the money shot (max verstappen )

hungary gp

lila bubbled with excitement as she exited the plane and stepped into hungary; partly due to her anticipation of the weekend of photography and racing but also, she was hesitant to admit, because she wanted to see max.

her feelings were tainted somewhat with a nagging nervousness as to how they would act. things would surely be different between them now, but lila did not know in what way. to what extent. for better or for worse.

their first interaction came before the race weekend officially began. as they had done months prior, max and lila ended up in the same elevator together.

the doors whooshed open and revealed max, leaning lazily against the bannister and staring intently at his phone. he looked up as she stepped in.

"lilac!" he said with a smile, pushing himself of the wall behind so he was now standing directly in front of her, "where are you off to?

"i'm going to lunch, I have a friend who lives here and we wanted to catch up," lila replied, relieved by how natural it felt between them.

"that explains why you're dressed up," max said, scanning his eyes along her body, slowly and deliberately.

"you look good," he continued with a smirk, bringing his eyes to meet hers.

lila felt the heat of blush tinge her cheeks pink and returned his smile, though hers was less mischievous and far more sheepish.

Ding

the elevator doors opened and the moment passed.

"have fun at your lunch," max said before walking off into the lobby.

lila did not have fun at her lunch. it was a stretch when she said they were friends, really acquaintances was more fitting and the meal consisted of pointless chitchat of her 'friends' new life and her rich husband. yes husband.

lila was relieved when she finally stepped back into her apartment and colapsed into bed, greatful for the peace and quiet.

the next time she saw max was at practice, in the heat of the austrian sun. lila took countless photos and got some great ones of the redbulls flying down the straight together.

max exited the car and yanked off his helmet revealing a mess of hair and a flushed face. lila was again reminded of how good max looked after he'd been racing, and after last weekend's event, this feeling was amplified further.

he entered the garage breathing heavily and laboriously and reached of a bottle of water. without too much thought lila brought her camera to her eye and started taking snapshots. max's eyes fell down the lense. uh oh.

he made his way over to her as he drained the last drops or water and she lowered her camera.

before max reached her, tammi was there.

"those are great lila. send them in as soon as you can. you sure know what the fans like," she said with a week before hurrying off to harass someone else.

"give it here," max said, after she had left. begrudgingly, lila handed the camera over.

"did you take these cause you thought I looked hot?" the smirk was back.

"you're so vain," lila said snatching her camera back and then, after a pause, "but yea maybe."

he laughed slightly and looked as if he was about to continue, but was called away by an engineer and left lila with a rushed goodbye.

it was strange how natural things were between them, though it wasn't the same as it used to be. there was more banter, more flirting, and lila had to admit she loved it. she was also riddled with guilt. they had said there would be no more. that it was a one-time thing. a mistake. so why was max being so flirtatious? and why was she reciprocating?