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The plane ride from Austin to Palm Springs is just over an hour. The toe of your sneaker presses against Oscar’s sock covered ankle. He is sitting across from you on the chartered jet. Legs straight out in front of him, crossed at the ankle. His right foot slightly taps out the beat of the song that is playing in his headphones. His eyes are closed, but you know he’s awake.
In the row behind you, Lando is snuggled up with Magui. Unlike Oscar, Lando is using this downtime to recharge with a quick nap. His head rests on Magui’s shoulder. Her thumb slowly traces comforting circles into his inner thigh as she watches the clouds pass by outside the window.
It’s Tuesday. 11:00am. Sunday was the United States Grand Prix in Texas. Battling it out on track and the suffocating heat had taken their toll on both boys. They spent all day yesterday sleeping and recovering.
Tonight, the four of you are going to a music festival in incognito mode. Lando’s taste in music leans more EDM while Oscar’s taste in music leans more towards house music, so the plan is to split up to attend different DJ sets.
This whole side quest had been your idea. You and Oscar celebrated your one year anniversary last week and this was your gift to him. You had worked with Lando to organize all of the travel and housing details. Now all four of you were on your way to spend 48 hours in the desert.
It took Oscar a minute to warm up to the idea. He doesn’t love being in big crowds now that he is a public figure. Lando tagging along only made the possibility of being recognized that much higher. You already knew that he’d protest, so you were ready with solutions. They came in the form of a navy Volcom hat, a black bandana, and a new pair of black Rayban sunglasses. There was also the promise of Lando and Magui splitting off to go to a different DJ set. It will just be the two of you. It will be easy enough to disappear into a crowd as a nondescript couple.
Once Oscar was sufficiently reassured about every single one of his concerns, he couldn’t help but to feel excited about it all. It had been too long since he got to exist as a normal 24 year old. Deciding to get an apartment in Monaco had robbed him of ever having a normal day to day experience. A boring trip to the grocery store would be inevitably secretly documented and uploaded to the internet. Sometimes he wishes he could leave the house without being recognized by strangers on the street.
In the hotel after lunch, Oscar puts on his “disguise.” His blonde hair peeks out the sides and back of his hat. You’re standing behind him, tying the bandana around his neck. When you finish, you run your hands across his broad upper back and then spin him around by this shoulders so he can look at himself in the mirror. He is tightly clutching his sunglasses in his hand.
You watch as he continues to chew on his bottom lip, clearly nervous now that the moment is here. “Hey. None of that,” you gently scold him.
You step in between him and the mirror and take his sunglasses from him. You slide them up his nose to rest in front of his eyes. Before pulling the bandana up over the lower half of his face, you press a slow, tender kiss to his lips. His hands rest on your hips. He chases your lips for a second kiss when you pull away.
He lets out a small laugh when you step away from him. He’s studying himself in the mirror again. “I look like I’m about to rob a store, but like, in a cool, casual, underprepared way.”
His shoulders creep higher as a beat of time passes. He turns to face you. Your hand flies to cover your mouth in an attempt to hide your giggle. “I don’t know, Osc… It’s kinda giving Harry Styles getting groceries in London.” With your joke, his shoulders drop and cave forward. His head bows forward as he laughs. “Okay. You may be right.”
He turns back to the mirror, still unconvinced. He takes off his sunglasses only to widen his eyes in shock at how much worse that makes the disguise look. You think you hear a mumbled, “Absolutely not,” come from under the bandana.
The sunglasses return to their rightful place on his face. This time, the bandana is the one being removed. He tugs it off his face and lets it relax and crumple around the base of his neck. After a beat, he turns back to face you. His hands raise from his sides as if to say “Ta-Da” and “How’s this?” at the same time.
You stand up from where you are sitting at the foot of the hotel bed. “Gorgeous,” you tell him. Quickly, you snatch the hat off his head and turn it around only to place it right back on his head. Oscar literally never wears his hats backward, but every part of you wishes he would. Your actions pull more laughter from him. “Nice try,” he says as he tugs the bill of the hat around to the front again. You laugh with him before kissing him again.
As the car pulls up to the front of the festival grounds, Oscar’s fingers tighten around yours. His bottom lip is back to being torn up between his teeth. You shift closer to him. “We can always just go back to the hotel if you want,” you quietly remind him. Despite seeming close to backing out, he takes a deep breath and shakes his head, “No.”
As he steps out of the car, he tugs the bandana back up over his face. He turns to help you out of the car and you give him a knowing smile. His nerves are creeping back in, but you can tell he still wants to be there with you.
There are more people than Oscar was imagining. It was so much easier to be brave from the comfort of the hotel room. Regardless, he takes your hand and leads the way into the event. You, however, don’t miss the way he pulls his cap low and keeps his face tilted down.
Once the four of you are successfully inside the gates, Lando and Magui head off in the opposite direction promising to meet up in the same spot in a few hours. You watch as Lando practically drags Magui behind him as he all but bounces away. Once they’re gone, Oscar relaxes a bit. It’s easier to blend into the crowd as a couple.
His hand never leaves yours as the two of you navigate the crowds. As you wait in line for drinks, his hand lingers on your lower back, keeping you close to him.
Oscar and his stupid Amex card step in when you order a vodka lemonade. This trip was supposed to be a gift for him, but he wouldn’t be Oscar without being a total gentleman no matter what. His parents did an amazing job raising him and it shows in how much respect and love he has for everyone he meets.
Once both of you have your respective drinks, you linger toward the back of the crowd. After a few minutes, the DJ runs onstage and starts his set. Everyone turns their attention to the stage. Oscar relaxes that much more now that everyone is distracted.
After a few songs, you notice the music and alcohol have effectively worked their way into his system. He’s given up on pulling the bandana down and back up everyy time he wants a sip of his drink. It’s now laying limply against the collar of his shirt. He’s smiling and nodding along to the beat, slowly loosening up.
A few more songs play and suddenly he excitedly grabs your upper arm. His eyes are sparkling as he leans in close. “This is my favorite song!” He all but yells into the space next to your ear.
You grin even harder at his excitement. You lean back into him and say, “Let’s dance then!”
By now, he has drained and tossed his drink, freeing up both of his hands. Your hand removes his hand from your arm and you force him to do a little twirl under your arm. He laughs even harder as he stumbles in a circle. When he come around to face you again his hands find your hips. He pulls you closer and bends slightly to hide his blushing cheeks in your neck.
You pull back and remind him that he is supposed to be dancing. Oscar has never been a big partier or someone to really enjoy going to clubs and bars, so you take the lead. You spin around in his arms and let his hands rest on your hips again. The hand holding your vodka lemonade raises up in the air. You let your hips sway to the beat. Your head occasionally falls back to rest against Oscar’s shoulder. He kisses the side of your head every time.
It’s not long before he’s pulling you even closer. Your back against his chest. Your hips against his. In between songs he leans down slightly to chat with you. The slight stubble along his jaw scratches against your ear as he talks. You melt backwards into him.
This is exactly what you had in mind when you booked this trip. A content smile sits on your lips for the rest of the night because you know Oscar got to have fun and let loose like a normal 24 year old. He didn’t have to worry about being recognized or paparazzi catching him or public image or anything racing related. The two of you are just a young couple having fun at a music festival and that’s exactly what you both wanted.