Tangled in Trophies- Lando Norris

29. Awkward car rides

They'd shared glances, shared laughs, even shared conversations in other languages. It wasn't just about friends or work anymore. There was something electric about the way she looked at him sometimes, the way her smile lingered or her laughter felt warm against the air. He could feel his pulse quicken whenever he allowed himself to think about it.

"Hey," he said, breaking the silence. His voice came out softer than he meant. "You alright?"

Evangeline turned her head toward him, startled from her thoughts. Her voice was steady but uncertain. "Yeah, just... a little tired, I guess."

Lando nodded, but he could sense that wasn't the whole truth. The tension in the air was subtle, but it was there.

They drove in silence for a few moments. The sound of the tires against the smooth asphalt filled the gap. Lando's eyes darted briefly toward her—she looked relaxed, but there was something about her expression that tugged at his mind. He could feel her gaze on the world outside the window, her thoughts clouded.

He forced himself to focus on the road but couldn't shake the feeling. His voice came again, hesitant this time. "I'm glad you came tonight."

Evangeline glanced at him, startled. "Yeah? I wasn't sure how I'd fit into all of that," she admitted quietly. "It was nice though. Good to step into that world for a bit."

They fell into a comfortable rhythm again for a few miles, the sound of the engine and the occasional shift in gears the only sound between them. But Lando couldn't shake the idea that her words felt a little too careful, a little too deliberate.

It wasn't long before Lando found himself speaking again. "You know, I never thought I'd have someone like you sitting next to me on a drive like this."

The words hung in the air, and he immediately regretted them. His voice sounded uncertain, even vulnerable. His heart twisted, and he tried to shift gears mentally.

"I mean, not in a bad way," he added quickly, glancing at her. "You're cool. Easy to be around."

Evangeline swallowed, her lips pressing into a thin line. His words lingered in her mind, and her chest tightened. Cool. Easy to be around. She wasn't sure if the casual way he said it was meant to mean anything, but the undertones felt intentional to her.

She tried to play it off, her own voice light. "Well, I guess that's a first, then."

Her words hit the air in the small space of the car, and she wondered if he could hear the hesitation behind them. The truth was, she wasn't sure either—how much of this was just connection, a shared moment, or if there was something real happening between them.

The road stretched out before them again, headlights painting swaths of light on the pavement. Lando's hands were firm on the wheel, his shoulders tense. Evangeline's hand wandered briefly to her necklace, fiddling with the small silver pendant as though it would provide some kind of grounding.

When Lando spoke again, his voice was careful, deliberate. "You're leaving in three days, right?"

Evangeline's head turned toward him, her expression unreadable. "Yeah. I've got a match to prepare for. It'll be back to business as usual after that." Her voice was calm, but it carried a note of finality that hit Lando harder than he expected.

He found himself gripping the wheel tighter. "I guess you're busy all the time," he said, forcing a casual tone. His own voice felt strange, unnatural, like he was trying to stay neutral despite the pull he felt every time he looked at her.

"I guess," she said, her voice quiet.

The tension lingered in the air between them, growing heavier with every mile. Lando could feel her words like a weight: Business as usual. He wasn't sure why that phrase unsettled him. Maybe because it made him feel like he was a blip in her world, a passing moment without permanence. Or maybe it was because he didn't want that to be true.