The Chequered Flag || Lando Norris

18 | Below the Horizon

On our way to the beach club, Lando told the guys about the call with my bomma.

"I'm just surprised she couldn't hear him laughing." Martin teased.

"Yeah, all of us were really concerned when he burst into laughter and then just walked out the front door." Connor said.

"I haven't heard you laugh that loud in a long time, mate." Max said.

Oliver nodded his head in agreement, "Freaked me out."

I looked over at Lando, who was sitting in the back seat with me. He was smiling sweetly at me.

When we got to the Coral Club, the sun was already sinking lower in the sky. Once we staked our claim to a couple of lounge chairs, the guys pretty much immediately took off into the water, leaving Lando and I behind.

I stood there, watching the people in the water when Lando walked up to me and hugged me. He seemed to not want to pull away, and when he eventually did, he still kept me close with his hands on my lower back. I left my arms hooked around his neck.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Thank you." Lando said.

"For what?" I asked.

"So many things." He replied with a smile. "But right now I'm thanking you for making me laugh like that today."

"Don't thank me," I teased, "thank my bomma."

"You know what I mean." He said. I could tell he was studying my face, but I couldn't see his eyes behind his sunglasses.

I pulled them off his face and put them on, "What do you think?"

Lando laughed as he tried to snatch the sunglasses from off my face. I dodged him and started to run away from him. Soon enough, he caught up to me and wrapped his arms around my waist to keep me from wriggling out of his grasp. He plucked the sunglasses off my head and put them back on.

He let me slip out, and as I turned to face him again, a man walked up to Lando and asked him for a picture. Lando said yes, and the man turned to me and asked if I could take it for him. I agreed to take the photo, and the man thanked us both and walked off.

This happened quite a few more times while we were at the beach club. I didn't mind it, until I realized that they still asked me to take the pictures when we were with Oliver, Max, Connor, and Martin. There was even one guy who called after me as I was walking away from the group. I pretended not to hear him and walked into the water.

I walked out until the water was at my waist, then dove underneath the surface. I swam out a bit further, and when I resurfaced, the water was at my chin. I stood there, watching the sun set.

I saw the orange sun melting into the pinks and purples that led back to the navy blue sky behind me. I closed my eyes and let the bright sun paint a red hue across my eyelids.

I was almost alone in the water, and I sighed as I felt the soft wind blow against my face.

I didn't know why it irked me so much that all these guys were always asking me to take the photos, but I resolved to try not to think about it.

I went back under the water, feeling the currents pushing against my body. I stayed like that, even when my lungs started to scream for air.

I felt in control.

Suddenly, I was grabbed under the arms and lifted back above water. When the person let go of me, I whipped around to find Max looking at me like he was deeply concerned.

"What'd you do that for?" I asked, pointedly.

"Are you okay?" Max asked, not letting up on his worried expression.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Cami, you were down there for a while." Max responded.

I don't know what came over me, but I started to tear up.

"Hey," Max said, "what's wrong?"

He put his hand on my arm to try to comfort me.

"I'm sorry." I said, "I don't know—maybe this is really stupid, but why are they asking me to take the photos? I'm not the only one around who can use a camera, and it doesn't matter if I'm right next to them or walking away as fast as I can, they still ask me."

Max closed his eyes as he sighed, "I don't know."

"I'm sorry, it's probably really stupid to be upset about this." I said, burying my face in my hands.

"No, it's not. I understand how frustrating it is when you're trying to spend time with him and people not only keep coming up to get photos, but they ask you to take them for them. And don't get me wrong, I know, just as you do, that this is part of his job, but that doesn't mean you have to love it."

I smiled at Max, "Thanks."

"Anytime." He responded.

Max and I talked a bit more, watching the sun sink further toward the water, before Lando appeared by my side. He hesitantly smiled at me, and I returned it. The three of us stood there in the water, in silence, until the sun sank below the horizon completely, and the lights on the shore were what led us back to the rest of the group.

With the little light the dusk was providing us, we walked back to the car. On the drive home, I watched out the window as the last flickers of light left the sky.