letters [max verstappen]

26

I woke up the next morning alone and confused. I realized I was in Alex's bed and remembered what happened last night, a small smile playing on my lips as I reminisced. I grabbed a random shirt off the floor and then made my way to the kitchen, where Alex was standing at the island cutting an avocado.

He gave me a sly smile when he saw me. "Leo came by like normal, I told him you weren't feeling good."

I groaned as I sat down on one of the stools. "Thank you. I'll text him later today."

"So." Alex set a plate of avocado toast and eggs in front of me and sat on the other stool. "Is this our revised relationship? Meaningless sex and breakfast together afterward?"

I smirked. "It's only happened- what, three times? Hardly a pattern."

He chuckled. "Ah. So you don't remember everything. It's uh...it's happened a lot more than three times." He mumbled.

I frowned. "Oh. Alex, don't get me wrong, we have fun, but, well—" I swallowed. "I'm still in love with Max." That was the first time I had said it out loud.

His eyes widened. "Well that's some serious news, I'd love to unpack that with you sometime, but I meant the 'meaningless sex' part. That's, uh– actually what we had agreed on before." He admitted.

I frowned. "I guess I forgot more than I thought. But... you're ok that I'm still in love with Max?"

He shrugged. "Well yeah, I can't say I'm surprised. I had my suspicions." He moved closer to me, placing his hands on my hips. "But I know you like what you see here too."

I hummed, reaching out to lay my hands on his bare chest. "Huh. Maybe this can continue, then."

—————

March 2019

"Come on Becks, you can do it! Just another half a mile, push yourself." Max exclaimed.

"Easy for you to say." I huffed, but I kept my feet moving at a similar pace to his as we made our way down the wooded path. I wasn't sure I was ready to actually interact with Max, say, get lunch or coffee, so I had asked if he wanted to go for a run, something that usually didn't involve much talking. Instead, my current pace and distance were like an easy jog for him, and he spent the whole time babbling. I was glad he had taken my words as genuine and was comfortable being around me again, but the constant chatting as we ran on this foggy morning had put me in a bit of a crabby mood.

We arrived back at the parking lot where his black Aston was sitting. I was cleared to drive again and had been for a few weeks, but Max had insisted on picking me up. I put my hands over my head, catching my breath, and then took a long drink out of the water bottle Max handed me as he spoke.

"That was nice, thanks for letting me tag along." He smiled.

"Yeah. Nice." I replied shortly. He raised an eyebrow, sensing my mood, but didn't say anything, choosing his next words carefully.

"Do you want to get some food? We could go to Daybreak, I'll pay." He offered quietly.

I bit my lip, I had to admit I was pleasantly surprised by how sensitive he still was to my feelings. I was uneasy about spending more time with him, but I couldn't say no to Daybreak.

"Yeah, that actually sounds great." I responded, forcing a smile.

The car ride was silent, I think I might have dozed off at one point, but soon we arrived at the diner. We sat in the same booth we used to sit in when we were teens, and as I poured over the options I could feel Max gazing at me over the top of his menu.

"What?" I finally asked after we ordered.

He squirmed, no context was needed for my question. "I heard about you and Alex."