That weekend...

chapter nine

Lando's POV

The roaring cheers of racing fans slowly began to fade and the sound of garages being dismantled replaced them. I sat on the floor of my drivers room alone. Sweat lined my forehead and soaked the few curls that fell down.

As I collected my thoughts, most negative but some positive I couldn't help but feel guilty. Guilty for letting my team down, they deserve points. My phone chimed every so often but I didn't bother to look at it yet.

I changed into the orange hi-vis t-shirt and made my way back to the pits to help tidy up. I couldn't stay long because of the boat party but i'd feel even guiltier if I didn't even attempt to help.

I wonder if she'll be at the party. I wonder what she'll wear. She could wear a potato sack and make it look hauntingly beautiful. Even in a room full of people she chooses to give me her attention. Why me? I know she's been to many races, and many drivers have made a play for her but she's turned them down. Lex could be so much happier with one of them. Tall, confident and wealthy, although they probably wouldn't be able to humour her as much as I do. I feel almost foolish for falling this far after a few days. The spoon was probably one of the smartest, wittiest gifts i'd ever gotten. The grin on her face when she gave it to me is something i'll never forget. The scarf it came in was still wrapped around my wrist. It smelt like her perfume; cool and floral. It definitely stood out. Does she feel the same way?

I became so caught up in my thoughts that I had no idea Joel was talking to me.

"Well well well, what's with the red cheeks Norris?" he joked playfully nudging me with his elbow.

"Shut up" I managed to spew out in a failed attempt to defend myself however my smile and laughter broke through.

"What's on your mind? Your expression changed like 50 times in 2 minutes," Joel queried.

"You can't tell anyone yeah?" he responded with a nod and moved closer so I wouldn't have to speak as loud, "Its been a few days and I like her, but I don't know if she feels the same way."

"She stayed throughout the whole race. She was on the edge of her seat the whole time, she was with Charlotte. The two of them held hands because it was so tense. She was so nervous she almost ripped Charlotte's hand off," he said with a chuckle, "I can see the scarf round your wrist, looks expensive. People don't usually give stuff like that away unless they really care about someone. Plus you can't put a time limit on feelings. I knew within a week that I wanted my girlfriend to be my girlfriend. Everyone's different. But if you're unsure ask her how she feels tonight." Joel's wisdom left me speechless for a few seconds but ultimately he was right. If I didn't ask I would never know.

The silence in my hotel room was deafening. It made my heart beat faster than before. I had just over an hour to get ready and leave for tonight's event. My tuxedo was hung behind the door and I felt even more exhausted just by looking at it. As I was about to put my phone down I got one more message:

Salut, I'm going to Lance's thing tonight hopefully I'll see you there - xo Drina

With some hesitation I managed to craft a response:

Hey I look forward to seeing you there!

As soon as I pressed send I instantly regretted what i'd said. It sounded so stiff and formal, almost like I was a cadet. Should I have mentioned that I wanted to talk to her about the way I felt? Anyway it's too late now I'll just have to wish myself luck since only Joel knew my current concerns.

As I walked through my hotel lobby towards to extravagantly decorated exit I couldn't help but nervously fiddle with the buttons on my blazer and constantly adjust my hair and my bowtie, which was a pain in the arse to tie by the way.