UNLOCKED - LANDO NORRIS [Book 3]

03

"What?" I ask confused as Charles couches in front of me whilst I stand at the entrance to the Ferrari garage.

"Get on" he indicates again.

"You're going to give me a piggy back?"

Charles turns around and gives me a deadpanned look, "Evelyn, I'm not sure if you were aware, but you had some pretty hectic surgery not too long ago, you need to be taking it easy" then he turns around, resuming his bending position.

"This feels weird" I admit as I begin to position myself behind him.

"Don't drop the pizza either" he instructs as I hold our freshly cooked pizza in one hand.

As he hoists me up, I bring the cardboard box in front of his face, securing it under his chin whilst I wrap my hands around his shoulders.

"I feel so stupid" I admit, tucking my head into the crook of his neck.

He chuckles as he sets off down the paddock and toward the furthest end.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask as we side step out the back gate.

"I saw this spot up here earlier, thought we could just escape the craziness for a bit" he informs me as we reach the base of a small hill.

When he gets to the top, he settles me down carefully before helping lower me to a seated position, facing back the way we came.

Once he moves aside and takes a seat next to me, my view becomes clear as I'm overlooking the Brazilian track, and I'm shot back into one of my dreams.

Charles readjusts the box between us, opening it as a whiff of the cheesy smell hits me back into reality. "You okay?" He asks.

"Yeah I'm fine" I lie giving him a comforting smile. "Qualifying next? How are you feeling?"

He looks at me with one eyebrow raised, "you want to talk track?"

I let out a small laugh, "trust me Charlie, there is nothing I want more than to talk track, I'm sick of talking ... this" I motion to my legs, keeping the tone light by using his hated nickname.

"Fair enough" he nods, "it should be good. Practice felt nice, but it's always different when you know you have to push, you know?"

I nod understandingly. "You'll be okay"

"Are you okay, Ev. I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but I just want to make sure. You don't seem... like... here" he asks kindly.

I let my body relax and rest my head against his shoulder, grabbing a slice of pizza and dramatically tearing off the corner with my teeth. "I'll be okay"

"Can I help in any way?" He offers.

"You can, but I know you won't" I mock.

He shoves his shoulder lightly so I'm forced to sit up and look at him. "What do you mean?"

"Tell me what this is" I let my finger flip back and forth between us.

"I don't understand?" He shakes his head confused.

I decide to test a theory. I place my pizza back down into the box, shifting my body and facing him completely. I take a deep breath and direct my hand up toward his cheek, letting it linger over the skin for a moment before allowing it to brush across his skin, feeling him immediately shudder beneath me, and watching his eyes take a form, similar to the pair of blue eyes I left back in London.

"Explain that" I push, moving my hand away.

He closes his eyes and admits defeat, "No" he finally whispers.

"Why not?" I mumble.

"It never took much to love you, but it took everything I had to walk away from you. I can't do that again. To either one of us"

Leaning back on my hands, I wiggle my feet around to fidget, giving me something else to focus on.

"The night we spent in the club, when we were dancing and drinking cocktails" I recall, he nods his head indicating he know what I'm talking about. "I felt something"

"I know" he mumbles. "But you went back to Lando anyway"

I duck my head, feeling like I was letting him down.

"It was always Lando" he states, but I don't think he was talking to me.

"I don't know if it is anymore" I admit privately, yet I know it catches in his ears.

I see his head snap to mine, "what?" He responds as if it's delicate, so fragile he may break it.

I shrug my shoulders, "I'm struggling, connecting him to all these intense feelings I'm having, but I have no problem connecting them to you" I admit. "I love him, don't get me wrong. But part of me feels like I have to, because I don't remember what it was like to fall in love with him"

"And you don't think you can fall in love with him a second time?" He asks, genuinely curious.

This causes me to shrug again, "I was advised to act on how I'm feeling now, in this version of my present, and all I know is, something keeps drawing me to you, and I don't want to give you false hope, because I don't know if it's romantic or what, but I find myself craving to be near you"

"I won't allow you to love me whilst you still love him" he groans, making it hard for him to say.

"I'm not asking you too." I shake my head.

"It was always Lando" he reveals.

"My life has been split into two. Before and After. Maybe what he and I had was just temporary, maybe it was never meant to be forever"

He lets out a scoff, "it wasn't temporary"

"How do you know?" I hiss.

"Because he broke you and you ran away to Florence. I had to pick up every single little piece of you that broke and repaired them and still, every broken piece belonged to him. No matter how much he dragged you down, or made you question yourself, you two were bound to reconnect. It's a reality I had to accept"

"Im not that person anymore" I defend.

"Yes" he breaths out, "yes you are. Of course you are, Ev. And believe me, I would love nothing more to believe every word you're saying to me, but I'd be taking advantage of your situation. If you're going to love me, I need it to be because you don't love him, not because you don't remember how you fell in love with him"