The Blackout ⤖ George Russell

F O U R T Y E I G H T

Nora sat down on the couch and looked at George. "Thanks," she said. "For everything today. And for hosting it at yours instead at mine."

"Hmm," he hummed and gave her a kiss. "No need to thank me, love. How are you feeling?"

"Energetic, but knackered," she shared. "I can feel I raced again, I will probably be stiff at the end of the evening." Nora ran her hand through her hair and yawned. "It felt better than a few weeks ago."

George was tide up the living room before the boys came. "That's a good sign. Are you staying over?"

She nodded. "If you are okay with it?"

"Of course," he widely smiled.

After a while, Lando and Alex arrived at George's place. The trainers decided to go home, so the four friends had an evening for themselves. The losers dinner became a pizza evening, perhaps that was even more fun. Everybody had a drink, had a seat on the sofa and ordered pizzas.

"I didn't know you moved in, Nora," Lando said impressed. "Congrats, babes," he cheekily smiled.

Nora shared a look with George, both slightly surprised. "I didn't move in," she softly said.

Alex squeezed his eyebrows together. "Then why are we at George's? He didn't lose."

"For the record, I had the fastest lap, and the gap was minimal," she commented proudly. "But there's trouble at home, and I don't want you to feel unwanted there, so this is better for everyone."

"What have you done?" Alex blinked a few times, he was confused to hear that.

She was shaking her head and took a sip from her drink. "Not me, Aubrey is in trouble. She had drugs last weekend, got home while being high, got grounded for a month. Then she had Maisie over against the rules, got in a massive fight with Vic. Aubrey involved me with the classic 'why can Nora go to George on midweek days? Or why can George stay over on midweek days and I can not? Is it because Nora is forlorn because of that accident?' move. So Aubrey is going crazy, and you do not want to be there."

"Aubrey did what?" Lando blurted ununderstandable. "Dafuq. She is always a sweet girl, I never imagined her to act like this."

"People change..." Nora yawned. "And she likes to involve George and me to spice it up for a bit. Great entertainer," she sarcastically said and made herself more comfortable.

"Will you be in Spielberg next week?" Alex suddenly changed the subject.

"Aber natürlich," she replied. "And if it wasn't for you, it would have been for the schnitzels."

While Nora zoned out of the conversation, the boys talked about the day and other things from F1. Nora's eyes rested on George, not even noticing she looked at him. It was a long, impressive day for her - it felt good but overwhelming. She longed for alone time, just to cuddle. Another thing what changed about Nora; she became softer and shyer, she started to appreciate the people around her more. She also wasn't a person to cuddle with, but since she woke up from the coma and got together with George, it changed. Perhaps this was the transition from girl to woman.

The pizzas arrived, and they ate in silence. There were short chats, but it wasn't much, more like saying how delicious the pizzas were.

"You're so quiet..." George whispered when he sat down next to Nora.

A small smile curved on her lips and she looked at him. "Just tired," she softly said.

He nodded. "If they have to go, that's okay too, they understand. You can take a bath, go to bed..."