What Is Love? ∞ Max Verstappen

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 2

♪ And it takes control
Of the person that I thought I was
The boy I used to know ♪

Max Verstappen POV

Seeing Claire was a shock but also a lifesaver. She drank the hot chocolate and half an hour later everyone got to sleep. The next morning I had trained and breakfast was ready when she and mom woke up.

"Claire is gorgeous as always, she was stunning in Abu Dhabi too back in December" Mom says as we watched the news and I nod.

"Claire was always good-looking" I say nonchalantly. That was nothing new.

"Claire is nice, I like Claire. Do you like her, pa?" Olivia asks looking at me and I nod smiling.

"I like Claire, she is always nice and she lives by our side now. You can't be screaming or crying so loud as you did last night or you will wake her up. Do you want that?" I explain calmly and she answers by just shaking her head.

"I am not going to cry or scream, she won't like me if I do" She says determined and I just smile.

We were leaving to do the shopping and I see Claire in the hallway looking for her keys with a box by her feet.

"Still moving things in?" I ask and she laughs nodding.

"The last one, mom told me to go get it. I know there is more stuff but she needs it more than me"

"I will help you with that" I say picking up the box after she opened the door.

"Thank you" She says happily and I set it down on her living room table.

"Claire!" I hear my daughter's voice coming inside her apartment and hugging Claire's legs.

"You can't just barge in people's apartments darling" I say and Claire just shakes her head.

"There is no problem. How are you beautiful? You are looking even better without those red eyes" Claire says kneeling down to her height.

"You are very beautiful. You have pretty eyes" Olivia says running her little hand through Claire's cheek and Claire smiles.

"You have the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen. Are you feeling better this morning?" Claire asks running her hand through my daughter's hair.

"Yes, can you come with us to get food?" Olivia asks as Claire got up and looks at me.

"There is no need liefje. You have your pa and oma" Claire says and Olivia seems surprised.

"You know dutch? Pa, she knows dutch" Olivia says excitedly, I called Olivia liefje all the time, she knows dutch pretty well. So does Claire.

"I taught her some things honey, Claire is really smart" I say and Olivia comes to me.

"Can she come with us?" She begs and I smile.

"Claire has things to do. You will see her around" I say nervously.

"But would you mind if she wanted to come?" She insists and I shake my head.

"I can go, I'm not doing much. I took this year off so that's fine. You will probably need an extra pair of hands anyways" Claire says picking up her purse.

"Let's go then" I say and Claire runs to my mom outside. "You don't need to come, she rarely likes people so she tends to want to spend as much time as she can with the ones she likes. I will make an excuse and you can rest"

"No, I am fine. I have nothing to do, she is a sweetie, don't be like that. Or is my presence an annoyance?" She asks stopping to look at me.

"Not at all. We haven't been together in a long time. Come along. Mom will love it" I say happily. I like Claire, she has always been nice and we have known each other for a long time. We lost touch for the last few years, I entered Formula 1 and Charles only did so in 2018 so we met again once in a while but nothing serious. Especially after Olivia was born.

Olivia's mom and I had a one-night stand. She left right after Olivia was born, she signed the documents waiving her rights away and she is not on the birth certificate. It has been just me and her. Olivia is not a secret, people know about her but only those inside Formula 1 know what she looks like, she talks to very few people but she is always around.

We went to the supermarket in my car and Olivia was almost glued to Claire. She usually hopped in the cart but today she just wanted Claire.

"She is really liking Claire. She is usually much more suspicious of people" Mom says as they walked ahead of us.

"Dad! This dress looks just like Claire's dress. Isn't it pretty?" She asks as we were passing the clothes department and I smile.

"It is baby. Do you want to buy it?" I ask and her eyes shine with happiness.

"Claire, if I buy it can we use it together?" She asks excitedly and Claire smiles.

"Of course. That is the best idea ever" Claire says going to see the dress with Claire and I wait for them.

"So, does Claire know you had a crush on her or is that still the worst-kept secret of all time?" Mom asks and I roll my eyes.

"Nobody knew that" I say defensively. It happened, she was a pretty girl, the sister of one of my friends and she was always there. It was bound to happen, I was a teenager, and teenagers have crushes. The most stupid ones at that.

"Oh, please. Charles knew it, I am sure of it. He still teases you with it" Mom says laughing and I see them coming back with the dress.

"She is so sweet" Claire whispers as we start walking and I smile.

"Thank you for coming. I'm glad she has a someone new to talk to" I say being honest. I was grateful to have her as my new neighbor, she is an old friend and a very good person.

I never thought I would see Claire again. She took a demanding degree and she was working abroad, she did amazing internships while taking her degree and I know at least two teams had tried to contact her to make a contract but nothing came out of it. Having her back was cool, I prefer her to any stranger.

The amount of times that Olivia gets angry and screams are a lot, I would have the cops called on me in no time if it was another person. I can't seem to grasp the whole thing of being a dad. I had a lot of sleepless nights, I search everything I can online, I have talked with specialists and I am just going step by step and I am trying really hard. This is the best I can do.