Our Little Secret [ Max Verstappen ]

part four

Max's lips latched onto Lilia's with such urgency, such passion.

Her heart began to pound in her chest, because where the hell had this come from? She questioned his actions as his hands gently tickled her back. She honestly thought this could just be a desperate, drunken desire for attention. After all, Max wasn't exactly close to anyone on the grid in particular, other than Daniel, who even now he wasn't too friendly with anymore. And, of course, she knew his familial relationships weren't exactly the most loving, especially with his father. So maybe he just needed to seek comfort for one night, and that just happened to be Lilia. But the way he was kissing her said something entirely different.

She wouldn't have even known he was drunk- he was kissing her like he knew exactly what he was doing. Like his mind was totally clear now. So then there was a moment where she just... stopped. Stopped thinking so much about everything. She closed off her brain, and relaxed, melting into his touch, and his kiss. Her knees got weaker as she did so, and gradually, eerything else faded away. It was like they were the only two people in the whole world. All she could focus on is how soft he felt against her mouth, and the raw emotion in the way his fingers curled around her waist. It was a moment that felt imaginary- something out of a dream.

There were still a couple million bullets of regret about her actions that came flying at her, but some kind of shield was saving her from being hit by them because to her surprise, she didn't want this moment with Max to end, even if he was totally hammered. The warm feeling of his breath, although destabilizing, was inviting.

Max briefly pulled away from Lilia with a vulnerable look in his eyes, but she reassured him by going back in for a second kiss; deciding to take control, she ran her fingers through his soft, brown hair and he pulled her even closer so that their bodies were entirely touching. Lilia felt a shiver run down her spine. In the moment she felt something, not entirely describable, but it was a feeling she had never experienced before with any boy she had known in the past.

[Knock , Knock]

The harsh interruption caused both Max and Lilia to jolt, almost jumping out of their skin.

"Is anyone in the bathroom?" A man's voice spoke that caused Max to almost lose his shit.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck.." he muttered under his breath.
"..Dad?" He said, which gave Lilia the same reaction.
"Max?" Jos replied.
"I'll be out in a minute.." Max said, racking his brains for a way to save this absolute mess him and Lilia had gotten themselves into.
Then it clicked. "Hey, Dad, would you mind getting my phone for me..? It's literally just on our table, I need to text Vic." He said.
"Sure, I'll go get it now. Hurry up, I'm desperate for the toilet." Jos said.
Max breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks Dad." He said.

Lilia and Max waited, silently looking at each other, for a few seconds for Jos to walk away and then erupted into a fit of laughter.
"Fucking hell.." Lilia said.
"That could've been the most embarrassing moment of my entire life." Max said.
"Yeah. Well, I better dash out of here." She said.
He nodded. "As far away as possible." He said.

"Lilia." Max said as she opened the bathroom door.
She glanced back at him.
"I mean everything I've said and done tonight." He said, managing to be serious once again. It felt genuine.
She smiled at him. "We'll see." She said, not wanting to become so hopeful, before leaving the bathroom. She half braced herself to see Max's father returning, but luckily he hadn't returned just yet so she simply walked back into the crowd acting like absolutely nothing had happened.

That was until a hand spun her around. Her eyes widened as adrenaline shot through her body. Oh shit. She was surely caught. What would she say to..
"..Checo?!" She exclaimed, relieved and surprised.
"Hola Lilia!" He replied happily.
"Hey.. You scared the absolute shit out of me." She said.
He raised his eyebrows. "Oh really? You thought I was Max's dad didn't you?" He said, smirking.
"Yeah- wait. Did you see that all happen?" She asked.
"I did." He said.
"Shit. Was it really obvious?" She asked, worried.
"No, no. I just saw you and Max talking before, then I saw you both go to the bathroom and noticed that you were in there for ages and neither of you left so I knew you were together still, so when I saw Jos go to the toilet and you had to scramble out of there like a scared cat and Max acted like he was just having a pee I knew you two were up to something." He said.
She started to laugh. "Jesus Christ, Checo, you should be a detective or something." She said.
"Well, maybe now that I've retired?" He said and shrugged whilst laughing.
"How bad was I at sneaking out of there?" She asked.
"Eh.. pretty bad. But no one else was looking apart from me, I don't think. Hey, maybe you can get better next time you two get-." He replied.
She slapped his arm, stopping him from speaking. "There will be no next time!" She said.
"Hm.. Sure." He said.
"I'm serious! Anyway, how are you feeling about being retired?" She asked, changing the subject.
He smiled. "Yeah, I'm good. It's bittersweet but I think it's right for me. I want to spend time with my family, you know." He said

Lilia and Checo continued to chat idly for a while, discussing her future in formula one and his love for golf and tequila and eventually she decided it was time to head back to the hotel as she felt her eyes becoming heavier and heavier by the second. She said her goodnights to many of the attendees in the surrounding area, apart from Max, who she could no longer see, and left the penthouse.

Walking out of the front door and down the steps, she caught sight of a man standing alone by the decorative shrubs. He leaned into the leaves, looking straight ahead of him; seemingly lost in his own world until he heard the tapping of her heels on the stone and he glanced back.
Lilia locked eyes with the man. It was Max. She smiled at him, and he returned that same crooked smile, tainted with alcohol, and waved her goodbye. She raised her hand and mouthed 'Bye' before she turned away, walking back to her car and driving back to the hotel.