I woke up only to feel my head pounding. I didn't dare open my eyes as I knew the light would destroy me. I waited a good couple minutes before slowly peeling my eyes open. I looked around my room, not moving an inch. After gathering myself enough to stand and walk to the bathroom, I threw back some aspirin in hopes that my headache would go away soon. From the eerie silence filling the apartment, I knew Nadine was still sleeping.
Walking back to my room and laying back in bed, I grab my phone. 1pm, holy hell. Thank god it was only Saturday. Even though I don't begin work for another week. I opened Instagram and noticed some posts that I was tagged in. I went through and liked all of them. One notification in particular, caught my eye. Lando had requested to follow me. He must have seen me tagged on a post. I sighed tapping on his profile. He was verified. Formula one driver for McLaren. How did I not recognize him? Not only was I a fan of Motorsport but I lived in Monaco for 2 years. My cheeks heat up thinking about last night, feeling as though I probably made a fool of myself. I mean I guess it couldn't have been that bad seeing as he and most of last nights group had followed me. I had already accepted everyone's follow last night. I had to accept Lando's as well. If I didn't it would look weird. It wasn't like anything even happened. With that, I set my phone down to get ready. Maybe a shower was what I needed as well.
As I twirled my hair up with a towel, I sat at my vanity looking over my skin. I knew I was a beautiful girl but as most of us do, I couldn't help just pick myself apart. I sighed in disappointment. I had always been someone who was sure of themselves. The past year had been a tough one for me. It left me questioning everything about myself and if I was in fact good enough.
Leaving my hair up to dry, I grabbed my phone as I had put on some fresh clothes. A message from Lando? Good god. He has simply asked how I was doing. Shrugging, I responded that I was doing well. Now that the medicine had kicked in, I was feeling like a person.
Lando responded quicker than I would have liked. He had asked if I remember last night. With an eye roll and a chuckle, I let him know that I unfortunately did. We stayed messaging back and forth throughout the afternoon into the evening. I tried not to focus on how he was practically a celebrity. He seemed okay, definitely a joker possibly a player. Maybe I needed someone like that to lighten things up once in a while. Even if I just keep it on a friend basis. Judging on how big of a flirt he seemed to me, I would need to keep it at friends.
"So what did you and Lando get up to? I saw him pull you away." Nadine asked, trying not to sound interested but I knew she was. I couldn't tell if the tone was playful or annoyance yet. I wouldn't tell her we had spent all day talking unless it was playful.
"He took me upstairs just to get to know me better. I didn't spill much." I shrug, taking a bite of my pasta.
"So he wasn't trying to get you to go home with him?" She asked and I could sense a bit of confusion in her tone.
"No. I mean sure he was a little flirty but nothing like that." I say shaking my head. I thought back to the snide comment he made about if he'd rather me just have him suggest to come home with him. I decided to keep that to myself as I couldn't tell what angle Nadine was coming home from. We hadn't talked of Lando ever so I wasn't sure.
"Just be careful with him. He'll try to use you and once he's done, he'll pretend like you don't exist." She warns with a cold tone making me bite the inside of my lip.
"Did something happen between the two of you?" I questioned, trying to see if I could figure out more as to why she was acting so hostile towards him.
"No." She said keeping it short before getting up. I stared at her empty seat dumbfounded as my phone buzzed once again. Lando. With a sigh I decide to ignore it for now.
"Hey, can I come in?" I say knocking on Nadine's door. After dinner I watched a movie alone and wanted to make sure she was okay.
"Yeah!" I hear my best friend yell. She's picking out her work outfit for tomorrow.
"I just wanted to check on you." I say taking a seat on her bed.
"I'm okay, I'm sorry if I seemed off." She said coming up beside me. "I'm just not lando's biggest fan." She said. I didn't know why she wouldn't tell me, but I didn't want to push her.
"Hug?" I say opening my arms. She grins and flings herself at me causing both of us to laugh out loud. We sat and talked for a while before I told her to get some sleep.
Since I still have a week before starting at Lamborghini, my bedtime was limitless. Pulling out my phone I decided to look at the message lando sent me hours ago. He wanted to get lunch. I laid back in bed staring up at the ceiling. Should I get lunch? I reminded myself, friends, before sending a quick confirmation. I laid there contemplating. Was this the right move, was it not? Nadine said nothing happened between them. Maybe I could get more information out of lando. I scrolled through his instagram a little. He looked like he was enjoying life, and his f1 career was really taking off. Still no wins, but a few podiums and plenty of smiles. Deciding that I didn't want to be a stalker, I closed out of the app and opened my laptop to watch a random movie on Netflix to lull me to sleep.
Upon waking up, Nadine was already gone at work. Lando and I had exchanged a few messages and I was on my way to the gym. I would have time for a good workout before meeting Lando at 1 for lunch.
On my way back to the apartment, I called home. Family was something that was so important to me. I was so appreciative of them for the support they showed when I left home. My brother and I were the first people in our family to go to college. We were both so blessed to have fallen into the situations that we did. My brother went to school in Mexico City to study biology and went on to get his doctorate to become an optometrist. Our family by no means came from money. For most of our lives, we lived in a small 3 bedroom apartment with my grandparents, my dad even working 2 jobs. My brother had just bought his first home a couple years ago after finishing med school and getting his job. He moved our parents in with him. Our parents instilled the importance of education. I had only been back 3 times in the past 7 years. When I left home to go to school in America, it was dangerous in Mexico, not that it's not now, but it was much worse. My parents understood and wanted me safe. With my brother moving homes, they were in a much safer area so I hope to visit soon. Now the problem is is that I am on the opposite side of the world. I missed them and mexico dearly, sometimes thinking about what would have happened if I never left. Who I would be, what I would do. I thought of my friends, most importantly Nadine. If I never left home, I would have never met her. Everything happens for a reason.
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My birthday gift to you! A new chapter done and uploaded. Thank you for reading and I really hope you are enjoying.. now that all the groundwork is laid, the story will start to progress. I hope you all have a wonderful week, cheers!
All the Best,
Gaby. x
