The light of his phone illuminated Lando's face as he answered her facetime call. He blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness and letting out a low groan at the sudden intrusion of his slumber.
"Are you in danger? You know it's the middle of the night here," he rasped, attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes. He covered his yawn with his free hand, his other holding the phone just a short distance from his face.
"I know, and I'm sorry. I just need ten minutes of your time," Lexi apologized, attempting to hide the excitement in her voice. She did truly feel bad about waking him up in the middle of the night, but she reminded herself to keep the conversation short so he could go back to the beauty rest in no time.
"It can't wait until the morning?" His voice was slowly gaining back its strength as he squinted at her face on the screen with a half-smile.
The question was rhetorical, but she didn't need to know that. Even in his still drowsy state he could tell she was clearly excited about something, so he'd indulge her if it meant getting to see her so happy. If she was waking him up fully knowing the time difference, he could only assume that she really couldn't hold it.
Lexi shook her head with a pout, setting the box on the kitchen island. She made quick work of propping her phone up against the decorative books before sitting down. As she settled on the stool, she adjusted the phone angle so that both the box and her face were in frame.
"I thought about it, I really did. But you and I both know I'm not patient enough for that, and I also know you'd be upset if you didn't get to see my reaction to whatever this is," she explained, tapping the box in front of her.
Lando perked up as the sleep retreated from his brain. Of course, the package he had sent to her home before he left for China. It had completely slipped his mind and he was expecting it to get delivered right before race day.
"Well go on then, let's get her open," he encouraged, a full smile on his face now.
He turned to his side, reaching for the nightstand to turn on the bedside lamp. A silent curse was mumbled under his breath as the bright light attacked him once more, blinding him for a moment.
Lexi couldn't help but giggle at him, only mildly distracted by the light illuminating his exposed collarbone that peeked through the covers. A light stubble created a shadow on the lower half of his face. While she would complain about it in most circumstances because she preferred his boyish look without it, he did look a little sexy with it right now. Not that she'd willingly admit that to him.
Clearing her throat and her thoughts, she shook herself out of the trance and began carefully cutting the tape with a box cutter, opening up the cardboard cell. "I'm going to be so mad if this is anything with your face on it," she warned. Earlier in the week, they had talked about the one Japanese fan that sported a hoodie with George Russell's face all over it with the cute baby.
While she respected the look, she was not willing to support him in the same way. Lexi had made it very clear that he was not allowed to waste any money on something like that because she would never wear it, especially in public.
Lando responded with a breathy laugh, but assured her that there was nothing with his face on it in the package.
The curiosity was written all over her features because she had no idea what might be inside. Her hands reached inside and took out the contents, the feel of various fabrics confirming what they were.
A chuckle escaped her as she pulled out and surveyed the merchandise. To take inventory, there was a black bucket hat and baseball cap with the McLaren logo, the hoodie in collaboration with Abercrombie she adored, and a white t-shirt with McLaren formula 1 team branding. Perfect for casual support.
In their hotel room debrief in Japan, Lando had complained more than once about how Lexi repped Red Bull. To defend the decision, Lexi had argued that at least navy was one of her personal colors. She also openly refused to represent Lando's team through the incredibly orange merchandise that existed. It was not her color and would definitely wash her out, which she simply would not allow.
"You really took what I said seriously," she mused, picking out the bucket hat to put on.
"How else am I supposed to get my lady to support me and the team?" Lando countered with a glowing smile of pride. Though completely biased, in his opinion, it was much better than the Red Bull merch she wore previously.
Lexi shook her head despite the smile that remained on her face. "Is it absolutely necessary for me to wear these?"
"How else am I supposed to be sure that you're actually cheering for me?" His query was certainly valid.
"Well," she began. "I would hope that my verbal assurance is enough. But, I suppose if it will give you more confidence to drive the damn car, I will be sure to wear one of these during our little watch party this weekend."
Lando nodded his head confidently, giving her a wink through the screen. "And to every race you attend for the rest of the season."
"You might have to negotiate with Nick, Danny, and quite possibly James on that one," she laughed, resting her chin against the edge of the box. "I'm supposed to remain neutral on the job, after all."
A lazy smile grazed his features "Fine. Next time you're allowed the freedom to watch the race as a fan, will you support me then?" He would get his way one way or another, even if it meant finding some sort of loophole.
"If I'm allowed to choose teams, yes. As long as it goes with my outfit," she nodded.
He let out a soft laugh, turning out the light and turning his back to the night table. "Always so difficult," he breathed.
Lando's face was now only illuminated by the light coming from his screen, his eyes slowly fluttering shut with the now surrounding darkness. She could just make out his features. Her ten minutes were clearly up.
"Okay. I'll let you go back to sleep now. Chat later," Lexi said softly, taking the box and her phone in her hands. She walked to her room, just admiring his form for a moment.
She looked on as his face relaxed, already slowly drifting back into slumber. Perhaps the only time he ever looked innocently angelic. It was also very rare that she even got to admire him like this without him saying something sassy. Most of the time he really was a menace.
"Mmhm. Goodnight, I love you," he mumbled after a moment of silence. He pressed the end call button, leaving her to her own.
Lexi stood in the middle of her room, eyes wide and staring at her phone screen as it turned to black. She caught a glimpse of the reflection of her shocked expression, her brain trying to process the end of that call.
Surely he didn't mean it. He was halfway to dreamland, so definitely not in the right mind to know what he was saying. Yet, the words were still clearly ringing through her ears enough to confirm that she had indeed heard him correctly. I love you.
She shook her head, making quick work to store the new merchandise into her closet to distract herself. Not that it was actually working.
He was half asleep, she told herself. Don't overthink it.
He may have been coherent enough to end the call, but because he ended it so quickly, he clearly didn't wasn't expecting her to respond. By that logic, he didn't mean it. Hell, he probably wouldn't even remember saying it by the time he woke up in the morning.
With a deep sigh, she climbed into her bed, letting her body sink into the mattress. At least it provided her a little bit of comfort while her thoughts once again raged inside her mind.
Why in the world was everyone making a fuss over love anyway? It was only a four letter word after all. Did it hold such a significant weight that people should be careful about using it or talking about it? Gia had tiptoed around asking about it and now here Lexi was, overthinking what was most likely a slip of tongue from her boyfriend in regards to the word.
This shouldn't be scaring her. She knew that. It was a human emotion, after all. Her brain knew that, and it wasn't like she was in charge of how he felt anyway.
"Are you trying to solve a puzzle in your head? What's got your face so concentrated for?" Gia leaned against Lexi's door frame, eyeing her friend with curiosity.
Lexi's attention snapped to the owner of the voice, all her intrusive thoughts receding into the shadows of her mind. She forced a smile onto her face, hoping to be convincing. "Just thinking about the logistics of my trip to the States at the moment."
"Your ticket and work schedule and tasks are already set. What do you mean by logistics?" Her roommate now had her arms crossed, eyeing her suspiciously.
Lexi sighed, sitting up from her bed. "You know my best friends from high school. I told them I'll be in Miami and now they're all trying to plan a girl's weekend in honor of my return to home," she explained with air quotes around the last word.
Yes, it was a lie about what she was actually thinking about, but it wasn't a complete untruth either. She was indeed in the process of making those plans with her old friends.
If Gia knew what Lexi was actually thinking about, she'd go into full therapist mode and that is not the vibe she needed at this very moment. Some things she was meant to navigate on her own.
"Tell Lando he can entertain himself for a weekend. You need to see your girls," Gia advised without a shred of remorse.
All she could do was nod with a smile at the sound advice. Satisfied, Gia disappeared from the doorway, leaving Lexi alone with her thoughts once more.
While her presence was no longer directly there, Gia's question from a few nights ago continued to ring in her head like a bell. The words wrapped around her brain like a hug, but not exactly the warm and fuzzy kind. Do you love him?
Did she? She stood by her response to Gia the first time the question was brought up. She knew her heart was going in the direction of love, but it wasn't quite there yet just because of her own reservations and promise to herself to take things slow.
So what did Lexi do? Prayed to whatever gods were willing to listen. She prayed that he wouldn't say those three words again for at least another month or two. While it terrified her that she might actually be falling in love with him, something about not being able to confidently say those words back to him was a lot worse.
For his feelings and her dignity's sake, she hoped that, for once, her prayers would be answered.
On top of that, Lexi would do her part by shoving the thoughts into a box in her mind and forget about it. If she couldn't compartmentalize, she would surely drive herself mad yet again over something trivial.