The Lion and The Bull - Max Verstappen

Chapter 11 - Strawberry Sangria

"Hey I'm going to head out to the pool to hang with Danny, just come when you're ready," Max said, peeking around the corner into the bathroom. Cecilia stopped washing her face and turned and said, "Alright I'll see you out there." Max gave her a wink and left the hotel room. They had gotten up pretty late after their long night and got room service for breakfast. There was a grid pool party at the hotel this afternoon and Max would get to speak to the guys for the first time out of the paddock in a while. Cecilia walked over to her suitcase and pulled out her bikini. Her father could not attend the party because he had to go back to England but Cecilia stayed with Max. She slipped her bra and underwear off and replaced them with even smaller garments. The bottoms were a small triangle of fabric with a string that crawled up her ass and then sat high on her hips. Her top had ruffled triangles that allowed a little bit of side boob. The bathing suit was white with small blue flowers. She pulled some jean shorts out of her bag and slipped them on. She put on an almost sheer crop top and dug her flip flops from the bottom of her suitcase. Her father would definitely call her a slut if he saw her in this but she only cared what she and Max thought. She grabbed her phone and a bag and went out the door. The pool was out the back of the hotel and overlooked a beautiful garden. F1 had rented out the whole hotel for the race weekend and so it was only teams and drivers at the pool, and any ladies they decided to bring as well. She walked out to the pool deck and scanned around for Max. He was sitting in a lounge chair chatting with Daniel and spotted her looking around for him and started waving to get her attention. She saw him and made her way around the pool to Max. She said a brief hello to Checo's wife, Carola, and told her she would come chat later. Both of the chairs on either side of Max were full and so Max simply patted his lap for her to sit. Danny had a girl in the chair next to him that she was sure he had hooked up with. Cecilia sat her bag down and took her flips off before sitting on Max's lap. He wrapped his arm around her waist and rested his hand on her stomach. Danny gave the situation a quick glance and tried not to look too surprised. "So are you two a thing now?" Danny asked in a low voice. Max gave Cecilia a cheeky smile and replied, "Oh no, we're just really good friends." Cecilia gave him a small slap on his thigh and Danny laughed. Cecilia glanced around the pool to see who else she knew only to see Pierre and Charles staring at her and Max. She kept looking around and then nonchalantly said, "Max, you want to get in the pool?" He was a little shocked that she asked but said, "Sure." She slowly got up from Max's lap and then started to take her shorts off. Max stayed seated on the chair and admired her as she stripped. She slipped her shirt off and then Max stood up to follow her. They walked to the stairs of the pool and Max took the first step into the water. "Is it cold?" Cecilia asked, looking for his reaction. "No it's pretty refreshing," Max said and held out a hand for her. She took his hand and made the first step into the water. "Oh your right, it's not horrible," Cecilia said, taking another step, still clutching to Max's hand. Max was fully in the water and Cecilia was hesitant to go past her stomach. "Just go for it," Max said and held out his other hand for her to take. She took it and he pulled her into the water. "Max!" she yelled and hopped in the water as the cold water hit her boobs. "You'll get used to it," Max said and pulled her closer to him. She wrapped her arms around him and sat on his knelt leg in the water. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and looked up to see Checo and Carola getting into the water. "Hey guys," Max greeted them. They got into the water quicker than they did and walked over to where they were sitting in the water. "How are you doing?" Checo asked. "I'm doing pretty good. How about you two?" Max responded. "We are doing pretty good. Carola is almost in her second trimester and so we just had an appointment to hear the heartbeat," Checo said with a big smile. "Aww that must have been so amazing to hear," Cecilia said and gave Carola a warm smile. "Okay why don't you two round up the other boys and play a game or something, we ladies have stuff to catch up on," Carola said and shooed Checo away. Cecilia smiled at Max and pulled away from him. He pulled her back and gave her a long kiss before letting her go. "Hey, volleyball match?" Max yelled to the other drivers sitting by the pool. They all immediately got up and made their way to the pool. They had looked bored out of their minds and were probably waiting for someone to ask them to get into the pool. Alex Albon's girlfriend, Lily, was sitting by the poolside alone after he had gotten in the pool and so Cecilia yelled over to her, "Lily, come get in the pool! We need to catch up." She smiled and walked over to the pool. "Oh my god it feels like it's been forever since we've spoken," Lily said as she waddled over to them in the pool. "I know," Cecilia said and gave her a hug. Carola gave her a hug and immediately got to business. "Cecilia, I just need to know. Is it official?" Carola said quieter than she was before. "I mean it's as official as we want it to be. We don't plan on making like a press release or anything but we are dating," Cecilia responded, blushing at the question. "You guys knew each other when you were younger right?" Lily asked. "Yeah, I would always go to the karting races and we would hang out after them. I had a big crush on him," Cecilia said and glanced over to see what the boys were doing. They were all splashing around trying to get the ball. Max made a big save and gave Lando a high five for his serve. He was completely consumed in the game. "Well good for you. I am not one to say this but you look absolutely amazing," Lily said and gestured to her body. Cecilia blushed and said, "Oh my god Lily you are too sweet. You both look absolutely gorgeous and I don't know how it has been this long since we have caught up. How is Alex doing?" Lily replied, "He's doing pretty good, this year is definitely taking a toll on him tho. He's getting very frustrated." Carola nodded and said, "That is how Checo was last year. He was so frustrated and just could not get it right." Cecilia made a slanted smile and said, "I know how it feels. My father always got super mad when his team was not performing. Luckily I have not experienced that yet with Max but we will see." "Cecilia?" Carola said with a slight concern. "Yes?" Cecilia answered cautiously. "Do you and Pierre have some problems or something? He keeps staring at you," Carola said and made a small glance behind her. "Oh well we almost hooked up a few years ago but then he was too pushy and I said no. I guess he's still butthurt," Cecilia said, trying not to think about how much she embarrassed herself that night. The two of them looked slightly concerned but decided not to ask for the full story. "Well, I'd keep an eye out for him," Carola said and shrugged. "Doesn't he have a girlfriend now? Kika? We were all friends with her," Lily said. "Oh yeah. Is she here?" Cecilia asked and they all looked around the pool for her. She was sitting on one of the pool chairs, watching the boys play. "Should we call her over? I haven't talked to her in a while," Cecilia asked them. "I mean why not. We don't hate her," Carola said bluntly. "Kika!" Cecilia yelled from the pool. She looked up and said, "Oh hey! Do you guys mind if I join you?" "We were just about to ask if you wanted to come chat," Cecilia said with a kind smile. She truly did not hate Kika, she had always been a really sweet girl. Kika got into the pool and came over to them. "How have you been Kika?" Carola asked. "I've been pretty good. I haven't been on the grid in a while though. It's so nice to be back and see familiar faces," she said and gestured to the three of them. "But Cecilia," she continued, "are you and Max like a thing or just a hookup type deal?" Cecilia laughed and answered, "No we are actually dating." Kika made a sigh of relief and said, "Okay thank god. You guys look so good together and there was this girl that wanted to get with Max a while ago and she was batshit crazy." Cecilia gave her a shocked look and said, "What? I did not know about this." Kika made a reassuring face and said, "Well I don't think Max was completely aware of the situation but there was this model that was obsessed with him. She would come to all of the races, followed all of RedBull, and would show up at the hotels. Max never gave her any attention and one day she broke into a gala and tried to get onto him." Cecilia was shocked and did not know what to say. "They got her out before she did anything and she was bashed online for it," Kika said. Kika always knew the gossip even from when they were not very close, she always had a story to tell, and Cecilia knew she wasn't lying. "Oh my god, is that what all of the Max lovers think I am?" Cecilia asked, a little panicked. "No, have you looked at twitter? They all really want your relationship to be real," Lily said and put a reassuring hand on Cecilia's shoulder. She made a sigh of relief and gave them all a thankful look. "There will always be haters but from the three most honest people on the grid: you two look great together," Carola said and the two nodded along. "Thank you guys," Cecilia said and then was scared as someone grabbed her from behind. Her fright quickly vanished as she realized it was Max. "So what have you four been chatting about?" Max asked. "Boys," Kika responded. "Don't you all have boyfriends?" Max asked. "We were talking about you guys, dipshit," Cecilia said and gave him a small bonk on the head. "Ohh that would make more sense," Max said and pulled her onto his lap. The other boyfriends and husband came over as they all chatted. There was a slight tension between Max, Cecilia and Pierre. Cecilia had more embarrassment while Max seemed like he was ready to fight Pierre. "Do you want to go get a drink?" Cecilia whispered into Max's ear. "I see what you're doing and I like it," Max whispered back and squeezed her waist underwater. Cecilia knew Max would love letting everyone know she was his. He took her hand and she waved goodbye to the ladies as they stepped out of the pool. "It was so good catching up with you all. We need to chat later," Cecilia said with a smile. The two walked over to the bar and Max wrapped his arm behind her and pulled her close to him. "What would you like my dear?" Max asked. Cecilia gave him a loving look and said, "I'll have whatever you want to get me." "Two Strawberry Sangrias please," Max told the bartender who quickly went to work. "Pierre couldn't stop staring at you and it made me want to spike him in the face," Max said, leaning into her ear. "He probably just can't believe how you managed to pull me," Cecilia joked, knowing it would get to him. "He couldn't pull you and I did. I'd call that a win on my part," Max said and squeezed her ass. "And now you're all mine," Cecilia said and stood on her tippy-toes to give him a kiss. The bartender handed him the drinks and he handed one to Cecilia. "To being the best couple on the grid," Max cheered and clinked their drinks together.