the money shot (max verstappen )

monaco gp

lila stayed at her parents house on Tuesday night, much to her mothers delight. though, her joy dissipated somewhat when lila explained it was because of an argument between herself and josh. her mother had always been a fan of josh. she said he was stable, claiming he was exactly what lila needed in her life. they stayed up late that night playing monopoly with her dad, who inevitably won. all the while her mother tried to steer the conversation towards Josh, suggesting ways in which lila could apologise and make amends. when the game was over lila quickly retired to her room, sick of the constant nagging. thankfully the flight was early the next day and she was able to avoid any further annoyance. she arrived in Monaco at 1 and checked into her hotel.

her room was beautiful despite being slightly small, fitted with a double bed, a large white tiled bathroom and a balcony that overlooked the bay. she could see the race track too and felt a fierce excitement bubble within her for the weekend to come.

The bay was crawling with lavish yachts and boats, decked out with eccentrically dressed onlookers, drinking expensive champagne and playing obnoxiously loud music. the streets below were just as packed, full of marshall's checking the tracks and setting up the necessary roadblocks as well as tourists and locals flocking to the streets, browsing through overpriced stores and dining in overflowing cafes. monaco was alive. it had its own breath, it's own heartbeat. lila immediately understood the appeal.

mesmerised by all that she saw she decided to explore the streets for herself. she hurried into a simple plaid dress, grabbed her bag, chucking in her phone, room key and, after a moment of hesitation, her camera.

the pavement radiated heat and the sun bore down. she flitted in and out of clothing stores, stopping briefly to buy herself a cold juice from a man running a stall on the side of the road. there were signs for the race day everywhere, as well as large printed banners of the drivers faces. lila walked the streets in search of checo's and max's and each time she spotted one she would take a photo. she let the signs lead her through the streets until she came to a small boutique which looked as if it was just closing up for the day.

there were rings and bracelets and necklaces and earrings in golds and silvers and with beautiful gems and pearls. the earrings caught her eye most immediately. there were hoops of all sizes and long hanging thread earrings and odd earrings lila could only imagine being worn by the people of magazines. the necklaces were also captivating, mostly outrageous eye catching designs. but in the far corner of the table was a beautiful simple gold necklace, at the end of which hung a small pearl, half cocooned in gold wire. it was exactly the type of necklace her mum would love. she turned it over and was met with an astonishingly high price. as much as she wanted to buy something for herself as well, she knew it would be an unwise use of her money. the boutique owner carefully put the necklace into a box, fitting it so only the pearl was visible, before placing it inside a small drawstring bag, with the words, jewels of monaco, printed on the front. slightly on the nose in lila's opinion.

she continued walking down the streets as the sun inched closer and closer towards the horizon. she walked and breathed in the city, listening to the music and looking out across the bay. she knew max had a yacht and wondered if he was out there now. she scanned the bay for where he might be not looking in front of her as she walked.

lila felt herself collide with someone ahead of her, struggling to regain balance and avoid falling over. she looked up to begin apologising for not paying attention but was silenced with shock. it was max.

"lilac? no way, I thought photographers weren't meant to get here until tomorrow?" max smiled easily, out of breath. he was clearly on a run.
it was a moment before lila responded,
"yea uh- we got called here early. you know... monaco being such a big race and all."
"so what do you think of the city huh?" max asked, leaning his hip against the railing and gesturing to the bustling streets and bay.
"I love it," lila said truthfully, "though everything is far to expensive for me to ever live here." lila felt dumb as soon as she'd said it, remembering she was talking to a litteral millionaire.