No Regrets, Only Memories

Firsts

"Eat, please?" She accepted the plate before opening the door.

"I'll see you in the morning Daniel..."

Like that she was gone and I couldn't help but feel like I fucked up, again. Another unplanned outburst from me had ruined what would've been a good night otherwise. All I could do was fist my hands in my hair and lean against the wall by the door.

Forgetting my dinner, I eventually moved to the bed and sat there thinking to myself, trying to figure out a way to fix all of the damage I had done. Max would've been ecstatic to hear that we had finally admitted our feelings to each other. He didn't need to know about the wedding. He didn't even need to know about our reason for why we had decided to do this. I just had to say something to him though. Part of me wanted to believe that it was pride, for being able to say that I finally snagged the woman of my dreams, that made me tell him. Honestly, It was just an oversight on my part, being over zealous in what we would share with our friend without discussing it beforehand. I had overstepped. That was the end of it.

The morning came before I realized and we were going straight into press. No part of me wanted to skip over talking with both Max and Maeve, but the day progressed and none of us had even a moment to be near each other. Max was a hot commodity. His return to the track had sent all of the press into a frenzy and he was being pulled in a million different directions. Maeve was also a part of that.

With the actual driver of her car returning to the grid, there were a lot of questions surrounding her plans for next year. Quite a few people had grown suspicious as it was obvious that she wasn't worried about the return of the prodigal kid. Not on the outside at least, I knew better because we had discussed the issue at length. She gave the same answer when asked if Max returning threatened her spot on the grid. Simply saying that "this seat always belonged to Max and if I'm meant to be here next year, I'll be here." It was elegant, no hard feelings to be shown after spending the year working hard for the team. Yet, it expressed that she was willing and wanting to stay if the opportunity presented itself. Angela had done well on her Media training.

I was having a media issue of my own. My move to Renault had left an open seat. Gasly seemed to be confirmed for that seat. Pierre would do well if he could get over having to deal with Max being a bit of a hot head. It wasn't ever a guarantee that a rookie driver would do well when they were moved up, but the program prepared them well for instances like this. With Maeve still highly sought after, there were questions about whether or not Gasly was actually going to be confirmed for that seat. I spent all day dodging the idea of favorites, noting that all Red Bull Academy drivers were given equal opportunities. That line worked until someone rightfully pointed out that Maeve was not a Red Bull Academy Driver. It was technically true, it was what gave her the ability to leave. To go to Mercedes....

The choice was hers though as mine had been made. She was more than correct to state that she wanted me to make that decision on my own. Now I had to return the favor, hoping that she would also leave Red Bull to allow us to be together when the time was right. That also meant driving stopped for her early, something I never wanted to see happen if it didn't need to. She had talent, she was good at what she did, and she still had the time to accomplish a hell of a lot more than she already had.

"Daniel?" I blinked as I looked at Christian entering the meeting room that Blake, Charlotte, Michael, and I had been waiting in for our track briefing to start. We did one every single Thursday, a way for us to mentally prepare for the first practice overnight. Now, it was just the first opportunity to see Maeve all day.

"Sorry, good evening. Crew been good today?" I asked, making small talk as we waited for the trackside leads and Maeve's team to enter the room.

"Yeah, everything's been fine. I reckon it'll be quite the weekend. How about you? Ready for Monza?" I chuckled.