The Right Time (Lestappen)

Welcome to Miami

"Let's hope we can do this again when I win on Sunday" Daniel declared, drinking down the rest of the water.

Unfortunately, Daniel's confidence had been misplaced because he had dropped back down from a front row start to seventh and was pretty annoyed. Max, on the other hand, was pretty satisfied with the result. It couldn't have gone much better. He had won the first ever Miami GP and it was extra special because Charles had also finished on the podium. The music and cheers blared out as they celebrated and they suddenly found themselves covered in confetti. Max had to try really hard not to focus all his attention on Charles and occasionally turned to spray the champagne in Lando's direction. Pierre watched the podium celebration with interest, he could see the way Charles and Max looked at each other, it definitely hadn't been a one night stand.

*

Max was making his way back to the Red Bull motorhome when he felt a friendly hand on his shoulder.

"Great race today, are we still going to grab that drink?"

Shit! Max had completely forgotten that he had accepted Lewis' offer of showing him around some of the bars in Miami.

"Just give me a call when you are done here and we can go straight from the track, no need to get dressed up or anything" Lewis said as he wondered off.

Max wasn't entirely sure what to do, he wondered whether it would be such a bad thing to go for a few drinks, after all Lewis was only a friend. At the same time he knew there had been some sort of tension between them the past couple months. Maybe he could use tonight as an opportunity to casually mention he was seeing someone, he didn't want to lead the older driver on. He laughed a little to himself at the thought, his younger self would kill him if he knew he was turning Lewis Hamilton down.

Although in his head it was a good idea he wasn't stupid and made sure to check with Charles first. He didn't want there to be one of those misunderstandings everyone seemed to have in those romantic comedies Charles made him watch.

By the time Max and Lewis had gotten to the fourth bar Max was a little tipsy. It was Max's first time going into a gay bar, he had always been too afraid before, worried people would find out his secret. He wondered how Lewis was so casual about the whole thing. When he had asked him Lewis had simply shrugged, he was no longer worried about hiding his sexuality, when people found out they found out. It also helped that the bar was pretty much empty and owned by one of Lewis' friends, meaning it wasn't unusual for him to be there.

The two men were sat in a corner booth and fell back into easy conversation. It had been a much better night than Max had thought it would be. Lewis had also enjoyed it, it felt nice to loosen up and Max was pretty fun to talk to. Yet Lewis had noticed that periodically Max would tap away at his phone, a huge grin on his face.

"You seem happy?" Lewis asked, wondering what or who had made the Dutchman so content.

"I am happy" Max slurred a little.

"And why is that?" Lewis questioned, although he already suspected the answer.

"I'm kind of seeing someone but ssshhh don't tell anyone." Max half whispered.

Lewis couldn't deny that he felt a little disappointed. He had been getting on well with Max and wondered whether there could be something more there. Although admittedly he had been concerned about dating another driver, he suspected that that was never a good idea. 

"Do I know them?" Lewis pried.

"No, just an old family friend" Max wasn't drunk enough to be giving away all his secrets although he was drunk enough to not be able to hide the huge smile on his face.

"So you like him a lot yeah?"

"Yeah, you should see him, he's beautiful and funny and he is smarter than he realises. Actually he's pretty perfect"

"Lucky you" Lewis responded, it was clear Max was blissfully happy, although Lewis thought that the alcohol could also be playing its part, Max was definitely a little drunk now.  

"Lewis, how long do you think you have to wait to tell someone you are falling madly in love with them?"

Lewis giggled softly at the question. He was sure Max had only been seeing his mystery man for a matter of days or weeks.

"I guess whenever you are ready" he said as he helped the Dutchman to his feet deciding that it was probably time for Max to go back to his hotel.

Lewis managed to flag down a cab straight away. He gave Max a hug and thanked him for a nice night. It actually had been pretty fun, even if it wasn't entirely what he had been hoping for. Max hugged him back and then stumbled into the back of the car. 

Both men then went their separate ways, not that the photographer cared. As he checked back over his photo he smiled to himself. He had managed to get a photograph of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton embracing outside a gay bar. His impeccable timing also meant that it looked like they were kissing. He was certain he would be able to sell this picture to the press, people were definitely going to be interested in this. 

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Thanks for all your reads, comments and votes so far <3 My plan at the moment is to update this around twice a week (although I'm never great at sticking to plans!)