George changed.
Carla doesn't know when it happened, how or even where, but he has. He's not the same man she fell in love with five years ago.
Lando's the one who noticed first, the thought whispered to her when George had plucked the wine out of...
Title from: Dawns by Zach Bryan feat Maggie Rogers
Ibiza, 4th August 2023
Lando
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Summer break has never been so desperately needed. Belgium was horrific - everything about it. George had approached me three times: first attempting to arrange drinks/food with Alex and Daniel on Thursday night. Then on the walk into the paddock on Saturday as photographers swarmed the pair of us. His final attempt was to force conversation before the drivers parade. Each and every time I excused myself quickly, usually making excuses to do with Mum, and our family in Belgium. Other times I mumbled incoherently about Jon wanting to speak with me and pretended not to hear any response from him. The weekend concluded with a DNF, something I was actually thankful for as it meant I could leave the paddock before anyone else even finished the race.
More importantly it meant I could avoid George.
I made the short flight to Monaco two hours earlier than planned, once there throwing piles of clothes into suitcases for the trip to Ibiza I was so desperate to make. The yacht trip exploring the island has become some sort of a tradition over the last three years. Mum and Dad join for the first week before friends take their place on the second. This year Max and Pietra had decided to join for the whole thing, a decision I had quickly come to regret.
"Who knows, maybe Lando will even find a girlfriend tonight." Ollie teases, his hand locked with Sav's as I tug at the creases of my white linen shirt. I'd ironed the thing twice and within ten minutes of wear the bottom has already creased up. We've spent the last five days exploring various clubs and cafés, leaving Mila and Zara with mum and dad until we return in the small hours of the morning with the world spinning around us.
"Yeah right!" Amber hums with a nudge at my shoulder. I only roll my eyes and push her away playfully. She falls into Daniels side with a dramatic 'oof' before laughing quietly. A mumble of 'only joking' falling from her.
"Just make sure you ask if they have a boyfriend first." Max grumbles from the left of me and instantly my jaw tightens. His words are pointed and laced with an edge of teasing but I know he means every word. Pietra had caught me with Carla's heels the morning after that night. Max was on his way to question me on why Carla's shoes were even there in the first place when he received his answer. He saw my lips on Carla's as she slipped from the front door of the flat to meet George.
Needless to say he'd been giving me shit about it ever since.
The first day was the worst. We ended up arguing in the kitchen of the flat, shouting and huffing at each other before I walked away slamming the door to my room so hard the wall shook. Later in the afternoon he had quietly needled at me, wondering out loud 'how could [I] ever do something that' before going as far as asking 'can I even trust you around Pietra' - I went to stay at Mum's pretty quickly after that. The comment made me buzz with an anger I don't think I've felt...ever. Like I would ever go there with Pietra, the thought would never cross my mind! He said it all as if kissing Carla was a choice I made, it wasn't. At least not at first. She's the one that kissed me - both times!
