DNF - A Formula 1 Story (Lando Norris)

Chapter 42

"Can I ask you a question?" - Taylor Swift

Bianca

"Wake up, love." Lando's voice breaks through my sleepiness and I grumble in annoyance that he's trying to wake me up on New Year's Day, seemingly before the sun is even up. My eyes squint open to see our bedroom still dark with the beginnings of early morning light shining through the windows and then I look to Lando. He's bending beside me by the bed, his right hand possessively covering my pregnant belly; the other moving a piece of hair away from my face. It's hard to be mad at him when he's staring at me the way he is and when he bends forward to give me a soft kiss, my irritation with him disappears completely.

"Come on, I have a surprise for you." He tells me when he pulls away and I furrow my brows wondering what kind of surprise he could have so early in the morning and on New Year's Day. I don't argue with him though when he helps me out of bed. As I stand to walk to the bathroom, I realize that he's already dressed and ready for the day. He looks handsome in a pair of jeans, a cream colored sweater and some sneakers. His hair is as curly as ever and his eyes are sparkling even in the dim light. He looks nervous for some reason though; fidgety.

"Are you okay?" I ask curiously and he smiles before leaning down to kiss me.

"I'm perfect, we're just running a bit behind schedule. I wanted you to get a bit more sleep before I dragged you out of bed." He explains and I narrow my eyes suspiciously. Running behind for what? I'm about to ask but he stops me by kissing me again and grabbing my hand. When he pulls away he silently leads me to the bathroom where he then tells me there's an outfit set out for me and that I don't need to worry about makeup or my hair. Then he's walking out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind him, leaving me there confused.

Instead of going after him to get the truth out of him, I decide to get dressed for this surprise. It takes me a few minutes to get the energy to change. After a late night last night at the New Year's Party that Lando threw for all our friends and family, and being 5 months pregnant I'm exhausted and my body is sore.

Finally I'm about to get the outfit on, and I realize it's new; a beautiful cashmere long sleeved cream colored maxi dress. It flows over my body perfectly, hugging my baby bump in the best way and it's so comfortable. It's so beautiful that even though Lando told me I didn't need makeup or my hair done I had to do something. I keep my makeup simple with just some blush and highligher, and I loosely braid my hair.

When I step out of the bathroom a few minutes later, Lando is waiting for me. He's looking down at his phone until he hears me approach and when he finally looks up at me his eyes rake over me slowly until he finally reaches my eyes. He bites his lip right as I step up to him, then smiles brightly as his hands automatically come to rest on my hips.

"Thank you for the new dress." I say with a smile before leaning forward and kissing him.

"You're welcome. You look breathtaking, love." He replies and I smile shyly.

"Sit down so I can put your shoes on for you." He tells me a moment later and I roll my eyes.

"I can put my own shoes on, Lan." I argue as I sit down on the chair he's lead me to. He ignores my words and drops down to his knees in front of me, and my stomach fills with butterflies. Seeing him on his knees makes me think of him proposing, and how I so desperately want him to. I've been giving him clue after clue that I'm ready but he's happy to torture me. At this point I'm thoroughly convinced that he's not going to ask me until after the baby comes.

My thoughts turn back to the present and I silently watch as he carefully puts a pair of flats on my feet. Then he sits up and gives me one last kiss before standing and pulling me up from the chair and leading us out of the apartment, to his car, then to the marina making small talk along the way.