letters [max verstappen]

11

Silverstone, UK 

"How's it feel to be back in that car?" My race engineer at Campos, Mikel leaned over the cockpit, smiling down at me.

"So freaking good." I grinned, taking my gloves from him. Just a few days ago I had gotten my wrist cleared and it was now my first weekend back racing.

"Just take it easy, hm?" He suggested.

"Mhm, yeah, totally." I rolled my eyes, and he playfully slapped my helmet.

"Go get 'em."

——

Practice went well, I managed to get into the top 10 after putting in by far the most laps. Back in the garage, I got out of the car and was surprised to see Max standing in the corner, chatting with one of the mechanics. Things had been better between us after Austria. We spent a lot of time together, but that time was usually when we were exhausted after long days of work, so all we ever did was get dinner or lounge around hotel rooms. We still weren't official, but I often found myself wondering why. I knew he wanted to respect my wish for no labels yet, but when I thought about it, everything we did felt like what I thought a relationship would feel like.

"Hey." Max smiled, placing his hands on either side of my helmet.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Don't you have meetings?" I asked, wrapping my hands around his waist.

"I wanted to see you back in action." He admitted as I undid my helmet.

"You're sweet." I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, then we headed out of the garage, back towards the GP3 paddock.

"And you're in a better mood." He remarked. I hummed in agreement, and we walked in comfortable silence for a while until he spoke up. "Lewis is hosting a dinner for all the F1 drivers tonight at his place in MK...do you want to come with me?"

I chewed my lip. "What, like your plus one?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I know we're not official yet, but you're more than welcome. A lot of the other drivers may have been hearing about you and want to meet you." He said sheepishly.

I paused, then reached out to take his hand in mine. "You know what, that sounds fun. Let's do it."

We stopped, and he grinned. "Ok, cool. I'll see you tonight." He pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, then ran back off in the direction of the F1 paddock.

—————

Max squeezed my hand as we walked into the large house, and I gazed up at the large chandelier.

"Damn. Are you going to have a place like this when the F1 checks start rolling in?" I teased.

"Well, to be honest, I was leaning more towards a Monaco apartment with some ocean views." He responded, and I nodded in approval as we were directed out of the house to the backyard.

There were two long tables set for dinner, and lights hanging from the trees above. Drivers and their partners wandered around the large yard making conversation, and I spotted Daniel chatting with Nico Hülkenburg and a woman he was with. Daniel and I made eye contact, and he waved Max and me over.

"Becca!" Daniel pulled me into a bear hug, while Max greeted Nico.

"Hi, Dan." I chuckled as he set me down. "Um, hi. I'm Becca." I reached out to shake Nico's hand.

"Yeah I recognize you, you drive in GP3, right?" Nico asked, intrigued. I nodded. "And you guys..." He gestured between Max and me.

"No labels." Max stated, and it put a smile on my face that we were still on the same page.