LOCK UP - Lando Norris [BOOK 2]

25

Over the next few days, Lando hangs around the city whilst I attend my classes and in the evenings we test new restaurants and spend the nights wrapped up in each others arms, savouring every inch of each other. I haven't been able to escape my dreams though, every night after making love to Lando, we fall asleep wrapped in each others arms and I'm sent to a place in my mind where I'm with Charles instead.

I wake every morning feeling more and more guilty. I haven't seen Charles over these past few days, and I haven't heard from him either, which is probably for the best. But every night, the dreams are getting more intense, more realistic, and leaving a deeper trace on my body when I awake, but I never wake confused about my feelings for Lando and Charles. I'm happy about where I've placed them, Charles will always be in my life, he'll always be one of my greatest friends, and Lando and I have a lot to do to put our relationship where it should be, but I trust that it's going in the right direction.

I just can't understand why I can't rid Charles from my dreams.

"How many more days are you staying?" I mumble to Lando from where I'm situated against his bare chest, another early morning wake up.

"I'll have to leave tomorrow. Zak wants me in the Netherlands a few days earlier to prepare" he informs me.

Titling my face and planting a kiss on his side, feeling him flinch underneath my touch. I tighten my arm across his middle and snuggle in closer.

"You leave in 3 days don't you?" he confirms.

"Yeah, I do. It's going to be sad for it to be over"

"Can you come back to the program next year?" he asks.

I shrug against him, "I'd need to be accepted again"

His hand strokes my arm, creating a path of warmth as he goes, "I don't see why you wouldn't baby. You're so talented"

His compliment makes me blush into his side.

"What time do you need to leave today?" he asks, groaning.

I roll over grudgingly to face the clock, reading 8:14am. "My first class is at 10am"

"Sooo, breakfast?" he asks.

Rolling over and hooking my leg over his hip, I pull myself up to straddle his waist, flashbacks from my dreams I push away, I bring myself over the top of him. "Not just yet" I tease, before lowering myself down over him and bringing my lips delicately on top of his.

I pull back slightly, vibrations of our passion flicking between us, "I love you, you know that right?" I ask.

I see his blue eyes flicking back and forth between both of mine. "I do" he replies.

We spend a moment just staring at each other, looking for a few moments of silence before we get back in to reality. We feel protected here, sheltered. It reminds me of when we were in Italy. We managed to be okay then too. When we were away from everything. That's when we really seem to be able to make it work.

"What's going through that head of yours?" He asks. Pushing my hanging hair over one of my shoulders.

"Nothing. Everything." I respond.

"Talk to me" he encourages, shifting himself up further on the bed so he's now upright, leaning against the headboard, still having me perched on his lap.

I run my hands down his chest and over his stomach. Watching as my fingers dip on all her curves and lines. "I worry about what happens when we go back"

He looks at me confused, "how do you mean?"

"Back to the paddock. Everything just always seems to fall to pieces between us there" I confess.

"Yeah" he mumbles, "I don't know how to fix it"

"Neither do I" I agree.

"Let's not worry about it now. Let's just take each step at a time, deal with things as they come?" Lando suggests.

Falling forward, I press my forehead against his, "I want this to work so badly"

Both his hands come up and cup the side of my face, pushing my hair behind my ears as he does, "I do too. And when both people equally want it as much, it's bound to work. It just has to"

I fold my lips in on each other, considering his explanation "should it be this hard thought?"

He pulls my head back further so I'm able to look at him, "what are you saying?"

I allow my head to fall forward, unable to look him in the eye, "should it take this much effort to make a relationship work. A new relationship work. Shouldn't we be in the honeymoon phase, or whatever they call it"

He chuckles low, "I don't think that applies to us. We've been in each others lives for so long, and the position we are both in, I don't think we were ever going to have a honeymoon phase, Ev"

I nod, "I guess so"

******************

Three days later and my time in Florence is up, time for me to go back to reality and leave wonderland behind.

I hadn't heard from Charles at all, except for a message telling me he'd arrived in the Netherlands and he was hoping my composition went well.

I had chosen a two piece project as my "what Florence means to me", I focused on the rebirth of what I described when looking over the city of Florence with Lando. But I added a darker component, representing it as a place to hide from your truths.

Saying goodbye to everyone from the course was extremely sad, I felt like I was saying goodbye to family.

As I roll my bags to the car waiting for me out the front, I take one last look at my surroundings, my escape.

"Thankyou" I acknowledge the driver as he opens the back car door, allowing me to enter.

As we settle through the streets of Florence, a heavy rainfall falls upon the city, coating my memory of it. Seemed almost symbolic of how I felt about the place and what, in the end, it meant to me.

I open my phone, sending Lando a text.

E: leaving now for the airport. I'll see you in a few hours.

L: already can't wait to see you. I'll have my driver collect you as I'll be in the sim, but come straight to the Beachhouse. I won't be far.

E: can't wait. I love you.

L: I love you x

"This rain came out of no where" the driver indicates, as he flicks his wipers onto full force.

"I know, it's been so....

......