chasing - lando norris

seventeen.

[cassie klein]

I feel like I'm a kid again.

And it's. Amazing.

I'm sitting on the rocks, Nudie popper in hand, hair salty and tangled and nose coloured a soft pink from the sun. My wetsuit is tied around my waist, like my race suit; my two favourite sports mirroring each other like siblings.

"I can paddle, I can pop up, I can stand, but I can't hold myself up!" Lando exclaims, throwing one hand up and taking a sip from his Nudie with the other. "By the way, these are really good."

I chuckle, "It's your balance, Lando. You've got so much momentum but you're pushing your body forward instead of centring your gravity in your legs. Think of it like driving the car along the wave."

He furrows his brows in thought and I can see the wheels turning in his brain, analysing everything he did on that last wave before we called it for a break.

"I'm going back in."

He stands up quickly and zips his wetsuit back up over his bare chest - which yes, it was distracting me slightly, I don't want to talk about it - and grabs his surfboard before legging it back toward the water.

"Lando wait!" I call, almost tripping over the rocks as try to run after him. I stop halfway down the sand, giving up as I watch him paddle out to where I showed him.

Once he's satisfied with where he's at, he turns around and sits upright on his board, giving me a wide grin and thumbs up. I shake my head, smiling back at him, and give him a single weak thumbs up in return.

I watch as a good wave builds behind him, rushing along the water as it moves toward him. He looks backward, realises it's a surf-able one, and begins paddling frantically forward. I try not to laugh at his form. He's a beginner, Cassie. Give him a break.

My heart beats faster as I watch the tail of his board lift slightly, the wave pushing up under his board before he quits paddling and braces his arms under him.

Come on, I think, taking an anxious step forward.

In an instant he's up, one foot in front of the other as he sways slightly to gain his balance. Then his face erupts in a grin as he looks over at me and raises his arms. My chest looses its tension as I wave my arms in celebration. His whoops and hollers can be heard over the crashes of the waves and the wind as he rides his first wave back in.

"YEAH LANDO!!" I shout, running toward the water as he makes his way in, "Woo-hoo!" I squeal, slowing down as my feet splash in the shallows.

I flinch when he almost slips as he jumps off his board, before meeting his grin with my own as he picks up his board and rushes over to me.

"I did it! Yeah baby!" He shouts, accepting my double high-five.

"Very proud of you, Lands." I say as I ruffle his wet curls. "You in for some more waves before we head to the airport?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

*****

Cassie Klein: just landed in melbs
Cassie Klein: i left some nudies in the fridge for you<3

I send the text to mum as I exit the back plane and make my way down the stairs to the tarmac. Lando and I wave at the couple cameras posted a few metres away, taking photos of the McLaren team arriving in Melbourne.

As much as I'm buzzing with excitement for the race, I can't help but feel an intense amount of pressure. It started in my head when we landed in Brisbane, but now that I'm in Melbourne it's moved to my chest and buried itself there.