You Broke Me First [Max Verstappen]

11. Ocean View

As Sofia escaped the unpleasant argument that would surely be about to happen between Max and Kylie, she had to walk past some of the garages again. A few mechanics were outside on a little break as they waited for FP to start. 

"Sofia!" She heard someone calling her and turned around squinting her eyes. One of the guys which she didn't immediately recognize walked towards her. 

"Oh gosh, Teddy! How are you?" She asked as they hugged. 

Teddy used to work for the same team as Sofia when they were both at MotoGP and had moved to F1 the year prior as a mechanic for Ferrari. He was about 5 years older than her and they had a lot of banter back in the day. Sofia always fancied him but he was married with a kid and she, of course, respected that.

"Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you walking past the garage! A bit disappointed on your uniform though..." Teddy said pointing at the Red Bull Racing logo imprinted on her white blouse. 

"Oh Teddy, do you really think I would settle for a midfield team?" Sofia teased him back. Teddy pretended to be annoyed before chuckling. 

"I will pretend that you did not just say that..." He said batting his blue eyes at her. 

"Anyway, how's Stella and little Mia?" Sofia made small talk as she enjoyed a bit of the warm sunshine. It was still early and she could spare a few more minutes. 

"Mia is so grown up I can't even believe it and prettier as the days go by." 

"Luckily she looks like her mom..." Sofia interjected.

"And I believed for a second you could actually be nice... anyway, Stella and I err we're no longer together..." He replied and Sofia instinctively looked at his hand scanning his ring finger. 

"Sorry about that... I had no idea. Err, I don't want to look like a dick and leave now, but I really have to go. Give me your number and perhaps we could meet up one of these days?" 

"Sure! I'll be waiting patiently..." He said in a slightly sarcastic tone as he typed his number on her phone. 

"I was thinking of buying you a drink, but you put me off with that attitude." Sofia replied and stuck her tongue out before walking away. 

"Hey, Sofia..." 

"Yes?" She turned around again to face him.

"You're looking absolutely beautiful." Teddy remarked making her blush. 

*-----------------*

The girls were sat on a large Red Bull Racing beach towel after a long day at work. It was incredible the amount of merch they could find lying around the paddock. The hospitality had been busier than expected as Max had been around fulfilling his PR duties after Free Practice and everyone wanted to be near him. Sofia couldn't understand why as he didn't even pretend to be nice, not even to the people who were paying a small fortune to be there.

They were at Praia dos Três Castelos, the Three Castles Beach, which required a steep trek down the stairs to reach it and the girls were already dreading the trek up to return to their hotel. They had made the walk there as it was suggested that the sunset was mesmerizing to watch due to it being so secluded. The sharp rock formations and the hidden caves made the golden sandy beach look very daunting. 

"Now that I can breathe again, it's about time you tell me what's been going on with you." Amelia mentioned as she looked on at the horizon, her eyes looking even greener on that light. 

"Oh settle down, absolutely nothing exciting happened. That jacket belonged to Max..." Sofia started talking when Amelia choked on her own saliva.

"What? How come that's not exciting?" 

"If only you could let me continue..."

"Go on, sorry!"

"At the charity gala, he offered it to me before driving me home." 

"How can you say that casually?" 

"Because nothing happened! I was outside and really cold, the taxi I called never turned up and Max saw me. We ended up in Piazza San Marco where he explained that he never cheated on me... then he took me to see his old apartment in Faenza." 

Amelia raised an eyebrow. She couldn't believe that her friend had willingly gone with Max anywhere. She had the unsettling feeling that Sofia could be falling into his trap once again. 

"So, he took you to his place just to show it? That's a bit weird, innit?" Amelia asked holding her hair which was blowing in the wind. 

"I thought the same, but all he did was hand me my grandma's bracelet which I thought I had lost forever." Sofia said as she looked at the silver bracelet on her wrist, absently fidgeting with it. 

"That is cute, but I feel like you are becoming soft around him." 

Sofia sighed. Amelia was right. She could feel it too but wasn't it normal to still be infatuated with a man she once had loved so deeply? Wasn't it expected that she also hated that same guy with all her heart some other days? It confused her enormously when he acted like a gentleman and treated her kindly. That was the Max that no one else knew. She looked ahead, hugging her knees to her chest as the sun was setting over the sea, the sky becoming different shades of pink and orange.

"Let's not talk about Max for the time being... I've had enough of him. You keep drilling me about my love life but you never got to tell me what happened with the hot pit stopper." 

"We've been chatting since we hooked up, but that's about it. I'm not interested in dating anyone right now and would like very much to keep my options open." Amelia stated.

"Smart..." Sofia replied as she checked her phone. She had texted Teddy right after work and there was a message from him waiting. She smiled as her thumbs moved over the keyboard and the ellipsis on the screen meant that he was typing back.

"Is that freaking Teddy Cooper?" Eagle-eyed Amelia asked as soon as her sight landed on Sofia's phone.

"How the hell do you know all these guys?" 

"I go out and talk to people!"

"There was absolutely no need to take that dig at me." Sofia said with a chuckle.

"He's hot! All the girls that work with us sigh when he's around in that Ferrari suit. How come are you texting him?"

"We used to work together during our MotoGP days and had completely forgotten about him until today."

"He's definitely going to make you forget about, hm, you know, the one who shall not be named."

"I don't know... He said he wasn't together with his wife but he still had his wedding ring on. I have no interest in being the other woman."

"Sofia! His wife died last year!"