down bad | c. leclerc

FIVE

KENNEDY RHODES SPOTTED AT MIAMI GRAND PRIX

the model, kennedy rhodes, was spotted in miami, hanging out in the red bull garage, sporting a dark blue sundress in support of the team.

rhodes was spotted talking and laughing with the red bull driver max verstappen. could there be a budding romance there?

the model was also seen talking to the ferrari driver, carlos sainz. it seems like the paddock princess has returned to take back her place in the formula one world!

•

the race weekend was going well, kennedy was sitting in the redbull garage before the race, hanging out with max.

she was currently scrolling on her twitter and saw the latest news article about her.

she read through it carefully and scoffed.

"what's that?" max asked, coming up in his race suit.

"just got named paddock princess." she told him, showing him the phone.

he read through it before laughing.

"that's actually hilarious!" he cried, making kennedy crack a smile.

she smirked at him before asking, "so are we a new budding romance verstappen?"

he just laughed harder and shook his head.

secretly, he found her gorgeous and loved to be around her but he knew she wouldn't appreciate that.

"of course we are rhodes! got to give people something to talk about right?" he replied jokingly, making her grin.

"yeah well, we can worry about our budding romance after the race. better win for your supposed girlfriend." she said, standing up and giving him a hug.

the girl sent a quick text to josie about where she was before going to the room with headphones so she could listen to the race.

before the race started, she took a minute to reflect on the weekend. her shoot went nicely, the director was happy she had shed the thigh fat she had. he did however point out that her jawline was fading so she had been popping gum whenever she could.

she sighed and went to her email, looking to the latest from her manager with the sample pictures from the shoot.

"hey, race is starting!" a man said, poking his head in.

kennedy nodded, putting the headphones on and watching out the window.

the race was going well for max, he had the lead for almost the whole time.

soon, it was the last lap and everyone in the redbull garage was cheering as max had held the lead.

kennedy herself was jumping up and down as she took off the headphones to greet the man as he pulled up.

"congrats on p1 max!" kennedy yelled, watching as max gave her a grin and a wave.

charles watched as the girl in the blue dress cheered and waved to his friend, sighing as he wished it was him she was cheering for.

carlos noticed charles staring at kennedy and waved to her, grinning as she waved back.

charles just smiled though, watching the girl with stars in his eyes.

the three drivers headed to the podium, getting their awards and spraying champagne on each other.

after things had settled down, charles looked out to the crowd to find kennedy and noticed her standing in the back, frowning at something on her phone.

now would be a perfect opportunity to talk to her, he thought, making his way over to her, max watching with an amused smile.

"hey!" he said, cheerfully and she looked up, frowning slightly.

"leclerc." she greeted, "congratulations on p2."

charles grinned, "thanks kennedy! maybe next time you could watch from the ferrari garage. i think you would look good in red."

kennedy just rolled her eyes, "i prefer blues."

charles' smile faltered for a moment before his eyes lit up. "you know, i do want to make spilling coffee on you up. could i take you out for lunch tomorrow?" he asked and she laughed humorlessly.

"charles, you are like sunshine." she said and he grinned, "but unfortunately i'm a black hole sucking life and happiness out of everyone. i don't appreciate being shined on."

the driver's smile fell. this was his celebrity crush, and not only did she just reject him but she also compared herself to something dark and menacing, which he didn't think she was.

charles just stared at her for a moment, trying to find the right words.

"but-"

"no but's charles, i'm not the kind of person you want in your life and quite frankly, you're too bright for mine." she said before max came up, pulling her away.

charles just stood there, dumbstruck.

"you okay?" carlos said, but his voice sounded far away.

"she think's i'm like sunshine." he whispered, a smile creeping it's way onto his face.

carlos just sighed and shook his head.

"oh man, you are down bad."