i love you • formula one

19

please comment throughout!

first person

~***~

monday, 17/08/2020

Being able to spend time with my family again was a dream. When the only two people you've really interacted with in person since March were Lando Norris and Nicholas Latifi, you tend to cherish these moments. They may be two of the sweetest men on the planet but there's only so much Formula 1 talk I can take, and I've definitely met and exceeded my quota for it during the lockdown. So much seems to have changed in such a short amount of time, on both a personal and greater scale, that returning to the familiarity of family was a blessing. We had yet to run out of things to talk about because of all of the change. It was a shame that we were brought back together under less-than-ideal circumstances, but I'd happily drop everything to help the people that I love.

Lando and Nicky may be smart, but they lack common sense. Their combined brain cells equaled two full ones, and together they decided that it would be an excellent idea to change their flight from Heathrow airport to Bristol airport so that the journey to Glastonbury was greatly reduced. What neither of them failed to realise until they were about to board their plane was that the car Nicky had drove them to Heathrow in initially (that was the airport they departed from) was still at Heathrow. They're lucky that I like them or else I wouldn't have offered to make the journey on such short notice. If it had been any longer than an hour, I'd have refused.

The plane was due to arrive into Bristol for midday so I left my house half an hour before then to give them time for baggage claim. The air was warm; perfect condition for the barbecue my mum was hosting in our garden. Although Lando didn't know, I thought it would be a nice idea to invite around the Norris family for a little reunion. I considered them family so it would also be a nice way to introduce them to Nicky as my boyfriend.

To say I was a little nervous was an understatement. My mind was so distracted by the possible scenarios of Nicky meeting my families that I forgot to fill up the tank with petrol on the way there. I only realised when Lando's car started beeping at me that the tank was empty. The car was clearly lying because I managed to make it to the airport without breaking down.

I spotted Nicky first whilst waiting in the arrival zone because he was taller than the crowds around him. He pulled a small suitcase beside him and a duffel bag was sling over his shoulder. His eyes crinkled more at the edges when he spotted me, most likely due to his smile growing underneath the face mask. He dropped both of his bags so that we could embrace. My feet left the floor for a few moments when he lifted me up to hug at his height.

"I missed you," I mumbled, nuzzling my head into Nicky's neck. Even though I had a mask covering my nose, I could still smell his cologne: slightly sweet with a hint of spice. "Sorry about your race."

Unfortunately for Nicky, he had to retire halfway through the race with an engine issue of some kind. It was really disappointing to watch because I know how hard he had been working towards the race. "Nah, it's okay," he said dismissively, pulling away from the hug. "At least the next race can't go any worse."

"Don't tempt fate," Lando interrupted before I could reply. I turned my head from Nicky to look at my best friend. He was standing with an expectant look in his eyes (the rest of his face was concealed by a tight, black face mask). "So," he stuck his arms out, "aren't you going to congratulate me?"