Perfect Disaster-Charles Leclerc

eleven

"You're out"

 I say looking at him as he drives, accelerating periodically only to slow down immediately afterwards

 "you like speed too much. We're here" he looks behind me and I turn accordingly: a huge building is waiting for us,it's all off, no one inside 

"you want to kill me?" 

I jest and try to figure out where we really are. He laughs and gets out of the car, before I can even move he has already arrived to open the door for me 

"trust me, that's all I'm asking" 

it's a pretty dark neighbourhood in relation to the lights of Vegas, this city is said to never sleep for a reason. He takes my hand and we walk towards the building.

 "What's up, mate?"  the gentleman smiles at him spontaneously, at one of those bright smiles, he's glad to see him 

"good to see you, boy. It's all ready like you asked" 

I don't finish listening to the gentleman I look at Max, he nods confidently and thanks him at least a hundred times, but who can blame him. he shakes my hand for an extra second and we venture inside the palace

"shall we take the stairs?" he ventures and looks at my astonished face 

"which floor do we have to get to?" 

"the last one of 20 at least"

 I open my eyes wide, but isn't being in the car tiring? I shake my head and point to the lift and he nods smiling at me once again and agrees with me.

the top floor is the roof, I've been trying to figure out what it was all about the whole time, but he never wanted to say, in fact he was teasing me as I did so. 

"excuse me" he brings his hands in front of my eyes positioning himself behind me 

"this is looking more and more like attempted murder" I hear him laughing and I can imagine his face lighting up 

"you've never laughed so hard verstappen" 

"here we go"

 he frees my eyes hostage and Vegas is totally turned off, we're behind a small wall keeping us safe from a free fall, although feeling that thrill, with a parachute at least, would be beautiful: you would be free to move, in a moment of adrenaline and fear, it's like a rollercoaster. Maybe we human beings are always in a free fall. That darkness lasts a second, all the lights of Vegas light up in an eternal moment. The coloured lights of the discos, the lights of the houses, the street lamps that light up the whole street, the blinding lights of the casinos can be seen even from up here. My eyes are wide open, I have always loved to see cities go out and coming on, I spend hours in Bologna, at its highest point watching the lights of the houses go on and off as the city seems to come to life and go to sleep, it is the calmest moment of the whole day, it is like touching someone's most sensitive thing. I feel Max smile in contact with my shoulder as he leaves me a light wet kiss, he leans against the little wall and looks at me, almost, finally in the face and his eyes are priceless

 "I told you nothing would happen with me" 

he says with conviction referring to my joke earlier, I look at him and laugh going to hug him. I just want time to stop, I just want to disappear into this embrace, to get stuck in it, I feel like I'm safe from the world really. 

"We can stay as long as you want up here"

 he shifts his head slightly to look me in the eyes but they are focused on the city, on the lights: I almost look like a little girl in front of her first light game, in front of the most beautiful thing she could have. I've loved lights since I was little, like speed. I used to fill my daddy's head with a tube that would light up and there was a little light game, he bought it for me at the circus, and I never stopped showing it to him and waving it in front of his eyes to show him all the colours, shouting 'you either see it or you don't' and he never told me to stop, in fact he bought me batteries when they ran out. He almost always humoured me, giving me limits when he had to both on the field and at home. The best advice. The first love in the end is always Dad, the safest place. It came with time, he and I had never had a great relationship mainly because of work that kept him away from home all day, my mother was and is my best friend, the person I love most in the world. I had started going to see one of her men's teams and I became fond of both them and my dad, we spent a lot of time together and from there it was easier, the relationship came on its own. My parents always went out of their way to make sure that I could study what I wanted, in the best place, for both me and my brother. To get me the things I needed and more sometimes. I liked to see the trains go fast and my mum would take me there. I wanted to train with my dad during the summer "when I get my holiday let's go to the gym and I'll make you a ball game card" When you're little you may not realise it, but afterwards you do: they are the best I could ever have. There are always moments of ups and downs, of anger, disappointment, happiness and pride, moments when you don't understand each other, but I can assure you that it passes both with time and talking about it.