, the both of you looking out at where the sliding glass door is opened and the boys are on the other side. They’re all gathered around the barbecue, heating it up and chatting about something (you) that has them all tapping Lando’s back in pride.

“I know. God, I can’t believe him.”

“And we’re partying tonight, girl. He wants that cookie so damn bad,” Maya jokes then, passing you a glass of water as you shake your head and look straight at Lando.

“I’m obsessed with him. This is all I’ve wanted–someone to fucking yearn for me.”

“I know, and you deserve it more than anyone. All of those men that wasted your time when we were younger have nothing on him. He’s perfect for you. I can’t wait to see where this goes,” Maya gushes, looking at you with a warmth behind her eyes and that usual smile she wears whenever you’re with her. You’ve always been convinced the pair of you are platonic soulmates, and now to see her this happy for you about Lando only makes your heart tighten even more. You beam at her, leaning into her side as she hugs you.

“I love you.”

“I love you more,” she replies with a smile before she kisses your cheek. “But if he starts stealing you from me I’ll have to have a word.”

You both laugh then, just as Lando walks in from outside as if he knew you two were talking about him.

“Food’ll be ready soon. We’ll go out around ten-ish if you guys manage to get ready in that time,” he says, bringing himself to a stop at the counter in front of you too and leaning his hands against the marble and looking between you two. “What?”

“Nothing,” you both reply simultaneously, but he looks between you two like he doesn’t quite believe you. “Are we taking an uber there?”

“Yeah. Think we’re all drinking,” Lando nods.

“Okay,” you return, his eyes locked on yours as your lips curve up into a nervous smile. “What?”

“What?” He asks back when you both shake your heads.

“Food’s ready!” Ed calls from outside, stopping your conversation.

—

After eating, you and Maya spent about an hour getting ready. You’re wearing a denim mini skirt, paired with a black tube top and a pair of kitten heels–your hair falling down your shoulders in waves. Maya opted for a black dress and a pair of boots, and when you both finished getting ready you couldn’t help but look at each other and gush the other with compliments. You took a few pictures before a knock came at your door–or rather, a pounding.

“Hurry up or we’re leaving without you!” Max.

“We’re coming!” You yell back in annoyance, reapplying your lipliner before Maya passes you your bag. You shove your phone inside along with your lipliner before placing it on your shoulder and you both leave the room heading downstairs.

When you make it down, you notice them all sitting on the sofas and laughing about something like they always are but as soon as they hear you coming down, Lando turns to look at you.

His lips part at the sight of you, his gaze scaling up and down your figure before he stands up. A few words fall past his lips just as you feel Maya nudge you.

“Alright lads, let’s go!” Max exclaims, the others standing up as well as everyone moves past where you’re frozen in your spot and Lando’s walking towards you.

“You look beautiful. You are beautiful,” he corrects himself, slinging an arm around your waist as you let out a nervous chuckle. He leans down, pressing a kiss to your cheek that makes your stomach explode with butterflies.

“Thank you,” you return, “you’re not too bad yourself.”

He laughs at that, the pair of you heading towards the door together where the others have already disappeared to. When you leave the villa you find them already waiting in the uber, a classy Mercedes van, and Lando steps aside to let you climb in first–holding his hand out for you to take. You thank him quietly, taking a seat beside Maya before he follows in suit and sits next to you–something telling you that the others made sure you’d be sitting next to each other.

The driver to the nightclub is full of chatter and laughter shared amongst all of you, and you’re grateful that Lando’s friends are really easy to get along with. They don’t make you feel like an outsider, but rather seem like they’re really trying to make sure you feel welcome. You feel comfortable.

When you reach the club, you all pile out and head straight to the entrance–jumping the queue because being with an F1 driver has many perks. The bouncer steps aside, letting you all in and Lando looks back at you, holding his hand out in your direction to take it. You slip yours into his, holding on tightly as the thumping bass only gets louder.

The strobe lights are coloured, painting the building with flashes whilst the music from the DJ booth reverberates off the walls and vibrates straight through you. The scent of mixed perfumes, sweat and alcohol clings to the air, and you find yourself clutching onto Lando’s bicep in order to not get lost in the swarm of bodies dancing.

Maya’s behind you, your other hand holding hers as you’re both led by the boys towards a more quiet booth in the corner, all of you slipping inside of it with a huff of relief.

“Drinks?” Lando yells over the music, glancing between all of you. You all nod, Max and Ed offering to join him as you and Maya remain seated and they all disappear once again.

“This is insane,” Maya exclaims in excitement from where she’s sitting beside you, and you nod with a laugh.

“Tell me about it. I can’t wait to get drunk!”

After a few minutes, the boys return with drinks in their hands including a few tequila shots for all of you. You start off with them, counting down before downing two each and moving on to whatever cocktails you’d been brought.

From where Lando’s sitting beside you, he leans down to lower his mouth to your ear before speaking.

“Let’s go dance,” he says, sitting up a little to look at you before you nod enthusiastically at his offer.

“Let’s go!” You return, waiting for him to slide through the booth before you follow after him.

“Have fun!” Maya calls back with a knowing smile before you turn back and blow her a kiss.

When you reach the dancefloor, Lando’s hands go straight to your hips as your arms wrap around his shoulders to keep him close to you. You sway your hips to the beat, your faces close enough that your noses bump together and all you can do is laugh. His eyes remain locked on where your bodies are in contact, a low grunt slipping past his lips when you grind your front against his. You smirk then, spinning around as his hands tighten their grip on your hips.

He says your name lowly in your ear as a warning, already aware of what you’re about to do. You ignore him, grinding your ass against the growing bulge in his jeans as he slides a hand up the side of your body–leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. He brings it over one of your arms until he reaches your hand in his hair, interlocking them together and bringing them to the front of your stomach. He keeps you pressed against him, the tip of his nose brushing against your pulse point as you feel his hard-on pressing against your ass.

Then, you pull away abruptly. Turning back around to face him with a knowing smirk as his face falls.

“You’re unbelievable,” he mutters in disbelief, and you can only laugh before leaning in to cup both of his cheeks and bring him down into a chaste kiss. You can feel him smile into it, trying to deepen the kiss but you pull away before he can–his lips following yours before he looks down at you.

“Can we drink more?” You ask innocently, looking up at his slightly frustrated expression before glancing down at where he readjusts himself in his jeans.

He nods in response, and you take his outstretched hand before following him to the bar–smiling to yourself at how you’d just pissed him off.

When you reach the bar, you both slide into two neighbouring stools before he orders ten shots of vodka.

“You’re crazy,” you tell him, looking at him in shock as he smirks at you.

“After the stunt you just pulled? Baby, I need a cold shower because of you,” he returns, and you can’t help but laugh despite the way him calling you ‘baby’ made you feel.

The bartender lines up ten shot glasses before filling them all with vodka. You both thank him before picking up one each, clinking them together and downing them. Your faces scrunch in disgust at the burning sensation down your throats, but you keep going.

The buzz hits you quickly, and you’re both just looking at each other like the world has stopped.

“I really like you,” you tell him, aware of what you’re saying but gone enough to not care about the consequences your words might bring. “Like, a lot. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, ever.”

Lando laughs, shuffling closer and reaching a hand out to rest on your hip.

“I feel the same way. I’ve never wanted someone the way I want you,” he confesses with a lazy smile, and you laugh at the comedy of it all. You’re both not even fully drunk, saying your true feelings about the other as if it hadn’t been obvious these past few months.

“I’ve never had a boyfriend before,” you confess, just as Lando wraps a hand around the leg of your stool and drags you closer to him. He looks at you in surprise when he processes your words, his arm slung around your waist whilst his other twirls a strand of your hair between his fingers gently.

“What? How?”

You shrug, your eyes darting across his face as you take all of his features in: the slope of his nose, the light facial hair growing, and the deep combination of blue and green in his eyes that you genuinely cannot name even if you tried.

“Nobody’s been worth my time.”

He smiles at that, nodding in approval.

“You’re right. Nobody deserves you. Probably not even me, but I want you too bad to let you go,” he says, as soft as he can whilst making sure you can hear him over the music.

You blush at his words, but you can’t tell whether it’s the alcohol buzzing in your system that’s making you feel warm or him in general. Though, you’d assume it’s a combination of both because the way he’s looking at you right now is making you feel seen in ways you’ve never experienced before.

“If somebody told me this would come from going to an F1 race, I would’ve laughed in their face at the absurdity of it all,” you tell him, and he laughs at that. A warm sound to your ears that makes you smile even harder (if that’s even possible).

“Well, I’m glad it happened,” Lando returns, his thumb drawing lazy, soothing circles against the bare skin of your hip whilst he keeps his eyes on you. “Very glad.”

He leans in after a moment, connecting your lips in a brief kiss before pulling away but still remaining close. Your breaths mingle together before he kisses the corner of your mouth, followed by the tip of your nose and then your cheeks.

“I wanna DJ. Care to join me?”

“You? DJ?” You ask in surprise before he smiles with a nod.

“Hell yeah. I’m good at it, I promise. Come,” he urges, standing up and looking completely fine for someone who’s just had at least seven shots of vodka. You, on the other hand, slip off your stool and feel the world start spinning almost immediately. Lando’s hands shoot out immediately, holding onto your hips to keep you upright before looking at you with a brief look of concern.

“You alright?” He asks you, his expression conforming into a small smile when you look up at him with almost sparkling eyes. You smooth your hands over his shirt, the planes of his chest and you can feel his quickening heartbeat beneath your palms.

“Very,” you nod with a grin, and he lets out a soft chuckle before wrapping a firm arm around your waist and leading you away from the bar.

“Alright Miss Lightweight. Should’ve warned me about that, don’t uni students party like, all of the time?” Lando enquires, looking down at you for a moment before returning his focus on escaping the dancefloor without you falling over.

“Mmmm, first year a lot more than second. The stress is a lot sometimes,” you tell him.

“Yeah?”

“Mhm,” you nod, looking up at him for a moment to find him nodding–almost like he’s making note of what you’ve just said and stored it away for later.

When you reach the DJ booth, he walks over to the DJ and they have a conversation you can’t really make out. Up here, the music is much louder, and the vibrations are running through you like you’re in a go kart.

The DJ then takes his headphones off and passes them to Lando, stepping aside and letting him do whatever he wants. Lando thanks him, unwrapping his arm from your waist as he puts the headphones around his neck and starts messing with the decks whilst bopping his head along to the music. You watch closely, smiling at his excitement because whatever he seems to be doing, it’s working. The music shifts and surprisingly enough, it doesn’t sound terrible.

He then turns to you, that excited spark in his irises as he looks at you.

“You wanna have a go?” He asks, and you shake your head with a laugh.

“I’m okay, thanks.”

He nods with a smile, turning his attention back to the decks and continuing to mess around with it for a little longer before passing the headphones back to the DJ. They dap each other up, saying a few more words before he turns back to you and wraps an arm around your waist to lead you away.

“I need to see Maya,” you speak in his ear over the music, and he nods in understanding before taking you to the booth the others were at. They’re back there, all four of them laughing with many more empty cups in front of them–implying that they’d been to the bar a few more times than you and Lando have.

Maya exclaims your name in excitement when she notices you, holding her arms up at you before you haul her out of the booth.

“Can we dance?” She slurs, and you nod with a laugh.

“Let’s go!”

And so the two of you disappear into the crowd, Lando watching you both from where he’s sitting in the booth for a few moments before turning back to the boys.

“You like her sooooo much,” Max teases with a knowing smile, holding the rim of his cup to his lips.

“Hell yeah I do,” he returns before putting his head in his hands for a moment.

“Absolutely whipped. Ask her to be your girlfriend,” Tom pipes up, and then Lando looks up at him.

“I will. After we go on a few more dates. I don’t want to rush this.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Go get more alcohol,” Max tells Ed, who nods like he’s on a mission before standing up and leaving the table

Lando looks back into the crowd of bodies dancing together, looking for someone in particular before his blood runs cold. He notices a man walking up to the two of you, trying to speak to you both but you just ignore him–clearly too in your own world to even notice him.

“Lando–” He hears Tom say before he’s already standing up and making his way towards you both.

“We already said we don’t want to dance,” Lando hears Maya’s firm voice when he reaches you, his hand finding the small of your back. You don’t even react, the familiarity of his warm hand is enough to let you know it’s him.

“Is there a problem?” Lando asks, looking at the male who finally takes Lando’s presence in.

He doesn’t say anything, just swallows hard before looking between both you and Maya and disappearing into the crowd somewhere.

“Thanks. We could’ve handled it,” you tell him, finally turning to look at him with a smile on your face.

“I know you could’ve, but you shouldn’t have to. He’s gross,” Lando says, shaking his head in disappointment before looking over at Maya who’s looking between both you and Lando with a smile on her face. “Anyway, more drinks for the table. You two coming?”

“Fuck yeah,” you say in excitement before taking Maya’s hand in yours and following Lando back to the booth. You all take your seats again, drinks and laughs being shared and all of your worries dissipating for at least one night. Everything feels perfect.

—

After saying your goodnights, everyone retreats back to their bedrooms in exhaustion. Lando’s still holding onto you, your hands pretty much glued together at this point, when you enter your shared room and almost trip over your own feet.

“Careful,” he warns, clearly the more sober one of the two of you as you let out a string of giggles. “Come here,” he says softly, crouching down to remove your heels off your feet before sliding his hands back up your legs with a reverence only he could have. When he stands upright again, he looks down at you with a look in his eye you’ve noticed he only holds when he’s near you. He leans down, kissing your lips softly as you melt into his embrace. “My pretty girl.”

You let out a weak chuckle, blushing at his words before almost hiding your face away from him. However, he brings a gentle hand up to your chin, tilting your head back up to meet his gaze and he smiles when he notices how red your cheeks are.

“Come on then, let’s go to bed,” he nods his head, gesturing to the bed before you let out a small sigh. “Where are your pajamas?”

“My suitcase,” you reply, looking over at where it sits wide open but when you make a move to head towards it he stops you.

“I’ll get it for you. You sit.”

You laugh at his words but drop onto the bed nonetheless, watching as he digs through your suitcase to pull out your matching set before he passes it over to you.

“Thanks,” you reply softly, taking it from his hand and brushing your fingers together at the exchange before you stand once again and head into the bathroom without saying anything. You change, brush your teeth and wash your face before you go back into the bedroom and he slips past you to do the same.

You climb into bed, burying yourself beneath the duvet with a sigh of relief and feeling the way your muscles relax. The world feels like it finally slows down, your brain catching up and a low pulsing already developing in your brain. Eventually, he steps out of the bathroom in just a pair of pajama bottoms completely topless–your mouth running dry at the sight. The smooth planes of his chest and the lines of his abs, his body a beautiful outcome of years of training and putting himself through situations that should be reserved for superhumans.

“You suck,” you complain when he gets into bed beside you, looking at you in slight confusion but letting out a breathless chuckle anyway.

“Do you want water?” He asks softly, turning his body to face you as he reaches his arms out for you beneath the duvet. You shake your head at his offer, and he knows he should probably make you drink some so you feel better but you look far too comfortable for him to disturb you.

You turn your body over, his arm still slung over your waist as he tugs you into his chest. Heat spreads across your body at the sensation of his soft breathing against the back of your neck, your bottom lip getting caught between your teeth.

“Goodnight,” you barely manage out, your proximity mixed with the hum of alcohol still in your veins enough to drive you crazy.

“Goodnight,” he whispers your name back, following it with a soft kiss against the skin at the nape of your neck. You smile even though he can’t see you, and you find yourself falling asleep incredibly quickly that night to the sound of his uneven breathing and his thumb drawing lazy circles against your skin.

—

The following morning feels incredibly slow. Lando wakes up first beside you, his arm a heavy weight around your waist whilst he watches your chest rise and fall with every soft breath. Your body’s curled into his, your head tucked into his front as he tilts his down to softly kiss your forehead.

You stir a little when he continues placing soft kisses on the crown of your head, a sigh slipping past your lips.

“What time is it?” You groan out, already feeling the way your brain feels like it’s pounding against your skull in an uncomfortable rhythm.

“Just past eight. You alright?” Lando asks you, his voice hoarse from sleep as you close your eyes again, willing the throbbing in your head to stop.

“No. My head is killing me.”

Lando laughs a little, but when you let out a groan he immediately stops.

“It’s okay, I brought paracetamol,” he says before twisting his body away from you, his warmth moving away from you. You almost whimper at the loss as you reach a hand out to wrap around his bicep and keep him with you. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

You nuzzle your face into his chest when he returns, holding out the box of paracetamol for you to take. Without speaking, you finally open your eyes properly before sitting up and opening the box to take out the packet. His arm remains wrapped around your waist as he watches you closely like you’re some sort of artifact in a museum he can’t stop looking at. When you take out two pills, he passes you his water bottle and you quietly thank him before swallowing down the medication.

You can feel the warmth of his palm as it slowly moves up and down the side of your body, almost like he’s trying to map your body out without having seen you bare.

You pass him his water bottle back, and he sits up to drink from it whilst he looks at you.

“You feeling better?” Lando asks sweetly when he puts his bottle aside but remains sitting up. His curls are in about seventeen different directions, and he looks tired. Soft around the edges in a way you’ve never seen online before.

This Lando, the one in your bed, is so incredibly different to the side of him that he shows the rest of the world. It warms your heart at the fact that he’s letting you in and letting you see his true self. The one that nobody else sees other than his closest people. The sassy Lando that only lets certain people into his life and trusts them with his life.

You smile, leaning in to connect your lips in a soft kiss. He wraps his arms around your waist immediately, laying down and bringing you along with him as you let out a soft giggle when you land on his chest. You don’t stop kissing though, even through your laughter.

Though at one point, something shifts. You both pull away for a moment, your eyes locked on each other for a few seconds. When you lean in for a kiss again, you feel the way his hands tighten their grip on your hips, your mouths clashing with hunger and desire. He licks into your mouth, claiming every corner like he’s trying to permanently embed it into his mind whilst he positions your legs on either side of him. You roll your hips against his front experimentally, a soft whine slipping past his lips and into your mouth. Any prior thought about your headache fades into the background like a dull hum.

“Tease,” he groans, his hands gripping tight enough on your hips that he’s probably left an imprint on them before you move your mouth down the column of his throat–kissing and sucking on his skin and leaving a few hickeys down to his collarbone. “Fuck.”

“Lando,” you breathe out, almost in pain as you find his mouth again.

“I know, I know. Are you sure?” He asks, slipping a hand up to your cheek to keep your face as close to his as possible, his lips moving against yours. Your entire body feels like it’s on fire, the heat of his hands not making it any better as your mind continues to spin. His touch is otherworldly, and the way he’s looking at you is making you feel like you’re the only person on the planet.

You nod, too consumed by him to formulate a coherent thought but that’s not enough for him.

“Words, baby. I need words.”

“Yes, please. Lando I need you,” you barely manage out, and at that moment he lets his hands slide up to your pajama top. He pulls it off, throwing it somewhere before gripping your hips again and flipping you both over in a quick movement. His gaze on you feels weighted with words he’s not saying, his eyes moving over your chest as he takes you in.

“Fuck,” he breathes out, sounding pained as he brings his hands up to your breasts, sweeping his palms over the swell of your chest whilst letting his gaze linger. There’s a hungry spark in his eyes, just as he brushes his thumbs over your nipples with slight pressure that forces you to let out a breathy moan before he leans down and takes one into his mouth. Your head falls back and your back arches into him, his name falling past your lips as he swirls his tongue around the peak whilst his other hand kneads your other breast for a few moments before he lavishes it with the same attention. “God, you were hiding all this from me?” He asks in disbelief when he presses open-mouthed kisses in the valley between your breasts, his eyes locked on yours.

“Sorry,” you whimper out, your nerve endings feeling like they’ve all been set alight just from his touch and kisses alone.

Lando hums at that, bringing himself up again to find your mouth. Your hands span over his bare back, your manicured nails softly tracing over the indents of his muscles before you reach his waist, continuing downwards where you tug at the waistband of his pajama bottoms.

“Greedy,” he laughs against your lips, but he lifts his hips nonetheless–helping you pull them off. His hands then smooth over your stomach, reaching your pajama bottoms that he swiftly pulls off and throws somewhere. He looks up at you once more, checking in. His fingers hover over your panties, and when you nod he pulls at the waistband before it smacks back down against your skin. You whimper at that, the sensation of his hands lingering near to where you need him most in combination with his mouth nipping, sucking and kissing the skin of your neck and chest overstimulating your mind. In one swift movement, he pulls your panties off, leaving them aside before he sits back on his heels, letting his eyes move over your bare body beneath him. His breath gets trapped in his throat as he takes you in, and you can’t help but feel the heat spreading across your skin. Your stomach is doing somersaults at the way he’s looking at you, your bottom lip getting trapped between your teeth when you trail your gaze down to the predominant bulge between his legs.

“You are absolutely perfect. I can’t…” Lando trails off, shaking his head as he runs his hands through his hair for a split second before reaching for his bag by the bed. He pulls out his wallet, taking out a foil packet before throwing his wallet somewhere and bringing the packet to his mouth–tearing it open with his teeth. You watch, the pulsing between your legs only worsening as you watch him pull his boxers off and reveal his hard cock. Your lips part at the sight, the tip flushed and angry, coated in a sheen of pre-cum as it stands to attention and when you glance up at his face the pit in your stomach only deepens. He looks fucking beautiful, his cheeks slightly red and his long eyelashes fluttering with every blink. When he rolls the condom on himself, he lowers his body back down to you, his mouth finding yours in a heated kiss. Your tongues dance together, biting your bottom lip to let himself in.

“Lando,” you breathe out suddenly, and he pulls away immediately–looking down at you with concern.

“Are you okay? Do you want to stop?” He asks without hesitation, his eyes glancing frantically across your features in a search for any discomfort.

“No, no, no,” you reassure him, your hands resting on his shoulders where you gently squeeze him and he lets out a sigh of relief. “I’ve just… I’ve never done this before.”

“That’s okay. We’ll go slow,” he nods, cupping your cheek and brushing his thumb across your skin lovingly. “If you want to stop, tell me, okay? I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”

You let out a silent breath, the ends of your lips curling up into a relieved smile when he brings himself back down to connect your lips together. Despite this being your first time, you don’t feel any pressure, you feel completely okay. All of these new sensations are making you feel on top of the world, and you have Lando to thank for that.

“I’ll need to prepare you first, I don’t want to hurt you,” he says softly, and you feel the way his hand grips onto your thigh to spread your legs apart and hook one of them over your waist before he slides his hand between your bodies. You nod breathlessly, just as his two fingers meet your clit. He draws circles around the bundle of nerves with such dexterity, you can’t help but moan at the precision. “So wet sweetheart, and all of this for me?”

You nod, unable to even form a thought as your nails dig into his back at the overwhelming sense of pleasure you’re already feeling, and he’s barely even started.

“Beautiful,” he breathes out, watching the way your face twists in pleasure when he slides a thick finger inside, feeling your spongy walls adjust to the new sensation. He thrusts a single finger in a couple times, his thumb still playing at your clit slowly before he introduces another finger–the stretch feeling incredible. You’re a babbling mess of moans by now, and he’s watching you closely–bringing his mouth down to swallow some of your noises. “You’re so warm. Sucking on my fingers, fuck.”

When he slides a third finger in, your brain short-circuits and you have to hold back a scream.

“Good girl, love. You’re taking me so well,” he compliments, his voice soft as he continues thrusting his fingers in and out of you whilst his thumb assaults your clit. It doesn’t take long when you feel that the tightening coil in your stomach threatens to snap, and Lando can sense it as well. “Come on my fingers, love. Do it, come on,” he urges, and with a whimper your whole body seizes and the coil breaks–your release coating your fingers as he whispers praises in your ear. “There she is.”

He smiles, biting the lobe of your ear whilst you come down from your high with deep breaths.

“I’ve never felt like that… ever,” you confess, and Lando lets out a chuckle at your words before pulling his fingers out–the loss making you whine–before bringing his soaked fingers to his mouth and sucking them clean in front of you. You bite your bottom lip at the erotic sight, feeling the way that same hand slides down to your leg and readjusts its position around his waist.

“You ready?” He asks softly, eyes glancing between yours. You don’t verbally reply, instead cup both of his cheeks and bring him down into a passionate kiss–tasting yourself on his tongue. You feel him smile into the kiss before his tip teases at your entrance, coating himself in your slick before he slowly presses himself inside. You let out a sharp exhale, your grip on his shoulders tightening as he stops once his tip is buried inside of you. “This okay?”

“Yeah,” you breathe out as he looks down at where you two are conjoined. “Just… give me a second.”

“Take your time. No rush,” Lando reassures you softly whilst cupping your cheek again, brushing his thumb across your skin softly.

“Okay,” you breathe out, “keep going.”

He nods, looking back at your face again as he slowly continues sheathing himself inside you. Lando moves slowly, and you can feel your walls stretching to adapt to his size whilst he watches you closely in case you show any discomfort. Though you breathe deeply, your nails claw at his back to keep yourself from screaming and waking up the rest of the house until he’s fully seated inside of you–the stretch immaculate.

“Fuck you’re so tight–so warm,” Lando breathes out, his forehead dropping to yours as the tips of your noses brush together. “Can I move?”

“Just… a second,” you say almost incoherently, your eyes fluttering shut as you let your body adapt to his cock. He nods, kissing your lips with a fire-like intensity, sweeping his tongue against yours before he pulls away to kiss the corner of your mouth.

“Okay. You can move,” you speak, eyes locked on his as he keeps his hand against your cheek–his gaze softened despite the hunger brewing behind them. “Please.”

You don’t need to say anything more, he’s already dragging himself out completely and burying himself back inside of you with a languid snap of his hips. Lando lets out a strained moan, his arm wrapping around your waist to lift you up and change the angle as you feel his tip hit that spot on your cervix that has your vision blur.

“Lando–!” You moan out, tears pricking your eyes in pleasure as he continues his deep and hard rhythm.

“I know baby,” he breathes, the way his hand gently cups your cheek a stark contrast to the sensation of his cock fucking up into you. Still, it’s the most intimate you’ve ever been with anyone, and he’s making sure you can feel the way he cares for you.

The grip on your hip suddenly disappears and you can feel how his hand slides between your bodies and his fingers find your clit. The precision of his fingers is devastating, circles being drawn around the bundle of nerves that drives you just over the edge. Your walls tighten and relax around his cock sporadically, milking him as you feel yourself about to come.

“Lando–” You warn, but he already knows.

“Let go for me, love. Come on,” He urges, his voice sweet as he latches his mouth onto one of your nipples and swirls it with his tongue. That is your undoing, your fluids spilling out of you as you tug on the curls at the nape of his neck with a cry whilst rolling your hips against his. “Good girl,” he praises, kissing your jaw whilst he continues slamming himself into you.

Not long after, his tight grip on your waist returns as you feel the way his movements become more sporadic, more messy. His breath catches, a string of strained moans falling past his lips when you feel the warmth of his come fill the condom.

When he comes down from his high, he drops his forehead to your chest–the both of you panting heavily. He lets out a soft chuckle, your fingers burying themselves in his hair when he looks up at you.

“That was incredible,” Lando says softly, brushing your hair back and tucking it behind your ears–his heart warming when you smile lazily at him. “You’re incredible.”

“I can’t believe we just did that,” you confess in the same tone as you dart your eyes between his.

“What do you rate it out of ten? I need a review,” he jokes, pulling himself out whilst kissing your lips when you wince, before he discards the condom.

“Mmm, eight-point-five.”

Lando gasps in offence, walking back over to where you’ve hidden yourself beneath the covers and passing you one of his t-shirts. “Why?”

“More dirty talk next time. I want to hear you say how obsessed you are with me,” you reply playfully, pulling his shirt on as you sit up beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“Noted,” he hums, and you laugh before he leans in to kiss your lips. “I am very obsessed with you, in case you didn’t already know. I thought you could tell.”

You connect your mouths again before replying. “I can. Don’t worry.”

It’s been a month.

A month of constant texting, calling, and sending funny reels to each other because they reminded you both of the other. Late night talking that blurred between day and night because of timezones that didn’t quite end even when you fell asleep on the phone.

You’d started making playlists for each other too. Songs that reminded you of each other that you would listen to at any free moment. You suggested it first–claiming that music taste is one of the best ways to ‘connect souls’ with someone. Lando laughed, then not long after he was sending you playlists that made him think of you. That made your heart do something funny every single time. Especially when you would send him playlists too–songs that reminded you of him–and then you would find him listening to them before qualifying and races.

Lando was racing, of course, and you were watching. Well, you watched before you met him in person but now it felt different. Now it felt like you genuinely had a driver to cheer on–not like before. A good enough reason for your stomach to tighten at every race start and your heart to stop at every overtake he makes.

With the Monaco Grand Prix weekend fast approaching, Lando decided to take it as an opportunity.

“Come to Monaco. Please. If not for the Grand Prix, just let me take you out. I need to see you again.”

He spoke so softly, his gaze hopeful as he watched you through the phone. He was in his bed, and you were at your desk trying to finish up this assignment for your thermal dynamics class.

You looked at him for a moment, taking in his appearance before glancing back at the laptop screen in front of you. You had about a page left worth of questions to formulate answers to, and you were already starting to stress about how you could possibly finish in time.

“I don’t know, Lando… I really do want to, I swear but…”

Lando let out a quiet sigh, forcing on a smile.

“Don’t worry, I get it. The offer will still stand if you change your mind though.”

You smiled, but you could see the way he was concealing his disappointment.

—

So here you are, walking out of the train station to find Lando standing by his Urus with his hood up to try and keep himself as hidden as possible.

You smile at the sight of him, and it’s like he senses your presence the way he looks up from the floor and locks eyes with you. Those same jade eyes from the paddock in Australia.

“Hey, you,” he grins, holding his arms out before you melt into his embrace. “God, you look so much better when you’re not on a phone screen.”

“Hey,” you return with a soft giggle, feeling the way his arms tighten around your waist before he presses a firm kiss to your cheek.

“How was the train?” Lando asks softly, taking your small suitcase from you when you pull apart to load it into the boot. He then walks around the car again, opening the passenger seat door to let you in before he rounds the car to the driver’s seat.

“It was good. Not very interesting,” you reply honestly whilst pulling your seatbelt over your torso.

“Was it long?” He asks, glancing over at you to make sure your seatbelt is on before he drives out of the parking place.

“No, it was okay. Got to finish some work so,” you shrug, and he hums whilst keeping his eyes on the road.

The drive to his apartment doesn’t take long, but neither of you really stop talking. It’s strange how well you get along, and the way that despite being on the phone nonstop you never really run out of things to say.

Whether it be about uni or your friends or some pop culture moment that you tell Lando about because you find it the funniest thing ever–he’s always ready to listen, laugh, or question. It’s one of your favourite things about him. He listens to you talk like you’re the only thing on the planet. You also realised very early on that talking about racing isn’t something he’s keen on. You understood immediately, respecting the fact that he wants to keep his personal life separate from his work–so you don’t bring it up. Not unless he wants to.

When Lando parks in his private garage, the pair of you get out before he takes your suitcase out from the boot and places it down beside you.

“How long are you staying for?” He asks after realising he hadn’t actually asked you yet.

“I’ll stay for the race. I don’t need to be there or anything, I can just stay in your apartment, I don’t mind,” you reassure him whilst he drags your suitcase along with the two of you to the lift.

“No, I’ll get you a pass don’t worry. You can stay in McLaren hospitality and hide from everyone,” he jokes, and you let out a soft chuckle.

“Well, I will. I know you like keeping your personal things private.”

Lando chuckles at that, pressing the button as the lift doors close before he looks down at you.

“It’s not just that, I want to do things properly. Want to go slow, or at whatever pace works for us. With the life I live now, it’s almost impossible to find–but with you… it feels different. Easier.”

You smile at his words, sensing the vulnerability beneath his slight shift in tone. He’s looking at you, really looking at you, and you can feel your heart jump in your chest at the thought that he’s telling you something like this. Something he’d probably kept to himself up until now.

“I get it,” you speak softly, the smile never falling from your lips. “I promise, I do. I want to do this properly too–at whatever pace we need to go at.”

Lando smiles then, his stomach doing something funny.

From the moment he first saw you in the paddock, he knew there was something different about you. And then after that when you two started talking, he realised that talking to you is so easy and feels so right he can’t lose whatever this is blossoming into.

The lift doors slide open, pulling you both out of your moment and he lets you step out first.

“After you.”

You giggle at his words, thanking him before walking to the door and stepping aside for him to unlock it. When he does, he pushes it open and lets you enter first before following after you.

You let your eyes move around his apartment, taking it in. It smells like his cologne and something else so undeniably him, and the way it’s decorated looks like a reflection of his mind. The lack of mess surprises you though, but something’s telling you that he cleaned up before you came.

“I’ll leave your stuff in the guest room. Do you wanna go out tonight?” He asks carefully as you continue to wander and look around. He watches you but doesn’t comment on it, instead just smiles a little.

“Yeah, of course. Where are we going?” You ask, turning around to face him.

“It’s a surprise,” Lando smirks before turning around again and disappearing down the corridor. “Come!”

You let out a soft chuckle before speeding up to follow behind him as he gives you a tour of the place. He shows you his room, your room, his streaming room/office, the bathrooms, the living room and the kitchen. You laugh throughout most of the tour when he starts flicking on switches randomly, or when he shows you his line up of helmets and artwork of himself hanging from the walls because he obviously likes to look at himself.

After he’s finished, you have a little bit of time to kill before you need to start getting ready.

“I need to finish some stuff. Is that okay?” You ask softly, watching as he digs into his fridge for something.

Lando turns to look at you with furrowed brows, almost offended you’d asked him that.

“Nah, it’s not okay. Sit down,” he jokes, and you roll your eyes before heading to the guest room to collect your things.

When you come back, he’s already sitting on the sofa looking for something to watch on the tv. You take a seat on the other end of the sofa, dropping down with a silent huff as you open your laptop and search for your most recent project.

“What are you doing?” Lando asks curiously before you feel him hover over your shoulder.

You let out a soft chuckle, looking over at his face to find him incredibly focused on your screen. His brows are slightly furrowed as he takes in what you’re doing, and you can’t help but feel your stomach flip at his intrigue.

“I have to design this machine. It’s a winch, but I have to figure out how to make it work. See here,” you point at a part on your screen before zooming into the area with your mouse. “I have to calculate the torques. Make sure everything works with the bearings and the shaft sizing…” you trail off, looking over at Lando again to find him shaking his head.

“Not a clue how you do this. Honestly, I’m incredibly impressed.”

You laugh, shrugging before looking back down at the screen again.

Lando goes to ask you a question, but he cuts himself off when he realises the way you’re focused on your work and decides to save it for later–not wanting to interrupt you. He can practically hear your thoughts whilst you process the situation, and he just gives you a small smile you don’t notice before looking back at the tv.

—

You started getting ready in your room about an hour before your date. You weren’t dressing up much, you say, but now you’re in a black halter top dress with a pair of kitten heels–your hair falling loosely over your shoulders. Dainty gold bracelets wrap around your wrists, a few rings on your fingers and a necklace dipping between your breasts to add the final touch–elevating the simple look entirely.

Before you leave your room, you have to take in a deep breath because you’re on the verge of having trembling hands. However, you don’t seem to be the only one.

As soon as you step out, Lando steps out of his room too. Across the corridor, you both catch each other’s eyes–and you watch as Lando’s trail over your body. His expression shifts so subtly, barely noticeable but you somehow manage to catch it. The way he darts his tongue out to trace over his bottom lip ever so slightly. The way his eyes widen for a moment like he can’t believe you’re real before he realises that you can see him.

He swallows hard, his adam’s apple bobbing up and down before he meets your gaze. He looks incredibly good too–you note. A white button up with a jacket and light jeans resting lowly on his hips with his Calvin Kleins on full reveal. You can feel your mouth run dry at the sight.

“Wow,” he breathes out, bringing you back down to Earth. “You look… beautiful. Insanely beautiful.” The way he’s looking at you is making your stomach do something funny, and Lando truly believes that he’s a goner.

You let out a soft chuckle, feeling the way a blush creeps to your cheeks as you twist the rings on your fingers.

“Thank you. You look good too,” you return, watching as he smiles at you and the tips of his ears go a little red.

“You ready to go?” Lando asks softly.

“Yeah,” you nod before you both walk down the corridor together and leave his apartment.

He drives you to the restaurant in his McLaren, the radio providing a soft hum in the background to prevent silence. Though, it isn’t awkward. You’re talking, but things feel a little different. Like he’s nervous.

Lando Norris is nervous–and it’s because of you.

Your chest tightens at the thought, the ends of your lips curving up into a small smile–though you try not to let it show.

When you reach the restaurant, he steps out of the car and walks around the front–opening your door for you and holding his hand out for you to take. You smile, thanking him quietly before slipping your hand into his.

When you reach the door, Lando holds it open for you before slipping his hand to your lower back–resting it there. His touch sends a shiver down your spine, and you can’t help but bite your lower lip to keep yourself from blushing.

As soon as the man at the door recognises Lando, he immediately takes you both to your table. Fortunately, the restaurant is almost empty–and the people present don’t seem to be interested in either of you at all, which makes you feel a little more at ease.

The restaurant itself is beautiful, with low lighting and candles at every table to give it a more dim vibe and there’s a soft hum of jazz music in the background to prevent silence.

Lando does the good first date things you notice, like pulling your chair out when you go to sit and then ordering the most expensive wine on the menu. You laugh at him when he does so, and the way the corners of his eyes crinkle up with his smile makes your heart warm.

You talk all evening whilst eating, laughing when he makes a terrible joke and smiling enough that both your faces hurt by the end of the night. The warmth from the wine buries itself deep inside your veins, giving you both a nice buzz that makes everything feel lighter. He shows you pictures of his niece, tells you about his family and stories from his childhood. You do the same.

At some point, Lando reaches over the table where your hand rests and places his beneath it. His thumb brushes over your knuckles mindlessly like you’re something precious and his eyes constantly glancing over at your connected hands every now and again.

He pays before you leave the restaurant, his hand finding yours again and you think you’re heading back to the car but he says otherwise.

“Come, let’s go for a walk. Unless you’re tired?” Lando asks softly, looking at you as you reach the pavement.

“No, I’m not tired,” you reassure him with a smile, feeling the way his fingers interlock with yours. “Where are you gonna take me?”

He smiles at that, nodding his head as a gesture for you both to walk on.

A silence lingers between you two as you walk–hand in hand. It’s quiet this late in the evening, the streets mostly empty as you walk down to the docks. The yellow lighting adds to the moment, making everything feel a little hazy in the best way possible.

You lean into Lando at some point when he starts rambling on about what going to school was like after he’d asked you what you got in your GCSEs and A Levels.

You smile up at him as he talks, wrapping your arms around his and resting your cheek against his shoulder.

A breeze slips past you, sending a shiver racking through your body that makes Lando halt.

“Are you cold?” He asks, though he’s already removing his jacket before you can answer.

“Lando, I’m fine–“ You try, but he’s already draping it over your shoulders. You laugh, slipping your arms through the sleeves before clutching onto his bicep again as you continue walking until you reach a bench overlooking the Mediterranean.

“I really enjoyed tonight,” he says softly when you sit down, his arm wrapping around your waist to tuck you into his side. You hum with a smile, looking up at him as he looks down at you.

“Yeah. Me too,” you agree, and you mean it. You’ve never had so much fun on a date. Never bounced off of someone as much as you do with him. “We should do this again.”

“We will,” Lando nods, and the way that his eyes are flicking between yours and your mouth sends butterflies straight to your stomach. There’s a beat of silence between you two for a moment before his free hand comes up to cup your cheek, his thumb swiping over your skin gently like you’re fragile. From the way he’s cradling your face, you can feel the callouses embedded in his palm–a result of years of gripping a steering wheel and pushing to the absolute limit. “You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

Your mouth runs dry at that, your gaze locked on his blue-green eyes that are twinkling in the reflection of the lamps. You don’t even know how to react to his compliment, your arms wrapping around his torso as you lean in close.

His nose brushes against yours, gently nudging it before he places a tentative peck to the corner of your mouth. Your breathing stops.

When you don’t pull away, Lando glances between your eyes again as if asking for permission. You nod.

His mouth meets yours in a warm kiss, your eyes fluttering shut as your hands tighten their grip on his shirt to keep you on this planet. He kisses you until you feel like you can’t breathe, at some point his teeth nipping at your bottom lip to let his tongue enter your mouth. A quiet groan slips past his lips when one of your hands finds the nape of his neck and gently tugs at his curls. His tongue licks at the inside of your mouth, exploring like you’re uncharted territory.

When you pull apart, you’re both breathing heavily. Your eyes are locked on the other’s, your foreheads resting against each other’s as you try to regain the oxygen you’d depleted from each other.

He smiles then, kissing your cheek firmly before you let out a soft chuckle and rest your head against his shoulder.

“What was that about going slow?” You joke, and Lando looks at you before letting out a laugh.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself,” he returns and you laugh as well.

Your hand still rests at the nape of his neck, your nails softly scratching at his curls and you hear him let out a comfortable sigh at the sensation.

You’ve always been a fan of Formula One. For years, most weekends have been spent in front of a TV screen–watching the cars go around their oddly shaped circles like it’s the most interesting thing in the world.

Now, you finally get to experience it first hand.

Influencing had never been your first option–mostly because you were in the beginning of an Engineering degree when you decided to start posting about your days and complaining to faceless people about how your brain was constantly exhausted from lectures. Though clearly, it came with its perks because here you are: at the Australian Grand Prix with your best friend, Maya.

The entire morning was spent getting ready, recording some parts of it for a YouTube video you’re planning on posting at some point next week, but finally you’d made it.

You tap your pass to let yourself in, your face showing up on the screen as it beeps and you enter with Maya to your right.

“Oh my God, there’s so many things to do,” you say, letting your eyes marvel around at the paddock. Guests float around, looking expensive and followed by a cloud of some sort of high-end perfume or cologne.

“This is crazy,” Maya speaks, almost laughing. “I have no clue what’s going on but it looks insane.”

You shake your head with a chuckle, looping your arm in hers as you walk together.

“Coffee first?” You ask, looking to the side at her.

“Hell yeah,” she nods in agreement before you both make a beeline for the closest café. You order an iced coffee each, picking it up and sitting at a free table outside where you people watch and discuss outfits.

The tension in the air is almost tangible with FP3 being the first session, followed by qualifying later on. Colours of team personnel floated around, though it’s clear they aren’t here to mess about. You take your camera out, filming a little bit of the chaos before flipping it around to face you and Maya–the both of you shuffling into frame.

“Okay, so. FP3 is in a couple hours. Still haven’t seen any F1 drivers so I’m wondering whether we’re at the right event,” you joke, glancing up from the camera to look around again whilst Maya lets out a giggle beside you.

“Can we take pictures?” She asks when the paddock begins to slowly clear up a little.

“Did you seriously just ask me that?” You ask in almost offence, looking at your best friend.

“You’re right, you’re right,” she nods in agreement before you both look back at the camera with completely straight faces. You end the recording before it catches you laughing.

You both stand again–walking to the centre bit where a few people are walking past before you start taking pictures of Maya. She poses in different ways, listening to your instructions as you almost lie on the floor to make sure all of the angles are right before you swap.

She takes pictures of you, giving you instructions too and you follow with very little disagreement. Though at one point, you feel a presence beside you.

Then you see the way Maya’s expression shifts behind the phone–so subtly that anyone else would miss it, but after a decade of friendship you never could.

You turn your head, just as a colour of papaya walks past you–continuing on his path like nothing happened. Though as soon as he walks past, he turns his head back to take one last look at you.

His jade eyes lock on yours, and time seems to stop.

He smiles brightly, letting out a soft chuckle before he turns around again and you swear you feel your heart stop.

Maya repeats your name multiple times, and that’s when you realise she’s standing right in front of you with her hands on your shoulders trying to snap you back to reality.

“Lando Norris just photobombed your pictures,” she almost squeals, though it’s clear she’s pushing down her genuine excitement to avoid catching anyone’s attention.

Your lips part in disbelief, eyes locking on hers before you let out a scoff.

“What the hell just happened?” You ask, still struggling to believe it.

The Lando Norris just turned back around and smiled at you. You made eye contact with him.

Holy shit.

“Girl, that was insane. The way he looked at you. Oh my God, look,” Maya gushes before flipping the phone around and showing you the picture she took of you.

You’re standing with a smile on your face, not really doing much, but Lando’s presence beside you takes all the attention away. He’s looking at you–no, beaming at you, like you’re the only thing in the world.

His look alone is enough to make the world spin on its axis.

“Maya, we have McLaren garage passes,” you barely manage to let out, looking at her like you’re a part of some top secret mission. Her eyes widen at the realisation.

“He’s totally asking for your number. Just watch.”

—

A couple hours later, and you finally manage to calm down about the encounter. Besides, it didn’t mean anything until something actually happened–so you keep reminding yourself of that.

Nonetheless, free practice was over and it’s time for qualifying.

You and Maya head straight into the McLaren garage, hoping that if you get there early you’ll manage to be up at the front to all the action. There’s also a slight chance that Lando might realise you’re there–but you aren’t expecting it. Mostly because he needs to be in the zone.

Though as soon as you walk in, it’s like his eyes are drawn magnetically to you. He’s in the middle of a conversation with his engineers–race suit hanging around his waist and hand over his mouth whilst he nods at whatever they’re saying before he turns to where you’re laughing with Maya.

You’re not even paying attention to him.

He excuses himself from his engineers once they finish up their conversation, walking over to the guest area where it’s only you and Maya for now.

“Stalking me now?” He asks with a slight smirk, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks at you. You immediately stop your conversation with Maya and the both of you look at where he’s standing in front of you.

“It’s not like people are here to watch you race or anything but sure, stalking sounds like the correct word,” you nod along, a smile twitching at the ends of your lips. He laughs at your words softly.

“What’s your name?”

You tell him. He nods, turning to Maya who also tells him her name.

“You here just to watch me race or for any other uninteresting reasons?”

“Actually I’m an engineering student. This is basically my whole life,” you shrug casually, watching as his features shift into a more impressed look.

“Really? What year?”

“Second.”

His eyes narrow a little.

“How old are you?”

“Nineteen,” you reply, twisting the rings on your fingers. You expect him to say something. Maybe even end the conversation and leave.

He doesn’t.

“Where do you study?”

You’re caught by surprise at his curiosity.

“Geneva.”

“Really? I’ve never been. Is it nice there?”

You nod. “Beautiful city. The people are really nice too.”

He hums thoughtfully.

“Maybe you should give me a tour one day.”

There it is, the smirk on his lips and the slight shimmer in his eyes. Almost like he’s daring you to say no. You almost laugh.

“Maybe I should,” you shrug back, and then he holds his palm out to you.

Maya squeezes your hand behind the counter between you and Lando.

“It would make it a lot easier if you had my number.”

“Are you flirting with me, Lando?” You laugh, though your hand is already reaching in your pocket for your phone.

“Yes. I am,” he nods without any shame as you unlock your phone and hand it over to him. You can’t see what he’s doing, but he purses his lips slightly and nods along to himself–clearly proud of whatever he’s up to. “Here. You here tomorrow?” He enquires then, passing you back your phone.

You notice a new contact, named ‘lando 😉’ and you have to bite back the swell of butterflies in your stomach.

You let out a soft chuckle.

“Yes, I am.”

He smiles at that.

“Great,” he nods, just as an engineer calls him over. He doesn’t stop smiling at you. “Well, I have to go, but it was nice meeting you. Don’t forget to text me.”

You chuckle, shaking your head.

“I won’t,” you promise, and he glances at Maya before saying bye to you both and walking away. “Maya I think my heart stopped working.”

“Girl, he basically just fucked you with his eyes holy shit. This entire time I’ve been third wheeling but oh my God–he’s obsessed with you.”

“Okay, okay, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” you let out weakly, but your heart feels like it’s racing too–pumping far too quickly for your liking.