Fifth Light (Sebastian Vettel)

Chapter 26: New Friends

Kimi watched with piqued interest as Seb lead Casey into the circle and re-took his seat. Beside him, Casey looked around, smiling at all the new faces.

He stood up and held out his hand to her.

"Hey Kimi," she grinned, taking his hand and trying to ignore her internal screaming as he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"Good to meet you," he said, smiling back at her.

She'd heard about Kimi's two different personalities; the one the media saw, and the one reserved for his friends and family. Though, it was still very surprising to see the latter with her own eyes.

"What do you drink?" he asked her, sitting back down and holding up 2 bottles of spirits.

She looked between them, "Left hand."

He grinned and nodded, pouring a large glass full to the very brim of a crystal clear lemon Vodka.

He watched her raise an eyebrow at him as he passed it to her, "We drink properly on this boat."

She chuckled as she accepted it and took a sip. It did taste very good.

She finally took her seat beside Seb and his arm found its way around her waist, pulling her in closer.

"Uhh, this is Vilho..." Kimi began as he gestured to the guy on his left. Casey smiled warmly at Vilho and followed around the circle as Kimi introduced the rest of his friends.

"Olli, Mat, Emil, Aada, Sofia, Luukas, Jesse, Joel and Minttu."

Minttu smiled brightly at Casey during their introduction.

"So when did this happen?" the one called Olli said in a thick Finish accent. He was looking at Seb with a cocky grin.

The German sniggered and sipped at his glass, "Uhh..."

He looked to Casey who shrugged, "Good luck putting a date on it."

"A few weeks, months now maybe?" Seb finally replied, "I don't know. There's been awkward sexual tension for ages."

Casey, along with the rest of the circle, laughed. She pushed Seb gently, "Speak for yourself."

"How does that work around the garage?" Minttu asked curiously.

"In what way?" Seb asked.

"Is the management aware, and the team?"

"Management yes, the rest, not so much."

"Wow, interesting..." Minttu replied thoughtfully.

"You just going to avoid the media vultures for as long as you can?" Kimi asked, sitting back in his seat casually and throwing his arm around Minttu's shoulders.

"Pretty much, yes..."

Casey relaxed into the group very quickly, especially with the huge amount of drink Kimi had poured for her. They were all so relaxed and laid back. They chatted easily while 2 of the boys set to work on a barbecue dinner.

Minttu watched Casey curiously throughout the night. She was just as new to the Formula 1 paddock as Casey was, and didn't know any of the other driver's girlfriends. Fernando Alonso, Kimi's teammate, had a girlfriend, but she was either never there or didn't speak a word to her.

Meanwhile, Seb had pushed the disaster of a race from his mind as he sat comfortably with Casey against his side. One of her hands rested on his thigh and she was warm against him in the otherwise cool night air. The setting was perfect. No cameras, no work, no schedule. Just friends, drink, food, music and a girl he couldn't get enough of.