insomnia (what if you never come back?)

insomnia

He scratches Charles off his internal list of possible candidates, knowing he's off somewhere in Portugal with Alex. Lando could be good, but he's pretty sure the brit is off in Bali or somewhere else random on his winter break world tour. Sure, Max likes Fernando, but he's not really the type of guy he'd invite out drinking- the same with Lewis. Checo's with his kids, barely gracing social media throughout the holidays, the same with Bottas and Hulkenberg.

Once he's reached the end of his mental invite list, only a single name remains. One that Max knows will reply no matter the time of day- Daniel. Max reaches into his back pocket, using a single hand to type a message away to the Australian. He clicks send then ignores it, returning to his room to search his closet for something more club appropriate then the 'team-merch-pyjamas' he has on currently. It's not until he's pulling his shirt over his head that he feels a vibration shoot up his arm.

'Which club?' Daniel shoots back. Three dots of an impending message bounce below the text for a few moments until they disappear, leaving the sole message there. Max types back, mentioning the closest club to him. He doesn't want to make a huge night out of this, just get enough that whenever he gets home he can crash out and sleep well into tomorrow.

Well, today, given the clock is currently reading 00.33

He sets his phone down on his desk, shoving his shorts down over his knees until they pool around his ankles. He steps out of them, selecting a pair of skin tight black jeans and an equally fitted black tee, the word 'daddy' printed across it in thick white lettering- sure to get a laugh out of Daniel. He toes on a pair of sneakers and slips his tag heuer over his hand, clasping it around his thin wrist.

He shoves a white red bull hat over his hair, heading out the door once Daniel announces with a text that he's just arrived at the club. Max sends back a text to assure him that he'll only be five minutes. A perk of Monaco being so small- you're basically 'five minutes' from anything if you live in a general enough area. He sneaks down the front stairs of his apparent building, staying relatively light on his feet so as to not disturb anyone who lives in the rooms he's walking past.

He hears Daniel before he sees him, heading into the thick of the illuminated dance floor. The RB driver is clad in a beige t-shirt, a design from his own brand enchanté, and a pair of white lounge shorts. He already has an orange cocktail in hand, his opposite arm up in the air. "Maxxxxieeeee," His thick Australian accent calls out to the younger man. It dawns on Max how long it had actually taken him to get here because Daniel is far from sober, likely having been here for far longer than five minutes as Max had promised him.

"Danny," He gives him a grin, brushing tightly past a few other heavily inebriated clubbers to get to his friend. "You've been well?" Daniel replies with a huge grin, lazily slinging an arm around his shoulder, a nod into his neck to confirm.

"Peachy," His breath is hot and reeks of tequila- far from Max's ideal choice of a drink. He slips out from under his grip, stumbling past a few other people to get to the bar- ordering a gin tonic. The bartender slides it across the table to him and he greedily gulps it down, ordering a second one almost immediately as the bottom of the glass makes contact with the bar again.

The overdramatic thwack the glass makes triggers another memory, the noise is an exact replica of what he would hear almost each and every day. His father pouring himself a drink as he would sit Max down in front of him, making the young boy explain each and every mistake he'd made in either a race or just while 'casually' karting. In reality, karting when your father is Jos Verstpane can never be casual. Those conversations almost always ended in gulped tears and slammed glasses- often creating cracks in all the cups in the house.