Dopamine | Adrenaline Book Two

6- Puppet Master

"Because to take away a man's freedom of choice,

even his freedom to make the wrong choice,

is to manipulate him as though he were a puppet and not a person."

~ Madeleine L'Engle

MONACO, 2018

"Do you think they'll come after us?" The blond chuckled, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Of course not," the older woman whispered in the narrow space of the single stall bathroom. "I don't think they'd expect to find Max Verstappen hiding out in the women's bathroom." She smiled, pleased with how their plan had worked out.

"I think I'm in more danger than you, anyways," she added, giving a small chuckle as she leaned against the sink. "I'm the one who's taken."

"What happened to your girlfriend, anyways?" She asked, twirling her feet.

"Life?" he shrugged, looking to the floor. "We just didn't click."

"Hm..." she smiled, "things between me and Daniil aren't that great either. But, I think he likes having me around. I get the whole racer family thing... I know this world. I'm not just anybody, you know? I really get it."

That phrase immediately caught Max's attention. Someone who truly understands. Something he craved so desperately he barely understood it.

She understands...

"I watched you win the last race," she spoke, in a more seductive tone, pushing herself out of the sink in order to approach him, taking a step closer to the younger man. "I've never seen anybody like that, Max. You probably hear this a lot, but I've been here for as long as I can remember. And I know for a fact, you're the best one on that track. And I know you won't be just a world champion someday; you'll be the greatest of all time."

"How come?" Max asked, feeling his ego seep into every word she spoke.

"It's not just the way you drive," she whispered, her gaze shifting from his face to his chest. "It's you." She breathed out confidently, placing her hand on his chest as she tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. "It's how, sometimes, I swear this heart doesn't beat when you're on track. How, for a split second on that car, you forget to breathe and you keep going anyways. You don't need to air like the others. It's that track, that car, that's your oxygen... It's what makes you capable of anything. I admire that."

Max's eye shined, and who's eyes wouldn't shine when told exactly what they want to hear? When being understood.

"I think you're the first girl I've known who really gets racing..." He breathed out, looking into her eyes.

Kelly smiled, that was also exactly what she wanted to hear, "I don't get racing, I get drivers." She touched his face, "and I love this world, I love the speed of it all."

"Have you ever driven, a kart at least?" He asked her, letting her fingers trace his features.

"I have, of course," she replied. "But... I'm a girl."

"So?" The younger man asked innocently.

Kelly chuckled, "well, this isn't a world built for girls. We are not for racing, I suppose." She sighed, looking down to his chest. "The only way I get to stay around is with a ring on my finger and a husband behind a wheel."

"If you're good it doesn't really matter, it shouldn't." Max insisted.

Kelly let out a sigh as if to say, "What do you know? You're a man." But she didn't say it, instead she smiled at him and pulled her touch away, "a bit too late for me, I suppose."