ELYSE's POV
I felt like I was a teenager caught with her first boyfriend by her parents. Red-handed.
Carlos rubbed his eyes as if he was double-checking if what he was seeing was real, "Am I too drunk or this real?"
I looked at Max then back at Carlos, "Nope. This is 100% real."
He stayed silent for a while until Isa nudged him, "What are you thinking about?" She asked him.
"I'm trying to figure that out." Carlos scratched the back of his head, "I'm sorry— why— no, how did this even happen in the first place?"
He didn't seem upset but rather confused, "That's a long story."
Carlos looked at his watch, "I have time."
I sighed, looking at Max and Isa who took the hint to leave. We started having a walk around the streets of Australia while I told him the story from the top— leaving out a few details: like how it all started as a game for him, knowing he would probably go all crazy on Max.
"—you know me, Carlos, I would never willingly get close to someone for anything romance related. I didn't even realize I had feelings til I was already neck deep. I've never felt anything like how I feel with him, like all those hopeless romantic books I've been reading all those years to fill the void were actually coming true. Whenever I'm with him I feel so carefree and safe— something I haven't felt with someone from a romantic point of view, ever. Like, my heart physically feels heavier, filled with love whenever I'm around him." I concluded my rant.
"I have so many questions." He seemed at a loss of words.
"Go ahead."
"Well, first off, why did you never tell me?" He asked.
"I was scared, I guess. I know how you, and Lewis, tend to get a bit too overprotective over me when it comes to these types of things. And I don't know, I wanted to be with him without feeling pressure. I wasn't necessarily hiding it from you, but rather delaying when to tell you."
"And Isa knew?"
"Yeah." I kinda felt bad about that. I preferred to rely on her since it was more of a girls talk, "I swear it's nothing personal."
His hand kept going through his hair, ultimately messing it up which indicated he was anxious, and quite uneasy.
"What's wrong, Carlito?" I placed a hand over his shoulder.
"Do you... love him?" He suddenly questioned.
"I—" My words were caught in my throat. I really didn't want to answer that question.
"I'm just worried about you, cariño. I don't want you to get hurt again." He expressed his concerns.
"He won't hurt me, Carlos."
"How can you be so sure?" He inquired, "You don't know what wicked things some drivers do. And Max is one of them."
I furrowed my eyebrows, "What are you talking about?"
"Ellie, Max is a cheater at heart." Carlos told me, "Do you know how many times he slept with his ex while being with Kelly?"
Oh.
"Yeah, okay– I don't care about that. It was way before we started what we have."
"If you wouldn't mind filling me in, tell me, what do you guys have?" He caught me. My eyes wandered anywhere that wasn't near Carlos. "That's what I thought."
"We don't have to have labels. At least not yet." I repeated Max's words to Carlos even though I didn't believe in them one bit. "Plus everything is too hectic, especially with the championship and—"
"Right. The championship." He snapped his fingers, "How can two rivals be sleeping with each other while being in one of the most intense championship fights in the history of Formula One at the same time?"
He was starting to get on my nerves, despite how many times I've tried to calm myself down. "You can do all that if both parties are mature enough, Carlos—"
He scoffed and chuckled at my words as if I was being humorous, "As if either of you know anything about maturity."
"Can you stop being an asshole? I literally didn't do anything that allows you to treat me this way."
"I'm not being an asshole, Elyse." He defended, "I'm simply opening your eyes to show you what's really in front of you. Do you know what shit show will go down if the media found out about this?" He raised his tone slightly, "You'll be shamed for fraternizing with the enemy. The media will grill you alive, hell, you can lose your seat over it!"
"Oh my bad, fucking excuse me, Carlos, for wanting to feel love for the first time!" I raised my hands in the air, "I don't even care about losing my seat anymore because I know I'm not going to be receiving a renewal contract with Mercedes' for next year. So who the fuck cares anymore?! Let me be happy for once." I blurted, "God, I regret ever telling you about this."
"You can regret telling me about it all you want, but don't come crying to me when he ends up breaking your heart. I warned you." He stopped in his tracks, "Enjoy it while it lasts."
He left, leaving me with an uncomfortably bittersweet feeling lingering around me. I itched to shake it off, but the feeling stuck onto me like a soul-sucking magnet.
I didn't bother to get back to the club, I opted to order an Uber and head back to the hotel – despite it being too early for that. I was just not feeling it at all.
Carlos and I barely ever argued throughout the 20+ years I've known him. If there was any arguing involving us two, it would usually be us versus someone else. And in the very few cases that we were against each other, my mom was always the one to fix things between us.
Now with her gone, a nauseating pit settled in my stomach, unsure of when we will resolve things. I knew that something as stupid as this wouldn't break us apart— our fight wasn't that big anyways. I knew he was trying to look out for me and be the big brother he has always been for me– which I appreciated, but part of me hoped he would at least be happy for me. Happy that I was able to overcome my fears and trauma, and for the first time in forever, was able to be comfortable and happy with someone, romantically.
I don't know what overcame me when I got to my hotel room that made me burst into tears. I had a good crying fit for a long 10 minutes. Shortly after I gathered myself, changed out of my clothes and into the hoodie Max gave me, someone knocked on my door.
I lifted the hood of the sweatshirt, hiding my tear-stained face before opening the door. When the door opened, I found Max standing with a worried expression on his face. His hair was messy as if he was playing with it to get rid of his nerves and he was picking at his nails.
Once Max noticed my bloodshot eyes and smudged mascara, he wasted no time in wrapping his arms around me, engulfing me in a tight and comforting hug. All while repeatedly kissing me on the forehead.
When I broke away from the hug, he tilted my face to have a good look at me. He spotted a tear slipping down my cheek, then gently wiped it away using his thumb.
"Do you want to talk about it?" His voice was so compassionate and tender, it made me fall in love with him all over again.
I shook my head no. He didn't push me to say anything else.
"Let's get you cleaned up." He gave me one last forehead kiss before taking me to the bathroom where I had all my skincare products scattered on the counter. He moved aside a few items to make rook for me as he plopped me on top of the counter.
He looked at the products with questioning looks. "I'm really trying to help here but what do you start with? The only words I understood from this is vitamin C."
He managed to make me laugh. Like I let out a full blown cackle. His smiled widened when he noticed my mood change, showing off his dimples that I adore far too much.
"Come here, let's do some skincare." I started explaining to him what each product was and what it did. Eventually, when he started to understand, he knew what he had to do.
He stood in between my thighs, one hand on my waist and the other applying the products.
First, he got rid of my smudged mascara with makeup remover then we moved onto applying moisturizer.
He successfully spread the product over my face, and I also applied some moisturizer for him– bursting into laughter when he tasted the product, claiming it tasted good.
His hair started getting in the way, so I got a hair band and tied the front of his hair with it, making him look awfully cute.
We carried on with following my skincare routine, and even put on some face masks to end the routine. It was safe to say my mind had cleared up and I was feeling significantly better, thanks to Max.
For the remainder of the night, we continued watching Gilmore Girls, taking a little break to take off our face masks and ordering some room service.
After the room service came and we started eating, Max cracking joked left and right. I was laughing so hard, wine nearly flew out of my nose and Max let out a snort. Which only made us laugh even more. It was moments like these where I wished I could stop time and rewind over and over.
Suddenly, a wave silence came washing over us. That was until Max started speaking.
"I was thinking..." He started. Oh God. Any sentence that starts like that has the capability of sending me into cardiac arrest. "Remember when I asked you why can't we let people know about us and you said that it wasn't like we were dating? You were right." He added, "I don't want us to have causal hook ups every now and then, you deserve more than that and I want there to be more to our relationship than sex."
I tried to contain my smile as much as I possibly could, raising a brow as a way to tell him to continue what he was saying.
"Ly, will you go on a date with me?" He finally asked.
Yes. A million times yes.
"Hmm, I'll see if I can fit you in my schedule. I'm a very busy woman, you know." I was obviously being sarcastic and he could easily catch on.
He pulled me onto his lap, "I told you, I don't take no for an answer."
"But I didn't quite say no, did I?" I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"In that case, I hope the very busy woman can make time for the very desperate man and accept his date proposal."
I couldn't keep up with the act anymore, I chuckled and kissed him with all my might. "Oh fuck that, hell yes I want to go on a date with you."
He grinned from ear to ear, "Perfect. How does 6pm tomorrow sound?"
I wanted to run all around my room like how I usually did when he did something that managed to set off fireworks in my stomach. Yet I chose not to since it would be awfully embarrassing.
"Sounds amazing." My cheeks hurt from smiling so damn much, "Now tell me about what you have planned for this date of ours."
"Shhh," He shushed me with his index finger against my mouth, "that's top secret. You'll find out tomorrow."
I rolled my eyes, acting annoyed at him whereas I was probably the happiest I've been in a while. I know I say that a lot when I'm with him, but it's true.
We ended up falling asleep comfortably in each other's arms. I woke up with a smile on my face as I recalled the events that happened the day prior— apart from my argument with Carlos— but that smile vanished as quick as it came when I turned and found the other side of the bed empty.
I found a pink sticky note on my bedside table.
-
Had to leave early to prepare for tonight, sorry!
Hope you'll enjoy what I have ready for you, can't wait to see your gorgeous face again ;)
Don't stress over what to wear like I know you will, anything and everything you wear is perfect on you
Love,
Your golden boy
-
I looked over at the time. 2PM.
First things first, I decided to have an everything shower.
3PM.
I didn't realize how much time that took, but my good mood couldn't be ruined. Especially with my favorite music blasting in the background.
I know Max told me not to stress over what to wear but I was stressing. I had to go on Pinterest to find an outfit I liked and was able to recreate since all of the outfits I wore suddenly looked trash.
4PM.
I put on a face mask then started doing my hair.
5PM
I finished doing my hair and took off the face mask. Rushing my makeup since I was worried I'd end up loosing track of time.
It's easy to loose track of time while 'Him & I' by G-Easy and Halsey was playing.
I was done by 5:30 PM.
golden boy💞:
i sent a car that will pick you up at 5:45 so i hope ur ready :))
me:
cant wait!!
I won't lie and say I wasn't disappointed when I discovered he wouldn't be picking me up, but I trusted him and what he had in store for me, so I went with the flow.
While waiting for the driver to come, I decided to post since I haven't in a while.
It was 5:45PM and I watched as a Porsche Carrera pulled up.
"I'm here to pick up Elyse Garcia?" I heard the Australian driver speak from inside the car.
I ducked down to confirm and found the famous Daniel Ricciardo occupying the driver seat.
I laughed loudly, getting into the car. "I can't believe Max put you up for this."
"Anything to let the ship set sail." He winked at me.
"Wha—"
"I seriously can't believe how far your relationship has gone— I feel like a proud dad." Daniel pretended to wipe a few tears from his eyes.
I nudged him, "Stop it, you big baby."
"Shut up and let me celebrate in peace." He gave me a side-eye, "Also, I threatened to end his life if he ever hurts you so if he does, you better tell me."
Why on earth was everyone saying he'll hurt me?
"Thanks, Danny, but I don't see that happening any time soon."
He shrugged, "I hope not. You guys are my second favorite couple after me and Heidi."
"We aren't a—"
"—a couple. I know, I know, but we both know that's not true."
I playfully rolled my eyes at him, subsequently looking out of the window.
"Would you mind telling me where we're going?" I asked Daniel.
"Oh right, you reminded me." He took out a piece of cloth from his pockets. "Put this on."
He handed me the piece of cloth, "Is this supposed to be a blindfold?"
"Ding ding ding." He pretended to ring a bell.
"Why?"
He shrugged once again, "I'm just following boss's orders."
I cackled, "You call Max boss? I totally need to film you saying that." I brought out my phone and stuck it in his face.
"Hell no. Get that thing away from me."
"You're no fun." I flipped him off before tying the blindfold and securing it over my eyes.
Wearing blindfolds never failed to put me to sleep, and when Daniel noticed this, he blasted 'S&M' by Rihanna. His obnoxious singing definitely woke me right up.
Finally, we made it to wherever the hell we were supposed to be. Daniel guided me through what felt like plants.
"I swear, if we're at a lake right now and you're trying to feed me to a crocodile— my ghost will haunt you for eternity. And I will not be friendly, friend." I pointed an accusing finger at him, a vine nearly causing me to trip.
"If that crocodile is Max Verstappen, I don't mind." Daniel abruptly took off my blindfold, revealing a beautifully lit tulip flower field.
Before I knew it, Daniel was sprinting back to the car and I still had no idea where Max was. While I was looking around, something spooked me from behind. I screamed in surprise.
It was Max. It was Max, in a linen knitted sweatshirt, along with some loose white jeans. and black Nike airforce 1's. He looked smoking hot, the outfit and style change, his hair, the lighting— everything.
I was completely and utterly amazed, impressed and a million other things that even all the words in the dictionary couldn't describe. I was in awe, asking myself how the hell this man was real. And how all of this was for me.
"Do you like it?" He had a glint of hope in his eyes.
"I love it. So, so much. I can't even begin to explain." His smile matched mine and our eyes were barely open because of how hard we were smiling.
"Wait, you haven't seen the best part yet." He held my hand as we walked through the field of flowers, looking back at me every now and then to make sure I was okay.
He took us towards a huge tree and right under that tree was a picnic cloth spread out. On top of that cloth was a basket filled with baked goods, a candle, a polaroid camera and a portable speaker.
All this looked so familiar and it instantly clicked. I saw this on Pinterest before and added it to my 'Need to experience before I die' board.
"I saw this on your Pintrest board and wanted to recreate it for you." He elaborated.
I had a hand over my mouth. I was speechless. And so madly in love.
"Do you not like it?" His smile immediately shifted into a worried expression.
"Not at all, oh my goodness, this is the best thing anyone has ever done for me." I could cry from how much I loved this, loved him. "Thank you, thank you." I skipped towards him and pulled him into the most heartfelt kiss I've ever given. "This is amazing, I love y– this. I love this so much."
I was beyond thankful when he didn't realize my slip up. I couldn't believe I nearly said it. I knew I was in love, but I didn't know I loved him. Was there even a difference between the two?
Loving Max Verstappen was like listening to a song for the first time and knowing it would be my favorite. Loving Max Verstappen unleashed a warm and fuzzy feeling within me that just felt right. So, how was I supposed to call my heart mine when it was so full of him?
I was snapped out of my daze when Max handed me a plastic plate, filling it with cake.
I used the polaroid camera that was in the basket to take pictures of the food, view and us. Max even pulled out his phone and started taking pictures of me as well.
Eventually, it was completely dark now. Only the glowing flowers and single candle lighting up the place. Usually, I'd be freaking out since it was nearly completely dark out. But the city skyline and the flowers around us nearly felt like I was in the Tangled movie; I was Rapunzel and Max was my Flynn Rider.
The whole night was the definition of perfect.
The perfect first date.
During the walk back to the car, it started to drizzle a bit. Before we knew it, the sky was crying as the rain intensified more and more. While Max wanted to get to the car, I stopped him.
"Aren't you recreating my 'need to experience before I die' board?" I asked him, already knowing the answer, "Then dance in the rain with me!"
He sighed, contemplating his life decisions but ended up giving in and dancing with me. The speaker was still connected to my phone and as if it couldn't get any better, 'SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK' by Joji started playing.
We were both drenched but couldn't care less. I messed with Max's hair, making him tickle me to stop. He spun me around, threw me in the air and made my princess dreams come true. Being the real knight in shining armor tonight. Nothing in my life will ever beat this moment.
Still standing in the rain, we slowly stopped dancing while still maintaining fierce eye contact. My hands were placed under his shirt, while his were planted on my hips.
Time had come to a halt, every motion taking significantly longer than supposed to, making the moment way better as he slowly closed the gap between us. When our lips connected, it still had the same effect as the first time we kissed. It was a sensation I never wanted to fade away.
As we pulled away from the kiss, I crossed my fingers and hoped he wouldn't understand when I couldn't help but say,
"Te quiero mucho." (I love you)
"Ik hou nog meer van je." (I love you more)
-
:O
i rlly hope u guys liked this chapter bc i sure enjoyed writing it 😋
love u all soso much💗