Mutual Friends | Lando Norris

Chapter 40 - Full Circle

Lando's POV

I force my eyes open and wake up to the familiar buzz of my phone vibrating on the night stand. The sound is jarring as I squint one of my eyes to the bedside clock. 05:00Am. I release a low grunt out of frustration.

My mind struggles against the deep slumber of sleep when I also realise I don't need to be up for another three hours. "Just my luck."

I roll over, reaching out to grab the phone but stop myself when I see Olivia who's still peacefully sleeping next to me.

The soft light of the early morning sun sifts through the cracks in the curtains and kisses the soft golden skin of my boss's daughter. I can't help but smile at the scene of her beautifully exposed silhouette glistening against the whiteness of the crinkled bedsheets between us.

It's in moments like these that I feel truly lucky. Despite the chaotic and busy madness of our lives, I always feel at peace in her presence.

Laying beside her, I take a moment to simply admire the scene that's laid out in front of me. It's in the way the light highlights the curls of her hair that are nestled on her pillow, the way her spine curves gently into the small of the back of her waist, revealing the two dimples on her lower back. It is a gentle and quiet kind of fondness.

I'm grateful to have someone who brings up so much beauty and calm into my life.

In the days arriving here, we both decided that the best strategy for the Abu Dhabi GP would be for her to watch Free practice and Qualifying from the hotel with Zoey.

On Sunday, we would all drive to the track together along with John, Daniel Ricciardo and anyone else from McLaren we could ring along. The girls would watch the race from our garage where there'd be extra security and less opportunities for her to feel overwhelmed by unfamiliar faces and unwanted attention.

No one brought Bianca up in any of our plans so I didn't ask because I also assumed she'd be with Alpha Tauri and Pierre anyway.

If it does however, by some chance become too unbearable for her, they have the option of hiding out in my driver room but I really hope it doesn't have to get to that. I want to have her support me from a place not many are able to. I also want the whole world to be in on it too. Sunday is going to be a big day for us, for everyone.

"Are you sure this is how you want to go about doing it? I mean do you think it's a good time considering everything that's happened?" Asks Zoey handing me a piece of string two nights ago.

"Am I sure about this?" I ask hanging the dangling material above our heads so I can inspect it in the light. "No, I'm not," I answer truthfully. "But everything else? As sure as I'll ever be." Zoey crosses her arms and smiles softly. "I guess that's good enough for me," she says with a chuckle.

Slowly, my mind comes back to reality and I turn my attention back to the phone which has stopped impatiently buzzing. With a sigh, I rub my blurry eyes and fumble to pick it up and scroll through the notifications.

Despite the early hour, my phone is already filled with a seemingly never ending stream of missed calls, voice messages, imessages, social media alerts and calendar reminders.

16 Missed calls and 1 NewVoice Message

2 Missed calls from Gasly.
14 Missed calls from an unknown number.

With a sense of growing unease, I sneakily work my disgruntled body quietly out of the bed and walk out of the bedroom, closing the door behind me. I'm careful not to wake Olivia as I dial my voicemail and listen to Pierre's voice.