I can't .

~13~

POV y/n: 

A few weeks have passed, and my relationship with Carlos has only gotten better since the day my father approached him. I'll admit, I was a little surprised when he reached out to me again after suddenly blocking me. But I guess it was time to move on from all that tension. Now we're heading to Australia for the next GP, and I saw on Carlos's Instagram that he planned to stay up all day to avoid jet lag.

I'm on the plane with my dad, trying to discreetly respond to Carlos's story when my father glances over at my phone.

"Why do you follow him on Instagram?" he asks, his voice sharp.

I glare at him. "Why are you looking at my phone?"

"I think you're still too involved with him. You're in a relationship with George, aren't you? Or is that over already?"

For a moment, I freeze. I almost forgot that I'm still in a fake relationship with George. My father's questions are too probing, and I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks.

"No, everything's fine," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "And it's none of your business anyway, Dad."

He clicks his tongue in disapproval but doesn't push the issue further. "I heard you and Lewis had a fight?"

It's like he knows everything, the things he shouldn't know. I try to stay calm.

"It wasn't really a fight," I explain, my tone clipped. "He just disagreed with something, and we talked about it. It's all good. We're going out for dinner with George after we land, so everything's fine."

As usual, my father's only concerned with the team, and he can't afford any drama. I see the way he's been working over time to keep everything professional, no matter the personal cost.

After a few more rounds of questions, I pull away. I walk to the back of the plane and open the door to the small bedroom area. It's nothing fancy, but it's better than trying to sleep in a chair. Since I travel with him so often, he insists on having two separate beds in the room, which means I don't get much private time. But at least I can see that Carlos has responded to me.

POV Carlos:

By the time I arrived in Australia, exhaustion hit me like a freight train. Despite y/n's best efforts to keep me awake, I ended up passing out. When I finally read through our conversation again, it hit me: there was still something unresolved between us. The way she kept pushing my buttons was frustrating, yet, on some level, I couldn't deny that I liked it. But, I knew I had to hold back, because she was with George now. Still, a part of me couldn't resist.

When I arrived at the hotel, I saw y/n get into the elevator with her father. Not long after, Lewis and George showed up as well. I checked in and got into the elevator with them, getting off on the 6th floor while they exited one floor earlier. I trudged to my room, the weight of my exhaustion settling in. I collapsed onto the bed, but I knew it wouldn't be wise to fall asleep just yet. I pulled my phone from my pocket and pulled up Lando's number. I needed something to keep me awake, and Lando's energy was exactly what I needed. He was like a golden retriever—excitable and full of life, without a care in the world.

Lando and I had planned to hit the hotel gym together, so I quickly changed and headed downstairs. Ten minutes later, I was waiting for Lando in the lobby, as usual, right on time for him to be late. When he finally arrived, we didn't exchange words—just headed straight to the gym. The entire warm-up was done in silence, but that didn't stop him from reading me like a book.

"What's wrong, Carlos?"

His question made me pause for a moment. Lando could always tell when something was off, and I wasn't about to hide it from him. I ended up telling him about the situation with y/n. As expected, Lando wasted no time pointing out that what I had done wasn't right. I already knew that, but my feelings for her were too strong to stay away. I justified it in my mind, telling myself she had started it, and I was just reacting.

I confessed to Lando how I'd blocked her after the last race of the previous season, without saying a word. To this day, I wasn't sure what I was thinking, and I felt guilty for not handling it better.

"I didn't want to argue with her father, and I didn't want to drag her into any trouble," I explained. "I thought if I just gave it time, I could forget about her."

Lando raised an eyebrow. "And? Didn't work, huh?"

"No," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "The thought of never seeing her or talking to her again... it gnawed at me. I wanted to see her again. I knew things wouldn't just go back to normal, but I didn't expect her to be with George. Honestly, I thought it'd be Lewis, but he didn't stand a chance."

Lando shook his head, exasperated. "You're an idiot, Carlos. But don't worry, I'll help you figure this out."

POV y/n:

I'd been awake far too long, and despite my exhaustion, I'd promised Lewis and George I'd take them out for dinner today. Honestly, all I wanted was to collapse into bed—preferably the hotel bed, away from the chaos around me, and especially away from my father. That way, I could finally chat with Carlos in peace. I'd gone a bit too far yesterday trying to keep him awake, and I couldn't deny, our conversation had taken a bit of a spicy turn, one I honestly enjoyed. But I had to stay careful—my father couldn't know everything.

Carlos had approached the situation like he was genuinely trying to make up for his past actions. The later it got, the more he opened up. A part of me longed to curl up with him, spend a few days in his company and forget about everything else, but I knew that wasn't possible right now.

"Y/n, are you coming? We're going!" I jumped when Lewis knocked on my father's door. "Have fun and don't be late," he called out as I closed the door behind me.

"You look terrible," Lewis said, glancing me over.

"Look at yourself, Lewis," I shot back, sticking my tongue out at him.

"I'd much rather go to bed now, but we agreed to go out for dinner," Lewis grinned, his arm wrapping around my waist as we made our way to the elevator.

When we got downstairs, George was waiting for us. He smiled, but it was a bit stiff when he noticed that Lewis's arm was still around my waist.