From the Past - Lando Norris

Twenty-Four: The First Date

--Ella's POV--

I suck in a breath as his cold hand runs along my bare back, "How was your run?" I ask as he kisses my shoulder looking at the pancakes I'm making. I turn my head to the side and see him taking his AirPods out and shoving them into his pocket.

"It was good. I was hoping you'd still be here when I woke up," he smirks making my cheeks light up, "I know we can't be seen in public on a date cause of fans and paparazzi," he starts as I flip the pancake and turn to fully look at him, "But...I have something planned for tonight".

"Our first official date," I smile as he leans forward giving me a quick kiss, "Go shower, and then we can eat before I go back to my place," I tell him. I push his sweaty chest away and watch him walk away. His toned back has me in a trance before I smell something burning and freak out. I take the pancake out of the pan and it's a little darker than it should be. I continue cooking thinking about him getting distracted by the sound of the water from his shower.

"Lando, I have to go," I giggle as he tries dragging me back to the couch. We finished eating an hour ago and I have some editing to do for McLaren. He picks me up and joins in my laughter as I kick my legs to get away, "You will see me later".

"But I'll be so bored without you," he says putting me on my feet again. I turn around in his arms and look at him with a raised eyebrow, "Fine but be ready for our date at seven," He states.

I salute him getting an eye roll in return, "You're so clingy but I should have known that. Do you remember the time we had a sleepover for a week straight?" I ask as I put my shoes on. He walks over and leans against the door as I walk over to him.

"Of course I do. You needed a nightlight cause of how many horror movies we watched," He teases as he leans down for a kiss. I peck his lips and he moves out of the way like it was a key to get him to leave, "See you later, Wings," he smirks as I walk out.

-

I hear a knock at the door and look at Peter stressing. What if I ruin this date and he regrets everything? He's had to knock some sense into me a billion times cause I can't get my shit together. I run to my room and grab my shoes as Peter answers the door. When I come back out they are doing their handshake, "I'll let you two crazy kids go. Have fun but not too much," he teases with a wink making us both laugh. I grab my keys off the counter and walk over to him as he smiles.

"You look beautiful," he says making me look at him like he's crazy.

"I'm wearing leggings and a sweatshirt...you're insane," I tell him knocking his bucket hat down in front of his face. He pulls his hand out from behind his back and there's a bouquet of flowers in his hand, "oh my god," I whisper looking at it.

"I walked by this place in town and these reminded me of you," he says making me want to cry. I can't take my eyes off of them as I bite my lip to stop from letting tears fall. This is more than any guy has ever done for me. He's always been good at remembering the small things.

"These are the flowers my mom used to grow back home," I whisper looking up and seeing the proud look on his face, "Lan, I love them. Thank you," I tell him as I wrap my arms around him. He rests his chin on my shoulder as I let out a shuttered breath. I rush to put them in water on my counter loving the way they look in my apartment. It hasn't fully felt like home until now, especially now seeing Lando standing in it.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask as he shakes his head saying he won't tell me. I lock up behind us and follow him to his car parked in the garage. He opens the door for me so I tease him about how chivalrous he's being, "If our parents could see us now," I joke as he takes my hand in his and pulls out of the lot. The smile on his face makes my stomach flutter. I force myself to look the other way so I don't zone out on his side profile.

When we leave town I sit up a little in my seat, "Are you going to murder me?" I ask as he turns down the music. He laughs at how serious I look before pretending to swerve off the road. I smack his arm and turn the music back up as he turns onto another road. He parks outside of a small barn and I side-eye him as he turns the car off. He tells me to come on so I get out of the car and follow him towards it. I can see light peeking out from the door as he pushes it open. My eyes practically fall out of my head as we walk in. There are fairy lights hanging from the ceiling, and a giant projector pointing towards an empty wall. The middle of the barn is covered in blankets and pillows. I look around and he presses a button pressing play on the movie. I turn around smiling seeing Scream pulled up, "The first horror movie we watched together," I reminisce.

"I thought it would be fun to watch it together again. Maybe this time you won't push me away when I put my arm around you," he says as he takes my hand and shows me the snacks laid out, "I had a little help from Osc...so thank him the next time you see him"

"Will do. Holy shit are these Maltesers?" I ask as I look over the selection. He nods his head and brings the basket over to the blankets so we can eat them while we watch the movie, "This is so romantic. How did I get so lucky?" I ask as he sits beside me with two glasses of wine.

"Your dad actually paid me to take you out," he says as I push his shoulder. He wraps his arm around my shoulder as I feed him a Malteser. I press play on the remote as he holds his arm open for me to lean into his side. He kisses the side of my head before turning back to the movie. I kind of like this sneaking around thing.