Lando Norris has known Stephania Anderson almost his whole life, but the childhood friends had a rough falling out when she started dating his then teammate. Now four years later, he finds himself back in her life and he has to deal with the feelin...
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65. Get Off My Phone
Another week had drifted by, and the memories of that night in New York still clung to Stephania, stubborn and complicated. The chaos of it all—the near miss with the car, Carlos pulling her from harm's way, that damn kiss, and the way her heart had pounded with a confusing mix of relief, fear, and attraction. And then, somehow, they'd ended up back at his hotel room. The pull between them was still there, undeniable, but Stephania had made sure to stay in control, determined not to fall back into the same trap. Surprisingly, Carlos had respected that. He'd accepted her boundaries without a fight, taking the couch without complaint while she had the bed.
Days blurred together as Stephania retreated into her own little bubble, avoiding the outside world. She hadn't opened her social media in days, too afraid of what might be waiting. The only voices she'd let into her isolation were those of Carlos, Laila, and Mick. She'd only reached out to Laila and Mick because they'd been the ones she'd come to New York with in the first place. After that night, Stephania had needed to confide in someone, and Laila had been there to listen.
Talking to Laila had been like releasing a valve. She told her everything—the look in Carlos' eyes, the kiss that hadn't made sense, the weight of guilt she couldn't shake. She wasn't naive; she knew Laila didn't fully approve and was probably fighting not to judge her. But she also didn't interrupt or question her feelings, just listened, and Stephania couldn't have been more grateful for that.
In those conversations, Stephania tried to make sense of it all—why she'd let herself get swept up that night, why Carlos's presence still seemed to have this power over her. But no matter how she spun it, there was no neat answer. All she knew was that, despite the pull, despite the tangled emotions, she couldn't go down that path again.
Stephania had tried to reach out to Lando countless times. She wasn't trying to explain or justify anything; she simply missed him. The friendly banter, the late-night talks, the little intimacies they'd shared that had made her feel closer to him than anyone else. She needed that closeness now more than ever. Every time something reminded her of him—a silly video, a meme she knew he'd laugh at, or even just a picture of something random that would have sparked one of their never-ending chats—she'd send it over, hoping for a response. But her messages sat unanswered, he hadn't even bothered to open them. Each time, her heart sank a little lower, though she couldn't really blame him. She figured he'd seen the rumors online, and his silence was his answer. It was the reaction she deserved, she supposed.
She'd gone offline herself, partly at her manager's urging but mostly because she couldn't bear to see the headlines. She already knew what they'd say, the assumptions people would make. And for once, she was strong enough to resist the urge to dive into the flood of public opinion, to avoid drowning in everyone's judgments about what she should or shouldn't be doing. She'd learned the hard way how devastating it could be, how every comment chipped away at her, especially when things were already complicated.
