The replacement

chapter 2) The Dinner

Im almost ready when I hear the sound of Max's NSX stopping infront of my apartment building. Moments later I receive a text- " Im downstairs Tatum" . 

As excited as I am to see max, since I haven't seen him since last winter, im nervous. I know this is gonna get back to Lucas in one way or another. As I skip out the front door of the lobby, Max walks over to open the passenger side door of the extremely low vehicle. when we lock eyes, he smiles, we both missed each other- its true. 

Back in Karting days, Max and I were best friends. not only did we race at the same track, but we grew up on the same street. his dad would drive us to our races, meaning we ended up going on a-lot of road trips together, and through the competition, we stayed close. My boyfriend Lucas, we also raced with him, but he was in a senior class, so we didn't see him often, that is until he started hanging out under our tent. He would give me tips on my race line, tune my kart to make it faster, and he would keep me company when Max was busy. truthfully? I always had a crush on Lucas, even before he started talking to me. so You can imagine how excited I was when he finally asked me out after a year of being friends. 

The rest is history. 

" So Tatum, feeling good about red bull?" Max asks. I had completely zoned out for a solid 3 minutes.

"of course" I reply- trying my best  to hide my nervousness. how could I tell max that I was the tiniest bit upset at him, for selling Lucas out, when I know damm well I wouldn't be in F1 without him? I decide not to mention it. As much as I want answers, I don't want to create a rift between me, my closest friend, and my (currently pissed off) boyfriend.

we finally reach the restaurant after a good 15- 20 minute drive. of course max- being the gentleman he is- gets out first to open my door from the outside.

"m'lady" He sarcastically blabbers, as he bows and reaches his arm out as a form of support. we laugh about his stereotypical gestures as we make our way into a very fancy Spanish restaurant.

we walk inside, already laughing and making jokes. the host guides us to our table, and for a moment we stay silent, acting reserved. 

The minute we sit down though? Max snorts the loudest I have ever heard, which only makes me snort, which then makes him laugh even harder then before. EVERYBODY is staring at this point- the waiters, the customers, hell even some people outside. some people took out their phones, some people laughed at us, but it was obvious the word got around about who we were. But max didn't notice, and I didn't care. this was the one time today that I felt relieved. Max's laughter took away all my stress and filled me with happiness. watching him try to drink a glass of water without spitting it out, reminded me of when we were kids, and all everyone wanted to do was help each other in track. I miss that.

Finally, the waiter comes to ask us if we were ready to order- truth be told though... We hadn't even opened the menus yet. in the half an hour we were here, we just sat there talking, reminiscing, and making fun of each other for our " worst" moments on track. when the waiter asks for our order, Max and I look at eachother like kids who just got caught not doing their homework.

thankfully, max saves us-

" um you know what, why don't you just order us two of your favourite dishes?"

The waiter, obviously star- struck, quickly agrees

" Okay Max Verstappen and Tatum Clark" he says our full names with wide eyes, un- sure what to say next. I saved him by asking if he wanted a photo of us, and he un shockingly agreed.

the waiter brings us our food, one paella, and some pulled pork tacos.

 Lucas' favourite food was paella, his mom would make it for him when was younger, and he took me on a picnic for our first date, where we ate his mom's heavenly home made paella.

I look down at my dish for a second, and I look up to see max taking an areal shot of our food.

The dinner was AMAZING. by the time we were done it was past midnight, and almost everyone had cleared out of the restaurant. we had already finished dessert and were just sat there, laughing away as always. it felt nice to open open up to max, I haven't been having the best time with Lucas for a while and had no one to talk to about it who also knew Lucas well.

I look at my phone to check the time and see that its 1:30 tomorrow morning. my heart rate increases as I see multiple missed calls from Lucas, and text messages as well.

"oh crap."

Max, who also glanced at his phone, looks up at me worried-

"Tate, I think we're in shit"

I walk outside into the breezy Monaco air to call Lucas back, but he doesn't answer. just as im walking back inside hugging myself, I hear a car pull up and slam the brakes. And yup, you guessed it, my furious boyfriend emerges from the car, slamming the door shut. his arms are crossed, his jaw is clenched shut as he angrily strides towards me.

" Wow Tatum, just fucking amazing. First you take my seat and now you're cheating on me? way to kick me when im down." he yells at me, throwing up his hands and pushing me backwards

as Lucas is visibly riling himself up, max comes out to see what's happening.

"And you!" Lucas points towards max " you get me replaced just so you can be close to my girl f-"

before Lucas can even finish his sentence, Max knocks him out cold. Thats what I forgot about us. This is how we drifted. Despite Max being so kind and sweet, his anger issues always got in the way. 

Max stands over him for a minute then looks up at me. " Im sorry Tatum, you okay?" he pulls me in for a much needed hug.

Max never ever got angry at me. He always took care of me.