Too Sweet | A Max Verstappen Story

Twenty-One

Max

(Not Strong Enough , Boygenius)

Dark grey colored clouds loomed in the sky. Rumbles of thunder coming from the distance were accompanied by strikes of lightening. My helmet limited my view as I lifted myself out of the car. Carefully stepping towards the front of it, I threw my fist in the air in celebration of my win. The crowds roared in excitement as I did so. I hoped down to the ground and congratulated my teammate as we ran over to the rest of our team to celebrate our double podium. It took a second for everything to calm down before I was pulled away for interviews.

Champagne soaked through my uniform, while drops of the liquid coming from my hat left a trail behind me. I navigated my way through the paddock back to my motorhome. People who passed by said their congratulations and I was beginning to get sick of the word. I took my time to shower off the sticky alcohol and freshen up, enjoying the hot water as it beat against my back. The events from last race echoing in the back of my mind, the sight of Scarlet's tear-filled eyes stained in my memory.

    "You think you're going to win anything with your mind set on that slut? Wake up son! She's not interested in you, she's just using you to distract you from winning. You're nothing but a prop to her."

The words my father said to me replayed like a record scratch. He had sunk his venom into my thoughts after qualification in Baku and I made the mistake of listening to him. There was no way he knew about me and Scarlet. I was sure of that. It was the oldest play in his book when I started slipping up, pointing blame on my love life. Even if I wasn't currently seeing anyone. I had spent each night reaching out to Scarlet, hoping she would answer so I could apologize for my behavior, but she was doing one hell of a good job at avoiding me. Even Lando was dodging my messages.

Constant chimes coming from my phone pulled me out of my thoughts. Exiting the shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist and picked my phone up. Daniel had left me a chain of messages but before I had the chance to respond to any his face appeared on my screen. Accepting the call, I immediately put him on speaker so I could finish freshening up.

    "Maxie boy!" His voice was chipper as he greeted me. I could hear the voices in the background quiet down as Daniel gave them a shush.

    "Daniel! That P6 finish giving you a boost of energy?" I chuckled to myself at his good mood. Splashing water on my fingers, I ran them through my hair in attempt to style it the best of my ability.

    "You know it mate! Everyone wants to know if we're going out to celebrate tonight. Mostly me but that's besides the point." I should've known there was a reason behind his call. A pit formed in my stomach at his reference to the others but my heart fluttered at the thought of seeing Scarlet.

    "Care to elaborate on who we is?" Daniel stayed quiet for a second before clearing his throat to speak.

    "Well, you know, the usual crowd. Charles is bringing Charlotte so Pierre is dragging Blair along with him. Which means Lando and Scarlet will most likely be there." His voice turned into a slight whisper towards the end of his sentence and I assumed it was because they were already all together.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a sigh, "Fuck it. Let's do it."

Whiskey coated my throat as I swallowed the remains of my drink. Placing the glass down on the table in front of me, pushing it towards the middle with the other empties. I caught the attention of a waitress passing by and signaled for another round to be sent over. The booth they gave us was pushed all the way in the back of club and slightly elevated, giving me a perfect view of the large room. It was still early in the night but bodies filled the dance floor.