What Is Love? ∞ Max Verstappen

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 6

♪ We watch as our young hearts fade
Into the flood ♪

Max Verstappen POV

The media pen was ending when I ran into Charles and Pierre, they stopped talking once I joined in which I found odd.

"Am I interrupting something?" I ask confusedly.

"We were talking about my sister" Charles says calmly.

"And why did it get silent when I joined in?"

"We think Lando has a crush on her, we also saw you two in the garage so we don't want to get rumors going around more than necessary" Pierre says and I nod.

"That's fine by me, they would be pretty good together. We just talked a few times, no big deal on that" I say not understanding what was stopping them from commenting in front of me.

"If you say so" Pierre says shrugging and we start walking through the paddock.

"Did your crush on my sister disappear completely?" Charles asks once Pierre diverges to the Alpha Tauri motorhome.

"It was a teenager crush, we all had one. I got over it once she went to college. I also got a girl pregnant and have been raising a daughter, do you really think I have a crush on anyone?" I ask and he seems to think about it.

"You could have, having a crush is not limited to teenagers or people with nothing to do. I will support you no matter what" Charles says entering his garage and I go to Red Bull's motorhome where Olivia was waiting for me.

"Dad! You did good" She says proudly coming to hug me.

"Thank you, baby. I will take a quick shower and we can go" I say and she nods. I took the shower and we headed to the door of the motorhome.

"Do you need help to take her out of here? There are a lot of cameras this year" I hear Claire ask and I smile.

"I would say yes but I am starting to owe you too many favors and I can do this one myself, this is the easy part" I say letting out a laugh.

"You could get her dinner, food is always good" My daughter says hoping I would say yes, I could see it in her eyes.

"Would that count for you?" I ask looking at Claire who just smiled.

"You know my answer. Of course. Food always counts" Claire says while I put my jacket over Olivia, I put the hoodie on and she was barely visible. Claire picked her up and I smiled.

"I will pick her up" I say taking her in my arms because a 4-year-old is still heavy and Claire doesn't need to carry her around. It's easier to carry her around the cameras but otherwise, she is fine at her own pace.

"I'm glad no one ever leaked pictures of her, you deserve to keep her private if you want to" She says as we finally left the motorhome and walked through the paddock, when people knew I had my daughter in my arms they always kept their distance so this was no exception. Photos were taken but none could get her face.

"People tried but there is still some consciousness and smartness in whoever is in charge of posting them. They don't want to mess with me so it never gets leaked" I say and she was surprised.

"That is fucked up" She says disappointed and I nod.

We got to the car and she left with us. Olivia was in the back, on her seat, singing and happily watching us. I parked in the parking lot of a restaurant I knew. We quickly found a table because it had just opened up for dinner. We sat down and she watched the view. Olivia was in front of us smiling.

"Mom is calling me" Claire says answering the video call. "Hello!" She says excitedly.

"Hello darling. How are you?" She asks smiling and adjusting the screen carefully so her full face was seen. "Wait, is that Max? How are you honey?" She asks getting closer and I was half in the frame.

"It is, we are having dinner with his daughter. She is the sweetest and as my neighbor he wants to thank me for taking such great care of his daughter" Claire says letting out a laugh.

"Hello there Pascale! You look even younger than the last time I saw you. I'm going just fine and you?" I ask and she shyly smiles.

"I'm great. I'm glad to know she is in good hands. Claire has always been great with children. Olivia is in safe hands. I never thought you two would become something more than platonic" She says and Claire's eyes widen and she looked like she was telling her mom to shut up.

"We are friends and neighbors. It's still something purely platonic" Claire says and now I'm interested. Platonic means one of us wanted more and I don't think she ever knew I liked her.

"Sure. I will pretend to believe it darling. Have fun, I will call you another time. Good luck Max! Take care of my little girl when my boys are busy" She says waving and I nod waving back.

"Take care, Pascale. I will try to, but she is an independent woman" I say and Pascale laughs.

"We all are but we all like a man to stand beside us, especially one that protects us and takes care of us. Ask Sophie, she will confirm it" She says and Claire just shakes her head.

"Take care mom, we will talk later. Love you" She says ending the conversation.

"Love you baby" Pascale says before hanging up.

"So, platonic uh?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"Don't mind her. She says whatever she wants, she is always trying to set me up with someone, especially if she knows him and likes him" She says and our food arrives.

We were eating and enjoying the moment while talking about a few stuff or answering Olivia's endless questions because she is at that age when suddenly someone arrives. Is this really happening?