barely legal | max verstappen ✓

chapter 12 | take it or leave it

«The seed of all this indecision isn't me, oh no, cause I decided long ago but that's the way it seems to go when trying so hard to get to something real.»

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She caught his eye in the reflection of the mirror. He sat on the bed, just looking at her whilst she finished getting ready. The vibes between them were somewhere between strange and normal. After Milano, she'd tried to keep things the same way they'd been before thinking he wanted to kiss her, which meant ignoring that humiliating moment and just acting as if nothing happened. It was the spur of the moment, things could go back to the standard. Friendly banter with one another sprinkled with some occasional unserious flirting.

Sloane could do that. It seemed to be what he wanted.

"Should we take a picture?" She smoothened her dress and turned to him.

Max nodded and pushed off the bed rather fast. He smiled, checking her out. "You look very beautiful."

"Thank you. Lorenzo did a pretty good job with this dress. It's from one of his old collections."

"I don't think it's the dress, to be honest." He said, and she needed him to stop doing that.

She needed him to stop looking at her like he wanted her that way. It made her feel like the delusion had gotten out of control. God. She glanced at his suit to distract herself. This specific guy driving her insane was not on her predictions for that year. Like when she began the year kissing two randos at a New Year's party that was how she expected the rest of it to look like, not whatever turn it had taken now. Sloane was supposed to be in yacht parties with wealthy guys and girls — like Salma —, not catching feelings for Max of all people.

Max...for fuck's sake Sloane.

"You should lose the tie." Her hand gestured at it. "I think it'd look better."

He looked down at himself. "You're the fashion expert here. Whatever you want."

First two seconds and he failed miserably at undoing his tie. Sloane sighed and reached to do the job herself, he just fixed his gaze on her while her attention was set on the task at hand. She held his tie and undid the top two buttons of his dress shirt, then smiled pleased at the result. It did look better.

When her eyes found his, she found him smiling back. She took a step away to put some distance between them.

"Alright, let's just," She waved in the air and turned her back on him. They looked at each other through the mirror. "You can put an arm around my shoulders, and I'll just snap a few."

He did as told, placing an arm around her. Her back was pressed to his chest and she breathed deeply. That was her fault for suggesting it that way.

"If I kiss you on the cheek, would that be too much?" He asked.

She actually wanted to kill him. And kiss him. Ugh. "That's a good idea, yeah."

Moving her hair to the side, he leaned and placed a kiss on her cheek. It was quick, Sloane took two pictures, and maybe her hands were shaking, and her heart was racing. The dress suddenly was too tight. She felt it. Awful. Whatever. His face wasn't in full view, but it was obvious the guy in the picture was him. Not that they needed any more confirmation considering they'd been pretty clear about the supposed relationship. Especially her, that was her job.

He pulled his arm off her and she moved away to properly face him. "Alright, I think we're good to go now."

They did the whole thing. He helped her out of the car when they arrived, and she hooked her arm with his. They smiled and greeted whoever looked in their direction. Like an official couple. There were people from sponsoring companies, teams, and whatnot. It was fancy, the kind of fancy Sloane knew Formula 1 events could do. Aurora had told her that she would make it to the event, and in a futile attempt to find her friend, Sloane scanned the place as much as she could. Nothing.