SPOTTED: Jessica Bond and Max Verstappen are in Monaco together. Is there truth to all the rumours about the pair? - @F1Gossip_Guru
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MONACO
SUMMER SHUTDOWN
JULY
It's been a few hours, and I still want to strangle Charles and James. And Liam.
Instead of doing that, I'm packing my winter gear into a suitcase I'm borrowing from Max. The rest of my things will stay here, because the plan is to return to Monaco after the group trip. That's if I don't get arrested on it for throwing one of those idiots off a cliff.
A long sigh leaves my chest as I zip up the soft bag, getting to my feet and temporarily abandoning it in search of Max. I find him in his bedroom, staring at his half-packed suitcase and scratching the back of his head.
"Need a hand?" I say as softly as I can, but he jumps anyway, turning around on the spot.
"I can't find my razor."
Without thinking, I shrug. "You look better with the facial hair anyway."
"What?"
My brain echoes the question with my own voice. I firmly kick it away and step into his room, seeing the messy state of his packing. It's not bad, but good god, he could do better. "You heard me. And you should roll the shirts. You'll fit more in. You can do the same with socks and that. Makes plenty of space for the bigger stuff. Like your Playstation."
He grins sheepishly at me. "I'm not bringing that."
"This time." I jab him gently with an elbow. "Come on, you said we were gonna be late— ohshit—"
I lose my balance; because I'm an idiot who's trying to walk where a cat has appeared and instead of stepping on the cat, I've chosen to fall over. Only... I don't hit the floor. Max has both my arms in a firm grip with his hands. The cat in question scuttles away, leaving Max to help me back to my feet.
He pulls me up, and as I'm trapped in such close proximity with him, I hear that voice in my head again. I give it another firm kick along with a thought of fuck it—
A phone starts ringing. Max groans in annoyance, one hand leaving my arm as he pulls it out from his pocket.
I don't know what comes over me, only that I'm sick of being the reason we're dancing around this anymore. Fuck this. Fuck that phone. Fuck Charles and the others—
I snatch his phone and hurl it with a bit too much force at the bed before grabbing him by the front of his shirt. My chest feels heavy like there's a lead weight; I ignore it, just as I'm ignoring that I need to breathe—
His lips are soft against mine. I can taste the bitter coffee he's been drinking all morning.
"Verdomme," He mutters in a low tone "je hebt de tijd genomen."
A hand snakes around my back, pulling me against his body. My hand that had been trapped by his arm escapes; I reach up to find still-damp hair to hold onto. The phone stops ringing. His other hand touches my cheek, quickly moving to the side of my neck. A thumb pressed against my jaw keeps my head angled perfectly for him.
The phone rings again.
We ignore it.
It keeps ringing.
With a noise more akin to a growl, Max pulls away from me, huffing as he looks over my shoulder for his phone. I try to remember how to breathe as I let go of his hair and his shirt, stepping back to let him go find the damn thing. He snatches it up, laughing breathlessly as he sees who keeps calling.
"Perdez-vous, ça arrive enfin." He says as he puts the phone to his ear. I can't hear what's being said, only his short laugh and response. "Ouais, je le lui ai dit... Tais-toi, je te l'ai dit: je ne gâche pas ça."
He abandons the phone call, going to pocket his phone at the same time as he closes the gap between us again. His mouth opens to say something but no words come out; it's like his mind changes midway through the action. I don't know if I should say anything. I don't get a choice, anyway; his hands are on my face as his lips return to mine with a sense of desperation.
My phone is going off now.
I'm no idiot, even if my brain is running slowly right now: he spoke to Charles.
I reach into my pocket and press the button on the side of my phone to shut it up. My free hand goes back into the front of his shirt, grabbing it so I can pull him closer. The stubble he's grown in grazes my skin roughly but I'm beyond caring about it because all I can feel is how desperate we both are—
Both our phones ring. We pull away reluctantly, swearing quietly.
I look at my phone. Max looks at his.
"Liam." I tell him, trying not to roll my eyes.
"Daniel." He says with a hint of frustration. We both huff out a shared laugh. Of course our friends are trying to interrupt us.
I answer my phone to Liam's loud cackling. I try not to sound annoyed, but it fails. "Hello, Liam."
"You just cost me a round of drinks."
"Did I now?" I ask him dryly, holding back on the urge to just hang up in his face. "You know, I thought you were on my side, since the whole take your time thing was your idea."
"You took two fucking months, Jess!"
Okay. He's being a dick now. "Bye, Liam."
"Don't forget to use pro—"
I end the call before he can finish his sentence. Less than five seconds later, my phone is going again. This time, it's Daniel. I look over at Max, and his phone is now silent, but I can see the screen lighting up as a call comes in.
"Can we be late, just to spite them?"
-
Translation(s);
Verdomme, je hebt de tijd genomen - Damn, you took your time.
Perdez-vous, ça arrive enfin. - Get lost, it's finally happening.
Ouais, je le lui ai dit. - Yeah, I told her that.
Tais-toi, je te l'ai dit: je ne gâche pas ça. - Shut up, I told you: I'm not messing this up
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