beyond the grid - max verstappen

chapter thirty.

with bella, lando and daniel in the uk, I was meant to be relaxing and looking after myself to start fresh on thursday. well really flying out tonight.

and I was.

but I also wasn't.

walking down the stairs after throwing on a shirt and shorts over my bikini, I was greeted by max. he held his hand out passing me a pair of converse, before placing a few items and two towels into one of the tote bags bella and I leave around the apartment.

"you ready ace?" he pulled the bag over his shoulder, making his way over to the apartment door.

"yeah of course" I quickly tied the lace, following closely behind him.

the ride in the lift was quiet as max tapped away at his phone. as we exited the building I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. just enjoying being out in the warmth from the sun. max nudged my arm slightly drawing me back to reality.

"no way" I breathed out taking the vintage looking bike from his hand. it was white with a small wicker basket on the front. "but why?"

"I thought it would be easier than walking all day and I didn't want you to wear yourself out" he smiled softly as he sat on his orange bike. he held his arm out ready to steady me as I sat down on mine.

"here pass me the bag" he handed it over hesitantly but nodded as I placed in the basket with my phone.

the streets were quite empty now that the f1 circus had left which meant we had heaps of room to ride without the worry of many cars. I let out a laugh as max lifted himself off the bike standing up as tall as he could. I stuck my legs out away from the bike trying my best to balance. max looked over at me with a wide smile and I could tell he was proud of his plan. that's the thing with max you can always tell when he proud of himself by the wide smile he wears. max lifted one arm off the bike attempting to balance before lifting the other, finding a way to ride without hands. I quickly pulled my phone from the basket taking a quick photo.

"you go find us a spot" he told me as we arrived at the beach. he took the bike from my hands and pointed down towards the water.

it wasn't hard to find a spot as there weren't that many people at the beach. I put the two towels down next to each other before laying down on mine. I slowly removed the over shirt and shorts that I was wearing, mentally preparing myself for any crude comment that he might make.

but nothing came. he sat down without even muttering a word, removing the tshirt he was wearing to apply suncream that he had packed.

"do you want me to do yours?" my cheeks flushed as he caught me staring.

"no its okay" I muttered sticking my hand out for the tube.

"turn over and ill do your back" he disregarded my words moving closer.

I rolled over laying my head on my arms so I could still see him. his rubbed the cream in softly over my back, lifting the strap of my bikini lightly to making sure he didn't miss a spot. I flinched slightly as he rubbed the cream into the middle of my back. his fingers lingered there lightly following along my spine.

"its almost gone now" he spoke softly

"what do you mean?"

"the bruising" I buried my head in my hands no longer wanting to be a part of this conversation. every time he brought it up it became more real and Im just not ready for reality yet.

"it wasn't even –"

"has it been like this before?" he cut me off before I could even attempt to justify it.