DAISIES-Lando Norris

[ 9 ]

Taylor never understood how Max could literally hate every single driver in Formula 1 except for Daniel and none other than Lando. Max seemed to always be in such rage with anybody that got in his way, although with Lando it was a very different story. He definitely had a soft spot for him no matter what, and even though Lando became one of his main rivals in the sport, their friendship still was so pure between each other that Taylor was surprised Max could be such a softie with somebody. She somehow found herself in a car with Max and Lando, going God's knows where. Because she had no clue how even in the first place she got in the same car as the two of them.

Lando insisted on helping Taylor look for an apartment in Monaco after he found out she wanted to, so after the Grand Prix they took a plane to Monaco instead of going to their homes. They spent the entire morning looking at apartments, even sometimes pretending to be a couple when the sellers asked if they were getting married. She was having an amazing time with him until Max Verstappen found out they were in Monaco and decided to join, and now she was in a car with no clue where they were going.

"For the hundred time, I'm asking you, where the hell are we going?"

"Private stuff" Max quickly replied before resuming his conversation with Lando once again.

"My ass" Taylor murmured before deciding to go through her social media. She had the whole week free before she had to go to the RedBull factory once again to discuss everything about her contract. It was a decision she still hasn't made, it scared her to even think about it, so like always, she let the problem be by itself and probably at the last minute she would decide what to do.

"We're here"

Taylor looked up from her phone and saw that they were at the harbor, full of endless roads that took then to expensive boats. They walked through them until Max stopped in front of a huge yacht. Nicely enough Max instructed Taylor to go first, as she walked up to the stairs he jokingly pushed her aside and went in first, sticking out his tongue at her.

"Asshole"

"Bitch"

Lando only laughed, deep down he knew it was only a way of teasing her. Max had difficulty opening up to new people, so his way of doing so was like this.

Lando grabbed her hand, not thinking things through, and pulled her up the stairs of the boat. He tried hide his blushing cheeks from her by looking around the place and walking in front of her, not realizing she had the same crimson color on her face.

Once they walked to the deck, they saw the different drivers that were there along with their girlfriends. Alex was there, with what looked like his girlfriend, same with George and Charles. And also Daniel was there.

"Aren't you too old to be hanging out with us?" Taylor said when she went to greet Daniel. He was preparing the food in the kitchen and Taylor thought it would be nice to help him.

"Isn't it past your bed time?" He said, laughing at his own joke, "I think you missed tonight's episode of Paw Patrol"

Taylor couldn't help but laugh, and to be honest, she actually liked the show, mainly because her little brother Dylan always told her to watch it with him.

"Did somebody say Paw Patrol?" Lando asked, excitement laced in his voice as he came to the kitchen. Taylor sent him an 'are you serious' look, a small grin playing on her face, "What? I love that show"

"It's true, he watches it on the planes" Daniel said this time, the three of them laughing together.

Lando and Taylor helped Daniel prepare the food, or at least tried to. They had fun in the kitchen until Daniel not so kindly asked them to leave since they were doing more of a mess than helping him. Taylor instead joined the conversation the rest of the guys were having. They were all very nice to her, and she fitted in just perfectly. Even Max completely changed attitudes with her, probably because Daniel and Lando were there, but his kind attitude towards her was nice for a change.

"I heard you were offered the RedBull seat"

She heard Max say from next to her. The rest of the guys were too focused on the Lakers game on the projector. Taylor liked the NBA but her attention span all through the day was horrible, she could barely concentrate on a convention. She liked to think it was because she was tired when deep down she knew it was because Lando had been too close to her all day.

"How do you know?"

"Because I told them to get you"

"Oh yeah? So you can ruin my career like you and RedBull had done with every single driver that went up against you?" Taylor snapped at him, she was tired of pretending that if she joined the team, all would be okay and she would perform just fine.

Max frowned, his light eyes getting a darker shade of blue, "It's not my fault they all crumble. I asked for you because I think you would be one of the few drivers that could actually challenge me as a teammate" and it was true, Max knew for a fact Taylor had what it takes to be up with the best drivers of the grid. She had a very similar style of driving to him, aggressive but clean, she could also be consistent but that was something she needed to work on, after all it was only her first year in the sport. "I could help you settle with the car, even give you advice"

Taylor looked skeptical at him, he couldn't be telling the truth, it all seemed like he rehearsed those exact same words over and over again. "I've only done a few races, how can you be so sure"

"Come on Taylor, are you dumb?" He argued back, "RedBull had been following your career since a young age, they wanted you ever since you were in karts. It's not only up to me to say who I want as a teammate, it's an opinion they take into consideration, that's all"

Max shook his head in disappointment, how can someone not at least take on the challenge to prove they have what it takes, "You'll regret not taking the chance, and will always stay wondering if you actually had what it takes"

With that Max stood up, leaving her thinking about everything she has ever questioned in life.