The Elevator || Lando Norris

12 ~ Marriage

It had been a week since Lannox and I made our relationship official, but now he had to go back to Monaco for work. Of course, he couldn't resist attending all the F1 Grand Prix races too, so he couldn't go back to Indonesia to see me any time soon. Despite the distance, we were making our long-distance relationship work. We'd send random pictures and check up on each other whenever possible. It was 12 AM for me, and Lannox was in Belgium for the Grand Prix, where it was 7 PM for him. We scheduled our call session for this time, even though I had to stay up late to make it work. We had been talking for almost 30 minutes now, and I've been asking him back and forth how watching the race went, even though honestly, I wasn't that interested. But seeing him light up explaining the race was so cute.

"I miss you," I told him as he finished the story. "I miss you too, Alex," he replied warmly. My heart fluttered at his sweet response. "Can you come back to Indonesia soon? Or maybe I'll fly out to Monaco," I suggested while organizing my desk, doing random things to stay awake.

"No, I can't. And you don't have to. I have work next week, and there's another Grand Prix all the way in the Netherlands. I won't be in Monaco," he explained, trying to reason with me. I sighed, wishing we could be closer.

"Why do you have to go to every race?" I asked curiously, wondering about his dedication to the sport. He hesitated for a moment before answering, "I like it. I guess."

As I continued sorting through a pile of papers, I couldn't help but express my honest opinion about Formula 1. "I don't get why people like it. It's just 20 rich nepo-baby, entitled guys driving around in fast cars in circles for like two hours," I blurted out without thinking. I heard him scoff a bit, and he seemed to get offended.

"They're not nepo babies or entitled guys at all!" Lannox defended the F1 drivers. He seemed passionate about the sport, and I didn't want to hurt his feelings. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound too offensive. It's just that I find it repetitive and a bit boring," I tried to explain my perspective.

"But the sport is more than just driving around in circles. The circuits aren't even circles," he continued to defend F1. "Yeah, but to me, it's still quite repetitive. It gets boring," I reiterated my point. I didn't want to argue, but I wanted him to understand how I felt.

"Y'know what, sorry. I've got to go. Bye, Alex," he suddenly said, cutting our conversation short. "Oh, okay...goodn-" I started to say, but he abruptly hung up the video call. I sat there, feeling a mix of confusion and sadness. Did I really offend him that much over a sport? Sometimes, I'll just never understand his passion for Formula 1. I guess we'll find a way to understand each other's perspectives better sooner or later.

I went to bed right after ending the call with Lannox. The next morning, I joined my family for breakfast. Sitting next to my brother and across from my dad while my mom brought out the plates. "Good morning, Rani," she greeted us as she placed the food on the table. "Morning," I replied, grabbing a spoon and starting to eat.

Suddenly, my mom spoke up, "By the way, we have a dinner tonight with Luis and his family," She spoke up. She looked at me and continued, "Make sure you dress up." I frowned, "Why did you say it like that?"

My brother, Alejandro, playfully joined in, "I mean just look at you," teasing me about my morning appearance. My hair tousled and tangled, my eyes puffy and my pajamas which was just his old shirt and pants that were too ugly to wear outside. I nudged him, rolling my eyes, and fired back, "Look at you too! You're 24, still living with our parents!" He scoffed, "At least I have a job! I chose to live with them since you're never around." The banter continued until my dad interrupted with a stern tone, "Kids, stop it." Me and Alejandro just stuck our tongue out to each other and he kept kicking my foot under the table.