Pit Stop [LANDO NORRIS]

19

AVERY

I could feel the tension in the air, thick enough to choke on, as Lando stepped into my room. The door clicked shut behind him with a soft thud, and for a moment, I was frozen, unsure of what to do next. My heart thumped against my chest, a rhythm I couldn't control, and all I could think was: What now?

Lando was just standing there, by the bed, hands shoved into his jacket pockets. His dark eyes caught mine almost immediately, and it felt like an electric shock shot straight through me. There was something in the way he looked at me, something more than casual curiosity. A warmth, maybe even a little hunger, but cloaked in humor, as if he was trying to make light of the tension between us.

He smiled, that lazy, confident smile that had this way of making everything around him feel like it was dimming in comparison. He flops himself down on one side of the bed, kicking his shoes off and stretching his legs out in front of him, crossing his ankles and folding his arms loosely behind his head. 

 "You really gonna let me sit here alone?" His voice was light, teasing, but there was something beneath it. A challenge, maybe. Or maybe just the sound of someone unsure of how to handle whatever was going on between us.

I blinked, trying to ground myself. "I—uh...," I stutters, my words coming out a little more breathy than I'd intended. I was suddenly aware of how close he was, but also how far apart we still were. The space between us felt like a canyon, yet he'd closed it so much just by being in the room.

"You look so tense," he said, eyes glinting with amusement. "Not that scary, am I?"

I chuckled, though it felt more like a nervous exhale than actual laughter. "You're not... that scary," I echoed, glancing over at him. My voice was quieter than I meant it to be, my heart still hammering. He tilted his head to the side, watching me, and something in the way he studied me made my stomach twist with anticipation.

He raised an eyebrow, as if daring me to argue, but I wasn't about to. Instead, I grabbed the remote, feeling the need to fill the space between us with something else. "Wanna watch something?" I asked, just a bit too eager. Walking around to the other side of the bed and sitting down on the edge of it, kind of now regretting this outfit. 

He nodded, then slid over, but not too close. Just... enough that the distance felt a little less absurd. "Sure. You pick."

I didn't know what I wanted to watch. All I could think about was how the air between us had shifted—how he was still too far away, but it felt like something was pulling him closer. Slowly, tentatively, I scooted toward the middle of the bed. He followed, moving in small increments, until we were both near the center, but still not close enough for my liking.

Finally, I put on a movie, something easy and light, a comedy I'd seen a hundred times before, hoping it would ease the tension and make everything less... charged.

But the closer we got, the more aware I became of every little movement. Every subtle shift of his body, the way his leg brushed against mine when he settled in a bit more. The air between us felt charged, like if we weren't careful, something might crack and shatter, and the whole room would burn up in the aftermath.

Lando nudged my shoulder, a playful, almost teasing touch that made my skin tingle. "You sure you're alright?" he asked, his voice low. He didn't even sound like he was teasing anymore. There was concern in his eyes, something softer than the humor he'd been throwing around earlier.

I nodded, barely trusting myself to speak. "Yeah. Just... you know. Trying not to freak out." I laughed lightly, but it was shaky. My hands were restless, and I found myself gripping the blanket, trying to steady my breathing.