racing hearts - lando norris

5

"Ry. I am insane." Maya enters the room, grinning ear to ear. 

"What'd you do now?"

"Upgraded seats!" she squeals, spinning in circles with excitement. 

She stops spinning, "under one condition."

---

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

I groggily turn off my 8:00 am alarm. I hear Maya groan from the other bed, signalling that she also woke up from the alarm.

I lay on my back and close my eyes for a minute, thinking about the boy I met last night. I thought about the way his curls moved in the breeze from the ocean, the way his eyes sparkled. I thought about how I never got his name. Most importantly, I thought about how I might see him today. I hadn't even got the chance to tell Maya yet.

"Maya-" I said, softly.

"Yeah?"

"Last night, after you left to go to the mall, I went downstairs an-"

RING. RING. RING.

Maya pops up, answering her phone, "Hello?" 

She steps outside of the room onto the balcony to finish the call. 

"Who was that?" I ask as she re-enters the room.

"Guess who."

"Your dad?"

"No, it was Jere."

"Why is he calling this early?" I ask.

"To remind me what I owe him for these upgraded seats." she finishes, putting her hair into a bun.

"You just have to go out with him tonight, right?" I ask.

"Yeah, but it fucks up our whole plan after the race." 

"Don't forget Plan B: I show up to the bar you guys are at and I steal you from him." I respond, giggling.

We formed the plan last night after Maya talked to Jeremiah. Jeremiah (or Jere as we call him) and Maya dated last summer before he decided to cheat on her. Somehow they stayed friends. Maya and I never really talked about it, but I knew she still loved him. 

Doing my best to ignore how comfy the hotel bed is, I get myself out of bed and take out the outfit I originally planed for the race. Something feels off.  Maya notices the way I look at my outfit and lays down a Redbull Racing hat next to it. She let me borrow the hat for the weekend, knowing I didn't have any F1 merch. It was perfect. 

I normally wouldn't say this but I might have to like Jeremiah for at least a few hours. Not only did he upgrade our seats, but he got us seats directly above the garages. Maya and I made sure to get there before the race, giving us time to explore the area and find our seats.

After we got comfortable in our seats, we decide to take a few pictures for each others' Instagrams. Maya wore a white, vintage-style, McLaren shirt with a black mini skirt and white platform converse. I take a few pictures of her before we switch. I was wearing my black baby tee, jean mini skirt, black adidas sambas, and Redbull Racing hat. 

Maya tells me a few poses I should do and I try my best to replicate them. I pull up my skirt some and look over towards the garages, noticing a large McLaren logo beneath us. "Oh, Maya I forgot to tell you-"

"What?"

"I met a boy who likes McLaren last night by the pool." I say, pointing towards the logo.

"No way, who is he? Did you get his number?" she responds with excitement. 

"No I don't-" I say before being entirely cut off guard. As I look toward the McLaren garage I catch a glimpse of a boy with dark brown curls that seem familar. My suspicion is confirmed when he turns around and offers the guy in front of him a wide grin. It was hard to forget his smile. 

His eyes quickly dart up and meet mine. We hold eye contact briefly before he winks and goes back to his conversation. It felt as if time slowed.

"Maya."

"What?" she answers, with a tone of concern in her voice.

"That's the guy I met last night." I say, secretly pointing towards the boy.

"Ry Elizabeth Lee. How the fuck did you meet Lando Norris?" 

---

hii, thank you to everyone who is reading/voting on this so far! it took me a few days to get this chapter out because i wasn't happy with how it was coming out and i am not entirely sure i am still excited about it, but i wanted to release a new chapter :)))

side note - all of the chapters before this have been updated in some way, so i would definitely recommend skimmiing thru and seeing if there is anything you missed!

again, feel free to vote, comment, follow, etc. if you're liking the story! it is really helpful and i appreciate any feedback!