The Undercut | Max Verstappen

Chapter 12

August 18th
Monte Carlo, Monaco

Micah's POV
Being in Max's house has felt kind of weird now that his sister and her family is there. Not that they're not lovely people, because they are, but it's just overwhelming to feel like an intruder. And I think I can understand Max's situation a bit better, because I don't think I've ever seen him more at ease inside his own home than he is right now. And it works to stop my delusional post-almost-kiss thoughts about him at least partially, remembering I'm only in his life because our jobs made our paths cross in a very unusual way.

If we had met in any other circumstance, he would've never looked my way. And this isn't me being insecure or anything of the sort, it has nothing to do with my physical appearance. More than anything, our personalities and social circles would've never allowed trust to develop. In fact, I'm not sure I've been able to convince him to trust me despite having lived with him for nearly a month.

Sports lovers consume Sports-related content, in fact Sports journalism gets more clicks than any other journalism genre on average. It's why even in the digital area Sports Magazines and printed newspapers are still being published daily all over the world. This largely benefits Sports associations, federations, teams and athletes alike, boosting the support for their careers. And yet, the Sports journalist is often an antagonistic figure. Fans and athletes alike love to hate us. They blame us for the derail and sensationalization of Sports. And while yes, many of my colleagues seemingly don't practice their jobs in the most ethical way, I have always found it jarring when nobody takes accountability for their actions and instead chooses to blame those who report on them. Max would never trust me. And I would never trust him to respect my job. Not really, I think.

So I need to breathe. I decide to spend the day with Winnie and Oliver since we got a good chunk of footage from Max and his family for the upcoming episode yesterday. The episode won't center around their visit, because Max wanted to spend these few days with them not having to worry about being filmed, fair enough. So, the shots we got there's more than enough to include a few short clips.

And that's exactly how I ended up here, in Winnie's hotel room, draped under the covers on her bed as we enjoy a few snacks. Not so far from us, Oli sits with his legs crossed in a comfortable looking couch and attempts to pick a movie none of us has watched before. It's proving to be a much harder task than we initially thought, apparently every streaming service under the sun isn't enough for us cinephiles.

As we watch Oli scroll down the options, Winnie speaks, turning to me while she munches on a spicy crisp. "You and Max still avoiding each other?" she says.

I grow silent, mentally analyzing the already confusing situation as I try to concoct an answer, meanwhile I just shrug.

"What for?" Oli asks curiously, and I forget I haven't told him about the pool thing. I had eventually caved in and told Winnie through text, extensively so, in a panic, even.

"They almost kissed!" Winnie says with an accusatory smile as she nudges me and I roll my eyes.

"What?" he asks bluntly, I don't think I've ever seen him so surprised. "Since... since she is that a thing?" he asks in genuine shock, his eyes fully on me.

"It's not" I reply sharply. "It's not a thing. I mean, I think we almost kissed. But since we didn't... I really don't know whether it was all in my head or not..." I explain, taking a few crisps into my mouth in pure defeat. The not knowing was the worst part.

"He looked at your lips..." Winnie recalled my retelling.

"I think he did..." I retort, and she's quick to step in again.