𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗥𝗘 | M.V.

ɴɪɴᴇᴛᴇᴇɴ

A couple of hours later, Madelyn's head slowly started spinning from all the alcohol in her blood. She lost count on how many cocktails, wines, and other alcoholic drinks she had, just like her friends and Max, who she had lost. It had been a long time since she had a night out like this where she had drunk this much. But she didn't mind it at all and rather enjoyed it actually. The amount of alcohol made her forget about all the stress caused by crushing on Max and by her job. For a second, she felt free from all her obligations, and she absolutely loved it.

As loud music played and people danced, she wriggled herself through the crowd, searching for the people she had talked to earlier this evening. She had walked to the railing to take a picture of their view earlier this evening, and when she walked back, her friends suddenly had disappeared. She looked for them everywhere, but instead of finding the Red Bull driver, she stumbled upon a McLaren one. She expected him to be here.

"Daniel!" She screamed to get above the loud music. The Aussie turned around and started smiling when he saw his best friend's PR and crush.

"Lynnie!" He yelled back and hugged her tightly. "Congrats on your win, well, Max's win," he winked and pulled her towards her to dance with her.

"Thanks! Have you seen Max?" She asked him and slid her arm around his middle to match his movements. Daniel shook his head.

"No, but how about we dance for a couple of minutes, huh?" He suggested, knowing she shouldn't be too close to Max tonight with the amount of alcohol the Dutchman already had in him. Daniel knew if Max drank too much tonight, he would do stupid things related to Madelyn that would get him and her both in trouble. Even though Daniel really wanted his best friend and his PR to get together, now wouldn't be the best time.

Madelyn nodded as an answer. She and Daniel laughed and talked for a couple of songs as they danced a little to the music before Daniel got taken away from her by some friends of his, leaving her all alone again. She sighed to herself, got herself another drink at the bar, and searched for her friends while leaning against it. Her eyes went to all people, but she couldn't see any familiar faces. She stirred the straw and stared into her glass, thinking about everything and nothing. She looked back up when she noticed a pair of shoes standing in front of her. Her eyes met a pair of blue eyes, and she smiled when she saw who it was.

"Lando, hi," she smiled at the Brit. He stood with his hands in his pockets in front of her, dressed in a black button-up shirt and matching black jeans, finishing it off with those white sneakers she had seen him wearing all the time. She noticed how drunk he was from his instability on two feet. His eyes scanned her body, admiring her beauty and making her feel a little uncomfortable before he stood next to her and let his arm rest behind her on the bar.

"Hello, beautiful," he said close to her ear so not everyone could hear him. Madelyn gave him a confused look, just sober enough to question his intentions here. She noticed how he took a step closer to her and how her left arm felt the fabric of his shirt.

"Beautiful? I didn't know we were on those terms," she laughed, hoping he would get the message she wasn't sure she was interested in him in that way.

"Haven't we always been on those terms?" Lando turned more in her way and looked her straight into the eye. The slightly larger pupils revealed his drunkenness.

"Lando, what is your point here?" She asked, a little nervous about the answer he would give. She knew that Lando didn't have a stop sign now he was extremely drunk, so this was the time she would see his true intentions with her. Not that she was completely sober right now. But sober enough to know she wasn't planning on making out with Lando or anything in that direction.

"The point is, Lyn," he started as his fingers played with a strand of her hair that hung loosely along her face. "The point is that I have liked you since the first time I saw you at that swimming pool in Bahrain. I have been so scared to tell you because I didn't know if you felt the same way," he rattled on.

"Lando, I don't-" She gets stopped by his hand covering her mouth.

"Just let me finish, please," he sighed and removed his hand. "When Carlos and I arrived at the party earlier, he told me you probably didn't. He thought you were into Max. Maybe he's right, but I want to prove to you and him that there is still a chance for us."

Madelyn took her bottom lip between her teeth as she repeated Lando's sentence in her head. If Carlos could see she was into Max, could other people see it as well? What if Christian found out? Or Helmut? Would she get kicked off the team, even though she and Max are not even together? She gets taken out of her thoughts by Lando placing his thumb on her lip, freeing it between her teeth.

"You look so hot when you do that," Lando whispered and set another step closer to her. Frightened, she looked into his eyes as she was scared of what would happen next. Before she knew it, Lando had pressed his lips softly against hers, the fingertips of his right hand still resting on her chin as his other hand slid on her hip. Completely stunned and panicked, Madelyn stood in his arms. She had no idea what she had to do. Did she kiss him back? Did she have to push him off her?

She didn't have a long time to think as Lando's hands moved over her body, pulling her closer to him. She got more forced into the kiss, making her even more confused about the situation. Lando's hand found the bare skin of her back. He dug his nails into her skin as his tongue tried to find a way inside her mouth.

Suddenly, Madelyn's mind went back to that night. Even though she didn't want to, she saw Ethan in front of her instead of Lando. Her mind started panicking and played the entire event over and over again in her head as her body started shaking. With all the power she had in her, she pushed the boy in front of her off her and looked at him with tears in her eyes. She was so scared that Lando would do the same to her. Lando noticed the look in her eyes and started worrying. All of a sudden, he was back to being sober—sort of.

"Lyn, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" He asked and wanted to give her a comforting hug to calm her down, but she snatched his arms from her and took another step further back.

"Leave me alone," she said with a shaking voice and ran away from him, leaving Lando behind, completely stunned by what just had happened.

Max was leaning against the railing on the deck above them with his 10th or 11th gin tonic of the night. It was putting it mildly if you said he was tipsy, close to being drunk. But he was sobered up when he saw Madelyn running off the yacht in tears. He didn't know how quickly to give his drink to the guy next to him, rather push it into his hands. He walked downstairs and saw Ellis and Isla standing at the end of the yacht. He walked over to them and pulled them away from the two guys they danced with.

"Have you seen in which direction Madelyn went?" He asked the girls urgently. They looked at him confused, having no idea what he was talking about. He sighed frustrated and let them go back to whatever they were doing. He stepped off the yacht and walked a little further over the harbour. He looked around, searching for the brunette girl in the beige dress. It took him around five minutes before he saw her sitting on the edge of the dock with her heels next to her. He sighed in relief and walked over to her. When he got closer, he could hear her sobbing. For a second, he doubted if he should sit next to her or walk away and leave her alone. But she made a choice for him by looking up and watching him with a faint smile.

"Hi," she said softly and tapped the space next to her with her hand as a sign he should sit there. He did as she asked and took place on her right side. It stayed quiet between them. The only thing you could hear was the water splashing against the posts underneath them and the soft music that came from the yacht tens of meters behind them. They both stared into the water for a couple of minutes before Max looked up and gave her a concerned look.

"Are you okay?"