December 24, 2023
Monaco
Fallon
I chewed on my lip and secured the strap of the heels around my ankles. I usually never would've chosen hot pink heels, but of course, Neymar had chosen them for me. My style had completely changed when she started dating him. He started choosing my outfits. I knew that he was a more into fashion than me, so I let him.
My dress was a bit more tame than the dress I wore to the Amber Lounge. It was a black lace dress that went down to knees knees. It was a sweetheart neckline with skinny black straps that matched. It was touched across in alternating directions.
"You look great, meu amour," Neymar walked over and held a hand out to me.
I took his hand and let him tug me to my feet. I wrapped my arms around his neck. He pressed his forehead mine. His large hands held on to my waist. He started to lightly pepper kisses all over my face which made me giggle.
"Eu te amo, Fallon."
"I love you too," I smiled, "are you hungry?"
"Yes. It smells so good!"
"Mhm. Mama loves Christmas Eve. It's always a big deal around here."
"Who all will be here?"
"Obviously, my family, the Gaslys and Kika, Max, and Daniel."
"Max and Daniel are coming?"
"Yeah," I nodded and noticed the sour look on his face, "what?"
"Why are they coming?"
"Because they don't have any family here. We're all very good friends, so it makes sense for them to be here. If Alex's family wasn't in Monaco, he and Lily would also be joining us. Mama always takes in any drivers who are in Monaco for the holidays."
He nodded unhappily and had a stony look on his face. It made me roll my eyes. I pulled away and hurried down the stairs. I was getting really sick of his attitude about being around my friends in Monaco. I had spent my whole year following him around. I had wanted to come home so many times but didn't because Ney asked me to travel with him.
"Aw you look pretty!"
I looked to my right and saw Lily standing there with Arthur. I smiled and gave them both hugs. I gave Lily a quick pinch and a sly look spotting how close she had been standing next to Arthur.
"Thanks, Lily. Finally wearing some pink for Alpine," I giggled.
"I'm sure Pierre will appreciate it."
"Lady Lec!"
"I'm never getting rid of that nickname am I?" I pretended to be annoyed as I turned around to greet Danny.
"Definitely not," he chuckled and quickly kissed my cheek, "merry Christmas Eve."
"Merry Christmas Eve," I smiled and kissed his cheek quickly.
A warm around wrapped around my waist, "you look great, Fallon."
I turned my head and saw Max standing there, "thanks, Max."
He nodded. Our eyes connected, and we held that gaze. I stared into his eyes a little longer than I should've. I bit my lip and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"So!" Danny clapped his hands, "I am throwing the world's best New Year's Eve party at la Rascasse, and I expect to see everyone there!"
"La Racasse? Oooo look at you getting fancy, Danny," Lily smirked.
"Ya like that?" He threw his arm at over her shoulders, and I could've sworn I saw her cheeks tint pink.
"Yeah," she nodded.
"Sounds fun!" I nodded and then looked at the Dutchman who still had his arm around my waist, "wanna go with me, Max?"
"Sure," he nodded.
"Great! It's a date!"
"Uh," Max cleared his throat, and his arm around my waist became a little looser.
After I uttered those words, silence fell over everyone. Arthur's eyes nearly bugged out, and Lily's jaw was hanging. For once, I had rendered the Daniel Ricciardo speechless. I honestly felt a big smug about it.
I kissed Max on the cheek, making sure to keep my lips lingering on his skin a little longer than they should've. Even though his arm around my waist was looser, his fingers were gripping me tighter.
I flounced into the wine area and grabbed a glass. I looked through our extensive wine collection trying to decide what I wanted to drink. I eventually settled on a bottle of sparkling rose. I popped the bottle open easily and gave myself a heavy pour. I also poured a glass for Mama, knowing it was her favourite. I closed my eyes and took a sip. The flavour danced on my tongue. It was perfect.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?!"
My eyes flew open, and I saw Arthur standing there. He was red in the face. His eyebrows were crinkled up. Lily was hovering just behind him.
"What?"
"You said it's a date to Max!" He threw his hands up.
"And?" I took a sip of my rose, "I fail to see an issue here."
"Fallon, you're still with Neymar," Lily chewed her lip, worry swirling in her eyes.
"And he doesn't want to spend time with my friends," I shrug.
"Just because you and Neymar are fighting doesn't mean you can just cheat!" He yelled.
"Cheat?!" My voice went up. I set my glass down and stalked over to Arthur, jabbing a finger into his chest, "the fuck are you on?"
"I'm just saying. You don't want to get caught by the tabloids," Arthur glared at me.
"Since when did you give a shit about tabloids?!"
"I don't, but Charles' image—"
"There it is. Everything always revolves around Charles and his image. 'The Prince of Monaco' must be protected," I sneered making air quotes around my brother's nickname.
"What are you two fighting about now?" Lorenzo's voice echoed through the kitchen.
"Fallon is going on a date with Max!" Arthur pointed his finger at me.
"It's not a date! It's just a saying," I protested.
"Start from the beginning. One at a time; Fallon first," Lorenzo gestured for me to talk.
"Why-"
"Fallon first!" Lorenzo said hardly.
"Danny's having a New Year's Eve party, and he invited everyone. I asked Max if he wanted to go with me, and he agreed. I said 'it's a date' which honestly doesn't mean anything. It's a just saying," I explained taking another sip of my wine.
"Okay. Arthur, your turn."
"My issue is that Fallon's gonna be spotted clubbing with another guy while she's still with Neymar. That's gonna reflect badly on us and Charles."
"Why? Everyone knows me and Max are friends. It's not a big deal."
"Why not invite your boyfriend?"
"Oh so now you're team Neymar? I thought you couldn't stand him," I folded my arms.
"I can't stand cheaters."
"I'm not a cheater. I'm simply making my life easier. Neymar won't want to come, so I'm saving myself from multiple arguments."
"I don't see an issue here. It definitely doesn't warrant a screaming fight on Christmas Eve. So I would strongly recommend you two knock it off," he glared at us.
"Arthur started it," I said childishly.
"Fallon actually started it by flirting with Max," Arthur snorted.
"Stop fighting!" Lorenzo smacked Arthur upside the head.
"Why am I always the one in trouble?" He whined.
I chuckled and grabbed the glasses and bottle. I wondered out of the room while Arthur and Lorenzo continued to talk. I walked through the house towards the kitchen where I knew Mama would be.
"Fallon!"
I turned around and looked over my shoulder. I saw Pierre standing there with Danny. Danny was chewing on his lip and looked uncharacteristically nervous. Pierre looked like his normal self.
"Salute, Pierre," I smiled.
"Salute, amie," he grinned.
"I heard you got in a fight with Arthur?"
"Nothing new," I shrugged.
Pierre chuckled, "some thing never change."
"Never," I agreed before gesturing to my shoes, "look. Pink. Just for you, tripod."
Pierre threw his head back laughing before kissing my cheek, "I appreciate that, Fallon."
I nodded and kissed Pierre's cheek, "of course." I then turned to Danny who still hadn't said anything, "you look nervous, Danny. What's wrong?"
"Let's go somewhere more private," he squeezed his hands together.
"Okay? Do you want a drink?"
"Yeah that wouldn't hurt."
I nodded and handed him the glass I had poured for my mum. He accepted it. I led him away. I strode confidently through the house. I opened up the door to our terrace. I turned on the fire pit and sat down. I carefully crossed my legs as Danny sat down next to me.
"You look worried, Danny. What's wrong?"
"I'm worried about you, Fallon."
"Me? Why?"
"I'm worried about you and Max, actually."
"Max?"
"Yeah."
"Please explain."
"I see the way you two look at each other, and Max. He likes you, Fallon."
"I like him too. He's a good friend of mine. I'm lucky to have him in my life."
"No. He LIKES you, Fallon."
"What?"
"Max has had a fat crush on you for years."
"Are you serious?" My eyes widened. I held on to the wine glass a little tighter to prevent myself from dropping it.
"Yeah. He's had a crush on you for as long as I've known him."
"Oh," I let out a small squeak.
"Be careful with him at my party, please. I don't want to see him hurt again. The only thing that kept him going after Kelly broke up with him was racing. He doesn't have that at the moment which is why I'm staying in Monaco with him. But now, you're back. And it's like watching him fall in love again."
I bowed my head down, staring into my glass. I swirled the pale pink alcohol around. My thoughts wondered to Max.
He and Charles hadn't always been good friends. It was pretty rocky when they were both karting, but he was always nice to me. I always thought he was cute and funny. I had a crush on him, but he always had a girlfriend.
"Max is a good guy, Danny, and he has a good heart."
"I know. I don't want to see him hurt again, Fallon."
"I won't hurt him. I promise," I smiled.
"Good," he took a drink.
"Is this where I tell you I had a crush on Max when we were growing up?"
"Really?"
"Really," I nodded, "but he always had a girlfriend. So I moved on."
"Do you love Neymar?"
I bit my lip, "yeah."
"Is this where I say I don't really like him?"
I let out a humourless laugh, "you can join Arthur's club. I'm sure he'd love company."
"He's just very controlling. It's hard to tell when you're in it, but we all see it. You used to be at almost every race weekend, but we almost never see you anymore. It's been seven months since you were last at a race."
I sighed, "I know. It's been a crazy year between moving, and then leaving Paris, and then travelling to Brazil. Neymar has his moments. But you all don't see how loving he is with me, and how well he takes care of me."
"But we do see how he yells, calls you names, and has isolated you from your friends and family. I'm not trying to get you to break up with him. I just want you to be aware of it because it hurts to see you get treated like that. You're also a good person. You're like a little sister to me. Protect your heart, Fallon. I don't want you hurt either," he squeezed my hand.
"Thank you, Danny. What about you?"
"What about me?" He took another drink.
"When are you going to tell Lily you like her?" I raised an eyebrow.
"W-wh-what?!"
I chuckled, "any time now works."
"I don't want to look stupid."
"I promise you won't," I smiled.
"How long have you known?"
"It's kinda obvious, Danny. Subtly has never been a strong suit of your, mate."
Daniel laughed, "yeah. You're right. What about Arthur? I don't want to step on any toes."
"They've liked each other since they were kids," I admit, "but Arthur is too busy taking care of me to make a move with Lily. I don't know if he's ever going to pull his head out of his ass. Especially when Neymar is around. Take advantage of your party. I think it'll be good timing."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah," I nodded, "and I happen to know that she likes you."
"Really?" His eyebrows flew up, and he leaned in closer to me.
"Really. But you didn't hear that from me," I winked at him.
"Didn't hear what from who?" He winked at me.
"Exactly," I gave him a fist bump.
"Fal? You out there?"
I looked towards the door and saw Charles, "yeah. Me and Daniel are here."
"Dinner's ready."
I smiled and turned the fire off, "great!"
"Neymar is looking for you."
I nodded and walked over to him, "thank you."
"Mhm."
We all walked back inside the house. As soon as we were in, Neymar hurried over. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.
"You were outside without a jacket? You'll catch your death."
I laughed, "the fire was on."
"Still."
"Okay, Dad," I teased with an eye roll.
"I thought that we agreed you called me 'Daddy' meu amour. You were calling m-"
"Shhhhh!" I shushed him and whacked his arm while trying to keep my giggles quiet.
"YA NASTY," Lily screeched.
"And on Christmas Eve? My god," Arthur whined.
I laughed and bat at Neymar's chest. He covered my hand with his and kissed my cheek. Daniel and Pierre were laughing hysterically. Kika and Alexandra were giggling. Max had crinkled his nose in distaste while Charles was muttering under his breath.
My eyes lingered on Max longer than they should have—studying his face, the way he styled his hair. It brought back old memories and feelings. With Danny's words echoing in my head, I knew what I had to do