Back To You (Sebastian Vettel)

Chapter 26: Be Friends Again

Gia just kept silent. She didn't know what to say. On one side, she was happy as she felt that she still had a chance to be with him, just like what her mother and Mariska told her. But on the other side, she felt sorry for the problem Seb was facing with his girlfriend.

"What about you?"

"Eh?"

Seb chuckled seeing her confusion. "What about you, Gia? Have you found someone?" Please say no.

"In 2008, if I'm not mistaken, I was close with one of my classmates. But, I thought that I just felt comfortable with him as a friend, nothing more."

"So, you never had a relationship with anyone?"

"Never." Gia was too shy to tell the reason. "Hmm Seb, can we just talk about another things?"

"Sure."

Gia told Seb about how and why she decided to move to Vienna with her mother, some weeks after her father's passing. She also told him about Leonard, her nephew. He couldn't wait to meet and even play with Gilbert's only child.

While, Seb told Gia about Fabian who decided to be a racing driver just like him. He was proud of him and he would always give the best advices for him. There wasn't any awkward moment between the two of them anymore. For her, it felt a lot better for them as they reacquainted.

"Gia, do you want to see more of this house?"

She nodded and smiled. "I'd love to."

Both of them stood from the couch. Gia left her bag there and she didn't forget to wear her glasses. She walked behind Seb as he introduced his new house to her. There were two floors in that house, with one bedroom on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second floor.

Next, he showed her the kitchen. The equipments there weren't fully complete yet. He explained that the fridge was one of the most important things to be bought first, so he could keep some fruits and beverages there.

He also brought her to the living room. He had bought a TV, and he planned to complete it with a DVD player. After that, they went back to the guest room. "So, what do you think?" he asked as he wanted to hear her opinion.

"This house is really nice. I like it."

"To be honest, you are the first person who knows that I've bought this house," Seb said while scratching his neck.

"Really? What an honour," she chuckled. "You haven't told your family and girlfriend?"

Seb laughed a little. "Yeah, I haven't told my family. I haven't also told my press officer and trainer, Britta and Antti. Plus, I don't want to tell Bernadette."

Gia was about to ask him why he didn't want to tell Bernadette, but she felt that she didn't have to ask that. She was afraid if he wasn't in the mood to talk about her. "Hmm, what about your houses in Switzerland and Graz?"

"My house in Thurgau, Switzerland, is bigger than here and classic. It has four bedrooms and also some rooms that I use for other things, such as gym room and office room. It's not the house that I bought in 2006 when I moved there. I sold it."

"Oh, so you bought a new one there?"

"Yes, you're right. The first house that I bought back in 2006 was small, more or less like this one. While, my main house that I bought in 2010 is the biggest I have. And for my house in Graz, it is also more or less the same as this one."

"That's nice."

Seb really wanted her to pay a visit to his house in Switzerland. But it couldn't happen if Bernadette was still there, he thought to himself. "Gia?"

"Hmm?"

"Since we are now friends again, can I have your phone number?" Seb smiled sheepishly.

Gia laughed a little. "Of course, Seb."

They finally exchanged their phone numbers. They were surprised to find out that both of them didn't have an interest on social media. She actually had an Instagram account that she created in 2016. But it was because Mariska forced her. She didn't even post any single photo yet. She rarely opened her account, so that was why she didn't know that Mariska posted her photo with Seb when he visited her bookstore for the first time.

Gia then realized that she had to come back to her bookstore, as she still had a few tasks to do. So, Seb drove her back there. On their way back to the bookstore, he talked about his plan to meet her family. "Gia, may I know where you live at?"

"Sure. I will text you the address, is that fine?"

"No problem. I want to meet your family. Will Gilbert come here in the near time?"

Gia was quite nervous as she was imagining Seb meet Gilbert. "Erm, Gilbert said that he will come to Vienna this month. But he hasn't told me when he will exactly bring his family here."

"I'm on summer break now. The next race will be held on the 26th. I hope that I'll have a chance to meet them soon," Seb explained.

"I will ask him first. When he has told me the date, then I'm gonna tell you."

"I will wait for that."

"Erm Seb, do you think that I should tell my mother about this, about us starting over our friendship and your plan to meet her and Gilbert?"

"I think that you can tell your mother about us being friends again. But don't tell her about my plan to meet your family just yet."

Gia nodded. "Okay."

"Gia, I still can't believe that you forgive me. I can't even forgive myself until now."

"Seb, stop thinking about that. It will not help you to repair our friendship if you still feel guilty."

"Yeah but still, I feel like I am the worst friend you've ever had."

"Please stop it, Seb. Don't be too hard on yourself. Now we should focus on repairing our friendship."

Seb finally gave in. "Do you promise to help me?"

"I promise," Gia smiled when he glanced at her.

Not long after that, they arrived at the downtown of Vienna. Gia asked Seb whether he wanted to go back to the store. He said no, but he promised that he would come again next time. He also said goodbye to her as he would probably not meet her again before he drove back to Switzerland.

Gia promised that she would text her address and tell him if Gilbert had planned to go to Vienna, so Seb could return to the city. It was the moment that she had been waiting for, although she was slightly nervous if there would be some tense between her brother and the man she loved.

Seb suddenly held Gia's hand with his. "Gia, thank you once again for accepting my apology."

"I should thank you also because you finally talk to me. And I apologize because I couldn't control my emotions."

"It's okay, I can fully understand that. You have a right to be angry at me."

Gia nodded. "Okay. I guess... I'll see you again soon?"

"I will definitely see you again soon."

"Bye, Seb, and take care!"

"Bye, Gia!"

Gia opened her seatbelt and then went out of the car. She waved her hand at him and started walking with a happy face. They had been friends again and that was the most important thing for her at the moment.