favourite / lando norris

fourteen

I'm halfway through the Monza paddock when a man wearing a VIP pass stops me. Last time I was stopped, I'd ignored the guests, feigning a busy schedule to avoid getting caught up chatting with them.

I get distracted too easily and, after stopping for a whole group of people at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, I've been told to try and minimise those kinds of interactions.

This time, though, the man is wearing a McLaren VIP pass and that means I definitely can't ignore him. "Can I help you, sir?"

He grins, giving me a quick up and down before speaking, "Yeah, hey there. My mate's told me to meet 'im at the McLaren hospitality and I haven't got the foggiest where it is."

"I'm headed that way now, if you'd like to follow me." The man falls into step beside me, looking over every few steps. "Who's your host this weekend?"

VIP passes aren't handed out to random people. They're hosted, usually by a team insider or the PR team. And I don't recognise this guy from our PR list so he's got to be someone's guest.

He's young enough, probably no older than his late twenties, and dressed pretty smart. "Trevor Moore."

"Oh!" I light up at the mention of Trevor's name, smiling ear to ear, "I didn't know he'd decided to come to Monza!"

The man's expression changes, giving me a hesitant look, "How'd you know Trevor?"

A giggle escapes as we near the McLaren area of the paddock. "Right, sorry, forgot to introduce myself." Of course he'd have trouble realising who I am. "I'm Arden, Trevor's girlfriend."

I hold out a hand for the man, smiling more as he slowly tells me his name is Wilson and offers his hand. I take it, giving it a shake before continuing to show him over to hospitality.

"Sorry, just so I've got this right, you're Trevor's girlfriend?"

"Yeah?" Why'd I answer that like it was a question? "Yes, I am." Better.

"Damn, when'd you two get together? It must be pretty recent, all things considered."

"How do you mean?"

"Surely you know Winnie, yeah? His...well if you guys are a thing then I guess she's his ex-girlfriend now...but we all went to dinner like a week ago...hm."

The man drifts off, trying to work through the timeline he's crafted up.

Meanwhile, I'm having a heart attack and a half and wishing I were anywhere but here, in the middle of the paddock with one of Trevor's friends who's just told me I'm getting cheated on. Or...I think that's what he's telling me.

Maybe Winnie is just a friend though. This guy doesn't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed...

"Um, sorry," how do I get out of this? "You said your host is Trevor...Mooring, right?"

He shakes his head, "Moore, not Mooring."

I fake a bright smile, making a noise of faux happy frustration as I bring out the most artificial laugh known to man. "Oh, goodness, I'm such a ditz. My boyfriend's Trevor Mooring, I'm so sorry, I must have misheard you."

We're stopped in front of hospitality now and I can see Trevor inside. He's chatting with his uncle, a few of his friends standing around him as they take in the interior of McLaren's home base for Monza.

"You comin' in?" Wilson asks, turning once he's halfway up the ramp to find me lingering at the bottom.

"Um," I glance down at my watch, trying to remember why I'd been coming this way in the first place. "Yeah, sorry. The long hours have got my brain all fuzzy."

There's no escaping Trevor's notice once I step through the sliding glass doors. Not with Zak spotting me first and his excited calls for me to come over making every person present turn my way.

While I'm still new, my position within the team has made me relatively well known. At the very least, they know I'm part of the social media team and that keeps me dialled in.

"Arden, come on over, isn't this great?" I give the four men, five now that Wilson's joined them, a smile and a wave.

Zak offers me a high five side hug combo once I'm close enough, giving me an excited shake as he introduces me to everyone else. He's a nice guy, sure, but I'm beginning to think his nephew may be a bit of an asshole.

Trevor doesn't know that I know. Do I know? Is Winnie the other woman? Am I the other woman?

"Hi Zak," I start, returning his hug as I turn to look at the rest of the group. "Hello. Hi Trevor."

Trevor grins, reaching out to pull me away from Zak to give me a quick kiss in greeting. His friend, Wilson, looks like he's having an aneurysm.

I'm kept at Trevor's side after his version of a hello, slotted in under his arm like usual, "Guys, this is my girlfriend, Arden. And I was supposed to surprise her," he aimed that at Zak, "but whatever. Whatcha up to today, babe?"

"Um," I glance over at Wilson, who's looking like he's about to hurl and that's all I need to see to confirm my suspicions. "I've actually got a meeting with Daniel... so I'll see you later, yeah?" Trevor frowns, no doubt clocking the change in my behaviour.

I never brush him off. And I've told him probably a hundred times now that I'd drop everything to spend time with him if he were to ever come to a race.

And now I'm lying about meeting with my assigned driver to get out of spending time with my boyfriend of almost a year because I'm pretty sure he's cheating on me and I'm going to scream if he pats my arse one more time.

Wilson's the one to 'save' me, if that's what we're calling it. "Oi, mate, where can we get a pint around here?"

With Trevor distracted by his friend's question, I slip away, roughly wiping at my tears as I go deeper into the McLaren area to the employees-only section.

From there, it's easy to find Lando's room. It's empty right now, he's in the middle of post-quali interviews and his trainer's the only one in there and he doesn't seem to mind when I flop onto the massage table and simply stare up at the ceiling.

"You alright?" Jon's a nice guy. He's worked with Lando for years. He'd be a good person to talk to about this...but he'll definitely tell Lando. And I can't have him know. Not yet.

"Just tired. Is it ok if I take a nap in here?"

Jon shrugs, "You're not trying to skive off work, are you?" I shake my head, "I say go for it, then. I'll make sure Lando comes in quietly."