Amaranthine - [L. Norris]

0.1 || Kiss

Lando looked at Fiorenza as they were seated in the restaurant. He had picked an Italian one for their second date in London. The place cute, cozy and intimate, tables close to each other. Dimmed lighting in the restaurant and light bulbs hanging on a line through the area. She bathed in the soft beams of light, her eyes seeming to light up even more. Her hair hung down her shoulders, covering her skin that the knitted sweater left exposed. He couldn't understand how her beauty was so effortless. With every breath, every flutter of her eyelashes, she became more beautiful. "Fiorenza...". He hummed, reaching for her hand over the table. Fiorenza smiled at him, loving the way he pronounced her name. "Si, Lando?". She asked and he loved the way she spoke some Italian. "You look angelic right now". Lando said and it made her smile widely. "Grazie, tesoro mio". Fiorenza replied.

Their dishes were served and Fiorenza had asked for a glass of wine. She was eighteen, a year younger than he was, yet the waitress hadn't questioned her age. It was because she looked like a woman already. She looked mature, adolescent. Lando felt like a boy compared to her. As if he was a child. "What's that frown for?". Fiorenza asked and her head cocked a bit sideways, looking at him while her fork was turning into the tagliatelle pasta on her plate. Lando lifted his eyes to hers. "I was just thinking about how...". Lando didn't want to say it, his cheeks coloring rosy. "How much more mature you look than me". He decided to put it that way. "You're older than I am, Lando". Fiorenza let out a small giggle. "You don't look childish. You look strong and handsome". She said and he wondered how she could compliment him without blushing like he did each time he called her beautiful. Which was a lot of times.

Lando looked at her for a moment, his eyes gliding over her features. His lips quirked upwards as he saw she wasn't teasing him or saying those things to calm him down. She meant it. He felt warmth filling his chest and he poked his fork in his spaghetti, about to take his knife to cut it. "Oh no!". Fiorenza gasped and he almost dropped his cutlery, his eyes wide. "You cannot cut your spaghetti, it's a sin!". She started to giggle and he automatically laughed. "Show me how the Italians eat it". Lando said and she loosened her fingers from her cutlery to wrap them around his hands. "Curl the pasta around your fork". Fiorenza said, twirling his fingers to get a roll of spaghetti around his fork. "Then you put your knife far away". She sternly spoke, which made him smile. "And shove the roll on your spoon to eat it". Fiorenza let go of his hands as he moved his spoon to his mouth. She went back to her own dish and watched how he tried it himself.

He had such a good time with her at the restaurant, he wished their time there didn't have to end. Fiorenza had another glass of wine after the dinner and her cheeks had colored naturally rosy from the alcohol. They left the restaurant half an hour before it closed. Lando's hand moved down her arm as they walked over the pavement to his car in the parking garage. Their fingers linked together and Fiorenza smiled up at him, glad he wanted to hold her hand. They were dating for about a month now and she had loved every second of it. "Can I stay with you?". She asked as he opened the car door for her. "You want to stay at my place tonight?". Lando asked and she nodded. His thoughts briefly began to wander and his cheeks turned crimson. "Y-yes, of course. I have a spare room, I can sleep there or I can take the couch or-...". "Lando, we can sleep in your bed. Together. Resting is not a sin, unlike cutting your pasta". That made him chuckle.

"Okay". Lando said and she smiled and she sat down in the leather seat. He sat down behind the steering wheel and started the car. The ride to Surrey wasn't long at all, the highway to there quiet just before midnight. There was a silent resting between them, but it wasn't uneasy at all. His hand rested in hers in her lap and he felt relax. Lando looked over at her every now and then, noticing that she looked sleepy. "Almost there". He muttered when he stopped at the traffic lights a couple blocks away from his house. Fiorenza hummed in response and looked out of the window. She lived in London herself. She worked for the Paddock-club in F1, not for McLaren, yet she and Lando often met during the raceweekends. Fiorenza had never visited Surrey before. Lando had told her he settled here to be close to the MTC and the airport at the same time. London Heathrow was at an easy driving distance anyway. Lando turned his McLaren onto the porch of his apartment, the garage doors automatically opening.

He parked it carefully before turning the engine off. They both got out of the car and he led her inside his house. This was the first time she came over to his place. It looked a bit basic, yet messy and boyish. It was clear that his mother left him to be responsible for his own mess. "Yeah, ehm... Sorry about the stuff". Lando chuckled and moved his hand to the back of his neck. "Wasn't expecting you to come with me. Let me tidy up a bit". He said and quickly took some things off the table, put a glass on the counter in the dishwasher and patted the cushions on the sofa. Fiorenza smiled at him, wandering through the ground floor of his apartment. She looked at some pictures on his walls, of his family and some friends. Of himself during other periods of his racing career. "Do you want to go upstairs?". Lando asked. "To sleep". He quickly added, not wanting to give her wrong signals. Fiorenza giggled softly and nodded. "I'm tired". She said with a yawn.

Lando smiled and walked in front of her up the stairs. His bed had been neatly made, some pieces of clothing lying on the floor, but the rest was cleaned up. His simulator with big computer screens stood in the corner. "I have some clothes for you to sleep in. The bathroom is around the corner if you want to get changed now". Lando said, handing her one of his shirts and a pair of shorts. "Thank you". Fiorenza smiled and got into his bathroom. It was spacious for someone living here alone, but she admired the grey marble that spread out from the shower to the bathtub and the sink. She got changed into his clothes, which were a bit too big for her, but fitted okay to sleep in anyway. Fiorenza folded her jeans and her sweater, placing them on his desk with her shoes next to it. Lando was in his bed on his phone, but he placed it on the nightstand and turned to her as soon as she joined him. Fiorenza pulled her side of the duvet over her body and looked at him with a smile. "I loved tonight". She started. "Me too". Lando replied.

"I feel so comfortable with you". Fiorenza added and honestly, to him that sounded just as good as an 'I love you'. Lando looked into her eyes with a smile, his hand reaching to caress her face. She shuffled a bit closer to him, her palm landing on his firm, bare chest. His skin felt so smooth, so flawless beneath her hand. "Can I... Can I kiss you, Fiorenza?". Lando asked, swallowing hard. She nodded slowly, her heart beating a little faster. Lando moved closer to her and he looked at her lips. He pushed his nerves aside and dipped his head down to press his lips against hers. He pecked them once before looking at her, not daring to deepen it. Fiorenza smiled at him, pecking his lips again and they giggled. The cuddled up to each other under the sheets and she rested her head on his chest, hearing his heart steadily beating.