beyond the grid - max verstappen

chapter seven

i upload behind the scenes photos to lando's Instagram from saudi. I made sure to add a few photos from this week's dts workout shoot with myself, max and lando. the comments were flooded with support and encouragement. his fans always loved the behind-the-scenes shots, getting a truthful insight into his life, without invading his privacy.

it is nice to be back in Monaco, finally getting to relax in my own bed, living with bella and being able to cook my own food. I spent the morning with bella, recounting the events of the past week; obvious flirting with pierre, lando's struggles with the car, the slightly tense encounters with max. she sat on my bed crossed legged soaking in every detail that she had missed. I wish I could just drag her along to every race. only three more races before we were back in Monaco and I couldn't be more excited.

the streets of Monte Carlo were busy, everyone heading out for the day. I relax letting the music fill my mind, drowning out any stress that previously resided there. After hitting the first kilometre, my body began to feeling relaxed. I focused on my breathing, not wanting to push myself too hard at the start. a mistake that I made on my first London marathon, wearing myself out too quickly, struggling to finish the race.

I have exactly one month before the Milton Keynes marathon and I hadn't exactly been training the way I usually would. I was going to make the most of having this week off knowing that the next two weeks were going to be full on. five kilometres down and I could feel my mind slipping into auto pilot. I took a deep breath and pushed, shaking my mind back into reality, focusing again on the way my legs were moving.

as I reached the 30 kilometre mark, another person running caught my eye. it was odd to see someone running in this part of the city. it was usually filled with men in suits or women dressed to the nines, heels and a full face of makeup. it wasn't till the weekend that people appeared slightly more relaxed but even then, everything was for show. I began to close ground on the runner in front of me, slightly increasing my pace. the figure seemed to be quite familiar, the navy shirt and short combination, his slightly messy brown hair. My legs began to feel lighter, as I paced to catch up with the man in front of me.

"I took you as the type to enjoy a marina run" I spoke slowing my pace to match his.

as he turned to look at me, I noticed the seat that was lingering on his forehead, and the slight redness in his cheeks. my mind instantly crowded with ways I could make him look this hot and bothered.

"brad" is all he muttered in return, focusing back on his breathing.

"and he didn't want to come with you?" the warm feeling in my stomach told me to stay matching his pace, but my mind pleaded to keep going, wanting to push myself and not wanting to be around the red bull driver.

"why are you here?" I scoffed looking back over at him.

"oh is this not an anger management course" I let out a breathy laugh "I could've sworn the lady at the community centre told me this was were to go"

his jaw tensed, not even bothering to reply to me. "when is your next race?" he spoke between heavy breaths.

"30th of April" he looked at me confused "the week between miami and spain"

he nodded his head "you won't even finish if you continue at this pace"

"then you best keep up" I laughed returning to my usual 4:30 pace. he trailed not far behind

me, both focusing on our breathing as we made our way back down into monte carlo. as much as I hated his arrogant attitude there was something about him that I craved. part of me wanting to find anyway to be around him, the other wanting nothing to do with him. it was a battle that I was never going to win. my mind clicked back into reality as we reached the streets of monte carlo. I lead the way through the streets, not bothering to look back, the sounds of his heavy breathing letting me know he was still trailing along behind.