Daniella enviously looked at the happy couples walking on the sidewalks and holding hands from the rooftop of Max's apartment building. Max joined and handed her a bottle of cold beer and wrapped his arm around her. The evening weather was cooling down as the sun was setting on one side and from the other side dark clouds were gathering. The wind was a bit strong but neither of them minded, in fact, they enjoyed it.
"Ugh! Look at them," Daniella enviously said, but a slight pout on her face before taking a sip of her cool beer. "Roaming around in public, holding hands... enjoying the sunset."
Max can't help but chuckle as he rubbed Daniella's arm to comfort her.
"You are jealous of them?" Max asked as he too was feeling a little envious.
"Yeah," Daniella replied in an obvious tone. "Look at them," She pointed at the few couples. "Enjoying their time together in public..."
"And you had to sneak up to my apartment an hour ago," Max nodded, understanding her feeling. He too was envious of the couples. He wishes he and Daniella can date openly and not keep their relationship secret. "And last month I had to hide out on your balcony when Lewis came over to your house."
The couple let out a heavy sigh and drank their beer as thunder and lightning could be heard in the background. Daniella rested her head again Max. A small smile appeared on each other's faces.
"Oh look at that," Daniella pointed at one of the couples. "They are fighting," A hint of excitement was in her voice.
Max let out a laugh, enjoying the scene.
"There is nothing better than a public fight," Daniella commented and shot Max a sinister smirk.
Max matched her smirk before kissing her as the rain started to pour lightly, not that either of them mind. They drank their beer and watched the couple fight and ultimately walked away in separate directions.
"That was fun," Max commented.
"Yeah," Daniella nodded. "We enjoyed the sunset and that fight," She chuckled. "Now come on," She held his hand. "Let's go inside."
Max shook his head and he spun her around before pulling her towards him as the rain got heavy, trying to muster up his courage.
There was a surprised look on Daniella's face as she didn't expect Max to do that. Max smirked which soon turned into a smile. Both were already wet from head to toe and looking each other in the eye.
Daniella can't help but smile as she put her hand on his cheek and caressed it with her thumb. Max's face brightened up as he pulled her in for a kiss and wrapped his arms around her.
The kiss was slow and gentle, filled with emotions as the heavy rain poured.
A few seconds later they broke the kiss but pressed their forehead together.
Daniella bit her bottom lip, debating whether or not to tell Max her true feelings. The moment was perfect, they were perfect, but she felt like she couldn't confess her feelings without letting him know about her encounters with Carlos first.
"We should go inside now," Daniella softly said.
Max nodded, cursing himself for not being about to tell her the three little words that he built up the courage for a few minutes ago.
***
"Where is your hair dryer?" Daniella asked as she checked all the possible drawers. Her hair was damp and only a towel was wrapped around her.
"Didn't you take it home with you last time because yours was not working?" Max pointed out as he put her warm coffee on the bedside table.
Daniella cursed herself as she remembered taking home his hair dryer, now she will just have to wait and let her hair dry naturally.
She just went ahead and wore Max's comfortable clothes that he laid out for her after the warm shower and joined him in bed. She took the coffee mug in her hand and took in the warmth, it was nice after getting soaked in rain.
Daniella was about to say something to Max but just at that time, her phone started ringing. She checked and it was Sophie calling her.
Max tried to control his laugh as Daniella tactfully tried to decline dinner with the Haas driver. The younger Leclerc was pretty persuasive but Daniella somehow managed to escape but promised to have dinner with her in Baku.
Soon the call ended and Daniella put away her phone. She let out a deep breath as she cozied up.
"Is this going to be our future, hiding from everyone?" She asked before taking a sip of the coffee that Max prepared.
"It's not always going to be like this," Max replied, but he was also wondering the same thing. "One day everyone is going to find out about us and... there will be constant judgment, remarks, rumors," He said sarcastically.
Daniella playfully rolled her eyes and lightly hit him, making him let out a small laugh.
"You know, whenever I think about that day I get anxious," She confessed. "Our teams will definitely not like the news, let alone accept us, who knows how the entire grid is going to react...I mean, you saw how Lando reacted when he found out, and Daniel is a different story. And the public..."
"They are going to be the worst," Max added. "We will be under the microscope."
Daniella nodded in agreement.
"It's best to keep our relationship private as long as we can," She softly said. "But I was thinking..."
"That's never good," Max sarcastically said, earning a light smack from Daniella but he hit her back.
"I was thinking maybe I will tell dad about us during the Silverstone weekend..." She cautiously said. "He will be there for the race and we can go to dinner and tell him the news."
"We as in you, me, and your dad?" Max asked, pointing his finger at Daniella and back at him.
Daniella nodded with a smile.
"You sure he won't murder me on spot?" Max asked, after what Daniel told him he had been fearing for his life.
"You will be fine," Daniella assured him, followed by a sneeze which she brushed off. "Dad can be a little intimidating but he is actually very lovely."
"To his daughters maybe," Max mumbled.
Daniella sneezed again, this time almost spilling her coffee.
"I think you are getting sick," Max looked a bit concerned as rubbed her back.
"No," Daniella shook her head. "I never get sick. So Silverstone weekend we will..."
She sneezed again.
"Yep, definitely getting sick," Max got off the bed and grabbed a box of tissues, and handed it to her.
"I am not sick," Daniella argued but she could feel the congestion slowly building up.
"Stop being so stubborn you idiot," Max touched her forehead to check if she had any temperature.
"Don't call me an idiot, you idiot," Daniella argued before sneezing again. "Maybe it's just an allergic reaction."
"You are not allergic to anything," Max pointed out.
"You never know, I might develop a new..."
Max sighed and kissed her to shut her up, which took Daniella by surprise.
She looked defeated and guilty as he pulled away.
"Please shut up and rest," He begged. "I will order dinner so you don't have to cook or worry about me burning down the building."
"Okay," Daniella slightly poured as she nodded her head. "But only because you asked politely."
Max smiled and kissed her forehead.
"And please order the chicken so.."
"The chicken soup from your favorite restaurant," He nodded.
Max took care of Daniella till she fell asleep even though she kept saying she was fine. He even made her wear one of his long sleeves which made her complain even more but at last, she compiled.
After she fell asleep and he took care of the take-out packages and dishes he went to bed, falling asleep right next to his girlfriend.
**********
A/N: Nothing important happened. Thoughts on this chapter?
They almost confessed their feelings... . almost 👀 What if they don't get another chance? 👀
Dani is sick after kissing Max in the rain. Hope she gets better before the next race😅😅