You are definitely, completely, one-hundred-percent not supposed to be here.Â
Liamâs girlfriend had mentioned something in passing about celebrations after Zandvoort, probably forgetting you were in the Future Rookie WAGs!!! Instagram groupchat. Youâd filed the information away like you still do with everything involving Isack â against your better judgment. Wishing you didnât.
The sad thing is youâve been doing better. Thatâs what youâve been telling yourself, anyway, and everyone else who will listen: your mom, your friends, the therapist you stopped seeing after four sessions when she asked you to sit with your feelings about your ex and those feelings turned out to be a dumpster fire you had no interest in warming your hands over. Youâve been doing a lot of Pilates. You downloaded Raya and went on exactly three dates with a footballer who was perfectly nice and fucked you slow and made you want to claw your skin off every time he so much as touched your shoulder. Youâre healing. Youâre fine.
Then again, youâd always been excellent at ruining good things, and Isack Hadjar was the best thing youâd ever had.Â
So maybe you bought a Eurostar ticket to Amsterdam after the race. And maybe once you got there you took a cab you couldnât afford from the city to a hotel room you definitely couldnât afford by the sea. And maybe now youâre at the club the girls mentioned, wearing a dress you know Isack used to love on you â short, black, silky, with a neckline that dips low enough to be a problem. Heâd fucked you in it more often than he ever took it off you, bunching it up around your waist with his fingers digging into your hips. You have a distinct memory of him pushing the straps off your shoulders in the back of an Uber in Paris, his mouth hot on your neck as his other hand slid up the fabric of your skirt, the driver trying very hard not to notice.Â
That fabric is sticking to your thighs for an entirely different reason now, damp with sweat from the heat of too many bodies in a room that wasnât designed for this many people. You prop yourself next to the bar closest to the VIP section with a drink you donât really want, scanning the crowd while you try to pretend youâre not looking for anyone in particular.Â
You donât have to lie to yourself for long. You find him instinctively, your heart a compass tuned to the magnetic north that is your ex-boyfriend. Heâs with the whole group of them behind the velvet rope, looking so unfairly, devastatingly hot that you have to take a long sip of your drink just to have something to do with your mouth that isnât biting through your own lip. Heâs got a drink in one hand â dark liquid, a Coke and Bacardi, probably, the same thing you know heâs been ordering since he was old enough to get into a club.
The other is around a girl.Â
Sheâs tall, tan, beachy waves falling artfully over bare shoulders, leaning in just a little too close to be casual, fingertips trailing along his forearm as she says something that makes him laugh. Itâs your favorite laugh, you can tell even from here: low and easy and warm, the one that makes his eyes crinkle a little at the corners. The one that used to belong to you, and is currently being wasted on some girl in a cheap going-out top from Zara who probably thinks pole position is one of the tips to drive your man wild from the latest issue of Cosmo.
You hate her with a violence that surprises you; hate the perfectly done nails, the long wispy eyelashes, the extensions that you genuinely want to rip out of her fucking head. But the thing you hate the most is that Isack looks happy. He looks like someone whoâs been doing just fine without you, actually, which is the one outcome youâd somehow failed to plan for, and your stomach twists so badly at the thought of him moving on that you consider running out as fast as your heels will carry you and flying home and blocking him on Instagram like youâve been promising yourself for months that you would.Â
Thatâs when Liamâs girlfriend spots you. You see it immediately: the double-take, the dawning horror that sheâs about to be solely responsible for ruining a podium sitterâs night. She grabs Ollieâs girlfriendâs wrist, tugging her into a frantic, whispered conversation. You lift your hand and flutter your fingers in a little wave â hi girls, remember me? â and watch the blood drain from their faces. Ollieâs girlfriend turns and hisses something to him, and then Ollie bumps Kimi and points (completely indiscreetly) right at you, and then Kimi punches Isack in the shoulder and says something urgently into his ear, and then Isackâs gaze drifts sideways until it lands on you and the smile drops off his face so fast itâs like it was never there at all.Â
The lights in the club keep flashing, painting everything they touch in vivid blue and purple. The bass is pounding so loud in your ears you can barely think. But itâs not the volume that makes the floor feel like itâs shaking, that makes your glass tremble in your hands. Itâs the sight of your ex-boyfriend, standing across the room staring like heâs just seen the ghost of girlfriends past.Â
You donât go to him, though. You stay exactly where you are, hip cocked against the bar, and wait. Because if thereâs one thing you know about Isack Hadjar, itâs that even when itâd be better for him, he has never, not once in his life, been able to leave you alone.Â
Sure enough, it takes about forty-five seconds before heâs stalking towards you, and you try not to be too satisfied by the annoyingly pretty pout on Beach Wavesâ stupid face when he brushes her aside without a second glance. He cuts through the crowd like a knife, shoulders set and laser-focused, the way he gets on track, the way that used to make you weak at the knees.
Up close, his stare is ablaze, dark eyes trained on you. âWhat the fuck are you doing here?â
âHello to you too, Isa,â you purr, letting your gaze flick up and down his body. âDidnât expect to see you here.â
âDonât,â he snaps, cheeks flushing. His jaw is tight, hands shoved in his pockets like he doesnât quite trust what theyâll do if he lets them free. âDonât call me that. Donât do this. Donât act like ââÂ
You blink innocently. âLike what?â
âLike â like you have any right to be here,â he splutters, cheeks flushed.Â
âItâs not a private club,â you say, shrugging and taking a long sip of your drink. The liquor burns horribly at the back of your throat. âI bought a drink. Iâm a paying customer.â
He stares at you for a long moment and you can see the frustration radiating off of him. Let him be angry. Angry Isack is easier to deal with than the alternative â the soft woundedness he seemed to carry around by the end, the kind that made you feel like the worst person alive.
You are the worst person alive when it comes to him. But at least this way, you donât have to let his face remind you of it.
âDid you at least watch?â he asks flatly.Â
âWatch what?â
âThe race,â he says, a little too quickly for someone whoâs trying very hard to pretend he doesnât care. âDid you watch the race?â
You could tell him the truth. You could tell him you watched every single lap with a pit in your stomach and your heart in your throat. You could tell him you cried when Lando retired and you knew, you just knew he would cross the line in P3. You could tell him that when he lifted the trophy above his head on the podium, you had to press your hand over your mouth to keep from making a very undignified sound. A sob, if youâre being honest with yourself.
But that would be giving Isack Hadjar something you canât afford to lose.
âNo,â you lie airily instead, twirling a strand of hair around your finger. âDonât really follow F1 these days. Why, did something exciting happen?â
Something flashes across his face â raw hurt, quickly buried under the heat of his anger â and you feel a sick little twist of satisfaction. If you came here to stand in front of him and feel like your chest is caving in, you might as well make him feel it too.
âFuck you,â he says, voice unsteady.Â
You smile, slow and venomous. âMaybe later. If youâre lucky.â
He steps closer, close enough that you can catch the familiar scent of his cologne, the Tom Ford you bought him for his birthday two years ago that still makes your head turn every time you smell it on the street with some sort of ridiculous hope that itâll be him. âWhy are you here? Really?âÂ
âLetâs say I missed you,â you say, letting your voice drop into something softer, more intimate, so he has to lean in to hear you. âIs that so hard to believe?â
âYes,â he bites out, but his eyes flick traitorously down to the dark crimson of your mouth. âYou broke up with me, remember? In November. The week before ââ
âI know when I broke up with you,â you snap. The week before Abu Dhabi last year, is what he was going to say. Youâd done it over the phone, too much of a coward to break up with him to his face and too selfish to do it earlier, when it might not have wrecked him right before the most important race of his life. Heâd called you seventeen times in a row afterward; you cried on the cold tile of your bathroom floor and let them all go to voicemail, because you knew if you picked up even once youâd take it all back. Six days later, you sat in your hole-in-the-wall apartment in Paris and watched his car stall before it could start, watched the chance of a championship slip right through his fingers. When the cameras found him climbing out of the car afterwards â helmet off, jaw set tight enough to crack a tooth, eyes rimmed red â youâd thrown up in your kitchen sink.Â
So yes. You know when you broke up with him.
âReally?â he says, voice going harsh and jagged. âBecause youâve done a good fucking job of forgetting everything else for the past nine months.â
âI wish I could forget you,â you blurt, the words slipping out before you can stop them in a way that makes you actually, genuinely hate how pathetic theyâve made you sound. You cover it by taking another sip, longer this time, trying to wash the bitter taste of your own honesty out of your mouth. âI didnât â thatâs not what happened. Isack. You have to know thatâs not what this is.â
âThen what? What is it?â he asks, accent thickening. âBecause I havenât heard a thing from you since that night, and ââ he exhales shakily, casting his gaze to the ceiling. âI had the best day of my entire life today. I have been dreaming about this day since the first time I got in a kart. I should be celebrating. And instead I am standing here and letting you ruin everything all over again.â
âThatâs not fair.â
A laugh punches out of him, but itâs not the one you heard earlier, the one you still know like your favorite song. Itâs something darker, something hollowed-out. âFair?â he echoes derisively. âYou want to talk about fair? You dumped me over the phone. You didnât even block my number, you just â you just stopped answering, like I was too insignificant to even bother cutting me out. Nine months, quiet, and then you show up here like itâs nothing. Like I am nothing to you. So donât fucking ask me for fair when nothing is fair with you.â
Your voice goes small. âIsa, I didnât come here to fight with you.â
âThen you shouldnât have come,â he says, so cold that for a moment youâre right back there on the bathroom tiles listening to your phone ring and ring and ring.
âI came because I ââ your voice splinters horribly around the words, and you watch Isackâs face soften. Itâs small, barely perceptible unless you know him the way that you do, the twitch at the corners of his mouth, the warmth bleeding into his dark eyes. You hate it. You hate that even now, even after everything youâve done, his first instinct when you break is to reach for the pieces. âI donât know what Iâm doing, okay? I donât, I just ââ
His hand flexes at his side like heâs physically stopping himself from touching you. âYou just what?â he interrupts. Heâs close now, too close, in your space enough that you can see his pulse beating high and insistent in his throat. âFinish the sentence.â
âI donât know,â you whisper, throat tight, and for once in your miserable life youâre not lying to him. Itâs worse than a lie, because itâs the most pitiful truth that you have to offer.Â
âConneries.â He steps even closer, hips nearly brushing against yours, mouth curling into a sneer. âYou always know what you are doing. Thatâs the worst part, no? You know exactly how cruel you are to me, and you do it anyway.â
âWhat, and youâre so innocent?â you snap, sickly grateful for the anger surging to fill the space where your honesty leaked out. âI saw you earlier. Letting a girl in a Shein haul with grown-out acrylics hang all over you. Thatâs whoâs replacing me? Really?â
Isack blinks, caught off-guard, and you can see the surprise written all over his face. âAre you â is this what this is all about? This is why you show up here? Youâre fucking jealous?â
âDonât flatter yourself,â you reply coolly, even as you feel your cheeks heat.
Because you were going to leave me first, you think and think and think and do not say. Because you were about to be somebody, and I couldnât stand the idea of becoming the girl you outgrew. Because I canât let anyone love me without hurting them.Â
âDoes it matter?â you reply instead, keeping your tone carefully level so you donât do something completely embarrassing like burst into tears. âI left. Itâs over. Done.â
He looks at you, really looks, and something flashes in his eyes again, desperation ebbing away and leaving something crueler in its place. âIf this was really done,â he says, voice dropping dangerously, âyou wouldnât be standing here wearing this fucking dress.â
Your breath catches in your throat, and the corner of his mouth quirks up the second he hears it, like he knows exactly what it means. Gone is the boy from a minute ago, wounded and angry and unsure. In his place is an Isack you know well, the one who used to pin you against the wall of his driverâs room and tell you exactly what he was going to do to you before he did it, the one who could make you forget your own name with nothing but the sound of his voice in your ear and the heat of his gaze.
âDonât know what youâre talking about,â you reply, but it comes out a second too late and embarrassingly thin.Â
âNo?â he says, gaze dropping to your neckline, not even bothering to pretend heâs not ogling your tits. âYou want a reminder of what happened last time you wore this dress?â
âIsack ââ
âMy birthday, last year,â he says, tone conversational. âYou were fucking desperate. Couldnât even make it to the bedroom, just begged me for it as soon as we got in the door. I remember the sound you made when I got on my knees for you in the hallway. You pulled my hair so hard I thought you were going to rip it out, told me nobody had ever made you come like that. Remember that?â He leans in, breath warm against your ear. âAnd youâre telling me you didnât put this dress on thinking about me taking it off?â
âYouâre delusional,â you lie, thighs pressing together involuntarily.
âWhy am I here, then?â you breathe, heart pounding. âSince you know me so well.â
âBecause you still want me,â he says, and the smile curving his lips is so infuriatingly smug that you want to slap him and climb him in equal measure. âGo ahead. Say it.â
âMake me,â you whisper back.Â
He lets out a growl, low and frayed, pupils blowing so wide his eyes go black. You can see him try to fight it, muscles tensing, the visible effort of a man trying very hard to be rational about the woman who ruined his life. And then you watch him lose in real time, and itâs terrible and exhilarating all at once, knowing that no matter how smart Isack is, no matter how fast he drives, no matter how hard he tries to protect himself, you will always, always be the thing he crashes into.
âOutside,â he mutters finally, jaw ticking. âNow.â
You tilt your head and try not to smile. âWhy?â
He presses his lips together. âBecause I am about to do something I will regret, and Iâd rather not have an audience for it.â
You hum noncommittally, tracing a finger along the edge of your glass. âAnd if I donât want to go outside with you?â
His hand closes firm around your wrist, tugging you off the barstool. His thumb presses into your pulse point and you think wildly that he must be able to feel how fast your heart is beating, to feel how much you still want him, laid bare under his fingertips. âI wasnât asking,â he says, low enough that only you can hear, and the words zip hot up your spine.
âCareful, Isa,â you say, smirking as he pulls you through the crowd. âPeople are going to think you actually like me.âÂ
âTa gueule,â he snaps, fingers tightening around your wrist as he weaves you through the crush of bodies on the dance floor. âFor once in your life, please, just shut up.â
You catch the faces turning as you pass the VIP section like a lowlights reel, varying degrees of horror and resignation written all over everyoneâs expressions. Ollieâs at least had the decency to turn away. Kimi hasnât, his arms crossed over his chest as he glowers at you like a sullen teenager. Liamâs girlfriend is practically hyperventilating in the corner. Beach Waves is the last to see whatâs going on, standing stupid, glossy lips slowly parting as the understanding dawns. You catch her eye over your shoulder as Isack drags you past, letting your gaze travel pointedly down to the hand that was on his arm fifteen minutes ago then back up to her face, slow and deliberate. Then you press two fingers to your lips and blow her a kiss.
Isack doesnât look back at her. Not even once.
Poor her, you think deliriously, triumphantly. She got the laugh, the charm, the arm around her shoulder, whatever mid conversation she'd been making about whatever mid thing she probably cares about. She got to touch him for one night. Big deal. Sheâll never touch the rest of him.
The night air is cool on your flushed skin when Isack shoulders through the fire exit and yanks you into a side alley, a rush of briny salt and stale cigarette smoke filling your nose the second you get outside. You stumble over the threshold onto the uneven ground, door barely swinging shut behind you before heâs crowding you against the opposite wall and bracing a hand on either side of your head. When you get your first proper look at him, no chaos of the club left to distract you, you almost laugh out loud. Heâs wearing a plain white shirt and dark jeans, the fucking Amazon Basics of outfits, nothing designer, nothing curated, and he still looks like that. You want to call every luxury brand you know and tell them to shut down the operation; nothing they could put together could ever come close to Isack Hadjar in a plain white shirt looking at you like youâre the only thing in the world worth being furious about.
âTu me rends dingue,â he mutters, and then his mouth is on yours.
Isack kisses you how his worst critics say he drives â reckless, aggressive, all instinct and no patience. His hands find your waist, shoving you back against the wall, stucco pricking against your skin. His fingers push into the skin at your hips, hard enough to leave marks, and youâd be lying if the thought didnât make heat pool dangerously low in your stomach. You kiss him back just as viciously, mouth hot and demanding, because if itâs a fight heâs looking for, youâre going to give it to him. Your teeth clash messily against his, nails raking down the back of his neck as he hisses against your lips. You feel his hand tighten in your hair in retaliation, tugging your head back so he can lick into your mouth at the exact angle he wants, and itâs not a nice kiss but god, itâs so good you feel dizzy with it, the sheer taste of him after nine months, the furious want radiating off both of you like a fever that wonât break.
âI hate you,â he gasps against your lips, every hard plane of his body pressed against yours.
âApparently not enough to keep your tongue out of my mouth,â you mutter back, fingers reaching up and pulling hard at his close-cropped curls.
âSaying it in French doesnât make it truer, Isa.â
He makes a frustrated, animal noise, borne somewhere in the back of his throat. âI said donât call me that anymore.â He bites your lower lip, hard enough to sting, and swallows the gasp that erupts from your lips. His thigh slots between yours, pressing you harder against the wall, and your head falls back, eyes fluttering shut as he drags searing open-mouth kisses down your throat. He sucks a painful little mark there, into the juncture of your neck and shoulder, and you hate him for it and push into it at the same time, hand fisting at the front of his stupid fucking t-shirt like you want to claw right through it.
âHotel,â you manage, breathless.Â
He pulls back, chest heaving, pupils blown so wide his eyes glitter black. Thereâs a smear of your lipstick, blood-red at the corner of his mouth. He looks wrecked, staring back at you without a word, and for a moment you think this is it. The end of the road, the moment he realizes he needs to take the last exit before he drives himself off the edge of the earth again.
When he speaks, he sounds like he hates himself for it. âWhere?âÂ
You walk the five blocks back to the hotel in silence. Thereâs nothing safe left to say, walking side by side with nothing but adrenaline crackling in the empty inches between you. You keep your eyes pinned on the sea, pretending heâs not close enough to touch, pretending youâre not desperate, aching, out of your mind with the need to feel his calloused fingertips against your skin. The elevator climbs five floors before the back of his hand brushes the back of yours, accidental and barely-there, and the contact sends an electric thrill straight to your throbbing core.Â
You barely get the keycard in the door before heâs on you.Â
His mouth attaches to your neck, kicking the door shut behind the both of you so hard that it knocks the generic art off the wall. Hands slide up your waist, cupping your tits, thumb flicking over your nipple. You gasp at the sensation, back arching, pushing your chest into Isackâs touch, and you hate how you can feel his infuriating, cruel little smile against your neck. He pushes you back against the wall with one hand braced to your hip, the other rolling your nipple between his fingers, friction of silk against the stiffened peak. It sends a sharp jolt straight to your cunt that makes your knees buckle. He shoves his thigh between yours immediately, holding you up, and the pressure of the ropy muscle beneath you drags a moan out of you that youâd genuinely kill to take back.
âSound so fucking good for me,â he mumbles against your neck, teeth grazing your pulse point. Heâs hard, absurdly so, pressed tight against you. You can feel his cock throbbing against your hip through his jeans, and when he shifts his weight back to tug his t-shirt over his head his hips push into your thigh so deliberately that it makes your head fall back against the wall.Â
He crowds into you again, one hand sliding up to plant on the wall next to your head, the other wrapping around your thigh and hitching it up around his hip. He grinds against you like that, slow and filthy, the muscles of his stomach tensing every time he rolls forward. Heâs harder than he used to be, his shiny new F1 physique on display: broader across the shoulders, thicker through the arms. You canât stop yourself from mapping the changes with your palms, your fingernails, your teeth against his collarbone, marking all the places that are new and hating every single girl who got to see him become this when you didnât.
âI hate â putain,â his voice cracks into a whimper when you pull him forward by the belt loops, cock pressed hard against the crease of your thigh as he ruts into you. âI hate that I still want this so much.â
âThen stop,â you gasp, rolling your hips to meet his.
âI canât.â He pulls back just enough to meet your gaze, and even in the darkness you can see his eyes are wild, desperate. âThat is my problem. Iâve never been able to stop wanting you.âÂ
âGo tell that girl that,â you snap brattily. âSure sheâd love to hear it.âÂ
His expression shutters, and for a second you think youâve actually, properly miscalculated; finally pushed him too far, hit the wrong nerve. And then he smiles coldly. It sends a strange thrill through you, knowing thereâs something he can do now that you wouldnât predict. âGet on your knees.âÂ
The words land humiliating, heat flaring between your thighs so fast it makes you dizzy, clenching around nothing. âExcuse me?â
âYou heard me,â he says, flat and almost bored, sliding his hand into the hair at the nape of your neck and tangling his fingers through it. âYou want to run your mouth, no? I can think of something better to do with it.â
You should tell him to go fuck himself. You should walk out that door and never speak to him again and leave him here hard and wanting with the taste of you still on his lips.
Instead, you sink to the carpet.
His hand stays in your hair, loosening just enough to let you tilt your head back and look up at him. The sight of him from this angle â jaw set, chest heaving â makes your cunt throb. Heâs already undoing his jeans with his other hand, overeager, zipper tugged down with a sharp metallic hiss. When he frees himself from his Calvins you have to swallow hard, mouth watering in a genuinely humiliating way. Heâs bigger than you remembered, weeping at the tip.
His thumb strokes across your cheekbone, almost tenderly, before slipping over your bottom lip into your mouth. âOpen,â he says, voice low.
You let your lips part, jaw dropping just slightly. He groans low and guttural, tugging you forward, and you let your tongue flick out to catch the bead of pre-come gathering at the slit. Isack hisses out a breath through his teeth, flush rising high in his cheeks. You take your time, making him wait, pressing slow, open-mouth kisses down his length, tongue tracing the thick vein on the underside, feeling him pulse against your lips.Â
âDonât be a fucking tease,â he grits out.Â
You look up at him through your lashes, holding his gaze defiantly before you do exactly as he asked. Stop teasing, and take him in properly.
He whines, stomach muscles tensing and trembling under your fingertips, hips jerking forward involuntarily when you hollow your cheeks around his length. His head tips back, throat bobbing, lower lip caught prettily between his teeth as you pull back, swirling your tongue lightly around the tip before taking him deep again. His hand flies back to your hair, fisting into it, hips rocking into your mouth deep enough to hit the back of your throat and make you gag around his length.Â
âCome on, take it,â he says, voice rough, fingers crushing tightly into your tangled locks. âThis is what your pretty little mouth should be for, no? You wanted it, you came all this way, so take it.â
You moan around him in response and his hips stutter at the vibration, fucking forward in short, brutal thrusts. He sets a rhythm that is nothing like the boy who used to pet your hair and tell you how good you were for him, how pretty you looked. This is mean, has your jaw aching and mascara streaming, spit pooling at the corners of your mouth and drooling down your chin. It sounds fucking obscene, the slick thrust of his cock against your tongue, your choked breathing around him, the low, frayed groans he keeps letting slip like he canât stop himself. Your hand drifts between your thighs, barely a conscious movement, just needing the friction, but you barely make contact before his hand snaps around your wrist.Â
âNo,â he pants, wrenching your head back by your hair with his other hand until youâre fully off him, a mess of spit and pre-come strung between your swollen lips and the head of his cock. âDid I say you could fucking touch yourself?â
You stare up at him, wordless, overwhelmed, a frisson of want running through you as he tugs both your hands up, placing them on his thighs. âYou want to come tonight?â he asks mockingly, eyes dark. âThen you come when I let you.âÂ
You barely have time to breathe before heâs feeding himself back in, faster this time, hips snapping forward until your nose presses against the coarse hair at the base of his length and your nails are digging perfect half-moons into his thighs and you canât breathe, canât think, canât do anything but relax your throat and take all of it. He keeps you there, holds your head until your knees burn against the carpet and your throat aches with it. You can feel him getting close, though, his muscles tensing under your fingers, grip going white-knuckled in your hair, dick throbbing on your tongue, breath coming in quick, desperate bursts until he pulls you off him again.Â
You make an indignant noise at the loss, jaw still slack while Isack hauls you up by your upper arms hard enough that your stomach flips. He steadies you against his chest before pushing you back through the dim room until you stumble against the mattress, pitching backwards unexpectedly.Â
The feeling of falling is brief before his hand flies up behind your head, instinctive and tender, palm cradling your skull a half-second before it hits the headboard.
You freeze, blinking up at him, and watch the realization hit â his hand stiffening against your hair when he catches what heâs done, the hot flush of humiliation crawling up his neck. He snatches his hand away too fast, jaw flexing, something furious and mortified in his eyes like youâve caught him doing something unforgivable.Â
âDonât,â he snaps, compensating immediately for it. Overcompensating, really, grabbing the neckline of your dress with both hands and pulling it down your body so roughly the silk catches. You hear something rip, a stitch giving way around your hips. Youâd care if you could think straight, but his hands are on your bare skin now, running feverish down your body like heâs trying to burn the gentleness out of his own fingers.Â
The dress catches around your thighs and he drags it the rest of the way off, tossing it blindly behind him as his face goes blissfully, thrillingly slack. âNo panties?â he asks, breath shallow.Â
You smirk, propping yourself up on your elbows, letting him see exactly how wet you are, pretty and swollen, slick coating the inside of your thighs. âHuh. Must have forgotten to pack them.â
He exhales long and slow through his nose, and you watch his cock twitch, flushed dark and shining with your spit. Then he climbs over you, hand sliding up your legs, tracing delicately around your entrance.Â
âFucking soaked,â he groans, more to himself than to you as he drags the pad of his index finger through the dripping mess. âPathetic. Knew you would be.âÂ
He pushes two fingers inside without warning, and the stretch of it is insane, pulling a high-pitched moan from your lips as your back arches off the mattress. âFuck,â you whine, hands fisting into the sheets as you let your legs fall open, wider, hips jerking against his hand.Â
He moves slowly at first, methodically, thumb zeroing in on your clit and pressing down in heavy, deliberate circles until your breathing is coming out in shaky little gasps. He slips a third finger in, your cunt so embarrassingly wet that thereâs barely any resistance. The sound of it is filthy, echoing through the room, squelching in and out of your wetness, his breathing going rough and uneven above you like fingering you is doing something to him too. The familiarity of it all, the exact right pressure in the exact right place like the past nine months never happened, makes your nerve endings sing.
Then he twists his wrist, scissors his fingers on the next stroke, hitting a spot that makes your entire body jolt off the bed. You know every move Isack Hadjar has ever made on you by heart, recognize them like your own name, and this one is infuriatingly, stomach-turningly different.
âStop.â Your hand clamps around his wrist, holding him perfectly still inside you. âWhat the fuck was that?â
He doesnât move, just watches you squirm underneath him like you canât decide whether to pull away or get closer. âWhat was what?â
âWhat you just did,â you swallow hard, voice coming out thin. âThat â thatâs new.â
Itâs silent, for a moment, Isackâs face shifting from confusion to guilt to a satisfaction so cruel you can barely look at him. âYeah,â he agrees finally, crooking his fingers and doing the same move again. âIt is.âÂ
The jealousy comes white-hot, visceral and choking as soon as you let yourself think about it: someone elseâs thighs around his hand, some other girlâs sounds in his ear, some bitch smart enough to pick up the thing you tossed away. And the absolute worst part is your body doesnât care, hips still canting against his palm, riding his fingers desperately. Youâre writhing, furious, soaking his fucking hand, and you can feel the orgasm coiling in the pit of your stomach, building fast and sharp, thighs shaking, right there on the precipice, so close your vision is starting to white out at the edges, and then he pulls his fingers out.Â
The noise you make is barely human. âNo â fuck, Isa, donât you dare ââ
âNot yet,â he says, and holds up his hand, fingers glistening in the low light down to the knuckle. He grins down at you, cocky, bringing them to his mouth tantalizingly slow. He sucks them clean just like that, tongue flicking around his fingers, eyes locked on yours the entire time, and the sight of it makes you moan high and needy. âNot until I say.âÂ
âYouâre a fucking asshole,â you snap, watching him, cunt fluttering around nothing.Â
He laughs, a real one, surprised out of him, and the sound of it after so long hits you somewhere unbearably soft. âYeah,â he breathes, staring down at you. âWell. Takes one to know one.â
You look back at him. For one terrible second, you can see it â the boy underneath all of this, the one who laughed like that when you stole his chips at three in the morning, the one who used to fall asleep with his face tucked in your neck â and the tenderness of it is so awful that you have to look away. He doesnât let you, though, hand finding your jaw, tilting your face back to his. Then he kisses you again, deeper this time, tongue sliding slow against yours and making your chest ache worse than the roughness ever could.
He breaks away and shifts over you, settling his weight between your thighs, one hand planted firmly beside your head. You can feel him against your core, hard and heavy, but he doesnât push in, just holds himself there, jaw tight, watching your face with dark, patient eyes.
âIsack,â you breathe, frustrated. âPlease.â
âPlease what?â he asks, voice low and almost amused. He rolls his hips forward gently, the head of his cock catching at your entrance, and you bite back a whimper. âCome on. You were so good at using your words earlier.â
âIâm not going to fucking beg you,â you breathe, but your hips are already tilting up, trying to take him in, to take what he wonât give you.Â
He pins your hip flat to the mattress, thumb caressing against the jut of bone. âReally?â he murmurs, lips brushing the hinge of your jaw. He drags himself through your folds again, grinding the thick line of his dick against your clit, close enough that you can feel exactly how full heâd make you and not nearly close enough to give you what you need. âYou sure?â
You last approximately five more seconds before whateverâs left of your pride rolls over and dies. âFuck. Fine, you win, please,â you choke out. âPlease, Isa, I need you to fuck me. Need you inside ââ
He pushes into you before you finish the sentence, one long devastating thrust burying himself to the hilt, and it whites out your brain so completely that you forget your own name, forget every reason you ever had for leaving him, forget everything except the feeling of being full after nine months of emptiness that nothing else could touch.
You wrap your legs around his waist, heels digging into the small of his back. âFucking move,â you hiss.Â
His eyes go black, pulling almost all the way out and fucking back in hard enough to crack the headboard against the wall. He doesnât give you time to adjust, hips snapping against yours with a force that shoves you up the mattress, hitching your leg higher and opening you up so he can fuck into you at an angle that has you keening, the wet slap of skin on skin filling the room.
âPerfect fucking pussy,â he pants against your neck, driving deep into you. âTaking me so well, like it was made for me.â He pulls back to look at you, hair damp against his forehead. âBetter than anyone else. Better than â putain, none of them even came close, you know?â
âShut up,â you snarl, and sink your teeth into his neck so hard he yelps, hips slamming forward gracelessly, on reflex, making you see stars. âDonât you dare. Donât you fucking dare tell me about them.â
âFuck,â he gasps, hands shaking next to your head. You think for a second heâs going to push you off, but instead he presses you closer, and the sound he makes when you suck hard against the bite mark, tongue laving over his skin, is something youâll replay behind your eyelids for another nine months. âI didnât ââ
âI donât care,â you mewl, voice cracking around the lie. âI donât care how many girls you fucked, Isa, because none of them are here right now, and none of them are ever going to be here. Iâll never let you get over me,â you breathe, and itâs insane but you can feel his cock throb inside you at the words, feel how he starts fucking you harder, deeper. âNot ever.â
Isack smashes his lips back to yours, furious and bruising, fucking you into the mattress like heâs trying to crawl inside you, like if he just gets deep enough he can reach the part of you that keeps running away.
âDis-moi que tu es Ă moi,â he whimpers against your mouth. Begs, really â raw and desperate, still fucking into you ruthlessly â and you hate it, hate him for even asking it of you. As if you could ever belong to anyone else. As if there is a single version of your sorry, fucked-up life where you donât end up right here, wrapped around him, ruining him all over, loving him so hard and so much that it feels like getting torn completely apart and put back together with your most important piece missing.
âĂ toi,â you sob, high and keening, hot tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, humiliating if you werenât too far gone to care about anything but the heavy, thick stretch of his cock inside you and his gaze on yours. âYours, Isa, fuck, you know Iâm yours.â
His hips lose their rhythm for a moment, jerking frantically before he buries himself to the hilt again, grinding in tight, shuddering little circles against you as his thumb works your clit. Youâre so close you can feel it everywhere, your walls clenching around him, eyes rolling back, every desperate thrust of his cockhead dragging against your sweet spot, drawing you closer and closer to the edge.
âLook at me,â he grunts, forehead pressed to yours. His eyes are glazed over, fucked-out. âLook at me while you come for me.â
Your eyes focus on his face, and thatâs it, really. Your orgasm tears through you, almost violent in its pure sensation â your back arching off the bed, toes curling, body locking up and spasming around him. Isack doesnât stop for even a second, just keeps fucking you through it, drilling into you with deep unsteady strokes that draw out every aftershock until youâre gasping, feebly clawing at his back and babbling his name like a prayer.
When he follows, spilling into you seconds later, he breathes your name back like a curse.
Isack falls asleep the same way he always used to, a switch flipped quick and absolute, one arm slung heavy around your bare waist like even unconscious he knows youâre liable to bolt at any time. You used to tease him about it: you sleep like someone whoâs never done a single bad thing in their life, youâd said once, fingers carding through his hair in the dark. Heâd laughed dreamily and pulled you closer, mumbled maybe I havenât against your skin. In sleep, the hard edges of him soften, furrow between his brow smoothing out, lips parting slightly, breath going slow and even. He looks younger that way, unguarded. More like the boy you once loved.Â
You trace the sharp line of his jaw with a softness youâd never allow yourself in the light of day. Thereâs a mark on his neck where you bit him, pink scratches from your nails already raising over his shoulders and the muscles of his back. Bruises on you, blooming purplish-blue over the sharp jut of your hip where his fingers found a hold. You catalogue it all like evidence: proof that you were here, that for a few hours you let yourself have the one thing you want most and are least equipped to keep.
You donât answer. Canât answer, really. You donât trust yourself to speak, not when you can already feel your throat closing dangerously with emotion. So you close your eyes and donât sleep. You just lay in his arms and let him hold you, let yourself pretend youâre the kind of person who knows how to stay.
When the sun rises, pale morning light flooding through the curtains, you know you canât lie to yourself much longer. You slip out from under Isackâs arm inch by inch; he stirs, making a confused, half-asleep sound that feels like a knife shoved directly into your stomach, but he doesnât wake up. You pull yourself back together quietly, slowly, like completing the steps of a checklist you donât really want to reach the end of. Dress: crumpled on the carpet, slipped over your head and smoothed into semi-presentability. Heels: kicked off somewhere between the door and the bed, buckled back on despite half-formed blisters because you deserve the pain, at least a little bit. Dignity: lost too long ago to even bother looking for it.
You order the Uber from the lobby, put the pick-up point a block away from the hotel because you donât want the engine sound to wake him. Youâre already halfway back to Amsterdam Centraal by the time your phone buzzes in your lap.Â
isack [ 4:47 AM ] : Of course
isack [ 4:47 AM ] : Of course you left
You stare down at the messages, chest going tight. Thumbs hover hesitantly over the keyboard, typing and deleting and rewriting until you settle on the only honest thing you can say.
you [ 4:51 AM ] : you knew i would
isack [ 4:52 AM ] : I guess I did
isack [ 4:52 AM ] : Doesnât make me feel any better though
you [ 4:53 AM ] : iâm sorry
isack [ 4:54 AM ] : No youâre not
isack [ 4:54 AM ] : Donât lie
isack [ 4:55 AM ] : You would do it again tomorrow
you [ 4:56 AM ] : and you would let me
you [ 4:56 AM ] : so what does that say about both of us
isack [ 4:56 AM ] : I donât know
isack [ 4:56 AM ] : That we are both stupid? That we have never learned?
isack [ 4:57 AM ] : You are the worst thing that has ever happened to me
you [ 4:59 AM ] : i know
isack [ 5:00 AM ] : And I still love you anyway
isack [ 5:00 AM ] : Thatâs the stupidest thing
Some sick, horrible part of you lights up when you see the messages. He still loves you. After all of it, after nine months of hurt, after you walked out on him again. You want to press your phone to your chest like a girl in a silly rom-com. You want to screenshot the message and frame it so you can look at it forever and remember what it felt like to know that even though youâd done your worst, he still wanted you.Â
you [ 5:01 AM ] : please donât say it if you donât mean it [ unsent! ]
you [ 5:01 AM ] : i still love you too [ unsent! ]
you [ 5:02 AM ] : itâs not stupid, isa
you [ 5:02 AM ] : itâs just not enough
The early-morning light catches on the water as you speed past, coloring the sea golden as you stare down at the three dots, disappearing and reappearing over and over again. You hold your breath and count the seconds, wondering if this is it, if this is the time he finally wises up and stops replying to you for good. You wonder, too, if itâs not all you deserve from him.Â
You stare at your screen until the words blur together, until all thatâs left is the smudges of blue and grey through the tears you steadfastly refuse to let fall.Â
Not goodbye. Because it never will be, with you, and you both know it. Youâll stay away for weeks, maybe even months if youâre feeling particularly strong, and then something will happen â another podium, maybe a win someday when he makes it to Red Bull like you know he will, some other sick excuse youâll manufacture when the real reason is that you just want to be wanted again â and youâll show up in another city, in another dress, and heâll let you in because he canât help himself.Â
And then youâll leave again, because you canât help yourself either.
Ă bientĂŽt, isa, you type back, smile curling the edge of your mouth.Â
it's too hard to describe this in a way that feels honest, but even when i'm quiet / i love you, baby, i promise. (or: you, oscar, and the years that have come and gone.)
êź starring: oscar piastri x childhood best friend!reader.
êź mixed media au.
êź includes: fluff, friendship, romance. suspended disbelief on timelines & flat wasps. inspired by olivia rodrigo's honeybee.
êź commentary box: let's get this show back on the road, baby. did all of this in one deranged sitting. thank you for always indulging me, @cinnamorussell.
as the newest journalist in the formula 1 paddock, yn is determined to make a name for herself. when her genuine interviews begin to bring out a side of oscar piastri no one else sees, she quickly becomes his favourite person to talk to after every race. what starts as professional interviews soon turns into an undeniable connection, leaving the entire paddock wondering when they'll finally admit there's something more between them.
CONTENTS ⊠smau + written. journalist!reader x oscar piastri. slow burn. yn and oscar are both oblivious to their feelings for each other. friends to lovers. mutual pining. media room interviews. social media flirting. awkward flirting. oscar being whipped. teasing from the rest of the grid. lando being their biggest shipper. media speculation. hidden feelings. race weekends. fluff. comfort. happy ending. set in 2025.
summary: a 'how-to' journalist sets out to show women what not to do in relationships, an F1 driver strives to prove he can make anyone fall in love with him. wc: 3.7k
yn.howto
liked by amelia.lang, vogue, and 104,928 others
yn.howto Out for drinks with the Composure ladies <3
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user1 girl please we NEED a "how to become a journalist in new york"
yn.howto Trust me, I'm still figuring that out for myself
user2 what did yn ln write into her shifting script, i need it
user3 god has favourites
amelia.lang espresso martini warrior
yn.howto You know it
user4 did anyone else absolutely LOVE the composure cover last month?
user5 OMG I KNOW charlixcx looked so good
user6 i'd sell my kidneys (notice i said both) to see a charli and yn collab
user7 my wife is away at war (nyc)
mcmahonemma us when we're supposed to be working on the outline
jeanninesmythe I'll remember this at the next staff meeting :)
user8 SHE'S SO COOL
"Yn, I told you already," Jeannine says, walking alongside you into her office. The rest of the girls are already in their usual spots, Amelia on the corner of the couch, Emma leaning against the table in the center. "You work at Composure Magazine. We are fashion, trends, diets, cosmetic surgeries, salacious gossip... that's Composure."
"But Jeannine, I want to write things that matter, things I care about," you explain, closing the door behind you, "politics, the environment, foreign affairs."
Jeannine turns sharply on her expensive heel. The gentle chatter of the room hushes to a strong silence. "Look, Yn. The column is new for you. When you turn it into a must-read, then you can write about whatever you want. Until then, you can write about whatever I want." You catch Emma's eye--she shrugs empathetically.
"Alright people," the tone of Jeannine's voice shifts easily, from the stern one she used on you to the more casual one she tends to prefer. "What have we got for me today?" She looks around the room. What you've always liked about working at Composure was the familiarity. Unlike the stuffy meetings and harsh co-workers you imagine everywhere else, Composure is friendly. Any one writer can complain about their boyfriend or their dog and all writers will happily listen. It's noticeable in the atmosphere of the room. There's a relaxed nature to it that you could never choose to leave. Before Jeannine goes on, the glass doors are pushed open by a messy Michelle, whose green sweater has clearly not been ironed. "Michelle. Pitches for the new edition?"
Michelle takes a seat across from you, wiping at the corner of her eye. "Um, I'm sorry, Jeannine, I wasn't feeling very well..." The following silence speaks volumes.
"She got dumped," Amelia explains as she hands Michelle a few tissues. "You look great though, hon." The girls all nod, murmuring something about if she's been doing pilates or drinking that new green smoothie they saw on the internet.
Between blowing her nose, which, for Michelle, is always comically loud, and straightening out her sweater, she replies, "I haven't eaten since the split." Despite the community at Composure, there's moments like the one you know is about to transpire.
"Good for you!" Jeannine, with a wide smile, states. "Write about it." This gets a few laughs from the girls. You, too, grin a bit, hoping that it comes off as supportive rather than malicious.
Michelle puts down the tissues, her jaw being slightly slack. "Jeannine, I can't use my personal life for a story." You look between the editor and writer, all too familiar with the tension. Michelle's basically in a watered down version of the conversations you have weekly with Jeannine. 'I can't write that.' 'You have to write that.'
"I'd be happy to write about Michelle's personal life," quickly, Ryan raises her hand.
"What!" Michelle shouts. The worry apparent on her face is wholly understandable. Ryan's known for her hyperbolic writing. If you were Michelle, you wouldn't want that drama queen digging into your messy breakup, broadcasting it for all to see.
"Jeannine, with all due respect, I can't let Ryan muck around in my personal life for a story." Jeannine's eyes start to narrow. Brace for impact.
"I'll do it," the words leave your mouth before you can stop them, rolling out like they've got minds of their own.
"What!" You don't bother to look over at Michelle, sure of the face she's pulling. It's the same glaze of betrayal in her eyes as the one after breakups and fights. Only you're not consoling her this time; you might be adding to it.
"C'mon, would you rather I do it or Ryan? No offense, Ryan." Michelle seems to consider it, but only a bit. She's stubborn. "Plus, I won't write about you. You can be my inspiration. It'll be like a 'what not to do' early in relationships, you know?"
Michelle hasn't really moved, but Jeannine is nodding along, her smile growing wider with every passing second. "Sold," she says, adding, before Michelle can interrupt, "How to lose a guy in 10 days."
Amelia jumps in, "Why 10 days?"
"We go to print in 11," I realize. Jeannine, even though she is a grown woman, sends a finger gun my way.
"Okay, this has been productive," the editor claps her hands together. She looks over all of us, her mind probably halfway done with assembling the next layout. I love her as much as I can't stand her. It's a fun line to walk. "But I've got a meeting. Everyone who's on the Lando Norris profile--I forget who it is--let's go."
A larger than I expected group gets up, eager to go interview... I wanna say a race car driver? I'm not sure. I follow alongside them, trying to push through the two leads on the article to reach Jeannine. Before you commit to torturing some guy, you want to try to convince her that your Middle East text is perfectly good.
A few wide hallways, two and a half staircases, and a small trip thanks to your heels, and you still haven't reached Jeannine. The path is recognizable, meaning you know the group will reach their destination way too soon for you to make any progress.
Suddenly, a harsh stop. You bump into Madelyn's back, getting a small look over the shoulder from her. "Sorry we're late," you hear Jeannine say, just as you push past the two girls in front. "It's nice to finally meet in person."
The guy in front of you is kinda smaller than you expected him to be. He's not small per se, but you expected a race car driver (do they call them that) to be much less... normal looking. You can't be internally rude to the millionaire Composure contact.
"Nice to meet you as well," the guy's British voice responds. "You're... Jeannine Smythe, I assume?" They shake hands.
"Yes, and this is the team that's going to be working on your profile," she begins turning to introduce the writers. "This is Madelyn-- oh. Yn, what are you doing here?" Immediately acknowledging that this is slightly awkward, Jeannine pulls you by the arm (a bit harshly). "This is Yn Ln, our resident how-to girl."
Lando, you remember his name to be, shakes your hand as well, his smile seeming polite and genuine in a way you didn't anticipate. "My mom reads your blog," he tells you. "What are you working on now?"
Jeannine is quick to intercept you, putting her arm out in front of you. She's smart to do so, too, because you were about to say Middle East relations. "How to lose a guy in 10 days," she seems mighty proud of the title she came up with. "She's actually going to start dating a guy and then drive him away in a week-and-a-half."
"Sounds intriguing," he comments.
"Not as intriguing as our profile, though, hopefully." Madelyn has jumped in, severing any chance you had to get through to Jeannine. You return to your desk, at least having tonight's outing to look forward to.
But even that would be tainted by having to find and dupe a perfectly nice dude. Hook, line, and the opposite of a sinker.
oscarpiastri posted a story!
oscarpiastri Aussie lad in NYC mclaren, lando
Oscar's palms are really sweaty. Back in his hotel room, he spent at least ten minutes staring at his racing gloves, wondering if he should bring them along. Originally, he decided against it, out of fear that he'd look like a Soprano. Now, looking like a Soprano doesn't sound all that bad.
He's standing outside of the bar. Despite the large windows, he can't spot Zak or Lando, a crowd of people blocking his view. "Okay, Oscar, take a deep breath," he says to himself, garnering a few looks from passersby. "It's just an advertisement. It doesn't matter all that much." Wiping his hands against the side of his pants, Oscar takes another second to prepare before entering. Deep breaths do wonders when heâs waiting for lights out. No way they donât work now, when no points are on the line.
Just opening the door, he can hear the chaotic volume of the crowd. Apparently, the tables are supposed to be further back but there's no way he can push through this many people and get there. Pitch is over before it even started. Oscar's never been one for the mosh pit. His nose scrunches up and he starts maneuvering around the people. It's his choir of 'excuse me, sorry' versus the uninterested attendants of the bar. Finally, he spots Zak, just a few feet away. He, and the people Oscar assumes are from the ad campaign, are in deep conversation with Lando, who's wooing them, as always. Oscar hurries up.
"Ouch!" a girl says, moving her foot out from his warpath. In the millisecond he has to look over, Oscar sees that she seems somewhat familiar. "Sorry!" he shouts back at her, almost through the crowd.
"Finally," Zak comments when Oscar reaches the table. He's out of breath, but he sits down regardless. Lando scoots over, but only slightly. "Ms. Greene, Ms. Philips, this is Oscar, he's one of our drivers. But I'm sure you know that." The women take turns in shaking his hand, which has gotten clammy again. "He asked to come to this meeting because he had some sort of pitch to make you." Oscar pretends not to see the amused look on Zak's face. "Take it away, Oscar."
Oscar clears his throat and adjusts the sleeves of his jacket. Even though the past 24 hours have consisted of him repeating the speech to himself, locked in a hotel room, the city beckoning him, Oscar's ming goes blank for a quick second. That girl does look familiar, it focuses on instead of the pitch. She's pretty. Like she should be in a magazine.
"Lando, no offense," he starts, already regretting his opening, "but people are kind of at their limit with you." The look on Zac's face makes Oscar rush to add, "In the advertisement-sense, not in the sport or anything, you're great." He's not super happy with this over-correction either. Lando raises his glass with an amused smile. "You've been at McLaren a long time. You've won the championship"--Oscar manages to get out through gritted teeth--"you've got a stand at Silverstone. You've sold all you have to sell."
"I'll cheers to that," jokes Lando, clinking beers with an equally cheery Zac. The two women take reserved sips, more honed in on Oscar's words than the men.
"And I just think that it would be more effective to let me do the campaign. People love you as much as they can. They're not there yet with me." Oscar's own words hurt, but he knows that his best bet is to appeal to ego. "Plus, like, this is Dior. Your image doesn't suit Dior."
"You can't call me broke, I make more than you--"
"It's not about money," Oscar says. It's always futile to argue with Lando. Plus, this isn't really up to him. There's a glint in Zac's eye that tells Oscar to go on. He adjusts a bit, facing his boss now. "When we had that collaboration with Monster, it was very clear that it should be Lando. That's his vibe. Energy. I'm more reserved. I wouldn't have fit with Monster, just like how Lando doesn't fit with Dior."
In a surprising move, Zac nods to the women, resigning the decision to them. Ms. Greene, the one in the green dress, turns to Ms. Phillips, shrugging slightly. Why not? Oscar assumes it to mean. He feels his stupid palms getting sweaty yet again. Stupid.
"Personally, I don't mind," Lando says. Okay, that adds one more thing to the to-do list: get ears checked. Noticing the surprise, he adds, "C'mon people, you really think my favorite way to spend my time is by posing in itchy sweaters?"
Under her breath, mixing with the music, Ms. Phillips comments, "It's a perfume and jewelry collection."
"I'd be happy to let Oscar do it. But there's just one thing?" He looks at Zac, then back to Oscar. "We know that I--my image--sells." Lando puts the beer down, leaning in a little too menacingly for a friendly bar chat. "Do we know if yours does?"
Zac affirms this, "Lando's got a point." Mimicking his golden boy, Zac, too, leans in. Oscar feels as though he's in a dead quiet zoo, being stared at by people who are about to throw apple cores at him, rather than a crowded bar where no food, not even the remains of it, is free. "Do you sell, Oscar?"
"I do." A small part of Oscar wonders if anyone caught his wavering.
"Okay, well, why don't you prove it?" Lando always has the dumbest ideas. Love the guy. "Let's bet on it."
Oscar actually laughs. Maybe not the best thing to do as the guy asking for something, but it's impossible not to. "Bet on what? Do you want me to prostitute myself or something, see how much I go for?" Lando's high-pitched laugh comes out, his chuckling almost harmonizing with Oscar's. There's been plenty of times when Oscar has considered, seriously, running Lando over with a rent-a-car. But every time he hears Lando's laugh, it's hard to forget that they're friends as well as rivals.
"As much enjoyment as that would give me," Lando starts, "I have a better idea. Get someone to fall in love with you. Then it's yours."
"HA!" Zac claps his hands together as he exclaims. "That's hilarious, I love it." It's not just Oscar's hands that are sweating, it's the whole of him. Already not the romantic, sell-able guy he swore he was. "What does Dior think about the world champion's idea, Ms. Greene, Ms. Phillips?" I hate how Zac talks.
Oscar receives an empathetic look from both of the women. And maybe that's what does it. The past year has been a transformation. People, fans, have gone from empathetic to pitying. He can practically see that same transformation happening here. Somewhere, deep down, Oscar knows he backed away in 2025. Subconsciously, he did. He's unwilling to be met with pity any time soon. The wound has yet to heal; right now, all these people are staring into it.
"Let's do it," Oscar announces. "Let's even pick someone right now." The women shrug. "Be kind, Lando. I have to spend time with this girl for... wait, how long do I have?"
"10 days," Ms. Greene smiles. "That's when the Dior party is."
"You bring a girl who is really in love with you, Piastri," Zac states, "and the campaign is yours."
"But how do we pick a the girl?" Oscar can hear Ms. Phillips ask, but her voice is muffled. Everything around Oscar slows. The clinking glasses echo, the slight spills seem preventable. He can spot the small actions of those beside him that he normally wouldn't. Or he's just trying to compartmentalize, find some benefit to the growing pit in his stomach. He runs a hand through his hair.
Lando waits to answer Ms. Phillips' question. Only when Oscar meets his eyes does he reply, "Her." Almost mechanically, all five of them turn, excitedly searching for Lando's woman of choice. The crowd that previously seemed overwhelming is now a barrier. Oscar can tell himself he's not insane for agreeing to this, so long as he doesn't see the girl who'll be on the receiving end.
Then, he sees her.
God, it's bad that Lando can read his mind. What a disadvantage on the track. He picked the girl. How could he have possibly done that? It's simply unfair. More for Lando than for Oscar. This might be the easiest thing Oscar's ever done, loving her. He doesn't even know her, Jesus, but he's sure. From how she breaks out into a laugh that can't be tamed. She moves gracefully, lightly tapping the bar for a refill. She pushes her hair behind her ears, but it keeps falling into her face. She smiles.
"Deal." He doesn't give it a second thought.
Big mistake.
yn.howto playing are you gonna be my girl - jet
yn.howto me when i love my friends and i love our barrrrr
You're leaning against the bar, pushing the ice in your drink around with your straw. Michelle and Amelia are off somewhere, searching for the guy you're about to con. The longer they take the better. You're not really sure why you agreed to this. It's not getting you where you want to be. None of the past articles have been, really. It's always the same story; write something stupid with the double stupid hope that you'll get to write something not stupid at all.
That's seeming further and further away now. Tricking some perfectly nice guy and bragging about it to the whole magazine world doesnât seem like the stepping stone itâs presented as.
"Hey!" an accented voice says from your right. You blink away your thoughts, quick to straighten your back adjust your hair. You turn and holy shit youâre thankful you do. A strangely familiar, and indescribably beautiful, face, donning a sweetly intriguing smile, stares back at you. Youâve experienced a lot in your lifeâjet skiing, almost falling on the metro tracks, heartbreakâbut youâve never felt this frozen before. Even your fingers feel stuck to the cocktail in your hand.
âHi,â you somehow manage to get out, although thatâs a struggle in and of itself. Pull yourself together. âYn Ln.â
âOscar Piastri.â Those two words click everything into place for you, the embarrassingly simple puzzle comes together before your eyes. A literal F1 driver is standing in front of you, looking illegally good. I think this guyâs partner was at the office today, how crazy is that?
âCute,â you say in an attempt to play off his introduction.
His smile lankily widens. Jesus help me. âThank you.â You tilt your head, not wanting to make this too easy for him. Heâs an athlete, after all. Flirting probably comes as naturally as breathing.
âI meant your name.â Oscar chuckles a bit, looking over at the bartender and raising his hand casually, mouthing his order and a âthank you.â
âThank you two times,â he laughs even more.
âUnattached?â you swirl the liquid in your drink. Hopefully it masks just how invested you are in his answer.
Oscar nods, subtly ignoring the implications, âCurrently.â
âLikewise.â
Itâs his turn to be surprised. His eyes slightly widen and you pretend to miss it. Secretly, you know youâll be imagining it for weeks to come. âSurprising.â You take a sip. Maybe thatâll cool the growing warmth spreading through your chest. It doesnât.
âPsycho?â you ask. There is a certain reputation attached to people of his⊠is status the right word?
Leaning in ever so minimally, Oscar whispers, âRarely.â Your drink disappears in one dangerous swallow. âInterested?â Is he kidding? He must be. The perpetual tapping of your foot and the excessive flush on your cheeks should be evidence enough.
On the off chance itâs not, you reply, âPerhaps.â Itâs unlike you to fall head over heels and youâre not gonna let the fact that this wildly handsome guy drives 300 kilometers an hour change that.
âHungry?â
You match him grin for grin. âStarving.â
âLeaving.â Itâs a statement, not a question, and you hate how good that makes you feel.
âNow?â Heâs moving fast, thatâs for sure, but itâs definitely in character for him. You give it another second, seizing him up, possibly searching for something you missed the first time around. The glint in his eye, the small moles that pepper his face. This could be very bad, very bad indeed.
âOkay.â
guys i know i've been gone but i am BACK! this took so long because i've been unbelievably lazy, new LEVELS of lazy. but this series will be done soon! this was just chapter 1. kinda long and maybe even boring, i know, but i had to do intro. everything else will be super duper fun, promise. i also lifted a ton from the original film, tell me if you noticed <3
oscar piastri and lando's sister always had a dangerous, irresistible attraction. how will oscar keep this secret love affair under wraps?
starring đŠč oscarpiastri x norris!sister!reader
warnings đŠč minors dni!!! smut, oral (f!recieving & m!recieving), yearning!oscar, car sex (it's illegal! don't do it)
word count đŠč 1.6k+
oscarszn radio đŠč LOOSELY BASED ON ENGLISH LOVE AFFAIR BY 5SOS!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY OSCAR <3! had an eleven hour plane ride and a dream. he's so 5sos coded idk why, maybe its js the patriotism in me.
It started on a weekend in May: the weekend of the Miami race. Oscar knew it shouldâve ended before it ever began. For one, it was a terrible idea. For two⊠if Lando ever found out his own sister was the one Oscar had been secretly crossing lines with, thereâd be hell to pay. But by then, he was already too far gone to turn back.
He remembered the first time vividly.
He was standing in a bar in Miami. The night after the race. The crowd was suffocating, bodies pressed together under flashing lights and bass that thudded through his chest. And somehow, in all that chaos, he found you.
Right in the middle of it.
Dancing like nothing else existed. Like the noise, the people, the world itself didnât matter. You moved without hesitation, completely unbothered, swallowed by the rhythm and the sea of strangers around you. God, you looked ridiculous.
And he couldnât look away.
Every movement kept him waiting for the next, like heâd miss something if he blinked.
âHello to you too,â you said, your voice steady. Far steadier than he felt.
Oscar should have looked away then. Should have laughed it off, turned around, and disappeared back into the crowd.
He didnât.
Instead, he stepped closer, close enough to be heard without shouting, close enough to catch the details he hadnât noticed before.
âDo you wanna get out of here?â he asked, confidence surged through him, cheeks tinged pink despite himself.
And with that, you dragged both yourself and him out of the crowd, fingers wrapped around his wrist like youâd decided he was coming with you long before he had a say in it.
The night air hit differently outside. Cooler. Quieter. But the energy between you didnât fade.
It only sharpened.
You led him straight to his car. A sleek, black McLaren, gleaming under the streetlights. His brows lifted slightly, but he said nothing as you slid into the driverâs seat and he followed.
The engine purred to life, smooth and expensive, and within seconds you were pulling away from the chaos.
A beat passed.
Then, cautiously, âUh⊠where are we going?â
Your fingers tapped an uneven rhythm against the steering wheel, betraying just a hint of nerves beneath your otherwise composed exterior.
âYou wanted to get out of there, didnât you?â you said lightly, glancing at him for half a second before returning your eyes to the road. âUnless you meant something else by thatâŠâ
He tried to play it cool, tried to lean back like none of this was getting to him, but the shift in your tone, the quiet boldness behind it, caught him off guard.
Tempted him.
âOh,â you added, the corner of your mouth curling into a grin as you caught on. âYou did mean something else.â
You glanced at him again, this time slower. Knowing.
âYouâre secretly a freak, arenât you?â
He tilted his chin up in mock defiance, but the sharp inhale he couldnât quite hide gave him away.
âWho said it was a secret?â
The car came to a sudden stop, jolting him slightly forward.
Youâd pulled into a deserted parking lot. Empty. Quiet. The city noise reduced to a distant hum. The engine cut, and for a moment, the silence felt louder than the music ever had.
You unclicked your seatbelt. Oscar followed.
Neither of you moved to get out.
âI was waiting for you to text,â Oscar admitted after a moment, his voice quieter now. He reached out, twirling a loose strand of your hair around his finger. When he let it fall, his thumb brushed your cheek, light and fleeting.
He could see you had tried to fight the instinct to lean into his touch.
âI told you congrats in person,â you said, exhaling softly.
âI know, but I couldn't hear you well and whatnot,â he replied, brows pulling together like he didnât quite like his own reasoning. âI just... needed to know you were thinking about me too.â
âOh,â you mused, a small smile tugging at your lips. âWell, your ego can take the night off, then. I have been.â
A quiet laugh left him, softer than before.
âWhen a pretty girl like you drags me to a deserted parking lot,â he said, eyes flicking over you. Slow, deliberate. âand suggests⊠whatever it is youâre suggestingâŠâ
His gaze lingered.
âMy ego doesnât really get the night off.â
âAs long as it doesnât distract you too much.â
âYou donât have to worry about that,â he murmured, voice lower now, steadier despite the way his eyes betrayed him. âYouâre all I can think about these days.â
Heâs trying to rile you up, pull something out of you, and coax you into giving in first. The kind of reaction that would have you folding, chasing, asking for more.
He knows youâre not usually the one who gives in.
But the temptation lingers. Heavy. Persistent.
So instead of risking saying something you might regret, you close the distance.
Your hand finds his jaw, steadying him as you lean forward, pressing your lips to his.
For a second, he stills, like he didnât expect you to make the first move.
Then he responds.
Itâs not rushed, not clumsy. Itâs deliberate. Familiar in a way that makes your chest tighten, like this has been waiting to happen for far too long. His hand comes up instinctively, settling at your waist, pulling you just a fraction closer.
You part your lips, and he follows, deepening the kiss, angling his head like heâs been thinking about this moment as much as you have.
Itâs enough to make your grip tighten.
Enough to make everything else blur out.
Oscar pulls back first, but not far. His forehead nearly brushes yours, breath uneven for a split second before he exhales quietly.
Then, without a word, he shifts.
The cramped space of the car becomes an obstacle he clearly has no patience for. He pushes himself up from his seat, moving over the console with a quiet determination until heâs hovering above you, one hand braced besides your shoulder. Reclining the seat all the way back to make more room.
Heâs not actually bearing any weight on you, but you feel pressed down nonetheless. Oscar slips a hand beneath your dress to tug down on your panties in one swift motion.
Oscarâs lips leave a trail of open-mouthed kisses down your throat and along your collarbone until heâs traced over your stomach and thighs, spreading them open slowly, his gaze flicking up to meet yours. His eyes are dark, heavy-lidded, and so intense that you have to look away.
âLook at me,â he commanded softly, breath hot against the inside of your thighs.Â
Your eyes snap back to his, and then heâs lowering his head, mouth pressed against you.
The first brush of his tongue is almost reverent, slow and purposeful, but he doesnât stay gentle for long. His movements grow more insistent, and every sound you make seems to spur him on further. Hands finding hair, fingers curling tightly into the strands, and you feel him groan against you.
He doesnât stop. Not when your legs tremble or when you moan his name, sounding broken and knowing full well youâve been ruined for other men for the rest of your days. Head thrown back against the seat.
When you finally fall apart beneath him, your whole body shudders with the force of it, and Oscar doesnât move away until heâs coaxed every last aftershock out of you.
When he sits back, his lips are swollen and his cheeks flushed.
âCan I return the favour?â
Oscar grins, lips still coated with remnants of what had just transpired. âI donât know, can you?â
He dragged his thumb across his bottom lip, then pressed it to your own pouted mouth. Your lips part instinctively, and you can taste yourself as you suck.
It feels obscene. Oscar was so dizzied by the whole thing that he thought he might pass out.
Oscar flips you over so now you are straddling him, your knees pressed into the floor by his legs. Itâs a bold move considering your legs feel like they might give way any second. He pulls down his trousers and boxers in one fluid motion, letting his arousal spring free.
Oscar was intimidating, and your face showed it.
Mouth hung open as if he were an entity, and he saw you bite your quivering lip.
âCanât handle it?â he challenged, one eyebrow quirked up.
Just to prove a point, you take as much of him as you can in your mouth on the first attempt. Oscarâs moans and shallow breaths in the background as you kept going. You used your hand to stroke his length, working his shaft where your mouth couldnât reach.
Just as you had done moments before, Oscar tangled his hand in your hair, freeing the strands of your hair. He grabbed a fistful, yanking with a force thatâs just on the right side of painful. âFuck, __,â he pants, using his other hand to grasp the door handle to steady himself. âYouâre doing so good for me, baby.â
Oscar knew the term of endearment sparked something inside of you that youâve never felt before. You choke, throat spasming, and he actually whimpered at the sensation. You barely had time to pull back, tongue swirling around his leaking head before heâs coming in your half-open mouth. You swallow what lingers on your tongue, letting the rest spill down your chin and onto your chest, some getting on your dress. Oscar watching your every move.
âMy brother should never know about this,â you mused, voice hoarse.
Oscar blinks. He looks dazed, still staring at your mouth like its an enigma. âYouâre one of a kind, __ Norris,â he muttered to himself.
And yeah, you could say the same thing about him too. And now, youâre both utterly fucked.
after that night in miami, oscar thought you were both just waiting for the right moment to finally address it. but the racing calendar moves fast, and apparently, so do you.
word count đŠč 3.1k+ (longest and filthiest smut iâve ever fucking written genu wtf iâm going to hell for this)
oscarszn radio đŠč i was spamming english love affair so much idt i can listen to the song again in the next 3 months⊠also personal lore update! i broke up with my ex so this is lowk a reenactment of our breakup đ (with a better ending tho)
The months following that night in Miami had been a quiet, confusing limbo. Both of you, too hyper-aware of the lines you were crossing and the danger of Lando finding out.
Instead, you fell into a pattern of sending sporadic, casual texts every few races. But you never actually talked about what had happened in that car. It was the elephant in the room, left completely unaddressed, even as the unspoken weight of it lingered in every polite nod you exchanged in the paddock.
Oscar thought you were both just waiting for the right moment to finally address it.
But the racing calendar moves fast, and apparently, so did you.
By the time the Singapore grand prix rolled around, the tension wasn't just on the track. It was suffocating the air inside the prestigious gala overlooking the harbour.
Oscar stood near the edge of the terrace, a glass of champagne held loosely in his hand, his eyes scanning the glamorous crowd. He was looking for Lando, but instead, he found you. He always found you.
You looked breathtaking, dressed to the tens for the occasion, but Oscarâs chest tightened when he realised you werenât alone. Your hand was tucked neatly into the arm of another man; someone who clearly wasnât just a friend. the way he laughed at something you said, the casual, possessive press of his hand against the small of your back. It made Oscarâs blood run cold.
A boyfriend. You had a boyfriend.
Oscar stared, a bitter taste rising in his throat. A heavy wave of jealousy hit him, sharp and ugly. He had spent months operating under the assumption that there was a quiet, unresolved connection between you, an unspoken understanding that hadnât just evaporated because you were trying to be careful.
He didn't approach you. He couldnât risk Lando catching on, and he certainly couldn't trust himself to be polite to the guy standing next to you. So, he left early, the image of you two burned into his mind.
Three hours later, the quiet hallways of Oscarâs hotel floor were entirely silent. Oscar had his door cracked open. Waiting. He knew you were staying with Lando this weekend, whose room was just a few doors down the same corridor.
When the elevator chimed and the soft clicking of your heels echoed against the marble floor, Oscar didn't hesitate.
He stepped out into the hallway just as you walked past. Before you could even register his presence, his hand wrapped firmly around your wrist. just like how you had grabbed him in Miami. He pulled you back, tugging you straight into the entryway of his suite and shutting the heavy door behind you.
âOscar! What the hell?â you gasped, stumbling slightly before finding your footing. You looked at him, startled and breathless. âAre you insane?â
âI donât care.â Oscar snapped, his voice a low, fierce hiss. The usual calm demeanour he maintained on the track was entirely gone, replaced by a raw, uncharacteristic frustration. âWho was that tonight?â
You blinked, the realisation hitting you, followed quickly by a defensive flare of anger. âExcuse me? You don't get to demand answers from me.â
âI do when you've been acting like Miami meant nothing,â he countered, stepping closer, his jaw clenched tightly. âWe were in contact⊠for months! and you didnât even give me a heads up about you having a boyfriend! â
âBecause there was nothing to tell!â you shouted back, matching his volume, your own frustration boiling over. âWe were sending casual texts about races, Oscar! You never brought up Miami, and I didn't want to force something if you were just trying to forget it happened!â
âHow could I not be?â Oscar's voice dropped, the anger giving way to a desperate, breathless confusion. âIt meant something to me. You mean something to me.â
You were silent. Standing there breathless at the words he just uttered.
Oscar, oblivious, continued, âIt wasnât a one time thingâ at least not to me.â
Oscarâs gaze snapped back up to yours, his eyes dark with an intensity that made your breath hitch.
âI didnât choose to stay in the dark,â he said, his voice dropping to a fierce, desperate whisper as he stepped even closer, completely invading your space. âI stayed quiet because I was terrified. Terrified of what Lando would say, terrified of ruining the one thing I couldnât stop thinking about. But seeing you with that guy tonight. Seeing him touch you. It drove me out of my mind. I canât just pretend it didn't happen. I canât look at you and just see Landoâs sister anymore, and I need you to know that Iââ
âOscar, oh my god, shut up,â you breathed, the sheer weight of his words, the proximity, and the overwhelming panic of Lando being just doors away colliding all at once.
Before he could utter another syllable, you reached up, your hands catching the lapels of his dinner jacket, and pulled him down to bury your lips against his.
The suddenness of it cut his sentence clean off. Oscar froze for a fraction of a second, his entire body going rigid with shock as his brain scrambled to catch up with the sudden shift. But the hesitation vanished instantly.
A groan caught in the back of his throat when your fingers tangled through his hair, just as he tugged you closer by the waist, his fingers branding your skin when they roamed around your body.
It felt as though everything had come to a halt around you, the only living element being the two of you, tethered by the sizzling energy coursing through your veins as you kissed, and kissed, and kissed, without ever wanting to stop.
You were panting by the time he moved to pepper your jaw with light kisses, back arching into the palm of his hands.
You shook as the realisation rocked into you like a reckless tidal wave: Oscar wanted you, just as much as you wanted him. He kissed and touched you like you were his salvation. Still, you needed to hear him say it, otherwise you would feel like you were stuck in a fever dream.
âFuck,â he murmured, releasing a shaky breath. Effortlessly, he hoisted you up onto the table, spreading your thighs with his hips. He dotted your jaw with kisses before pulling back to look into your eyes.
Oscarâs gaze softened, like he saw something in your eyes. His forehead fell on yours, and he kissed you again. More softly this time, more carefully, like he was trying to understand whether this was real or not.
âYouâre shaking,â he said against your mouth.
Your throat burned, and before you could realise it, tears were threatening to escape.
âWhatâs wrong?â The pad of his thumb ran under your eye, his other hand caressing the small of your back.
âI thoughtâ never mind.â
âHey, talk to me.â
Dropping your gaze to his chest, watching it rise and fall as you placed your palm above his thundering heart.
âI thought you really didnât want me. All this back and forthâ I just thought you werenât interested or attracted to me anymore. That Iâm just Landoâs sister to you, and nothing more.â
Oscar lifted your chin, obliging you to look into his eyes. âYouâve always been so much more than that. Iâve always been into you.â
Your brows shot up in surprise. âAlways?â
The timid nod Oscar gave was utterly adorable. âYes. I canât think of a single moment where you werenât on my mind.â
âSo why havenât you sought me out?â
He swallowed thickly. âI just donât want to fuck it up.â
Pressing his hard bulge against your centre, showing how desired you were by him.
âBut that doesnât mean I donât want to dive my tongue in between your thighs every time you strut around in those skirts and high heels around the paddock. Doesn't mean I donât want to fuck you senseless. And doesnât mean I donât jerk off by thinking of you in the shower.â
âOh, is that why your showers run for so long?â
He smirked. âMaybe.â He kissed your jaw, your throat. âDo you want an invitation next time?â
âTempting. Can I give you one of my own?â Brushing your lips to his, leading to him capturing yours into a fervent kiss.
âFuck, yes.â
You were already panting, and he hadnât even properly touched you yet.
When his palms skittered along your spine, unzipping your dress, you shivered. When his hoarse voice echoed, you locked your legs around his hips.
âI havenât stopped thinking about you for a single minute. I can still taste you on my tongue. I can still hear your moans. Feel your nails dig into my hair. But this is different now, and you know it. This is not us bumping into each other at a club and giving each other head in a car because weâre both high on adrenaline and need to get it out of our system. Youâre the only one I let in. The only one I want.â
âYou want me?â You echoed steadily, firmly.
âYes.â
âThen beg for it, golden boy.â
Trailing his lips from your thigh to the inside of your knee and down your shin, Oscar sank to the floor. Slowly, deliberately. Without so much as detaching his gaze from yours. A heartbeat later, he was on both knees, pleading eyes looking up at you. Brimmed with desperation and unwavering desire. He continued to brand featherlight kisses to your skin and made uncontrollable shivers appear in the wake of his devastating touch. âPlease. Let me have you.â
You pulled him up by his hair, heartbeat erratic inside your chest.
There was no hesitation in your mind. There was no doubt clinging. Holding his gaze, you made sure the sincerity alighting your eyes was as earnest as your confession. âI want you,â you said softly.
âI want you, Oscar, and I need you right now, or else Iâll lose my mind.â
His lips tilted upwards. âSo bossy.â
Nevertheless, he slanted his mouth upon yours, stealing the breath straight from your lungs. His tongue was seeking dominance, brushing against yours in a salacious dance as his hands hiked your dress up. He groaned, palming you through your panties, then bucking his arousal into you.
You moaned at the friction, and you felt his smug smirk against your mouth.
The next moment, he picked you up. Without so much as breaking your heady kiss, he walked both of you over to the sofa, laying you down on the arm of it.
His fingers trailed over your shoulders, toying with the thin straps of your dress. He pushed them down your upper arms, then moved to the hem of your dress to slip his big, warm hands to touch your skin. He groaned softly in the back of his throat, bucking his hips into yours.
âDoes he touch you like this?â he asked.
There it was. The possessiveness you had seen flash in his eyes when he watched you with him earlier tonight.
You didnât respond. You wanted to rile him up. Didnât want him to hold back.
When his thumb skimmed the underside of your breast. Then, he fully grabbed it, like heâd done so in the past.
âGoddamn it.â He played with your nipples, causing you to writhe under him. âDoes he make you moan like this?â
Oscar pressed a light kiss on the swell of your breast, pushing your bra up before taking it between his lips.
âAnswer me,â he demanded, pushing the dress until it fell onto the sofa, leaving you completely exposed. âDonât tell me what to do,â you bit out, fingers tangling through his dishevelled locks.
âBaby, if you donât do what I ask of you, Iâm going to play with you. Iâm going to edge you and not let you come until you prove to me that youâre a good girl. Iâm going to make you wait, moan, and pant. Youâll be begging me to come. As much as Iâd love to torture you, I want my girl to be satisfied as soon as possible.â
In other circumstances, you would have played games with him, and would have challenged him. But as you felt your pulse fall between your legs, all you could do was listen to his command. âNo, he doesnât.â
He smiled up at you. âGood girl.â
As he used a hand to pull a strap of your bra off your shoulders, the other one found your aroused centre through the panties.
Oscar pressed a finger to your clit, gently circling. âAnd does he make you feel like this?â
You dragged the other strap down. âNo.â
âThatâs what I fucking thought.â
âJealousy suits you,â you jested, arching into him. âHeâs just a friend. Iâve never wanted to fuck him. He was just helping me to make you jealous.â
âGood to know. It worked.â Oscar pulled your panties completely off. His jaw went slack as he sat back on his heels, pushing his locks away from his forehead.
âHoly shit,â he whispered gruffly, staring at every exposed inch of you. Like he was studying a sculpture. âYou are beautiful.â
Oscarâs lips descended down your stomach. He smirked as he noticed the shivers appearing on your skin.
âPlease,â you cried out when he inserted one finger in a slow, teasing motion.
He looked up at you through thick lashes. âPlease what?â
âPlease stop teasing me.â
âSo polite.â He expelled a breath and stood up, raking his gaze all over your body. âAnd so fucking perfect.â
He tugged his slacks down.
You blinked at his cock springing upwards, hard and impressive. You moaned when his hand wrapped around the base, then let your cold fingers find your clit. You circled it, looking up into his eyes.
âYouâ fuck. Youâre so hot.â
Still lying down, you positioned yourself by his knees and let your head dangle in emptiness, baring your throat to him as he stood by your head. âOnly if you come here.â
Stepping forward, Oscar smirked down at you. He nudged your lips with the tip of his cock, already leaking with pre-cum, then whimpered when your tongue swirled around the crown.
âFuck,â he groaned. âI forgot how amazing your mouth is.â
You moaned around him as he pushed forward. With this angle, you couldnât see the look on his face, but imagining his expression made the wetness between your thighs dribble down your skin.
You listened to his whimper, pictured his lips parting, brows bunched together, chest heaving.
You let him fuck your throat at an even pace all the while you drew fast circles around your clit, driving yourself towards the precipice as you sucked on his throbbing cock.
âFuck, baby. Just like that.â
Oscar grabbed your breasts, played with your nipples, then let his fingers travel from your torso to your navel. He plunged two fingers inside your drenched core, and you moaned again.
âYouâre drenching my hand already,â he rasped. âMaking such a mess.â
You responded with a moan, and his body jerked on a spasm.
âTake big breaths for me,â he ordered. âGonna fuck this perfect, bratty mouth until I come. I missed this. Missed you. I dreamed of you every single night.â
You could feel your head spinning, not just because of the way you were positioned, but because of the way he was working his fingers inside you.
You were a moaning mess, feeling beads of saliva trickle down your cheek. Oscar used his other hand to rub your clit, bucking into his hands and taking more of him in your mouth. Your tongue brushed his pulsing shaft, your throat welcoming him.
âAtta girl. Youâre taking it so well,â he panted. âWonât last long.â
He released a guttural groan, chanting your name, and when your core clenched around his fingers, he retreated from your mouth to let you fall apart. Arching off the sofa, your thighs closing as you cried out, tremors taking over your body whilst your vision whitened.
âI love the way you come. Youâre so beautiful.â
Coming down from your high, you felt Oscarâs release hit your breasts, and you opened your eyes to see him pump his cock dry, hoarse moans escaping his mouth.
He was panting hard, but then, he was on his knees, dragging you towards the edge of the sofa and spreading your legs apart.
âAbsolutely drenched.â
âAre you complaining?â You scoffed.
âNo. Just admiring my work.â He kissed the inside of your thigh.
You didnât have the time to think as his lips wrapped around your clit, his hands kneading your breasts. His tongue lapped fiercely at your clit with abandon, like a man starved.
âOh, fuck, Oscar,â you moaned, trembling when his tongue went flat out from your entrance to your clit. He suctioned on it, smirking when your hips bucked into his face.
âI canât get enough of you. You taste just like I remembered, if not even better.â He inserted two fingers all at once, his tongue continuing to lap steadily.
Your fingers dug into his skull when you pulled him as close as you could, throwing your head back when he licked your folds. When you looked down at him, he was watching you, smiling devilishly against your clit.
âOh, God.â
He groaned against you, and you whispered his name.
Applying the perfect amount of pressure around your nipples, the stars bursting behind your eyes made you moan loudly. When you unravelled again, you held his head in place, just where you wanted him, the rapid motions of his tongue never ceasing and coaxing you through the high.
âShit, woman,â he breathed, rising until his hands caressed your hips. âYou are the sexiest person I know.â
Gently, you cradled his jaw and he was the one to lean in and kiss you tenderly. You moaned at the taste of yourself on his tongue, already wanting more.
âWe shouldâve done this sooner,â you admitted, breathing out a small giggle.
That elicited a soft laugh from Oscar as well.
As he helped you clean up with a warm cloth, he got you into one of his tshirts. You couldnât help but notice the softness in his gaze, the blush on his face, the smile on his lips. He carried you into his bed, despite your complaints, and tucked you in.
The Maldives was supposed to be a dream honeymoon for Max and Pietra. Unfortunately, thanks to a seafood disaster and one non-refundable booking, it turned into a ânightmareâ for you and Lando Norris.
pairing. Lando Norris x fem! reader.
warnings. romance, humor, slow burn, fake dating -ish, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, 14k words. food poisoning; mention of throwing up. profanity, pet names. inspired by book the unhoneymooners by christina lauren.
soundtrack. non-refundable!, an official playlist.
THE WEDDING WAS PERFECT.Â
Too perfectâthe kind of perfect that practically dares the universe to ruin it out of spite. And honestly, you shouldâve known something was coming the moment the string quartet hit that suspiciously angelic high note.
At first, it was subtle. A couple of guests slipped off the dance floor, one by one, like theyâd suddenly remembered they left the oven on at home. Someone else excused themselves with the kind of tight smile people wear when theyâre trying not to vomit in public. Another guest went pale enough to blend into the tablecloth before disappearing entirely. Nobody panicked. It was a wedding. People drink too much. People overheat. People make questionable choices.
You didnât think twice about it.
Because why would you? Everything was beautiful. Magical. Soft and glowing and full of love.
Wellâexcept for one glaring exception.
Lando Norris.
Maxâs best friend. His best man. The human equivalent of a migraine wrapped in a tux.
He was somehow still laughing, still talking, still managing to irritate you from across the room without even opening his mouth. It was a talent, really. You thought he was smug, insufferable, and entirely too pleased with himself for someone who hadnât contributed anything meaningful to society except chaos and a few podiums.
As for what he thought about you?
You didnât care. Truly. Deeply. Profoundly.
(And if you repeated that enough times, maybe one day it would even feel true.)
The only downside to Pietra marrying Max was the unfortunate, unavoidable reality that Lando Norris was now a permanent fixture in your life. A recurring character. A long-term problem. A headache with a lifetime warranty.
The thought alone made your skin crawl in a way that felt almost personal.
The weirdest part wasnât the disappearing guests or the suspiciously pale groomsman who nearly faceâplanted into the cake. No, the weirdest part came when you realized you hadnât seen Pietra in⊠a while.
At first, you brushed it off. She was a newlywed. Newlyweds vanish. Itâs practically a wedding tradition. Maybe she was touching up her makeup. Maybe she was having a moment with Max. Maybe she was hiding from Lando, which would be completely understandable and honestly relatable.
But something felt off.
Pietra wasnât the type to disappear without a word, especially not from her own receptionâthe event sheâd planned down to the color of the napkin rings. And the longer you went without seeing her, the more that uneasy little knot twisted in your stomach. It wasnât panic yet, but it was definitely panicâadjacent.
So, for your own peace of mind, you pulled out your phone and called her.
The line rang. Once. Twice. Three times.
Then it connected.
âP? Where are you? Are you okay?â
There was a pauseâthe kind that immediately tells you the answer is no.
When she finally spoke, her voice was thin and shaky, nothing like the glowing, ecstatic bride youâd been celebrating with an hour ago.
âCan you come to our room?â
That was it.
No explanation. No reassurance. No âdonât freak out.â
Just those six words.
The call ended a second later, leaving you staring at your phone like it had personally offended you.
And suddenly, that uneasy feeling in your stomach sharpened into something much closer to fullâblown panicâthe kind that makes your heart thump too hard and your brain start listing every possible worstâcase scenario in alphabetical order.
Because if Pietra sounded like that on her wedding night, something was very, very wrong.
You hurried through the hotel hallway, moving as fast as your heels would let youâwhich, unfortunately, was not very fast at all. Your phone was still in your hand, screen glowing with the last call, and you were so focused on Pietraâs shaky voice replaying in your head that you didnât even look up when you turned the corner.
Which is exactly why you slammed straight into someone.
âOw!â
You stumbled back, clutching your phone like it might soften the impact. And then you looked up.
Of course.
Of course it was Lando Norris.
Because why wouldnât the universe add insult to injury.
He steadied himself, then gave you a onceâover that somehow managed to be both annoyed and judgmental, like youâd personally offended him by existing in his path.
âWatch it,â he said.
âYou watch it,â you shot back, because you refused to let him have the last word. Not tonight. Not ever.
You pointed a finger at him, ready to continue the argument you two had apparently been having since the day you metâbut then you both reached for the same door handle.
Pietra and Maxâs room.
You froze.
He froze.
âWhat the fuck are youââ
Before either of you could finish, a voice croaked from inside the room. Weak. Miserable. Dramatic in a way only one person could manage.
âStop flirting and come in! Both of you!â
Max.
Or, more accurately, whatever was left of Max.Â
Lando grimaced so hard it looked painful. âIf he says that again, Iâm going to be sick.â
He shot you a lookâthe kind that said this is your fault somehowâbefore pushing the door open.
Honestly?
You felt the same way.
Instead of dignifying him with a response, you rolled your eyes so hard it was practically a workout and followed him inside.
Whatever was happening inside the room looked like something straight out of a lowâbudget horror movieâthe kind where you already know half the cast wonât make it to the sequel.
The wedding? Completely forgotten. Pietraâs dress was crumpled in a sad little heap on the floor, like it had given up on life. Maxâs tux jacket was draped over a chair in a way that suggested heâd either thrown it or collapsed out of it. Hard to tell.
Pietra was curled up on the bed, pale and miserable, clutching a pillow like it was the only thing anchoring her to this world. Max sat hunched over at the table with his head in his hands, breathing like someone who had seen things. Terrible things. Things he would never emotionally recover from.
âFor newlyweds, you two look horrible,â Lando observed, because apparently he felt the need to narrate the obvious.
As if the scene didnât already scream we are dying.
âYou have no idea,â Pietra groaned, her voice barely above a whisper.
âNever eating seafood again,â Max muttered into his palms.
You frowned, stepping further into the room. âWhat happened?â
âThe seafood happened,â Pietra said weakly, like the words themselves were painful.
Max lifted his head just enough to confirm it. âIt was bad. Everyoneâs sick.â
âEveryone?â you repeated, because surely this couldnât be as dramatic as it sounded.
âMy parents are sick. Pietraâs cousins are sick. Half the wedding is sick.â He swallowed hard, face twisting. âI think Iâm gonna thrââ
âOkay, mate, we get it,â Lando cut in quickly, hands up like he was warding off a demon.
Neither of you needed the visual.
A heavy silence settled over the roomâthe kind that comes right before someone admits something truly stupid.
And then Lando, because he physically could not help himself, added,
âI told you seafood was a terrible idea.â
Max slowly lifted his head, eyes dead, soul gone. âNot helping.â
âJust saying.â
Of course he was.
Suddenly, a thought hit youâsharp and obvious, like the kind of realization you really shouldâve had ten minutes earlier.
You turned to Lando, narrowing your eyes.
âIf everyone ate the seafood⊠why arenât you sick?â
He looked at you like youâd just accused him of kicking puppies for fun. His whole face twisted, offended on a spiritual level.
âI hate seafood,â he said, dripping with disgust. Like it was common knowledge. Like it was printed on his passport. Like you were personally stupid for not knowing his dietary preferences.
Before you could roll your eyes hard enough to sprain something, he pointed right back at you.
âCould ask you the same. Why arenât you sick?â
âIâm on a diet,â you said with a shrug, as if that explained everything.
His eyebrows shot up, and he looked far too pleased with himself as he looked toward Max.
âSee? This is what happens when you order seafood even though half your guests donât even eat it.â
âYou two donât mean half the guests,â Pietra muttered from the bed, rolling her eyes so weakly it was almost impressive she managed it at all.
âWellâbut thatâs not why youâre here,â Max started.
The tone in his voice shifted. Instantly. Like someone had dimmed the lights and added ominous background music.
This wasnât a joke anymore.
Even Lando went quietâwhich was honestly the most alarming symptom in the room.
âWe canât go on our honeymoon,â Max said weakly. âWe literally canât even stand, let alone fly to the Maldives.â
Pietra raised a shaky hand from the bed, like she was giving sworn testimony. âAlso⊠itâs nonârefundable.â
As if that somehow made the situation more tragic.
Which, unfortunately, it did.
âAnd?â you asked slowly, because you already didnât like where this was going. âWhat does that have to do with us?â
Max glanced at Pietra.
Then at you.
Then at Lando.
Then back at you.
âSince youâre the only ones who are able to goâŠâ
No.
No, no, no.
Absolutely not.
Your stomach dropped so fast it felt like missing a step on the stairs.
Did they justâ
Did they seriously justâ
âAbsolutely not,â Lando cut in immediately, shaking his head so hard his curls bounced.
For once, you agreed with him.
Violently.
Because there was no universeânoneâwhere you and Lando Norris should be sent on a romantic, luxury honeymoon together.
Which, of course, meant that was exactly what was about to happen.
No.
No, absolutely not.
Your stomach dropped so fast you felt it in your toes. They werenât actually suggesting this. They couldnât be. This had to be a fever dream caused by secondhand seafood fumes.
For once, you were perfectly aligned with him. A rare, terrifying moment of unity.
But Max wasnât done.
âItâs a private villa,â he said, voice wobbling. âSome newlywed activitiesââ
You stared at him like heâd just confessed to a crime. âDid you hit your head while eating the seafood too?â
Because that was the only explanation. Truly. The man had lost brain function. You were going to wake up any second now. Maybe youâd fall off a chair and snap back into the correct timeline. Or maybe you should hit your head and skip straight to the part where none of this was happening.
âItâll go to waste if you donât go,â Pietra added, sounding both tragic and dramatic, which was impressive considering she looked like she might faint at any moment.
Lando let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. âThen let it go to waste. Problem solved.â
âGood thing weâre not asking you,â Max said, ignoring him completely. âWeâre telling you.â
Silence fell over the room.
Not the normal kind.
The bad kind.
The kind that meant decisions had already been made without your consent.
âI already called the resort,â Max continued, like he was ripping off a BandâAid. âWe told them weâre sick and canât go. But ourâalso freshly marriedâfriends will go instead of us.â
You blinked.
Once.
Twice.
No.
No.
Absolutely no.
What the actual fuck.
This had to be illegal. Or a prank. Or a shared hallucination brought on by the cursed seafood poisoning half the hotel.
Max was clearly too exhausted to keep talking. Pietra, unfortunately, was not. She pushed herself up just enough to finish his sentence, her voice thin but determined.
âWe just changed the names,â she said, like that explained anything at all.
You stared at her, waiting for the part where she clarified. She didnât.
âWhat the fuck is that supposed to mean?â
Pietra smiledâweakly, proudly, and completely out of touch with reality. She looked like she might faint at any second, yet somehow she still had the nerve to look pleased with herself.
âFrom now on, youâre Mr. and Mrs. Norris!â
The words hung in the air like a bomb that hadnât decided whether to explode or not. Too cheerful. Too final. Too insane to process.
For a moment, nobody reacted. The room went still, like even the walls were trying to understand what sheâd just said.
Then everything reacted at once.
âI hope youâre fucking kidding,â Lando said, voice flat and sharp.
âNo,â Pietra replied immediately, not even blinking.
âIâm not going anywhere with her,â he snapped, pointing at you like you were the problem.
âIâm not going anywhere with him,â you shot back at the exact same time, because if he was pointing, you were pointing too.
Silence fell againâheavy, miserable, the kind that made you want to walk straight into the ocean.
Max didnât even lift his head. He just groaned into the table like heâd accepted his fate and yours.
Pietra sighed, sounding far too calm for someone who had just detonated your life. âWell,â she said, âgood thing itâs already done.â
And just like that, your nightmare didnât just have a name.
It had a reservation.
A villa.
A flight to the Maldives.
And a husband you didnât even like.
When the realization finally settled between you and your apparently new husband, all you could do was let out a long, exhausted groanâthe kind that came from deep in your soul, the kind that said I did not sign up for this. It was the only reaction your brain could manage. Your thoughts were basically just static and disbelief.
Lando, on the other hand, had plenty of energy left to complain.
âMate, I love you,â he said, turning toward Max with the dramatic flair of someone delivering a eulogy, âbut right now I hate you so much.â
Max didnât even lift his head. He didnât argue. He didnât defend himself. He just sat there, hunched over the table like a man who had accepted every bad decision that led him to this moment.
Pietra gave a weak little wave from the bed, like she was blessing a doomed union. âYouâll thank us later,â she mumbled, which was bold for someone who looked like she might pass out midâsentence.
Lando exhaled sharply, then looked between you, Max, and Pietra with the expression of a man who had lost all hope in humanity. âEnjoy your free honeymoon,â he said flatly. A beat. âLovebirds.â
You and Lando turned to each other at the exact same time.
âNo.â
It came out perfectly synchronizedâsame tone, same disgust, same absolute refusal. If you werenât so horrified, you mightâve been impressed.
And for the first time all night, even Max looked slightly amused. His mouth twitched, just barely, like he wanted to smile but didnât have the physical strength to commit to it.
Which was great.
Fantastic.
Wonderful.
At least someone was enjoying the beginning of your shared nightmare.
ââââââââââââ
The moment you stepped off the boat, you regretted not eating the seafood too. Honestly, at least then youâd be back at the hotel, curled up on a bathroom floor, dramatically begging for death like everyone else. Instead, you were hereâin paradiseâwith the one person who could make even the Maldives feel like a punishment. You were at that stage of life where you would genuinely prefer food poisoning over spending any time alone with Lando Norris. And that said a lot.
The Maldives were gorgeous, of course. The water was so turquoise it looked fake, the sand was blindingly white, and the palm trees swayed like they were performing for a commercial. Everything around you was warm and soft and perfect, the kind of place people saved up for years to visit. It should have been paradise. It should have been peaceful. It should have been romantic.
But then there was the idiot standing next to you.
Lando looked around with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, somehow managing to look annoyed despite being surrounded by literal postcard scenery. His expression said heâd rather be anywhere else. You hoped he was regretting this as much as you were. Preferably more.
A pair of resort employees approached with bright, excited smilesâthe kind of smiles people only have when they have no idea what kind of disaster theyâre dealing with.
âWelcome, Mr. and Mrs. Norris! Congratulations on your honeymoon.â
Your eye twitched so hard you were surprised it didnât fall out. If one more person called you that, you might actually swim back to the mainland.
âThanks,â Lando said smoothly, flashing them one of his signature smiles like he hadnât spent the last 48 hours insisting he wasnât going anywhere with you.
You shot him a look sharp enough to cut glass.
What happened to Iâm not going anywhere with her?
He caught your glare and shrugged, all innocent and useless.
Traitor.
Not wanting to be rude to the only people here who hadnât personally ruined your life, you forced a polite smile. Before you could correct themâor screamâone of the employees picked up your suitcase with cheerful efficiency.
âCome with us,â she said brightly. âWeâll show you your villa.â
The walk to the villa was painfully, almost comically silent. Not a single word passed between you. You stared straight ahead like you were being marched to your doom. Lando did the same, jaw tight, hands shoved in his pockets, looking like he was being forced to attend his own funeral. The two resort employees leading the way kept glancing back at you both, probably wondering what kind of honeymooning couple walked like they were on their way to court.
Eventually, one of them cleared her throat, clearly trying to break the tension before it swallowed all four of you whole.
âIâm sorry about your friends.â
You blinked, pulled out of your internal spiral. Right. Max and Pietra. The actual newlyweds. The ones currently dying in a hotel room.
âYeah,â you said. âIt sucks.â
âThey were very upset when they called,â she continued gently. âBut they seemed happy that you two could still enjoy the honeymoon.â
You nearly tripped over your own feet.
Happy.
That was certainly one way to describe it. Delusional was another. Criminally optimistic was a third.
Beside you, Lando made a noiseâsomething between a laugh and a strangled groan. Honestly, it couldâve been either. Or both.
âAnd how long are you two married?â
You froze.
Well.
Eh.
You didnât exactly have a script for this. You didnât know whether to lie, tell the truth, or throw yourself into the ocean and let the fish sort it out.
Before you could decide, Lando spoke.
âTwo months.â
You whipped your head toward him so fast you almost gave yourself whiplash.
What.
The.
Fuck.
Lando didnât even look at you. He just kept walking beside you like he hadnât casually invented an entire fake marriage timeline out of thin air. No hesitation. No shame. No warning. Just two months tossed into the universe like it was a normal, reasonable answer.
The employee beamed at the both of you, completely fooled.
âHow lovely! Newlyweds.â
âYeah,â Lando replied smoothly, slipping into the role like heâd been practicing in the mirror. âStill getting used to it.â
You stared at him, your brain shortâcircuiting.
Still getting used to it.
Still. Getting. Used. To. It.
Was he insane? Was he actually insane? Because that was the only explanation for the confidence with which he delivered that line. You caught the tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his mouthâthe smallest hint of amusement, like he knew exactly what he was doing and was enjoying every second of your suffering.
The bastard was enjoying this.
âOh, absolutely,â you said through gritted teeth, forcing a smile so stiff it couldâve cracked. âEvery day is a surprise.â
Lando finally glanced at you, and for a split second, you saw itâthe spark of amusement in his eyes, the quiet little Iâm having fun and you canât stop me glint.
You hated it.
You hated him.
The villa was ridiculous.
Not just niceâinsultingly nice. The kind of nice that made you question every choice youâd ever made in your life. The terrace stretched out over the water like it was showing off. There was a glass slide straight into the ocean, an infinity pool that blended into the horizon, an outdoor shower, two separate bathrooms (mercifully), and enough space to host three families, a wedding, and maybe a small cult.
It was paradise.
And you hated that you were seeing it with him.
The second the employees left, you spun toward Lando.
âWhat the hell was that?â
Lando dropped his bag onto the floor like he owned the place. âWhat was what?â
ââTwo monthsâ?â you repeated, voice rising. âWhere did you even get two months from?â
He shrugged, completely unbothered. âSounded believable.â
âBelievable?â
âWhat was I supposed to say?â he shot back. ââActually, weâve known each other for years and canât stand one another, but our friends got food poisoning and sent us on their honeymoon insteadâ?â
You opened your mouth.
Closed it. and opened it again.
ââŠWell, maybe not like that.â
âExactly,â he said, like heâd just won a debate on national television.
âThat doesnât mean you get to invent an entire marriage!â
âOh, come on,â he said, already wandering deeper into the villa like a man on vacation. âItâs harmless.â
âHarmless?â
âYes.â
âYou made me your wife.â
Lando paused midâstep and turned, looking genuinely confused.
âYou already were my wife.â
The room went still. You stared at him. He stared back.
Three long, painful seconds passed.
Then something flickered across his faceârealization, horror, embarrassment, all at once.
âOh.â
Your eye twitched. âOh?â
âOkay,â he winced, âthat sounded worse out loud.â
âYou think?â
âI mean she called you Mrs. Norris first. She made you my wife,â Lando tried to defend himself.
Before you could continue tearing him apart, a knock interrupted you.
Both of you froze.
The door opened immediatelyâbecause apparently privacy was optional hereâand one of the resort employees peeked in with an apologetic smile.
âOh! Sorry, one more thing.â
You instinctively stepped away from Lando like he was radioactive. He noticed. Of course he did. The employee didnât.
âYour first romantic dinner is at eight tonight.â
Silence.
âWhat?â you said.
âRomantic dinner,â she repeated cheerfully. âOn the beach. Just the two of you.â
You slowly turned your head toward Lando.
He turned toward you. Then both of you turned back to her.
âWe donât needââ
âWonderful!â she cut in. âSee you at eight!â
The moment she left, you pushed open the bedroom door.
And immediately stopped. Of course.
Of course there was one bed. Not just any bedâone large, perfectly made, aggressively romantic bed positioned directly in front of the ocean like it was trying to prove a point. Roseâpetal energy without the actual petals. The kind of bed that practically whispered consummate something.
You just stared at it, frozen in place.
Lando leaned against the doorframe, peered inside, and let out the most dramatic sigh youâd ever heard.
âOh my god,â he groaned, rolling his eyes. âThereâs really only one bed in this bigâass villa?â
âWell obviously,â you snapped. âItâs a honeymoon villa, dumbass.â
âRight,â he muttered, like the universe had personally wronged him.
Silence settled between youâthick, awkward, the kind that made everything feel ten times worse. You could practically hear the ocean outside judging both of you.
Then Lando nodded toward the bed with the seriousness of someone offering a noble sacrifice.
âIâll happily take the floor,â he announced.
You blinked.
Once. Twice.
âWow,â you said. âGenerous of you.â
Then you turned fully toward him, crossing your arms. âIâm going to be kind and let you take the couch in the living room. Youâre absolutely not sleeping in the same room as me.â
âRight,â he said slowly, glancing toward the living room. âThe couch.â
He nodded like he was processing a complicated mathematical equation.
âI shouldâve thought about that earlier.â
ââââââââââââ
The restaurant was somehow even more ridiculous than the villaâwhich felt almost impossible, but here you were, living proof that the universe had a sense of humor and it wasnât a kind one.
A table for two sat directly on the sand, candles flickering in the warm evening breeze while waves rolled onto the shore like theyâd been hired for ambience. Fairy lights hung from the palm trees overhead, glowing softly against the darkening sky. Music drifted through the air, gentle and warm, the kind that made everything feel softer than it actually was.
And youâŠ
You looked beautiful. A yellow summer dress, light and easy, catching the breeze just enough to move with you. Your hair had settled into soft waves, brushing your shoulders every time you turned your head. You definitely hadnât taken extra time to get ready because of your âhusband.â Absolutely not. That would be ridiculous.
It looked like a scene from a romance movie.
Unfortunately, you were starring in it with Lando Norris.
The hostess smiled as she pulled out your chair, glowing with the kind of joy only people who believe in love have.
âWelcome, Mr. and Mrs. Norris. We hope you have a magical first dinner as newlyweds.â
You forced a polite smile, the kind that felt like it might crack if you held it too long.
âThank you.â
Lando matched your expression perfectly, like heâd been trained for this exact moment.
âVery kind of you.â
The hostess practically melted on the spot.
âOh, you two are adorable.â
The second she walked away, both of your smiles dropped so fast they mightâve left dents in the sand.
âShe called us adorable,â you muttered.
âShe also called us married,â Lando replied, sounding personally offended.
You stared at him.
He stared at you.
And for a moment, the two of you sat there in the middle of paradise, united only by mutual suffering.
You reached for the bread basket.
At the exact same moment Lando did.
Your hands collided in the middle of the table, a sharp little smack that made you both freeze. You pulled yours back instantly, like touching him might give you a rash.
âWatch it,â you muttered.
âYou watch it,â he shot back, just as fast.
Before either of you could escalate, a waiter appeared beside the table carrying what looked like a tropical explosion in a glassâflowers, fruit, colors that didnât exist in nature.
âFor the honeymoon couple!â he announced proudly.
He set it down between you.
One glass.
Two straws.
A crime.
You and Lando stared at it like it had personally insulted you.
âNo,â you both said at the same time.
âOh, itâs complimentary!â the waiter beamed, completely missing the mutual horror, and vanished before you could protest.
Silence settled over the table again, warm and heavy like the night air.
âWell?â Lando said.
âWell what?â
âIâm thirsty.â
âSo am I.â
Another long stretch of stubborn quiet passedâthirty seconds that felt like a challenge neither of you wanted to lose.
Finally, you both leaned forward at the same time.
And immediately bumped foreheads.
âOw!â
You rubbed the spot, wincing, while Lando leaned back with a glare sharp enough to cut through the candlelight.
âCould you be any more dramatic?â
âYou literally ran into me.â
âYou ran into me.â
âYouâre impossible.â
âAnd youâre annoying.â
The argument fizzled out only because you both leaned in and took a sip of the drink at the same timeâcareful this time, no forehead injuriesâand neither of you dared admit it tasted incredible. Sweet, cold, perfect. A tiny piece of heaven in the middle of your personal hell.
The appetizers arrived a few minutes later, carried by a waiter who looked like heâd been waiting his whole life to serve a honeymoon couple. Every time he or anyone else walked by, you and Lando transformed instantly into the worldâs most convincing romantic pair. It was almost impressive how fast the switch flipped.
âSo, darling,â Lando said with a smile so bright it couldâve powered the fairy lights above you, âwould you like the lobster?â
âNo, sweetheart,â you replied just as sweetly, matching his tone like youâd rehearsed it. âYou know I donât eat seafood.â
The waiterâs face lit up.
âHow lovely.â
The moment he walked away, your smile dropped. You kicked Lando under the table.
âOw!â he hissed, jerking his leg back.
âDonât call me sweetheart.â
âDonât call me darling.â
âYou started it.â
âYou kicked me.â
âGood.â
Another waiter approached, moving carefully across the sand as if he were carrying something sacred. He placed two plates in front of you with a soft smile.
Steak and fries. Finally.
Separate plates.
Thank God.
You sat up a little straighter, almost relieved enough to forget who you were sitting with.
âIs everything all right?â she asked, her smile warm and hopeful, like she genuinely wanted your night to be perfect.
You returned it, stretching your own smile so wide your cheeks started to ache. âEverythingâs perfect.â
Beside you, Lando nodded with the enthusiasm of a man who had fully committed to the bit. âBest honeymoon ever.â
The waiter beamed, delighted. âWeâre so happy to hear that. Enjoy your evening!â
She walked away, leaving the two of you alone againâcandles flickering, waves rolling in, the whole scene soft and romantic in a way that felt almost cruel.
The second the waiter disappeared, your foot shot out under the table and connected with Landoâs shin again. Maybe you were provoking him. Maybe you werenât. Maybe the universe was simply guiding your leg. Either way, you werenât about to admit anything.
He jerked back, glaring at you like youâd personally ruined his life.
âCan you fucking stop?â
âStop lying.â
âYouâre the one smiling.â
âIâm being polite.â
âYou look psychotic.â
âBecause of you.â
Lando stabbed another fry with his fork, then looked up at you with a confidence he absolutely did not deserve.
âYou know,â he said, leaning back slightly, âfor someone who supposedly hates me, youâve been looking at me all evening.â
You scoffed, loud and sharp.
âCould say the same about you.â
And that was the first time since arriving that he actually went quiet.
Because you had noticed.
The little glances he kept sneaking across the table.
The way his eyes lingered a second too long before he looked away.
The absent-minded way he wet his lips whenever he was thinking.
The way he kept shifting in his seat like he was trying not to stare at you too openly.
None of it meant anything.
Obviously.
You werenât delusional.
Still, something flickered across his faceâsomething quick, something he tried to hideâbefore he straightened again.
âYouâre imagining things,â he said.
âAm I?â
He held your gaze for a beat too long.
âTrust me,â he said, voice low and annoyingly confident. âIf I was staring, youâd know.â
Your heart did something incredibly inconvenientâa tiny jump, a tiny skip, the kind of reaction you immediately wanted to throw into the ocean. You grabbed your glass instead, lifting it like it could physically reset your brain.
âGod, youâre insufferable.â
âAnd yet,â he replied, reaching across the table to steal one of your fries like he had every right to, âyou havenât left.â
You narrowed your eyes. âThat was my fry.â
He took a slow, deliberate bite. âTastes better when itâs yours.â
You kicked him under the table. Hard.
He hissed, jerking his leg back. âJesusâare you trying to break my leg?â
âDebatable,â you said, taking a calm sip of your drink like you hadnât just committed violence.
Lando rubbed his shin under the table, glaring at you like youâd personally ruined his evening. âYouâre a violent wife.â
Your mouth twitched before you could stop it. âYouâre an annoying husband.â
A beat passedâwarm, tense, too quiet.
Then he leaned back slightly, smirk tugging at his mouth, eyes glinting in the candlelight.
âYou realize if you break my leg, youâd have to take care of me, sweetheart?â
You didnât even blink.
âIâm gonna throw up.â
His smirk widened, slow and smug, like heâd been waiting for that exact reaction.
And the worst part?
Your heart did that inconvenient little jump again.
ââââââââââââ
The morning started peacefully. Too peacefully. The kind of peaceful that made you suspicious, like the universe was holding its breath before dropping something heavy on your head.
You and Lando sat at the breakfast table like two people who had agreed to a temporary ceasefire. No shinâkicking. No dramatic sighs. No sarcastic comments sharp enough to cut through the tropical air. Just quiet eating, the soft clink of cutlery, and the occasional scroll through your phones.
Almost normal.
Almost comfortable.
Then Lando opened his mouth.
âWeâre going golfing,â he said casually, not even looking up, biting into a pastry like he was reading the weather report.
âNo.â
That one word snapped his attention up instantly. He blinked at you, confused, like heâd never heard the word before.
âWhat do you mean, no?â
âI mean I hate golf.â
âThatâs not a valid reason.â
âItâs a very valid reason.â
He sighed dramatically, like you had personally ruined his entire morning, his week, and possibly his life.
âI canât play alone.â
âYou absolutely can.â
âI canât.â
You narrowed your eyes. He was lying. Badly. A man who drove cars at terrifying speeds for a living could absolutely survive a solo round of golf.
âYou race cars for a living.â
âAnd?â
âYou can function independently.â
He ignored that completely, like you hadnât spoken at all.
âWeâre going. Itâs already booked.â
âI didnât agree to this.â
âYouâre my wife,â he said flatly.
You froze.
Slowly lifted your head from your plate.
Stared at him like heâd just confessed to murder.
âIâd rather swim back than be your wife.â
âFrom the Maldives?â
âEspecially from the Maldives.â
He opened his mouth, probably to say something smug, but you cut him off with a raised hand.
âAnd Iâd make it.â
He snorted. âYouâd get eaten by a shark.â
âBetter than golfing with you.â
Twenty minutes later, you were standing in the golf club lobby anyway. You still werenât sure how it happened. One moment you were saying no, the next you were being dragged into a shuttle like a hostage. Against your will, obviously. Completely against your will.
Lando was at the counter, talking to the staff like he owned the place, arranging equipment and carts as if this was his idea of a perfect morning. He looked relaxed, confident, annoyingly at his element.
You slipped away toward a small souvenir shop tucked beside the path.
Just for a moment. Just to breathe.
Inside, everything was glossy, overpriced, and aggressively tropical. Shelves full of shell necklaces, handmade bracelets, tiny carved wooden animals, and bright fabrics that probably cost more than your entire suitcase. The kind of things tourists bought when they were sunâdrunk and sentimental.
Then you saw it. A necklace.
A simple oneâa thin cord with a small carved turtle pendant hanging from the center. It wasnât flashy. It wasnât dramatic. It was just⊠cute.
You picked it up, letting the pendant rest in your palm. It made you smile before you could stop yourself.
You flipped the tag over and your smile died instantly.
You frowned. Hard.
âYou like it?â
Landoâs voice came from behind you.
You jumped slightly, turning to see him leaning in the doorway, holding two golf clubs in one hand and the cart keys dangling from the other. He looked annoyingly casual, like he hadnât just snuck up on you.
âItâs cute,â you said, âbut the price is not cute.â
âHow much?â
You held it up for him to see.
He squinted, leaned in a little, then let out a laughâloud, surprised, real.
âJesus Christ. Thatâs the price of the whole honeymoon.â
You huffed. âExactly.â
You placed the necklace back carefully, almost gently, like it had personally betrayed you but you didnât want to hurt its feelings. Way too expensive for something that would end up tangled in a drawer anyway.
âBe right back,â you said, already backing away from him. âBathroom.â
âDonât get lost,â he muttered without looking up.
âTry not to choke on your ego,â you shot back, turning before he could respond.
The bathroom was exactly what you expected from a place like thisâunnecessarily fancy, spotless, and scented with something soft and expensive youâd never be able to justify buying in real life. You lingered longer than you needed to, letting the quiet settle over you. It wasnât the bathroom you needed. It was the break from him.
When you stepped back out, the sun was brighter, the air warmer, and Lando was still near the shop.
Except⊠something was off.
He wasnât doing anything dramatic. He wasnât pacing or fidgeting or causing chaos. He was just standing there, a little too still, a little too focused on nothing. And the second he saw you, his eyes flicked up fast, scanning you like he was checking for something.
âWhat?â you asked, narrowing your eyes as you walked toward him.
âNothing,â he said too quickly.
That was worse. Lando never said nothing quickly. If anything, he usually dragged it out just to annoy you.
You frowned. âWhy are you looking at me like that?â
âIâm not.â
âYou are.â
âIâm just waiting.â
âFor what?â
He shrugged, already turning away, heading toward the golf carts like the conversation bored him. âNothing.â
You watched him for a moment, trying to figure out what that tiny shift in his expression had been. Something flickering behind his eyes. Something he clearly didnât want you to notice.
But you decided you didnât care enough to dig into whatever weird Lando thing this was.
Probably just him being annoying.
You followed him anyway, even though you told yourself you werenât following him at allâyou were just walking in the same direction.
Coincidentally.
Obviously.
The golf course looked like it had been designed specifically to humiliate you. Endless stretches of perfect green, artificial lakes sparkling in the sun, and way too much open space for you to miss shots in front of strangers. It was beautiful in a smug, taunting way.
Lando, unfortunately, looked right at home.
âOkay,â he said, handing you a club like he was already regretting every life choice that led him here. âJust donât hit anyone.â
âIâm going to hit you.â
âYouâre not strong enough.â
That alone made you swing harder than necessary.
The ball went approximately nowhere. It hopped. Maybe. Barely.
Silence.
Then Lando clapped once.
Slowly.
âFantastic.â
âIt moved,â you said defensively.
âBarely.â
âIt moved.â
He shook his head, stepping up beside you with the confidence of someone who had been waiting all morning to show off.
âOkay, watch and learn.â
You crossed your arms. âImpress me.â
He didnât even bother hiding the smirk. It stretched across his face, warm and smug, like heâd been born for this moment.
âOne day youâre going to have to admit Iâm good at something.â
âNot likely.â
He swung.
Perfect form. Perfect sound. Perfect shot.
The ball sailed clean across the course, cutting through the air like it had been personally trained by God.
Of course it did.
You hated that. You hated how easy he made it look. You hated the way his shoulders relaxed after the swing, the way he exhaled like heâd just done something casual instead of showing off in front of you.
âShow-off,â you muttered.
Lando didnât even look at you. âJealousy doesnât suit you.â
âItâs not jealousy. Itâs disappointment.â
âIn me?â
âIn the universe for letting you be this confident.â
He finally turned, leaning on his club like he had all the time in the world, like he wasnât actively ruining your morning.
âYou know, for someone who keeps insulting me, youâre very invested in my performance.â
You scoffed. âDonât flatter yourself.â
âIâm not,â he said easily. âJust observing.â
âStop observing. Itâs creepy.â
âYou started it.â
âI did not start it.â
âYou literally tried to hit me ten minutes ago.â
âThat was character development.â
He laughed under his breath, shaking his head.
âYouâre impossible.â
âAnd youâre insufferable.â
âA perfect match, then.â
You shot him a sharp look.
âDonât get delusional. This is a forced golf situation, not a personality assessment.â
He stepped closerânot much, just enough to make the air feel warmerâlowering his voice like he was letting you in on something you didnât want.
âCareful,â he said. âKeep talking like that and people might start thinking you enjoy my company.â
You rolled your eyes. âIn what world?â
He tilted his head, smirk tugging at his mouth.
âThe one where youâve been watching my swing for the last ten minutes.â
âThatâs because Iâm hoping you fall into one of those lakes.â
âSure,â he said, smirking wider. âKeep telling yourself that.â
You opened your mouth to fire backâ
But he cut in, casual, careless, like he wasnât dropping a verbal grenade at your feet:
âRelax. I promise Iâm not trying to get you into bed over a golf lesson.â
You froze.
Then stared at him.
ââŠWhat is wrong with you?â
Lando blinked, like he genuinely didnât understand the problem.
âWhat? I was being nice.â
âThat was not nice.â
âIt was honest.â
âThat makes it worse.â
âGimme the keys. Iâll drive,â you said, holding out your hand like you were doing him a favor he didnât deserve.
âAbsolutely not.â
âYou race cars for a living,â you reminded him, already leaning toward the ignition with far too much confidence for someone who had never driven a golf cart before. âAnd youâre scared of a golf cart?â
âIâm not scared of it. Iâm scared of you driving it.â
âYou should be,â you said with a small, satisfied smile as you climbed into the driverâs seat. âGet your ass in there or walk.â
Lando let out the kind of long, dramatic sigh that suggested he was reconsidering every decision that had led him to this moment. âDo you even have a driving licence?â
âI do.â
You absolutely did. Unfortunately for him.
He hesitated for a beat too long before climbing in beside you, gripping the side of the seat like it might suddenly eject him into the bushes. The second you pressed the pedal, the cart lurched forwardânot dangerously, not wildly, just enough to make him tense like youâd launched a rocket instead of a glorified toy car.
âYouâre overreacting,â you said, steering them down the path with what you considered perfect control. The breeze was warm, the sun was bright, and the cart hummed along peacefully. âYouâre sitting in a golf cart, not a missile.â
âIâm observing risk factors,â he muttered, eyes fixed ahead like he was preparing for impact.
âThatâs exactly what someone driving like you would say.â
âRelax.â
âI am relaxed.â
He was absolutely not relaxed. His shoulders were tight, his jaw clenched, and he kept shifting like the seat was made of spikes. You took a slightly sharper turnânot reckless, not even fast, just sharperâand the cart tilted a little to the side.
Lando jolted.
His hand shot out without thinking, grabbing your thigh to steady himself.
Both of you froze.
The warmth of his hand lingered for a second, heavy and unexpected, before he snatched it back like it had betrayed him. His face was tight, his voice too quick.
ââŠThat was balance,â he said, staring straight ahead. âI was balancing.â
You looked down at his hand, then back at him, unimpressed and far too aware of the moment. âPut that away.â
âI didnât mean toâit slipped.â
âSure it did.â
âIt did.â
You didnât argue. You didnât tease him. You didnât even look at him again. You just kept driving, eyes on the path, pretending the moment hadnât happened. And you definitely didnât mind that it had.
Not that you would ever admit anything.
ââââââââââââ
The boat rocked gently over the turquoise water, sunlight bouncing off the surface so brightly it almost hurt to look at. It should have been peaceful, the kind of morning people wrote postcards about. But unfortunately, part of the honeymoon package included couples snorkelingâsomething that would have been lovely if your âhusbandâ wasnât Lando Norris.
You sat beside him with your legs tucked under you, still midâargument from the pier, still annoyed, still refusing to let him win even a single point.
âNo, Iâm telling you,â you said, pointing at him like you were presenting evidence in court, âyou cheated yesterday.â
âI did not cheat,â he replied flatly, not even blinking. âYou just donât understand basic physics.â
âYou literally aimed your ball into a bush and called it strategy.â
âIt was strategy.â
Before you could continue, another couple sitting nearbyâaround your age, relaxed, sunâkissed, clearly enjoying their vacationâturned toward you with amused smiles. They had that look people get when they stumble into entertainment they didnât pay for.
âAre you two always like this?â the woman asked, still smiling.
Lando didnât hesitate. Not even a breath.
âYes.â
You cut in immediately, shaking your head. âNo.â
That earned you a side glance from him, sharp and quick, like he couldnât believe youâd contradict him in public.
The couple laughed, clearly delighted.
âYouâre on your honeymoon, right?â the man asked.
Silence.
A very suspicious silence.
Lando nodded slowly, dragging the word out like it physically pained him. âUnfortunately.â
You kicked his foot under the seat, not gently.
The man looked between you both, still smiling, clearly enjoying the chaos you and Lando brought with you like it was part of the entertainment package. The boat rocked gently beneath you, warm wind brushing your face, but the question he asked cut straight through the easy atmosphere.
âSo⊠why did you get married then?â
It hit a little too directly. A little too cleanly. You didnât even think before answering.
âBecause heâs rich.â
Landoâs head snapped toward you so fast you genuinely thought he might fall off the boat. His eyes were wide, offended, and a little betrayed.
âWhat?â
The couple laughed, assuming it was a jokeâbecause of course they did. No one sane would say that seriously on a honeymoon boat.
You waved your hand quickly, trying to soften it. âIâm joking.â
âMostly,â Lando muttered under his breath.
You elbowed him, but the couple didnât seem to notice. They were still smiling, still entertained, still convinced they were witnessing some adorable newlywed banter instead of two people barely holding their fake marriage together.
âFair enough,â the man said with a shrug, still amused. Then he leaned forward Lando slightly, curiosity bright in his eyes. âSo what do you do, then?â
Your eye twitched at the word husband. It felt too heavy, too sharp, too wrong in your ears.
Lando answered before you could even inhale.
âI drive.â
The man blinked. âLike⊠cars?â
âYeah.â
There was a beatâa tiny pause where the manâs face went blank, like his brain was flipping through a mental Rolodex. Then his eyes lit up all at once.
âOh! Formula 1?â
Lando nodded once, calm on the outside, but you saw the tiny shift in his shoulders. The manâs expression changed instantly, excitement blooming across his face like someone had just handed him frontârow tickets to something huge.
âNo wayâLando Norris? My brother is a huge fan! He never shuts up about you.â
Lando froze for the briefest second. It was small, barely there, but you noticed. Of course you noticed. You always noticed the little things he tried to hide.
âOh,â the man continued, grinning even wider now, âI didnât know you were married, mate.â
The silence that followed couldâve sunk the boat. It stretched between you and Lando like a rope pulled too tight. You both turned to look at each other at the exact same time, eyes locking in a silent, panicked conversation neither of you wanted to have out loud.
Then, without missing a beat, Lando smiled.
âIt was a small wedding, yâknow. Kept it private. I like keeping some things to myself.â
The lie rolled off his tongue so smoothly it was almost concerning. He didnât even blink. He didnât hesitate. He just⊠said it.Â
The man nodded approvingly, buying every word, then turned to you with a warm smile.
âWell, youâre lucky. Having a world champion at home.â
Pardon?
Absolutely not.
You smiled sweetly, matching his tone with practiced ease. âHeâs the lucky one.â
Lando glanced at you, something flickering in his eyesâsurprise, amusement, maybe a hint of something softerâbut you didnât give him time to process it.
âHeâd be hopeless without me,â you added, completely unfazed.
âOh, absolutely,â Lando replied, his grin returning, though it was a little tighter this time. âIâd forget where I left my trophies.â
The couple laughed, delighted, convinced they were witnessing a charming, playful honeymoon moment.
They had no idea you were both lying through your teeth.
Five minutes later, another problem appearedâone that had nothing to do with fake marriages or curious strangers. The snorkeling mask refused to cooperate. You adjusted the strap once, then again, then a third time, each attempt somehow making it sit even more crooked against your face. The elastic kept slipping, the plastic pressed awkwardly against your cheek, and the whole thing felt like it had been designed specifically to test your patience.
âFor Godâs sake,â you muttered under your breath, tugging at the strap like it had personally wronged you.
Lando looked over from where he was already wearing his own gear, mask perfectly fitted, snorkel in place, looking like someone who had never struggled with anything in his life. âWhat are you doing?â
âTrying to make this stupid thing fit,â you snapped, still wrestling with it.
He watched you for a few secondsâlong enough to be annoying, long enough to make you feel judgedâbefore letting out an exaggerated sigh that carried across the entire boat. âCâmere.â
âI can do it myself.â
âClearly.â
You shot him a glare sharp enough to cut through the ocean breeze. âI said I can do it myself.â
âJust come here,â he said, already holding out his hand like heâd made the decision for you. âI want to look like a decent husband while Iâm apparently married. The last thing I need is gossip pages saying I abandoned my wife before she even got in the water.â
âHow embarrassing,â you muttered, rolling your eyes so hard it almost hurt.
He ignored the comment completely. Instead, he reached out, gently catching your wrist with warm fingers, pulling you the last step closer before you could protest again. The movement was soft, almost careful, and your argument died somewhere in your throat before you could shape it into words.
He reached behind your head with the confidence of someone who absolutely believed he knew what he was doing. His fingers brushed your hair as he tried to fix the loose strap, and within two seconds you felt a sharp tug at your scalp.
âOw! Stop pulling my hair!â
âIâm not pulling your hair,â Lando said immediately, like the accusation offended him on a personal level.
âYou are pulling my hair!â
âThen stop moving!â
âIâm not moving!â
âYouâre literally flinching.â
âBecause youâre yanking it!â
A couple of snorkelers nearby glanced over, clearly wondering if they needed to intervene. You forced a bright, strained smile, teeth clenched so tightly it almost hurt.
âEverythingâs fine,â you said, voice pitched a little too high. âTotally fine.â
Lando didnât even look up. He was still tangled in the straps, still muttering under his breath like you were the problem and not his complete lack of technique.
âIt is not fine,â he grumbled. âYou have the coordination of a broken GPS.â
You stared at him, offended on a spiritual level. âExcuse me?â
âYou heard me.â
He tugged again.
âOwâLando!â
âRelax, Iâm fixing it.â
âYouâre making it worse.â
âIâm literally not.â
âYes, you are.â
He paused, leaning back just enough to look at the mask like it was a failed engineering project heâd been assigned against his will. His brows pulled together, his mouth flattening into a line that told you he was already blaming you for whatever he saw.
ââŠOkay, I see the problem.â
âYou are the problem.â
He ignored that completely, like heâd trained himself not to hear your insults anymore. Instead, he shifted closer again, this time slower, more careful, his fingers brushing your hair aside so he could get to the strap properly. The boat rocked gently beneath you, and for a moment the world felt strangely quietâjust the warm air, the soft slap of water against the hull, and his hands working behind your head.
âStop moving,â he said again, but his voice was quieter now, less irritated and more focused, like he was trying not to mess it up this time.
You went still.
Not because he told you to.
Definitely not.
It was just easier than arguing while he was this close, while his fingers were sorting through your hair with surprising gentleness, while the sun warmed the back of your neck and made everything feel a little too noticeable.
After a few seconds of concentrated effortâthe kind where he muttered something under his breath that you pretended not to hearâhe tightened the strap properly and stepped back, letting his hands fall away.
âThere,â he said, sounding far too proud of himself.
You tested the mask with a small tug.
It didnât move. Not even a little.
ââŠHuh.â
âYeah,â he said, smugness blooming across his face like heâd just solved world peace. âMiracles do happen.â
You narrowed your eyes at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a smile.
âDonât get used to it.â
He grinned, bright and unbothered, the wind catching his hair as the boat rocked again.
âNo promises, wife.â
The boat slowed to a stop, the engine cutting out until all you could hear was the soft slap of waves against the hull. It rocked gently over the open water, turquoise stretching in every direction, sunlight so bright it turned everything into glitter. It should have been peaceful. It should have been romantic. It should have been the kind of moment people remembered forever.
But you were here with Lando.
A guide stepped forward with an easy smile, gesturing toward the water. âAlright everyone, this is one of the best spots. Coral reef just below, lots of fish. Stay in pairs, enjoy yourselves, and donât wander too far.â
âStay in pairs,â Lando repeated under his breath, just loud enough for you to hear. âHeard him, wife?â
You shot him a warning look. âDonât start.â
But he was already smirking, already enjoying himself far too much for someone whoâd spent the entire morning annoying you.
Before either of you could argue, the guide clapped his hands. âOkayâsnorkeling time!â
You turned to adjust your mask one last time, fingers brushing the strapâ
And Lando shoved you. Hard.
There was no time to react. No time to yell properly. Just a sharp gasp and the sudden, shocking drop as the world tilted.
You hit the water with a splash that swallowed the sound instantly. Cold, bright blue wrapped around you, rushing over your head, filling your ears, stealing your breath for a moment. The ocean felt huge, endless, everywhere at once.
You resurfaced seconds later, coughing, hair plastered to your face, mask askew.
âLandoâ!â
He was already in the water beside you, laughing so hard he had to wipe his eyes. The sun caught the droplets on his face, turning him into something annoyingly golden and carefree.
âYou were taking too long,â he said, still grinning.
âI hate you!â you yelled, already swimming toward him with more force than necessary.
He only laughed harder, kicking away just enough to stay out of reach, the water rippling between you.
You made it exactly two strokes before something brushed your foot again. It was light, barely there, just a soft flick against your skinâbut it didnât matter. Your entire body locked up instantly, every muscle going stiff like youâd been hit with electricity.
âNopeânopeânopeââ you sputtered, kicking upward in pure panic.
âRelax,â Lando called, still laughing, still floating like this was the easiest thing in the world. âItâs just fish.â
âI donât care what it is!â
Another brushâthis time against your ankle, quick and cold.
That was it.
You didnât think. You didnât plan. You didnât even breathe. You just launched yourself forward on instinct, arms flailing, legs kicking, heart pounding so loudly you could hear it in your earsâ
âand you basically jumped straight into his arms.
Lando caught you automatically, the impact pushing him backward a little in the water. His hands came up around you without hesitation, steadying you, holding you up as you clung to him like the ocean was trying to drag you under.
For a second, he didnât move. He just stood there in the water, arms halfâraised, eyes wide, like he wasnât sure what version of reality heâd just stepped into.
Then he looked down at you.
ââŠAre you hugging me right now?â
âNo.â
âYou are literally attached to me.â
âI am stabilising myself.â
âAgainst my chest?â
âShut up!â
His laugh came immediatelyâbright, loud, helplessâthe kind that shook his shoulders and made the water ripple around you. He tilted his head back, still laughing, like he couldnât believe this was happening.
And even though your heart was still racing, even though your legs were still wrapped around him more than you wanted to admit, even though you were absolutely not letting go yetâŠ
You felt something warm slip into your chest.
Something you refused to name.
ââââââââââââ
By the time the snorkeling trip ended, you had decidedâvery calmly, very rationallyâthat you deserved a drink. Preferably several. The kind that came in tall glasses with too much ice and not enough sense. The resort bar overlooked the ocean, the sky turning soft shades of gold and pink as the sun dipped lower. Music drifted through the warm evening air, blending with the sound of waves and the low hum of guests laughing around candlelit tables.
Lando stood a few steps away, somehow already deep in conversation with his new friend from the boat. They were talking with their hands, laughing too loudly, probably bonding over Formula 1 or golf or whatever else inflated his ego. You didnât care enough to find out. You just wanted something cold, something strong, something that would make the memory of fish touching your legs fade into the background.
You leaned against the counter and ordered the strongest cocktail on the menu. The bartender slid it toward you with a practiced smile, the glass sweating in the warm air. You wrapped your fingers around it, grateful for the chill, ready to take the first blessed sipâ
When a voice spoke from beside you.
âTry smiling a little.â
You turned your head slowly, already tired, already annoyed. A man stood there, a few years older, wearing a shirt that tried too hard and a smile that tried even harder. He looked at you like heâd just delivered the most charming line in the world, like he expected you to melt on the spot.
You looked at him. Then at your drink. Then back at him.
âTry minding your own business a little.â
âIâm just being friendly.â
âThen be friendly somewhere else.â
He laughed, the kind of laugh men use when they think youâre playing hard to get instead of trying to end the conversation. His elbow slid onto the bar, his posture loose, confident, practiced.
âThat attitude wonât get you very far.â
âIâm already exactly where I want to be,â you said, lifting your drink like a shield.
âYou sure?â he asked, leaning in just a little. âYou look lonely.â
You opened your mouthâready to shut him down properly this timeâwhen a warm hand settled lightly on your waist.
Not gripping.
Not pulling.
Just⊠there.
âEverything okay, baby?â
Lando.
You turned so fast you nearly sloshed your drink over the rim. For what might have been the first time since this entire ridiculous honeymoon began, you felt something close to relief wash through you. His presence cut through the moment like a lifeline you didnât know you needed.
The stranger blinked, looking between the two of you, confusion flickering across his face.
âAnd you areâŠ?â
Lando didnât hesitate. Not even for a breath.
âHer husband.â
He said it smoothly, easily, like it was the most natural thing in the world. His hand stayed on your waist, warm and steady. The strangerâs expression shifted, surprise tightening his mouth before he stepped back a little.
âOh,â the man said after a moment, blinking like heâd just been handed information he didnât know what to do with. âDidnât know she was married.â
Lando offered a small, polite smileâthe kind he used in interviews when he was pretending to be patient.
âShe is.â
The conversation should have ended there. It should have drifted off into the warm evening air and disappeared like every other awkward bar interaction on vacation.
Instead, the man chuckled and looked right back at you, like he hadnât learned a single thing.
âYou should teach her some basic manners, man.â
The easy smile vanished from Landoâs face so fast it was almost impressive.
âWhat?â
The stranger shrugged, casual, careless, like he was commenting on the weather. âSheâs got quite the attitude.â
âAnd so what?â Lando shot back, voice sharper now. âShe doesnât owe you a shit.â
The man lifted a brow. âDoesnât mean she can act like a biââ
âHey!â Lando stepped forward so quickly the man actually leaned back. âDonât talk about my wife like that or Iâll beat the shit out ofââ
He was too close now. Way too close. His shoulders were tight, jaw clenched, eyes locked on the guy like heâd forgotten this was supposed to be an act. You didnât even know if he was pretending anymore.
âLando,â you said quietly, reaching for his wrist. Your fingers brushed his skin, warm and tense. âDrop it.â
He didnât look at you right away. He stayed there for a heartbeat longer, breathing hard, anger still simmering under the surface.
Then, slowly, he stepped back.
Not because the man deserved it. But because you asked. The irony wasnât lost on youâthe one time he actually acted like a husband was the moment you needed him to stop.
âYou okay?â Lando asked.
You blinked, because the question caught you more off guard than the argument ever had. It wasnât the words themselvesâit was the way he said them, low and tight, like heâd been holding them in since the moment he stepped between you and that guy at the bar.
âIâm fine,â you said quickly. âI had it handled.â
Lando let out a short laugh, but it didnât reach his eyes. It didnât even come close. âYeah. I could tell. You were doing a great job being harassed at the bar.â
Your jaw tightened, heat rising in your chest. âI didnât need you to save me like that.â
âRight,â he said, nodding once, sharp and clipped. âSo next time I should just stand there and let him keep going?â
âI didnât say that.â
âThatâs what it sounded like.â
âI didnât ask you to play my husband.â
That one landed differentlyâyou felt it the second it left your mouth. Lando went quiet, the kind of quiet that wasnât defensive or angry, just⊠wounded. He exhaled through his nose, looking away toward the ocean like he needed a second to reset whatever expression had almost slipped through.
âYeah,â he said finally. âFair.â
You took a sip of your drink, more out of habit than thirst, trying to steady yourself, trying to find the right words before the wrong ones kept spilling out.
âI can handle myself,â you added, quieter now, softer, because you meant it but you didnât want it to sound like a wall.
âI know you can,â he replied immediately.
That made you pause.
He looked back at you then, the sharpness in his expression easing just enough that you could finally see the truth sitting underneath itânot anger, not irritation, but something quieter.Â
âI just didnât like the way he was talking to you,â Lando said, voice low, steady, almost too honest.
You scoffed lightly, because that felt safer than acknowledging whatever was happening in your chest.
âSince when do you care?â
That earned you a small, humorless smileâthe kind that didnât reach his eyes, the kind that told you heâd already had this argument with himself long before you opened your mouth.
âI donât,â he said. âUsually.â
A beat.
âBut he was being a dick.â
You rolled your eyes, but it wasnât as strong as you wanted it to be. It felt flimsy, thin, like you were trying to hold onto a version of the conversation that had already slipped away.
âAnd you decided that made you responsible for the entire situation?â
âI decided,â he corrected, leaning back slightly, shoulders tense, âthat I didnât want him standing there talking to you like that.â
You studied him for a secondâthe set of his jaw, the way he kept glancing at the ocean like it might give him an escape route, the way his fingers tapped once against his thigh before he stilled them. He wasnât posturing. He wasnât trying to win. He was just⊠telling you the truth.
âStill didnât need to act like that,â you said, quieter now.
âNeither did he.â
Another pauseâheavier this time, stretched thin between you like a wire ready to snap.
Then Lando tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing just a fraction as he looked at you.
âYouâre really going to stay mad at me for this?â
The question wasnât defensive.
It was something else entirelyâsomething that made your breath catch, because suddenly it felt like he wasnât asking about the bar anymore.
He was asking about him. About you. About whatever the hell had been simmering between you long before tonight.
You opened your mouth again, still riding the leftover adrenaline from stopping him.
âI just think you donât get toââ
âShut up.â
You stopped. Blinking. âExcuse me?â
âI said shut up.â
âIâm literally in the middle of talking.â
âYeah,â Lando said, stepping a fraction closer, eyes locked on yours, âI noticed.â
You frowned, heat rising in your chest. âDonât tell me toââ
He cut you off. Not with words.
He just kissed you.
Quick. Firm. Completely unexpected. It wasnât gentle, and it wasnât planned, and it definitely wasnât something either of you had agreed to in any universe where you were still pretending to hate each other properly. It hit you like a sparkâsharp, bright, over before you could even process it.
It lasted maybe two seconds.
Then he pulled back like nothing had happened, like he hadnât just shortâcircuited your entire brain.
You stared at him. He stared back.
Then, very calmly, he said, âI said shut up.â
Your brain lagged, trying to catch up, trying to make sense of the moment, the heat still buzzing on your lips.
ââŠNorris, what the fuck?â
He didnât answer right away. His chest rose and fell once, slow, steady, like he was trying to pretend he wasnât affected at all.
But his eyes told a different story.
A very different one.
Lando didnât even blink. âWhat?â
âYou justââ you gestured wildly between the two of you, your voice climbing without your permission. âYou just kissed me.â
âYeah.â
ââYeahâ?â you repeated, staring at him like heâd lost his mind.
He frowned slightly, like you were the one being dramatic. Like you were the unreasonable one here.
âYou were overthinking it,â he said, tone maddeningly calm. âOverthinkingâs bad for you, baby.â
That made you pause. You hated that it made you pause. You hated the way the word baby slid under your skin like it belonged there.
ââŠRight,â you said slowly, trying to gather your thoughts. âDoesnât mean you can just kiss me.â
âPretty sure I can,â he replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
You narrowed your eyes at him, crossing your arms, trying to rebuild whatever dignity you had left.
âHm. Donât think this means anything though.â
âI would never,â Lando said immediately.
Too immediately.
The kind of immediate that wasnât casual at all. The kind that sounded like heâd rehearsed it. The kind that made something warm twist low in your stomach.
You studied him, searching his face for even a flicker of something he didnât want you to see.
He held your gaze without flinching, jaw set, eyes steady, like he was daring you to call him out. ââŠGood,â you said finally, lifting your chin. âBecause it doesnât.â
âOf course not.â
His voice was smooth. Too smooth. Like he was trying to convince himself as much as you. And the worst part? You werenât convinced either.
ââââââââââââ
The villa was suspiciously quiet, the kind of quiet that made every thought in your head sound louder. You sat on the edge of the outdoor couch with your legs pulled in, staring out at the dark water. The waves moved in slow, steady lines, catching bits of moonlight and breaking them apart. It should have been calming.
It wasnât. You were trying not to think. Which, of course, only made you think more.
About Lando. About the kiss. About the way heâd looked afterwardâtoo calm, too steady, like he hadnât just scrambled your ability to act normal around him. About how everything had been⊠different since then. Not worse. Not better. Just different in a way neither of you had dared to name.
And about how today was the last day. The last night of this ridiculous honeymoon.
Behind you, the sliding door opened.
You didnât turn. âGo away,â you mumbled.
âI live here too,â Lando said, dropping onto the couch beside you. He didnât look at you. He just stared out at the ocean like heâd been doing it long before he walked outside.
Silence stretched between you, warm and heavy.
Then, after a minuteâ
âWell.â
âWell,â Lando echoed.
You exhaled slowly, eyes still on the water. âAt least tomorrow we can go back to normal.â
He finally glanced at you. âNormal?â
âYou know,â you said, still refusing to look at him. âYou hating me. Me hating you.â
âRight.â
But he didnât sound convinced.
And the worst part? Neither did you.
The breeze moved through the villa again, soft and warm, brushing over your skin like it knew something you didnât want to admit. Lando shifted beside you, just enough that you felt the movement, not enough to call it anything.
Normal. You said it like you wanted it. But the word didnât sit right anymore.
The silence fell again, stretching out between you like a thin thread. But this time, Lando was the one who spoke first.
âThis trip wasnât that bad.â
You let out a quiet laugh, shaking your head. âThatâs the nicest thing youâve ever said to me.â
âDonât let it go to your head.â
âHm.â You looked back at the water, the moonlight breaking across the waves. âAt least we survived.â
A beat.
âNow weâll just go back to avoiding each other like before.â
âYeah,â Lando said.
Then, after a pause that felt a little too longâ
âYeah,â he repeated, quieter. âThatâs the problem.â
You finally turned your head. He wasnât smiling anymore.
His jaw was tight, his eyes fixed on the horizon like he didnât trust himself to look at you. The warm breeze moved through the villa, brushing over your skin, but it didnât soften the moment. It only made it clearer.
For the first time all night, you couldnât tell if he was joking.
Or if he meant it.
And the way he sat thereâshoulders tense, hands still, breath a little unevenâmade something in your chest shift in a way you werenât ready for.
You swallowed, the words catching in your throat.
ââŠLando?â
He didnât look away from the ocean. But his voice was low, honest in a way that made your heart stutter.
âI donât want to go back to that.â
You looked at him, confused.
âWhat?â
Lando kept staring out at the water. And for the first time since youâd known him, he looked nervous. Actually nervous. His shoulders were tight, his jaw working like he was trying to choose the right words and failing.
âI didnât want to come here,â he said quietly.
âI noticed.â
âI thought itâd be the worst week of my life.â
You smiled faintly. âAgain, noticed.â
A small laugh escaped himâsoft, almost embarrassed.
Thenâ
âBut somewhere between you nearly killing me with a golf cartâŠâ
âYou grabbed my thigh.â
âNot helping.â
You let out a quiet huff of laughter despite yourself. âContinue.â
Lando exhaled, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. âIâm serious.â
âI know.â
A beat passedâwarm, heavy, stretching between you like a held breath.
He didnât look at you when he spoke again.
âIt stopped being annoying.â
Your smile faded a little. ââŠWhen?â
Lando shrugged, like the answer wasnât important even though it clearly was. âDunno.â
Silence settled again. The ocean kept moving, steady and calm, like it didnât care that something between you had just shifted in a way you couldnât undo.
Then he finally looked at you. Really looked.
âAnd now I donât really want it to end. Us.â
Your breath caughtâjust a tiny, sharp inhaleâbut you masked it quickly with a scoff, like you could pretend the moment wasnât sitting between you, warm and terrifying.
âSomewhere between pushing you into the ocean and kissing you to shut you upâŠâ Lando said, his voice quieter now, steadier in a way that made your stomach twist. He wasnât smiling anymore. He wasnât hiding behind jokes or smirks or that stupid confidence he wore like armor. He was just looking at youâreally lookingâand it stripped away every layer of distance youâd been pretending still existed.
âI think I fell in love with you.â
You stared at him.
For a moment, your brain simply refused to cooperate. The words sat there in the air, warm and heavy, like a language you almost understood but couldnât quite translate. You blinked once. Then again. Your heart thudded in your chest, too loud, too fast, like it was trying to catch up to something your mind hadnât processed yet.
ââŠThatâs actually really embarrassing for you,â you managed, because your mouth was apparently determined to save you from sincerity at all costs.
Lando didnât move. Didnât laugh.
Didnât roll his eyes or shove your shoulder or call you dramatic. He just stared at you like he couldnât believe youâd said that. Like youâd knocked the air out of him.
âAre you serious?â he asked, voice flat, almost stunned.
âA little.â
âI just told you I love you.â
âI know.â
âAnd thatâs your response?â
You exhaled softly, something nervous and warm and terrifying settling in your chest all at once. You felt it rise up, felt it push against your ribs, felt it spill into your throat before you could stop it. And then your mouth betrayed youânot with sarcasm this time, but with a smile.
A real one. A soft one.
The kind you didnât give to people you hated.
âGood thing I love you too.â
The words left you before you could secondâguess them, before you could hide them behind a joke, before you could pretend you didnât mean them. They hung there between you, gentle and impossible to take back.
Landoâs breath caughtâjust barely, just enough for you to notice. His eyes softened, the tension in his shoulders loosening like heâd been holding something in for days.
Lando didnât move for a second.
Just stared.
Like he was waiting for a punchline that didnât come. Like he was bracing for you to laugh or shove him or turn everything into a joke the way you always did when things got too close.
Then, quietlyâ
ââŠWhat?â
You let out a breath, halfâlaughing, half in disbelief at yourself, because you couldnât believe you were actually saying this out loud. âI said I love you, idiot.â
His expression shifted immediately. The shock didnât disappear, but it softened into something raw, something unguarded, something he clearly wasnât used to showing anyone. His eyes searched your face like he was trying to make sure heâd heard you right.
âYou canât just say that like itâsââ
âWhat? A prank?â you cut in, shaking your head. âNo. Unfortunately for both of us, itâs real.â
Silence again.
The ocean kept moving. The wind didnât care. The whole world stayed exactly the same while your heart tried to beat its way out of your chest. You looked down at your hands, then back at him, because avoiding his eyes wasnât helping.
âYou were pissing me off the entire trip,â you admitted, your voice softer than you meant it to be.
That got a faint, incredulous laugh out of himâthe kind that slipped out before he could stop it. âCheers.â
âItâs true,â you said quickly, pointing at him like it helped your argument. âYou were annoying. Arrogant. You shoved me into the ocean. You called me a violent wife.â
âI was right about that one.â
âShut up.â
But your voice wasnât sharp anymore. It wavered slightly, like the truth underneath it was pushing its way through.
âAnd I really did hate you at the beginning,â you added, quieter now. âLike, properly.â
Landoâs gaze didnât leave you. Not for a second.
âBut?â
You hesitated.
That part was the hardest one. The part that felt like stepping off a ledge and hoping heâd catch you.
âButâŠâ you exhaled, looking away toward the water like it might make this easier. âI think it started changing when you defended me at the bar.â
He went still.
Your fingers tightened slightly in your lap, the memory hitting you harder now that you were saying it out loud.
âThat guy was being an asshole,â you continued, your voice softer, steadier. âAnd I was handling it, or trying to. And you just⊠stepped in.â
A small pause.
âAnd I remember thinking you were so angry,â you said, almost like you were discovering it again. âLike actually angry. Not joking, not teasing. Just⊠protective.â
You glanced at him again.
âThat confused me more than anything you did on this entire trip.â
A faint breath left Lando, like he didnât know what to do with that. His shoulders dropped a little, the tension easing in a way that made him look younger, more open, more real.
Then he finally spoke.
âI just hated the idea of somebody talking to you like that.â
His voice was quieter than before. Not defensive. Not playful. Just honest in a way that made your chest tighten.
A beat passed.
He gave a small shrug, like he was trying to pretend it didnât matter as much as it did.
âI donât know,â he added. âIt pissed me off.â
The silence that followed wasnât uncomfortable anymore. It didnât feel sharp or heavy or awkward. It was just⊠full. Like something had finally settled into place between you, something neither of you could pretend wasnât there anymore. The air felt warmer. The night felt closer. And for the first time, you didnât feel like you were waiting for the moment to break.
You swallowed slightly, still looking at him, still trying to understand the way your chest felt too tight and too light at the same time. ââŠThank you,â you said quietly.
Lando gave you a small, almost confused glance, like he wasnât sure heâd heard you right. âFor what?â
You let out a soft breath, half a laugh, half something else. âFor⊠all of it, I guess.â
That earned you a look from him you werenât used toâsoft, steady, not trying to twist into a joke. He didnât hide behind anything this time. He just looked at you like he was letting himself be seen.
Then he shifted slightly, reaching into his pocket. âI have something for you.â
You blinked, watching as he pulled out a small silver chain. A turtle necklace. The same one youâd stared at in the shop. The same one youâd pretended you didnât want.
Your breath caught. ââŠYou bought it?â you asked, taking it carefully from his hand.
âYeah.â
âWhy?â
âYou said it was cute.â
âBut it was so expensive!â
âAnd?â he said simply, like the answer shouldâve been obvious. âDo I look like I care?â
Your fingers closed gently around the necklace, holding it like it might slip away if you werenât careful. The charm felt warm against your skin, like it had been waiting in his pocket for this exact moment.
ââŠYou didnât have to,â you said again, quieter now, the words almost slipping out on their own.
âI know.â
A beat passed.
âBut I wanted to.â
That was it. No joke. No smirk. No dramatic line to cover the truth. Just him. Just honesty. Just the kind of softness you never expected from him and didnât know how to handle.
You looked at him for a second longer than you meant toâlong enough to feel something shift in your chest, long enough to feel your breath catch again.
Then you moved before your brain could talk you out of it.
You grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in.
The kiss was softer this time. Not rushed. Not defensive. Not a reaction to anything. Just real. Just warm. Just the two of you finally letting something happen that had been building all week. His hand came up to your jaw, gentle in a way that made your heart stutter, and for a moment the whole villa felt still.
When you pulled back, you were both slightly breathless, and for once neither of you pretended it meant nothing. You stayed close, your forehead almost touching his, your breath mixing with his in the warm night air.
âThank you,â you whispered, the words brushing against his lips.
Lando let out a quiet breath of a laugh, soft and disbelieving. âYeah,â he said, voice low. Then, after a beatâone that felt like it stretched foreverâhe added, âI love you.â
Your heart stuttered. For a second, you just stared at him, like you were making sure you hadnât imagined it, like you needed to see the truth in his eyes before you let yourself believe it.
Then your mouth softened into a small smile, warm and helpless. ââŠYouâre so annoying,â you murmured.
He frowned slightly. âThatâs not an answer.â
You exhaled, still smiling, still feeling that strange, steady warmth spreading through your chest. âI know.â
A pause.
Then, quieterâcompletely sure this time: âI love you too.â
And this time, neither of you joked your way out of it. Neither of you looked away. Neither of you pretended it didnât matter. It mattered. And you both knew it.
sub!lucas who . . . enjoys praises; just tell him how well heâs behaving or how pretty he looks underneath you to make his cock get even harder inside you.
sub!lucas who . . . always begs for you to let him cum. You are so mean to him, pushing him to the edge and then leaving him whimpering like a baby.
sub!lucas who . . . clings to the bedsheets or your hips in desperation when the stimulation is just too much.
sub!lucas who . . . moans way too loudly, to the point where he bites his hands or arm to try and muffle his own whimpers when you order him to be quiet. Watching his eyes fill with frustrated tears as he tries to obey your command is the most addictive sight in the world, even if it's cruel.
sub!lucas who . . . uses his puppy eyes to beg you not to blue-ball him again.
sub!lucas who . . . hides his face in the pillow so you won't see how ridiculously easy it is to make him whimper.
sub!lucas who . . . apologizes desperately and fearfully if he accidentally thrusts too hard against you.
sub!lucas who . . . gasps with pleasure when you scratch his chest with your nails.
sub!lucas who . . . loves it when you spit in his mouth while riding him.
sub!lucas who . . . to drive him crazy and keep him in the palm of your hand, give him a titty fuck.
sub!lucas who . . . you should gag by stuffing your panties in his mouth; he will absolutely love it.
sub!lucas who . . . wears glasses and keeps them on while eating you out. Itâs so cute how desperately he uses his tongue to make you cum, watching his glasses fog up from his warm breath.
sub!lucas who . . . gets turned on when you are mean to him. He is totally into the mean girl x nerd boy dynamic.
sub!lucas who . . . even though he loves praise, can't help but get hard when you degrade him and tell him how disgusted you are by him.
sub!lucas who . . . can't help but fantasy about how much heâd love to have a threesome with you and loser!nerd!archie.
sub!lucas who . . . sometimes acts like a brat just to annoy you so youâll choke him with both hands around his neck.
sub!lucas who . . . secretly masturbates to your Instagram pictures.
sub!lucas who . . . enjoys it when you mark him with hickeys to claim him as yours.
sub!lucas who . . . has to push his glasses up with a finger mid-eating you out because sweat and your juices are making them slip down, without stopping his tongue for even a second.
sub!lucas who . . . whimpers and begs you to punish him when you tell him how pathetic he looks crawling for you, pushing his cock even deeper inside you just from the insult.
sub!lucas who . . . plays with your tits while you edge him with a handjob.
sub!lucas who . . . always mumbles your name whenever heâs about to climax.