Never Get to Heaven • Charles Leclerc

008. ENCOUNTERS

"Rise and shine, little bee!" Joanna's voice cut through my sleep.

I groaned as I opened my eyes to see Jo leaning over me with a grin on her face. We had stayed up late last night, as Jo detailed her night with Lando. After she had passed out next to me, I struggled to fall asleep and decided to sit out on the balcony to smoke a cigarette. I couldn't stop thinking about Adam. I read every text he had sent me in the past week, begging for me to talk to him. It was around 3 or 4 am when I eventually drifted off.

"What time is it?" I mumbled, furrowing my brow at an overly excited Jo.

"It's 8 am, time to get up!" I squeezed my eyes shut tight and screwed up my face. "Give me five more minutes of sleep, please?" I pleaded.

"No can do. I'm afraid we need to go and meet Lando before we go to the track." I groaned louder as Jo shook me gently, trying to coax me out of bed. She seemed to be running on pure excitement and adrenaline.

I felt like a zombie as I got up and walked to the bathroom to shower. The warm water washed over my face as I tried to wake myself up. I wrapped a towel around myself and wiped the steam away from the mirror as I stared back at my reflection.

It was going to be a long day.

Jo had neatly laid out my outfit as I walked back into the room. Simple white linen trousers, a white cropped tee and a little orange cardigan to throw over my shoulders. I smiled "Thank you, Mum." I glanced up, looking as innocent as possible.

"I'm guessing the orange is for McLaren?" I asked. Jo nodded, smiling. I rolled my eyes. "And what if I don't support Loverboy's team?" Jo's head snapped around. I laughed as she looked offended.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Didn't know you were that into it already." I defended myself, scared to face the wrath of Jo. She huffed, clearly not impressed with me.

"Put those little heels on as well," Jo instructed me. "Heels! Christ, you're going to kill me, Jo." I cried.

"We need to look nice!" She stressed.

"Fine, but I'm not happy about it."

Jo had ordered some room service for breakfast. I nibbled on a few things, but I still didn't have much of an appetite. With the stress of the last week, I had been struggling to eat. Well, I'd been struggling to do anything, if I was being honest.

I got dressed, finished off my makeup and threw my hair up into a claw clip. Grabbing my sunglasses and handbag as Jo rushed me out the door to get downstairs on time. I was still in a sleepy haze when we reached Lando, who was waiting for us by the door. He was dressed in his team kit and hiding something behind his back.

"Good morning, ladies!" He cheerfully chimed. He leaned over to kiss Jo on her cheek. I smiled proudly next to her.

"I see you are sporting the team colours today, Bea. You've got my stamp of approval." He joked, turning to face me. "I'm McLaren's biggest fan, Lando. Didn't you know that?" I said sarcastically. Lando laughed as I felt Jo lightly smack my hand, silently telling me off.

"I have a present for you both. I'm not letting you in the garage unless you wear them." He admitted as he pulled his hands from behind his back to reveal two McLaren caps. Jo clapped her hands together excitedly as she thanked him. He handed mine over to me, then reached up to place Jo's on top of her head. "Perfect, you're looking gorgeous." Lando quirked, staring at Jo as she blushed hard. I rolled my eyes jokingly.

"Right, you two, stop flirting," I remarked, placing my cap on my head and making my way out the door. Lando and Jo quickly followed behind, lost in conversation with each other.