Title from: Flip a switch by Raye
Carla
When Lando explained he was at a house party this is not what I pictured it to be. To me, house parties have always been a parents house taken over with rowdy teenagers, or a few drinks in a kitchen lit by a disco ball bulb before the place was abandoned for the pounding music of a club. They certainly were not set in a London Penthouse with professional sound systems and actual decks for any wannabe dj's (Lando included). They didn't come with what is practically a professional light display and a kitchen full of free alcohol. The place is that full of people I'm pretty sure it could be considered a health and safety hazard somewhere. I'm curious to how Martin even knows this many people well enough to invite them to his birthday, I'm not convinced I've met this many in my whole life.
"This isn't what I expected." I announce to Lando with wide eyes as I pour myself a drink from the wide selection available in the kitchen area. The two bottles of cava I brought, left over from the earlier event have gotten lost somewhere since I entered mere minutes ago. It's left me with no choice but to reach for the tequila and follow it with a splash of pineapple juice.
"What?" Lando asks not catching my words, his voice loud and yet muffled by the scream of a group of girls singing 'wannabe' by the Spice Girls. I vaguely recognise one of them as Lilly, a friend of Amber and ex girlfriend of Charles Leclerc. The same Charles who has practically disappeared from everything outside of racing since their parting; I've heard Lando complain about it at least twice, George mentioned it once. I spent a few hours with Lilly in the paddock at the start of the year so at least the place isn't filled with strangers, I guess? A couple of people brush past us yelling their own conversations making me wince slightly, unprepared for this level of volume.
"I said;" I lean into Lando's ear slightly. "This isn't what I expected." I repeat my words - a little louder with a grin, pulling away from Lando's ear. He shrugs with the words, shoulders unwinding before his hand reaches for me, pressing into the blue shimmering material hanging on my body, keeping me close so our conversation can continue without being knocked further by strangers.
"What did you expect? Some kids sitting around playing beer pong?" He asks loudly and I laugh through the sip of my drink. Perfect.
"Would you be offended if I said yes?" I joke to which Lando laughs and shoved my shoulder playfully. The sound comes over the music and yells of the group of girls singing. I feel like it's the first thing I've heard from him clearly since he met me at the front door of the building. The familiarity is nice.
"You're okay, right?" Lando asks for the second time since we've been side by side. This time his breath grazes softly against the shell of my ear, the soft brush of air forcing a shiver down my spine and goosebumps rise up on my skin. It's cooler than I thought it would be in here. I tug at the hem of the blue dress I'd made specifically for tonight, I never imagined tonight would end up with me here. Much less without George by my side. I feel overdressed compared to some of the girls in jeans and boots, others in short dresses and comfortable trainers I'm only half envious of.
"Let me torture George a little and I'll be fine!" I cheer with forced enthusiasm. The smile my words come with feels tense and uncomfortable on my face and Lando seems to see right through it. Torturing George is the polite version of what I want to happen. I've been silently picturing that Mercedes W14 he's so obsessed with hitting him at various speeds since the end of our earlier phone call. Toto also stood at his side in my current preferred scenario. Lando's hand rubs a soothing circle on my back brining me back to Earth. He reaches for the same bottle of tequila I just used to fill my cup before setting it in front of me.
"I'll help you with that." He declares, gesturing to the bottle of clear liquid in front of us as he reaches for two empty red party cups to his left. I smile at the implied suggestion from Lando, reaching for the bottle and tipping a healthy amount of the tequila into them without so much of a word. I watch carefully as Lando puffs out a breath of preparation for the drink, cringing in anticipation of the liquid he's about to down in an effort to make me feel better. I appreciate it a lot.
"What do we cheers to?" He asks, leaning down to speak into my ear again. Lando seems closer this time, voice louder to climb over the volume of the music. The proximity of his body against mine allows me to catch a hint of his spiced vanilla aftershave. It's unfamiliar but good, really good.
I swallow slowly, weighing up the liquid in my hands, the fumes of the alcohol hitting me. I can't help the way my nose twists a little too. It's not the worst, but it's no Cabernet Sauvignon - that's the level I'm used to these days. "We cheers to..." Lando's eyes stay fixed on me as I think over my words, the anger at George still twisting somewhere in my chest. "to making George realise what he's missing!" I yell. Immediately there's entertainment dancing on Lando's face, the laugh he wants to let out being held back. He knows George deserves it, he'd already mumbled about him being a 'fucking prick' on the elevator up here, he just doesn't want to admit it again. Maybe it feels inappropriate. Then Lando smiles, raises his cup to mine in what would be 'clink' if we were trusted with glasses.
The two of us down the alcohol without another word. He splutters half way through the drink, forcing himself to tilt the cup up at a steeper angle and finish the generous 'shot' with a disapproving huff. I try not to let his quiet choke distract me too much, pushing the giggle desperate to slip from me back before swallowing the second mouthful of the sweet-edged harsh liquid (with a little more ease than him).
"I fucking hate tequila." Lando chokes when I toss the empty cup back on the bench infront of us. My chest heaves with my heavy inhale, my throat is burning with the remnants of alcohol there as my eyes widen.
"Well why did you put it there?!" I call to him over the music my mouth falling open in shock and slight worry for Lando. The same Lando who only shrugs at my question as if it's nothing, before closing his eyes for a composing breath.
"I know you like it." Is all he says, as if that's all the explanation I could ever need for him presenting the liquid he hates to me. I just shake my head in slight disbelief at him, my lips tilting up into a smile I can't fight. It could be the alcohol beginning to swirl in my brain, or it could just be that no matter what he always knows the right thing to say to me but I suddenly want to envelope Lando in a tight hug. I'm not sure I've ever been considered by someone so much in my whole life. He's so thoughtful.
The problem is, even when considering the night I've had: the tears I've shed, and the understanding response from Lando, I have to remind myself of his friendships with George. I only know Lando because of George. Above all I have to consider that Lando is George's friend before mine. And whilst our newly formed friendship may have pulled us close, it will never be to the level of his and George's. It's unfair to try and pull him into anything between George and I.
"You're so stupid." I settle on instead of pulling Lando close, watching as his eyebrow quirks at the teased words.
"Some would say considerate." Lando counters with another flash of his eyebrows his hand still pressed into my back as someone skirts around the two of us reaching for a bottle of vodka with a squeaked 'sorry!'. My grin doesn't fade. "I just wanted to see what Max meant when he said you're measures almost killed him." I roll my eyes at the explanation. If I were feeling more talkative and less devastated I think I'd tease him about his regret of missing Ollie's party eight months ago.
"Are you ever going to let that go?" Is all I can come up with. Lando shrugs at my question then after another beat shakes his head. I can barely remember the event and it feels like the only thing I've talked about with him today. "Well? What's your verdict?" I ask, this time leaning up to catch Lando's ear feeling as though the volume of the music has increased slightly now the screeching of Spice Wags has concluded. My mouth is suddenly struggling to keep up with the words in my mind and based on the slow cautious look Lando sends me he's noticed too.
The alcohol has hit me.
"Deathly." I barely hear the almost frowned word from him, but I see his mouth curve around it. His eyes drifts down me and around the space around the two of us after the word, a silent shake of his head. I see the smile he fights when he raises his original red cup filled with something and Diet Coke to his lips. The entertainment in just watching Lando almost makes me forget about the pain in my chest that's been eating at me from the moment I answered George's call ninety minutes ago. Almost.
The sharp shards of my broken heart are still prickly and sting when I think about it for too long.
As if sensing the change in my mood Lando nudges my bare shoulder with his clothed one. His shirt is soft against my skin and I'm too busy thinking about the gentle fabric to watch as he slides some dark lensed sunglasses over his sparkling blue eyes. "Let's go Carls!" He cheers with a grasp of my shoulder, guiding away from the makeshift kitchen bar to the busier living room.
There are so many bodies crowded in it leaves me a little wide eyed as I take three more large gulps from the red cup in my hands. It looks more like a club than a relaxing area to sit down in after a long day. Multicoloured lights dart around the room and every fifth step we take, pushing through people singing, dancing and laughing amongst friends I get a brief scent of Jaeger bombs which. Lando drops my shoulder for a second and I stall in my place, as if lost without any contact and guidance from him. His body presses into mine from behind as if guarding me from all the others in the room. As I turn my head to look back for help I hear him call 'give them here', and when his touch returns to my upper arm it comes paired with one of the short jaeger bomb glasses and a daring flash of his eyes.
I'm not sure where this side of Lando has come from, before his break up with Luisa he used to complain that a merry glass of wine made him feel sick - clearly that's changed. I'm not complaining about it, it's the encouragement I need. I down the sweet liquid without a second thought, encouraged by watching Lando downing his own shot. When I pass the cup back to him I'm giddy with the impressed smile sent my way from Lando.
"Hey! You're here!" Pietra is beaming at me as soon as we reach the corner all Lando's friends are sat. She's bouncing at my side and sways far more than she did when we first met earlier. I'm guessing that's because of the liquid being endlessly passed around the room. I doubt I'm far behind her. "You look so good!" She cheers her hand slipping into mine and tugging slightly until I spin around infront of her. She 'ooh's at the action and I feel my cheeks heating with the compliments that follow from the others. I vaguely recognise various faces but not enough to remember names. My chest sinks with relief that Pietra hasn't brought up or even hinted at George or our date night she was so enthusiastic over just hours ago, and is instead entirely focused on me. Pride fills me again at the compliment, a reminder of how I felt when I first put the dress on earlier tonight. How I should have felt all night long.
"C'mon," without another word Pietra is pulling me towards a group of other girls without even consulting me.
I dance with P and the other girls until my feet throb from the heels on my feet. The blinding multicoloured lights spin in my mind in time with the music, even when my eyes are closed. Even with the ache on my toes and the balls of my feet, when Pietra grasps my hand and spins me under her arm I squeak and oblige every single time, sipping between giggles at the clumsy actions.
Every time my cup is empty Lando escorts me back to the kitchen for a refill, his strong arms protecting me from any shoves or stumbles. I lose my footing twice and twist my ankle a little on my final entrance to the kitchen. Lando catches me each time, lifting me by my elbow without so much of a grunt of complaint or huff. "Careful Carls." He warns, his own slightly slurred words hitting the shell of my ear and making a shiver run down my spine.
"Sorry." I mumble the word slowly regaining my balance as I reach the kitchen counter. With the stable surface to cling to I regain my balance easily. I flex my ankle without so much of a wince, I barely even felt the roll of it. Just the three inch lower in my height. "Sorry." I repeat the word about as weak as I feel.
"It's alright, you're fine." Lando appears back at my side, I recognise his voice, but my eyes don't focus on his face for another few seconds, his features a slight blur until I blink away the smudge of pink light from my eyes. Even then there's 2 of him. "I think you should head home Carls." Lando's voice hits me and it takes a moment longer than it should for me to process the words.
"Why?" I'm frowning. The sudden thought of being sent back to the flat belonging to George and I, and left completely alone making me want to sob. My reaction makes Lando wide eyes.
"Because it's late." He says softly, or as soft as he can over the loud dance music playing. His friend regained control of the playlist about thirty minutes ago. "George has asked me to make sure you're okay." Lando justifies and I feel my expression harden with his words.
"Fuck George." I grumble. The thoughts slip out of me before I can stop them.
"Fuck George." Lando echo's my words instantly without even thinking about it, his are tinged with calm understanding and agreement instead of anger as mine are. The affirmation of my opinion at least soothes the sting in my chest. "But I'm going home." I pout at him with the news. My feet are aching, beyond aching, they stab with each step I take, but I'm still not ready for this night to be over. "You need to go too, you're wasted." Lando instructs and I press a hand to my chest in offence. I didn't think it was that obvious.
Or rather, I hoped it wasn't that obvious. Apparently my stumbling when we entered the kitchen gave me away. "You are too." I hiccup after the words and I roll my eyes at the further indicator. Lando just nods at my accusation, not even arguing with me. He's drank more tonight than I've ever seen him drink before, but even then he still hasn't quite kept up with me opting for water instead of any more rum.
"Not as much as you Carls, c'mon I'm taking you home." Lando almost instructs and I just blink at him with the firm words before obliging.
———
Look at him taking care of her! Our drunk babies 🥰
I wonder what on earth could happen next?!👀
Quali was mad! I made an ill timed shopping trip and was running around H&M like an idiot to make it home for Q2.
The race was also so fun! So many overtakes I just feel so bad for Lando though
Hope you enjoyed
❤️