RACE 2 - Max Verstappen

63

"Are you listening to Fall Out Boys?" Mick asked as he entered Daniella's room and the loud music hit his ears.

"Yeah.." Daniella replied as she lowered the sound. "Do you want me to change it?"

"No, not at all," Mick shook his head before looking around the room.

"Wait, why are you already packing?" He asked as he pointed at the large open suitcase on the bed with half of her neatly folded clothes inside.

"Because I am going home tonight," Daniella replied in an obvious tone and shot him a quick smile.

As soon as Carlos dropped her off she changed her plans and booked a ticket to go home, hoping spending some time with her family might help her cheer up and forget about Max and the publicity stunt.

"You do know that there is a yacht party tonight, right?" Mick asked as he sat on the bed and started helping Daniella, folding her clothes and putting them in the suitcase.

"I know," She smiled. "But I really just want to go home and spend some time with my family."

"Oh, you are going to your actual home. I thought you were going to your Monaco home," Mick cleared his confusion.

"I am going to Monaco next week."

Daniella subtly checked her phone if there were any texts from Max but unfortunately, there were none. She let out a sigh and put down her phone.

"Are you okay?" Mick asked.

"Yeah..just can't wait to go home."

Mick shot her a smile. He can see she was tired and something was wrong but he just can't put his finger on it.

"Okay, two questions," He said and immediately got her attention. "What's in this box?" He held out the brand new shoe box. "And why is there a Red Bull tshirt here?" He lifted up the blue clothing piece.

Daniella's eyes slightly went wide which Mick failed to notice and she quickly acted.

"The box is Yuki's birthday present...a pair of shoes he promised himself he won't buy because he has been shopping a lot lately and wants to change the habit," She chuckled as Mick opened the box and examined the shoes.

He could have figured out that it was for Yuki just by its size and the bright colors.

"And that's one of my old tshirt," Daniella lied as she snatched Max's Red Bull shirt from her friend's grasp and put it in the suitcase with her other clothes.

"I thought you got rid of everything that has to do with Red Bull, except for Max of course," Mick replied as he put the shoe back in the box.

The name of Max stabbed Daniella in the heart but she managed to not show it.

"Yeah but this one is comfortable and I wear it in secret," She lied again. "Don't tell anyone though."

Mick chuckled and shook his head.

***

Max stood at the bar with a beer in his hand as he kept looking around, searching for Daniella, hoping to see her. He was certain he was going to see her at one point since almost all the drivers were there, even Lewis.

"Hey," Daniel Ricciardo greeted Max and joined him as he ordered a drink. "Why are you standing here alone? Where is your girlfriend?"

"We are no longer together," Max mumbled before taking a sip of his beer.

"You two broke up again?" Daniel sounded confused. "How did you manage that? You two just got back together."

Max crooked his eyebrows as he too was confused and looked at Daniel. Two confused faces looking at each other before Max realized that Daniel had no idea about him and Daniella and was talking about Kelly.

"Oh yeah.. Umm.. Me and K.." He tried to lie but was not able to form the sentence which confused Daniel even more.

"Are you okay?" The McLaren driver asked, now looking a bit concerned.

"Yeah..." Max nodded as he looked at the dancing crowd before looking back at Daniel. "Have you seen Dani?"

"I am right here."

"Not you, Daniella," Max clarified. "Have you seen her?"

Daniel shook his head as he too started looking for her.

Max was starting to wonder if she was on the yacht or not. He desperately wants to see her and tell her that he will fix the mess as soon as he can.

"That's weird," Daniel mumbled. "Now that I think about it, I haven't seen her at all and I was one of the first ones to arrive."

Max and Daniel shared a look before trying to look for her again.

"Hey guys," Yuki cheerfully greeted them before grabbing himself a beer.

"Are you old enough to drink yet?" Daniel joked, making Yuki slightly blush.

"Yes," He replied and took a sip of the beer to prove a point. "I will turn twenty two this week."

Max ignored the two and checked his phone to see if Daniella tried to contact him.

"Nice shoes by the way," Daniel complimented Yuki's brand new colorful pair of shoes which he received as an early birthday present.

"Thanks," He smiled. "Daniella gave it to me for my birthday before she left."

Max immediately looked at the Alpha Tauri driver.

"Left?" He and Daniel said at the same time.

"Where did she go?" Max asked.

"Home," Yuki replied in an obvious tone. "She just left a couple of hours ago. She said something about missing her family and..."

"Can't believe she didn't tell me," Max mumbled.

"Yeah, can't believe she didn't tell you, the guy who is back with his ex now," Daniel said sarcastically while giving him a judging look.

Yuki looked confused.

Max finished his beer and angrily clenched his jaw. He knows he needs to figure out and clear up this mess of a publicity stunt as fast as possible otherwise there is a good chance he will lose Daniella.

**********

A/N: So no one caught the little L word Daniella said in the previous chapter? 😅😅

Do you think Dani should wait for Max or get together with someone else if the opportunity comes?

What will be Dani and Max's future?

Okay is it just me or do most of the drivers really look a bit similar to their respective partners?