letters [max verstappen]

7

May 2015, Monaco

Max was waiting on the curb for me and grabbed my luggage out of the trunk as I thanked and paid the driver.

"Hey, Becks." He pulled me into a tight hug, and I took in the scent of his aftershave that though I wouldn't admit it, I had started to crave. "I hope you know I didn't mean to be pushy when I asked if you wanted to stay over."

"Hey, don't worry about it." I mindlessly traced his jaw with my thumb, an affectionate gesture that surprised us both. "It was a kind offer. And I'm here now, right? Let's have a good weekend."

Max carried my bag as we walked up to his dad's apartment. He opened the door, and I looked around. It was pretty basic, the decor was made mostly out of racing things- framed pictures, helmets, a few trophies, pictures of Max, and a few of his sister.

"I still haven't met Victoria." I mentioned. I had been introduced to his older sister over FaceTime, but that hardly counted.

"She's coming from Brussels with my mom tomorrow morning, so you can meet her this weekend if you want." Max suggested.

"And your dad?"

"He's going to be back from Amsterdam Friday night in time for qualifying." He explained. "Um...do you want me to put your bag in my room or the guest room?" He asked meekly.

I gave him a warm smile. "You can put it in yours if you'd like." He nodded happily and disappeared down the hall. I trailed after him as he entered his room.

Just like the living room the walls were full of helmets and trophies, as well as pictures of a few memories he had made along the way. On his nightstand, I saw one that made me smile. It was a picture that Pierre had taken of me and Max outside the Red Bull factory on Max's last day in the junior program. "That's the only picture I have of us." He said, going to pick it up.

"Well, maybe we should go take some more." I suggested. "Come on, I've never been to Monaco, you have to show me around!"

He beamed. "Yeah, ok." We grabbed a few things like our phones and wallets and ran out the door to take advantage of the only free afternoon of the weekend.

That afternoon and night were magical. Max showed me all his favorite places in Monaco- the harbor, his favorite restaurant, all the iconic spots on the Grand Prix track, and as the sun went down we caught an uber up into the hills, where he showed me his favorite overlook and we got a magical view of the sunset. Keeping to my word, I took pictures the whole time, and when we were down by the harbor I asked a man walking by to take a picture of Max and me together.

Upon the overlook, I finally got a chance to get a good look at the picture. There we were, my head leaning on Max's shoulder as his hand rested on my hip and Monaco shone behind us. I had a small but content smile on my face, while Max was grinning ear to ear.

"We look pretty good together, huh?" Max teased, looking at the picture over my shoulder as he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind.

"Yeah, I guess we do." I hummed. He spun me around to look at him, and the way he looked at me made me melt. His eyes shone in the golden light, and I realized how much he had grown in the half a year we had known each other. He had gained a few more inches on me, and his jawline had started to become more pronounced. The strict F1 training regime he was on helped too, as I touched his chest I felt his muscles under his shirt. And even if he hadn't had the best start to his career, just being on the grid had helped him mature and slowly become more confident. "God, you're handsome." I murmured. I felt his body tense up as I said that, and I looked up at him with a toothy grin. "I really just said that out loud, huh?" I chuckled.