Faking it || Lando Norris LN

33

Olivia Reyes

As the night went on, we just kept dancing and grabbing whatever shots the waiters handed out on the dance floor, not thinking twice before raising them to our mouths and downing them. The entire room was lit up with euphoria and celebration. All of the drivers danced around with wide smiles, sloppy movements, and glazed eyes.

After a while, the dance floor began emptying, either because people began to feel the exhaustion of such a long day or because they had run for cover before throwing up in the middle of everyone. Lando had gone off to help Carlos get to his room while I danced with Max and Daniel. My eyes wandered around the room for a couple of seconds, looking for Charles to gesture him to join us, and when I did I wasn't so sure I should've been looking for him in the first place.

The wide smile on his face as he talked to Lena at one of the tables faded as soon as our eyes met. His expression was a mixture of so many things, and barely readable. It wasn't anger or sadness. It was helplessness. That's how I knew he'd seen the kiss.

He tried smiling at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. It seemed as if he didn't want me to notice what his expression was holding, but hadn't been able to conceal it. The memory of whatever he was thinking had taken over his face as soon as he saw me.

I shook the thought away and kept dancing with Max and Danny, before deciding to go up to my room once I'd had enough of the torture I was putting my feet through. I left the area avoiding Charles' gaze, but I knew it was a conversation we'd end up having sooner rather than later, I just didn't want to have it when I was so drunk that my thoughts would end up getting spilled.

And of course, I didn't want to spill my thoughts. Hell, I didn't even want to think. I didn't want to think about the eyelash or the wish or the kiss or Lando's hands pulling me closer. I had to take a moment to myself and recollect the wandering pieces of my brain that had escaped as soon as his lips met mine.

I knew how strong physical contact was to me. I knew how much I avoided it and how much strength it was gonna take me to get out of this alive. Had I walked into the lion's den? Yes. Was I gonna fight with tooth and bone to get out of it alive? Never been more certain.

The PR stunt had gone from difficult to nearly impossible and then gotten progressively easier over time, but now this was an added level of difficulty. Engaging in this kind of physical contact was the perfect recipe for disaster. I really just had to get my head over a pillow to recollect myself, meditate or some shit until I could reprogram my brain into the single most important thing right now.

Make sure I don't let Lando in, without pushing him away.

Our relationship with each other had progressed wonderfully. I had to keep my walls up, but I couldn't shut him out after this and not expect everything to go back to square one. The kiss hadn't meant anything. It had been for one thing, and one thing only: for show. I just really needed to get to bed and ignore my thoughts for some good and comfortable eight hours.

The hall seemed endless as I walked through it to reach my room. My head was still spinning and my eyelids were heavy as a shape emerged a couple of doors away from me.

Lando, shutting the door to Carlos' room gently, as if to not wake him up. My eyes suddenly snapped open, not quite sobering me up but definitely making me feel like a bucket of ice-cold water had been dumped over me.

My thoughts began racing. Last week we'd spent a couple of good days together before we panicked and began acting completely awkward around each other, unsure of how to behave without trying to kill the other. What was going to happen now that we hadn't shared a laugh but a kiss? My steps began slowing.