Slipstream

14.

Lando

It's been a week since Blake's birthday party. One whole week since Tessa walked out of the party. One week since I, or anyone in our friend group for that matter, had spoken to Tess.

I was so deep in thought about everything that had happened recently that I almost ran into a bus stop pole on the sidewalk if it weren't for Carlos pulling me out of the way.

"You almost broke your other shoulder, mate." Carlos breathed heavily as we both paused our running so we could catch our breath. I glanced at him while I panted heavily, catching the muppet laughing at me in between breaths.

"Very funny," I rolled my eyes. "That's just what I need. It's not like enough bad things have happened already over the past couple of months."

A car that was driving down the road slowed down and then stopped all together, rolling the windows down, revealing a group of girls as they started waving and calling our names. One of them pulled their phone out and held it up, I was sure to video us to post on social media. Monaco was a safe haven as much as it was a homing beacon to the rest of the world for us.  Carlos and I smiled at them and then quickly started talking to each other again, hoping that they didn't get out of the car to make this even more awkward. Carlos and I had both been Formula 1 drivers long enough to be used to the lack of privacy. But sometimes we just wanted to go for a run in Monaco in peace.

"Speaking of that," Carlos started the same time the girls in the car rolled their windows up and drove off, "How about Blake and Charles secretly getting married?"

I reached up and pulled my hat off, running my hand through my sweat dampened hair. "About that..."

Carlos' smirk immediately dropped and he started looking at me like I was a puzzle he wanted to figure out before I told him. He was quiet for about five seconds before his eyes widened. "You knew?" He breathed.

I was happy that he figured it out and I didn't have to say it out loud, I nodded my head. "It was an accident. I walked out onto the balcony at the party the same exact time that Blake asked Charles if they could get married that night. It was poor timing on my end..." I shrugged my shoulders.

He reached up and started scratching the back of his neck, thinking over the words that I just told him. "You kept that secret for that long?"

I gaped at him. "Out of everything that you just learned, that is the most concerning thing on your mind?"

"Well... You're not the best secret keeper," Carlos shrugged innocently.

My mind immediately flashed to Tessa and all of the conversations and secrets that we've told each other since we met last year. If only he knew just how good of a secret keeper I really was. But that was the beauty of keeping secrets well, right?

"What choice did I have? It wasn't my news to tell."

Carlos silently agreed with me, coming to the same conclusion that I had. That I didn't really have any other choice but to keep that news to myself.

We continued running until we made it back to Carlos and Tatum's house, completing our five kilometer run for the day.

As soon as we opened the front door, we were greeted by sounds of a baby show coming from the living room. It was still hard to believe that this was Carlos' life now. A father that came home to his girlfriend and their six month old baby every day when we weren't traveling the world to race Formula 1 cars.

We kicked our sneakers off by the door and followed the sounds of the TV until we spotted Mari sitting in between Tatum's legs in the living room floor. Mari was completely focused on the show that was on the TV. I tried to listen to what they were talking about on the TV, but it was in Spanish, and I didn't know any Spanish.