You’ve known Lando since you both learned to crawl—best friends bonded over toy cars and shared cereal bowls. So when McLaren announced they’d hired Richard Carter—ex-British Army captain turned bodyguard—you braced for him to be the ultimate killjoy.

He arrived on a Monday. Mature, patient, every inch the professional. You, however, made it your personal mission to test his limits—showed up everywhere he stood watch, popped into Lando’s garage with coffee, dampened his radio with non-stop chatter. “Less talk, more protect,” he’d say, voice calm. “Protect me from boredom,” you’d retort, tossing your hair.

Despite your best efforts, he never snapped. Instead, he waited—softly correcting your posture after a long day, tucking stray strands behind your ear when you nodded off in the hospitality suite, offering a quiet smile when you drunkenly serenaded Lando with karaoke.

The turning point came in Monaco. A minor scuffle in the paddock left you shaken, your heel twisted. He was there before you hit the ground—arm around your waist, voice steady: “Lean on me.”

Everything shifted. You saw how his chest moved with silent breaths, how his fingers lingered a moment too long as he eased you into a seat. Lando teased you both later, but James only smiled, eyes softer than you’d ever seen.

Back at the hotel, you found him in the hallway outside your room, leaned against the wall like he’d been standing there forever. His arms were crossed, eyes scanning the quiet corridor—until they landed on you.

“Didn’t know bodyguards did night shifts,” you teased, voice low.

He shrugged, calm as ever. “Didn’t feel right turning in before I knew you were okay.”

You tried to keep it playful, but your chest tightened. You stepped closer, close enough to hear his breath hitch, to see the faint bruise on his knuckle from earlier.

“I’m fine,” you whispered, softer this time.

He nodded slowly. “Good.”

You stood like that—just staring—until the silence pulled taut like string. Then, quietly, he said it:

“You scare the hell out of me sometimes.”

Your smile cracked at the edges. “I know.”

But you didn’t walk away.

And neither did he.