Lando's Love (2021)

Chapter 8

When we arrived at my house, I was happy that Astrid was with me. We took our luggage and put it in the hall, at the foot of the stairs. I saw her going to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As I turned on the heater, I watched her take her glass, fill it and drink. She acted as if she had known this house for a long time even though it was only her third time here. "It's already late, do you want to order food? "I asked her. "I'm not very hungry, a yoghurt will be enough. But if you want, please, I won't tell Jon. "She answered with a mocking smile. "Well, thanks! ". She opened the fridge, took her yoghurt, and sat down on the central island to eat it. "You can have the room you had last time. "Perfect for me, thanks. ". She then left to take her suitcase and bag upstairs. She came back down shortly after and found me staring at the fridge. "I thought you wanted to order. "No, I'm going to go back to chicken" "You know what? Tomorrow I've got school until 4pm French time, so 3pm here. After that I'll take you shopping, and I'll show you all the things you can eat if you cook a bit. "No worries". We sat down on the sofa to watch a film. I handed her the remote control so she could choose. She decided on a film I had never seen but I assumed she would: Moxie.

At the end of the film, I noticed that she had fallen asleep on my lap. So, I carried her like a bride to her room. I put her under her duvet and put her phone on charge. I went to my room, changed my clothes, got into bed, and went on Instagram. I heard a knock on my door. "Come in." I saw her come in, all shy. She had changed into blue silk pyjamas with white flowers on them. "I didn't know if you would be awake or not. Sorry to disturb you. "You're not bothering me at all, how can I help you? ". "Well, uh, I, uhm, was wondering if, uhm it was possible to, uhm sleep together? I'm lonely in my big bed. "I looked at her, surprised and she took my silence and surprise as a no. "Yes, it was stupid, it doesn't matter, forget I said that. Good night Lando. "I shifted in my bed to give her room, "No don't go, please come, I don't mind at all. "She smiled at me and came and sat down next to me. I put my phone down and made myself comfortable. She snuggled up to me and was soon asleep again. I watched her; she was soothed as she slept. All the relaxed muscles showed me how much she cared about many things during the day. She deserved the world and instead she finds herself dealing with a lot of different things. This time away from home will do her a world of good.

When I woke up the next morning, the other side of the bed was empty and cold indicating that Astrid had been awake and out of bed for a while. I checked the time: 9 o'clock, a good time to wake up according to me. I went downstairs and saw Astrid, on the central island with her computer: she was in class, of course, she had told me that she had History this morning between 8.45 and 11.45. She was already dressed, wearing black jeans and a white jumper with 'Quid Juris' written on the back with an emblem I didn't know. I tried not to walk behind her as she had her camera on. Her teacher was talking and seemed to laugh a lot. Astrid was laughing too. When she noticed me, she smiled at me "Good morning Lando, did you sleep well?" "Good morning Astrid, well and you? "Good, good! There's tea ready in the kettle if you want and pancakes in the microwave. "Oh, thank you". Then I heard her teacher calling her. She turned to her computer and answered. She looked at me and waved her hand indicating that I should come over to her. I questioned her with my eyes, not understanding. "He's wondering who I'm talking to and he noticed I wasn't at home, so I just explained that I was at a good friend's house in England. He's a curious guy so he wants to see you. Come on! "I approached the computer and saw several students waving at me. Astrid spoke to them and explained who I was and why she was in England, or so she told me.

While Astrid was attending her classes, I was thinking. I knew that my friends would welcome her well and kindly. I just wondered if she would not tend to get closer to Pierre and Charles than to the others. She could speak French to them. What if she got away from me at the same time?

She snapped me out of my reverie when she had finished her lessons: "Well Romeo, shall we go shopping? ". "Yes, let's go! ". I took the keys of my McLaren and we set off. We spent almost an hour in the shop. She kept asking me where everything was. When we got back, we put the groceries away and Astrid asked me if I could call Jon as she had to check something about my diet. So, I typed in my code and handed her my phone. She pressed Jon's number and put the call on speakerphone so that I would know what was being said and could intervene. He answered quickly.