𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗥𝗘 | M.V.

ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ɴɪɴᴇ

It was hot on the last race day of this triple header. While Max was sweating his ass out in his dark blue racing gear, Madelyn had been smart enough to wear a skirt instead of her work pants. They walked over the paddock, making their way to the garage. Max tried to stay cool by drinking loads of water from his water bottle. Usually, he would have a Red Bull, but he really preferred his water with this heath.

"Lyn," he said to get her attention when they got to a quieter part of the paddock. Madelyn turned her head toward him to let him know she was listening.

"I want to meet you to my dad when we get to the pit box. Like, properly introduce you two to each other. Not as my... girlfriend, because I know we're keeping this a secret from everyone. But still, I want you to meet him officially."

Madelyn stayed quiet the entire time Max was talking. Firstly, because he said the word girlfriend. It was the first time he had put that label on them. He had never asked her, though. So did this mean they were boyfriend and girlfriend, or did he just say that because it was the easiest way to describe what was going on between them?

The second reason she stayed still was that she was not prepared to meet his dad officially. Jos Verstappen was not known for his great history of raising Max. Even though Max always talked well of his own father, Madelyn had heard stories about the former F1 driver that weren't too good. She never talked about it with Max since he didn't want to know anything about those stories. But everyone knew that there was a grain of truth in them.

She had seen the man in the garage and even exchanged some words with the man in the past. But Max had never introduced the two of them to one another. She knew how important his dad was to Max. Although there were stories of an abusive childhood, this man was still the man who supported and helped Max for more than 20 years in his career and was all about his son's success. To Max, he was a hero. And that's why Madelyn got extremely nervous when Max told her he wanted to introduce them officially.

Max immediately saw the panic in Madelyn's eyes. Only then did he realize what words, or what word, he had just trotted out. "I- I mean, you're not my girlfriend officially. I still need to ask you that. It's just... I thought..." Now it was him who started panicking.

"It's not that," Madelyn interrupted and lay her hand on his arm. She stopped them for a second and looked him in the eye, making sure he calmed down and believed her. Once she saw he did that, they continued walking.

"I know your dad's importance to you, and I want to make a good first impression. I wished you would've told me sooner you wanted me to meet him today. That's why I'm a little nervous now," she admitted. Max started smiling at her anxiousness and walked a little closer to her.

"Don't worry. My dad is going to love you," he assured her before creating some distance between them not to look suspicious. They continued their walk and arrived some minutes later at the Red Bull garage. After entering from the back entrance, they took a left to walk to Max's side. They were almost immediately confronted with Jos Verstappen, who was clearly waiting for his son.

"Hey, pa," Max greeted his dad in his native language. Madelyn hadn't heard him speak Dutch very often, only during his interviews with Ziggo Sport. But every time he did, it sounded very attractive to her.

"Hey jongen, klaar voor de race straks?" His dad responded, giving his son a short embracement (Hey boy, ready for the race later?). Max answered in Dutch. No matter how hard Madelyn tried, she didn't understand one word the two were saying. She felt pretty uncomfortable standing next to Max, unable to join their conversation. She didn't want to walk away as she knew that Max could introduce her at any moment now.