letters [max verstappen]

5

As I walked into my room my phone buzzed, a message from Max.

Sorry we couldn't chat today. I know you said you were taking me out, but I kind of already planned the night. Be ready at 7 and look good ;)

The butterflies rose in my stomach as I read the text. The more interest Max showed in me, the more attractive he became to me. Go figure. But I had never had a boyfriend, never kissed anyone, never been asked out, karting, and my schoolwork had always been my priority. I didn't know what I wanted or what to expect from our date because I'd never had anything like it before.

These thoughts ran through my brain as I took a shower, shampooing and conditioning my hair and then blow-drying it after I got out. Knowing we were going to dinner, I had brought a dress that I'd been waiting to wear for almost a year. It was dark blue and sleeveless, with a long slit up the side, and it ended just below my knees, the perfect midi length. The satin material clung to my body, maybe too grown-up for a seventeen-year-old but I didn't care, my parents were thousands of miles away. I finished the look off with some simple makeup and silver jewelry. As I reached for my phone to check the time, there was a knock on the door. 7:00, perfect timing.

I opened the door after slipping a small pair of black heels on. "Hi, Maxi." I smirked.

"Hi, Becks." He breathed, looking me up and down twice. "Wow, I don't know what to say. I've never seen you like this, you look beautiful. Not that you don't always look beautiful." he mumbled. I grinned at his attempt at a compliment.

"You look quite handsome yourself." I responded. He looked smart in a grey button-up and a nice pair of black jeans. He beamed as I grabbed my small bag and followed him through the hotel. We walked quickly through the lobby with hopes of not being spotted by any of the countless racing-related people there.

Soon we were just another pair on the streets of Barcelona, out for a nice night. "So what exactly is on the plan for tonight?" I asked.

"Don't get your hopes up too high, we're keeping it simple tonight. The craziness is for the second date." He said cheekily.

"Oh, so you already think you're getting a second one?" I shot back with a toothy grin.

Max chuckled. "I'm manifesting it. But tonight, we've got a reservation at this place Carlos recommended for 7:30. Don't worry, we're almost there."

"You told Carlos about this?" I hissed. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I would have hoped he would have asked me first. Hey, yeah, Carlos, my teammate who you haven't properly met yet? He knows we're going on a date, which no one else knows.

"Becks?" He looked at me. "I didn't tell him that it was you. I told him I met a pretty Spanish girl while in the paddock club who I was taking to dinner tonight." He looked at me confused. "Are you ok? I would never tell someone something like that without talking to you about it first."

It's like he knew exactly what I needed to hear. I nodded and sighed. "Yeah, sorry. I guess I overreacted a little."

"No worries." Max said quietly.

And soon we were at Carlos's restaurant, seated, and the waiter had taken our orders. We shared a laugh when we gave the waiter the wine list back without ordering anything. "Only a few more months, then we can order." Max chuckled.

"When is your birthday, anyway?" I asked.

"September 30. When's yours?"

"Noted." I smiled. "December 2."

"Noted." He repeated.

We continued to chat about nothing in particular. We already knew so much about each other so there was no need to try to make small talk. There was a flirty attitude to the whole conversation which caught me off guard at first, but I was surprised by how normal it felt. It was a different way of interacting than we ever had before, with romantic intentions, but it felt right. The topic of our past racing came up, and we learned something interesting.