On Top of the World [Max Verstappen - Book 3]

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Can someone tell me why I said just twice a week updates and am now uploading multiple times a day?....I swear I do mean it when I say it!
But to be honest I'm writing chapter 18 atm so that means I have like 35 parts...seems silly to only have 7 of them posted...I might just post most of the pain now...
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30th September 2026

"Happy Birthday," I say in a singsong voice as I walk into my shared bedroom with a mini cupcake with a singular lit candle inserted in it.

Max smiles at me softly, still half asleep and the look is one that never ceases to give me butterflies. Despite the difficulties...fuck I love him, more than anyone else on the planet. The highs are still so high and the last couple of weeks have been good. Apart from a bad race weekend that followed my conversation with Lewis, courtesy of poor strategy choices from the team, we'd had two weeks off, the next race coming later this week and so Max and I had largely been left in our own bubble.

I hadn't heard much from Lewis or Toto which actually worked very well for me. Knowing that they weren't interested helped me to focus on Red Bull and the simulator fully, it stung a little bit but it was fine. So what if I was teammates with Max for another year?

"Thank you, Ellie," he says softly and I smile as I sit on the side of the bed and hold out the cupcake to him, he closes his eyes obediently as my eyes tell him to make a wish and a few moments later he blows the air out of his mouth, extinguishing the candle. "You're so cute," he says as he takes the cupcake from my hand and places it on the bedside table and I shrug, letting him pull me back down into the bed, resting my head on his chest. "You ready for the next race?" He asks as he lazily grazes his fingers up and down my back causing me to shiver slightly as I raise my head to kiss his jawline gently, turning my body closer to his.

"Yeah, always am. Just you wait, I'm going to be on the top step," I tell him with fake confidence and he chuckles at the light sarcasm.

"Next year, the car is going to be good next year," he says in the form of a promise and I just shrug silently, aware that Max knows I still haven't re-signed with the team officially, something everyone was expecting would have happened by now given the pedigree of my ability. To be honest everyone sort of thought I had re-signed given how confidently Christian spoke about Max and I being his driver lineup for next year.

"That would be nice! Is that what you wished for? A rocket of a car?" I ask him and he chuckles, I feel the hot air hitting my face lightly before he leans his head over, resting his lips against my forehead.

"Something like that," he says vaguely and I smile as I snuggle in closer to his chest, feeling both of his hand's loop around me more confidently as he pulls me in close. "Ah, this is the best way to start any day...but especially my birthday!" He says and I nod.

"We have nothing to do until the club later," I tell him smiling as I close my eyes and I hear him chuckle.

"I'm turning 29...why are we going clubbing...I'm too old for that now!" He says and I mumble incoherently against his chest. "Sorry, what was that?" I can hear the amusement in his voice and can picture the lazy but happy smile on his face as his fingers twirl around the bottom of my hair gently.

"You date someone significantly younger, your best friend is significantly younger and Daniel is Daniel...those three people were left in charge of planning because you didn't give us any ideas!" I tell him more decisively but still refuse to open my eyes.

"I know, it just feels like a shame when I can't act how I want to around you. It's just a few hours of pretending we're friends and teammates," he says and I just nod wordlessly, not offering a solution.

We stay like that practically all day before dinner with everyone. I give Max his presents and I let him drive one of them to dinner while I just drive my regular car. The meal is nice.