slow down | lando norris

twenty-three.

All Lexi could do was laugh at the scene unfolding in front of her. Lily held her hand out to Alex expectantly as he fished around in his pocket for his wallet. Concurrently, Lando voiced his own disappointment at the fact that his friend had no faith in his ability to charm Lexi.

"I can't believe you actually bet on our personal lives like that," Lexi chuckled, shaking her head as Alex handed his girlfriend a crisp hundred-dollar bill.

"Please, I've known you two would end up together since day one. Call it woman's intuition," Lily retorted, kissing her hard-earned cash before pocketing it.

Apparently, since their last night out at the bar in Bahrain, Lily and Alex had made a bet on whether or not Lexi and Lando would become an item by the end of the season. Lily fully backed the idea that the two would eventually end up together, while Alex hoped for the opposite.

This was not something Lexi was expecting to find out when she convinced Lando to make an extra stop in LA for this dinner with Lily and Alex to tell them the news.

"More importantly, I can't believe Alex bet against us," Lando interjected, the sense of betrayal evident in his voice. He fully expected his friend to back him, especially after how much he had talked about her after their Thailand encounter.

Alex shook his head, clearly feeling wronged about the accusation. "To be clear, I didn't doubt your feelings for Lexi. They were very clear. I simply hoped that she had higher standards and would reject you," he defended.

That made Lexi laugh even harder, to the point where her eyes watered just a bit. "Thank you for having such high opinions of me, Alex. Although, I am very sorry that my heart fell short of your expectations."

With a nod of understanding, Alex reached his hand over the table for Lexi to shake. He didn't have to say it out loud for Lexi to realize he was silently sending condolences to her for the simple fact that she was stuck with Lando. She shook his hand firmly, nodding and accepting the message as is.

"Is this an insult to me or to Lex?" Lando questioned.

Lexi sighed and placed a hand over his that was resting on her thigh. "Definitely both of us. He's saying my taste in men is shit and you are indeed a downgrade."

This time, Lily was the one to laugh, playfully hitting Alex's arm in the process. "Keep quiet. You're going to cause a fight between them if you don't stop."

"Me? A downgrade? As if," Lando scoffed, shooting a pointed look at Alex. "I'm a fucking catch."

Lexi almost spit out her water at the blind confidence of the man next to her while Lily snorted, failing to stifle her laugh. Alex gave a sarcastic agreement, causing the two of them to break off into their own tiff. Something about bros supporting each other or whatever.

Lily leaned across the table towards Lexi, causing her to instinctively lean in as well. "I call dibs on any free time you have next week. We need some extensive girl time without these two fools," she winked.

Lexi nodded enthusiastically. It had been far too long since the two of them had their fun, especially without the boys essentially breathing down their necks. "It's time we stir up from trouble," she agreed with a grin.

"Absolutely no going out to the bars," Lando said sternly, overhearing his girlfriend's comment about trouble. The memory of their last bar experience resurfaced to the front of his mind. Now that they were out in the open, he could openly object to the idea of being surrounded by men that weren't him.

"Agreed. God knows what kind of shots you'll end up taking with random men," Alex chimed in.

Both the girls fake pouted at their boyfriend. They truly were no fun, were they? It's not like any harm was done the last time they sat at that bar together. Lexi hadn't even given that guy her number in the end.