IMPROMPTU ROAD TRIP

1

Carlos had been acting weird lately. And when Lando said weird, he meant more weird than usual. It just seemed like Carlos had been avoiding him more than normal. Or at least had been avoiding being alone with him. Every time Lando went to have a moment with his boyfriend, someone else seemed to be there. Whether it be Charles or Max or Daniel, Carlos never seemed to be alone. Looking back on the past season, Lando could pinpoint exactly when Carlos started acting weird. It was Silverstone. Most definitely at Silverstone. If Lando didn't know better, he'd say that Carlos was having an affair. And Lando did know better. He still thought Carlos was probably having an affair though. It was the only thing that made any ounce of sense.

“You're glaring at Carlos.”

Lando jumped about five feet into the air when he heard the voice of his team mate next to him. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't heard Oscar creep up behind him until he started to speak.

“Holy shit Oscar, you nearly gave me a heart attack.” Lando dramatically held a hand to his chest, watching delightedly as Oscar bent in half giving his huffy laugh.

“Hmmm, what's Carlos done to you anyway? You've been positively glaring at him for the last five minutes. Also, things have seemed to be weird between you for ages now.”

“I think Carlos is having an affair,” Lando said bluntly. It was slightly unfortunate timing as Oscar had just taken a sip of water from his drinks bottle. The blunt, unexpected statement from Lando caused Oscar to spit his water out. It all went directly into Lando's face. This caused them both to start laughing for different reasons. Lando because of the reaction he received from Oscar as a result of what he said. Oscar because of the disgruntled look that Lando was trying to keep on his face, whilst laughing, due to Oscar spitting his water all over him.

“Mate you can't just say that,” Oscar spluttered out after he had recovered from his coughing fit and subsequent laughing fit. “At least warn a guy first. Anyway we'll talk about what you said later, I don't think that this is a conversation we should be having out in the open paddock.”

Lando very much wanted to protest. He wanted to have that conversation right then. Verbalising his thoughts made them more real in his eyes. So, he very much wanted, no needed, to talk about them with someone. That someone being Oscar. However, the more that Lando thought, the more he realised that Oscar was right. This was not a conversation that they should have in the paddock where anyone could hear them. Lando did not need speculations about his relationship with Carlos all over the media. First of all, it wasn't even a public relationship. So the media didn't know about it. And it was only an open secret within the drivers in the paddock. Secondly, Lando most definitely did not want people to know that he thinks Carlos is being unfaithful, especially as there is no evidence of it yet. So, Lando doesn't want to start any unnecessary rumours. The conversation should definitely be taking place in a more private setting.

“Yeah, my hotel room later then. I'll text you,” Lando quickly said to Oscar as he noticed Carlos approaching them.

Oscar nodded and made a hasty exit towards where Logan and Alex were standing. It was quite well known around the paddock that Carlos did not like Oscar. That much was evident on track. So, as a result, Oscar had just taken to avoiding Carlos as much as possible. As he walked away, Oscar could feel Carlos's eyes burning a hole in his back.

It was a Wednesday, in Vegas and most of the drivers were in and around where the paddock was. As it was a completely new circuit for everybody, they were all wanting to familiarise themselves with the paddock area, ready for the opening ceremony.

Later on, Oscar was wandering through the paddock ready to get into the car and go back to the hotel. He heard a noise that caught his attention as he was walking past where the ferrari motor homes were situated. Being a bit nosey, Oscar decided to go and see what it was. Quietly, he wandered so he could see around the corner and well, he certainly wasn't expecting to find that. In a split second decision, Oscar got his phone out, took a picture and made himself scarce before he got caught. Also, Oscar just needed to process what he had just seen.

As Oscar clambered into his Mclaren, Lando messaged him. It was the room number of the hotel and what time to meet him there. Lando said that Oscar should meet him in half an hour. This only gave time for Oscar to get back to the hotel and change out of his teamwear. It didn't even allow any time for Oscar to process what he had seen, and Lando needed to see the picture as well.

Half an hour later, Oscar found himself knocking on Lando's door. It was a bit tentative, but only because Oscar did actually have time to have a better look at the photo. As Oscar's hand was in mid air, Lando opened the door and gestured for Oscar to come in. Oscar froze. Well, Oscar was already frozen, the picture engraved into his mind.

“You coming in or what?” Lando asked, chuckling slightly.

“Erm, yeah,” Oscar responded, following Lando into the room.

Lando sat down on the bed and patted the space next to him for Oscar to come and join him. Oscar did, albeit a little stiffly. He sat down on the bed, but left an acre of space between him and Lando.

“Okay, what's wrong with you Oscar?” Lando asked, concerned. His team mate was acting weird and he didn't like it.

“There's something you need to see, Lando,” Oscar said after a long pause.