RACE 2 - Max Verstappen

55

Daniella's eyes lit up as soon as she unlocked the door to her hotel room and stepped inside. The tired look on her face was replaced by a surprised yet bright smile. She forgot to shut the door and went over to the huge bunch of lilies with a big ribbon around it on the table, surrounded by some of her comfort snacks and a note. 

She gently touched the flowers before picking up the note which only made her smile bigger. She should have guessed that Max would do something like that when he asked where exactly she was going to stay. She admired his effort once more but was pulled out of the trance by a knock on the door. 

She slightly jumped and turned around. 

"Hey, I am going out to grab something to eat," Lewis informed her, who is staying just down the hallway. "Do you want to join?"

"Ummm, no," Daniella shook her head. "I am just going to order room service and then go to sleep."

"Okay," Lewis nodded. 

He was about to leave but unfortunately his eyes fell on the flowers. 

"Is that…did someone send you those?" Lewis asked as he walked in, pointing at the lilies, an amusing smile appeared on his face. 

"No.." Daniella tried her best not to look nervous and quickly hid the note in her back pocket of her jeans. "The hotel sent it as a welcome."

Lewis nodded but was soon confused. 

"But why didn't they send me flowers?" He wondered. 

"Maybe because you are not as pretty as me."

Lewis scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows that I am the better looking driver in the team."

***

Daniella took a long shower and changed into something comfortable. Her meal also arrived and she was sitting in front of it on her bed as she face timed Max. 

She was about to say how happy and thankful she was when the call was accepted but stopped immediately. She was surprised to see not Max, but his mother instead. 

"Mom don't…" Max's voice can be heard as he tried to take his phone away but didn't succeed. 

"Shhh! Let me talk to your girlfriend," Sophie Kumpen said to her son sternly before looking back at Daniella and giving her a warm smile. 

"Hi.." Daniella awkwardly smiled and waved, didn't know what else to say or how to react as she was not expecting this. She can tell that they are in Max's home in Monaco. 

"I was so happy when Max told me that you two are finally dating," Sophie happily said to Daniella. 

Max appeared in the background and mouthed sorry to her and Daniella couldn't help but smile. 

"Yeah…we are taking things slow but very happy," Daniella replied. 

"You two are still taking things slow? But you started dating months ago," Sophie sounded confused. 

Max mouthed another sorry to Daniella but acted normal as his mother looked at him. Daniella realized that Nax never clarified with his family before that they were not dating. But she feels like it doesn't matter since they are dating now. 

"Umm.. Yeah, what I meant was my schedule is always so hectic and Max and I rarely get in alone time so we decided to take things slow," Daniella explained. "Don't want to rush and ruin what we are building."

"That's very wise of you two," Sophie nodded. 

"Can I talk to her now?" Max begged. 

"Alright," Sophie gave in and handed Max his phone but not before making dinner plans with Daniella. 

As soon as Max got back his phone he went to his bedroom and shut the door like a teenager. 

"I am so sorry," He apologized. "I tried to stop her but…"

"You don't have to apologize Max," Daniella let out a small laugh. She can see that he is a little irritated and anxious. "It's all fine. I really like your mom." She has already met his mother last year which helped make the call less awkward. 

"She likes you too," Max smiled. "Actually, my entire family likes you."

"What's there not to like?" Daniella chuckled. 

"I can give you a list if you don't already know the answer to that," Max teased. 

"Shut up," She playfully rolled her eyes. "By the way, I love the flowers," She smiled brightly. 

"I knew you would," Max said smugly. 

Daniella can't help but chuckle. 

"Lewis saw it and I had to lie that the flowers were from the hotel," She said. "He seemed a little jealous, maybe you can send him a couple of bouquets as well, it will cheer him up," She joked. 

"Haha, very funny," Max said sarcastically. "I am dating you, not Lewis."

They talked for a while before Daniella fell asleep in the middle of the conversation as she was tired and had a hectic day waiting for her with the dress fitting and such. 

Max smiled at the view. He can sit there and watch her for hours but he too has plans. He has to catch his flight in a couple of hours. 

"Does she know you are going?" Sophie asked her son as he got ready to leave for the airport. 

"No," Max smiled. "She has no idea but I know will be happy to see me," His smile grew bigger as he imagined Daniella's reaction. 

"Aww! Look at you being a romantic," Sophie praised him. "Never let her go Max, she is one of the good ones."

"She is the best and I can't even think about letting her go, ever."

**********

A/N: So Max's mom knows they are dating. How long will it take for Dani's family to find out? 

I am thinking about adding some more love interests to mess things up a bit and because I have a tendency to make things hard for myself. 

Still can't figure out what to do with Carlos… .