Going back to Switzerland with Britta and Antti after winning the Dutch GP, Seb couldn't stop thinking about the woman whom he met at the circuit.
There was something about her, he was sure about that, but he didn't know what that was. He shook his head as it was the first time for him to face that kind of strange feeling about a woman.
The only things that he knew were her name, her father's name, and where they were from. He didn't know exactly where, but they were surely Germans just like him.
After picking up their suitcases, Seb with his press officer and personal trainer walked to the airport parking lot where he parked his car for a short term.
It took around an hour for them to go to his house in Canton of Thurgau. He turned the engine of his car on and started driving.
At first, Antti offered to drive the car, but Seb rejected. He felt that there was something that was bothering his driver's mind. Without him knowing, Britta had the same thought.
"Seb, do you mind if I ask you something?" Antti started the conversation.
"No," Seb replied. "Just fire it away."
"Are you thinking about something? I don't know but I feel that there's something bothering you."
"Antti, I thought that I was the only one who thinks about that," Britta joined in the talks.
Seb smiled slightly. "No, it's nothing. Don't worry about me."
Antti decided not to force Seb to speak. But he was ready to listen if he wanted to share it to him and Britta. "Fine. But you can talk to me or Britta if there's something that you'd like to share."
"I agree with Antti. It's just that I feel that you are a little different. You've just won the race, Seb. You are now trying to reach your dream for the final time. Don't let anything distract your mind," Britta spoke wisely, which was the side of her that Seb liked.
He didn't know if it was right for him to speak about the woman to Antti and Britta. They could laugh at him for thinking about a woman whom he didn't even know. Or they could probably ask him to forget about her, which was a difficult thing to do.
"Is it about Erika?" Antti suddenly asked.
Hearing the question made Seb burst in laugh. "How the hell did you think that she is on my mind right now?"
"Seb, behave!" Britta warned him for swearing.
"Oops," Seb chuckled. "Sorry, Antti. I'm surprised that you asked me that. She will never be on my mind."
Britta frowned. She didn't understand how Seb could say that. She wondered if he wasn't impressed with their new colleague in the team.
"I'm sorry, Seb. Did you just say that she will never be on your mind? Why is that? Do you not like her?"
"It's an old news, Britta," Antti laughed as he knew that Seb disliked Erika. "You haven't heard anything from Seb?"
"What's with Erika, Seb? Why does Antti know something that I don't?"
"We don't talk about Erika now. Not here," Seb said firmly. "I admit that there is something that I want to talk to you both. What if you just wait until we arrive home?"
"Yeah, of course, Seb," Britta replied.
As Seb had said so, it meant that he would reveal about the woman to Antti and Britta. He didn't care how they would respond about it.
---
As Seb was too tired after the race, he decided not to talk about Samantha to Antti and Britta. After all, both of them would be staying until Wednesday before they flew to Barcelona, so he felt that there were still some time to finally talk about her to them.
On the following day, after the three of them had their breakfast, they gathered in the living room. Seb had looked fresh and better although he still felt a little sore at some parts of his body.
"So Seb, where do we begin?" Britta was the first to ask.
"I bet he's gonna talk about Erika first, because the second topic would be so much more important."
"You can read my mind," Seb chuckled as he heard what Antti said, which was true. "Yeah, I think that I'm gonna talk about her first. Erm, I don't dislike her. It's just that... I don't feel comfortable when she is around."
"Why is that? Has she done a mistake?"
"She has shown some gestures that I don't really like. Some months ago, after she knew that I would be leaving the team, she said that she was so sorry for me. And... she kept caressing my arm as if she wanted to comfort me. I think you know that I don't like being touched or hugged unless I've been very familiar with the person."
Britta nodded. "Ah yeah, I can understand that. Then, what else?"
"I also caught her several times staring at me, even when I was eating at the canteen. When she was caught, she quickly smiled."
"Oh," Britta was surprised. "So, do you think that she is... flirting?"
Seb shrugged. "I don't want to sound overconfident. I don't really know. Oh, there's one more. She once asked me when I'd consider to have a girlfriend, as she knows that I'm single."
"Oh my gosh!" Britta closed her mouth with her palm. "She has just been working in the team for some months yet she's very interested to know your private life."
Britta glanced at Antti as he just kept silent. He didn't say anything as he had known all stories that Seb shared. So, he better just listened what her reaction would be.
"That's my point! This thing makes me miss Silvia sometimes. I mean, we all know that she is older than us, she has a husband, a family, and she worked professionally. She wasn't interested with how my life is going. Even if she asked something apart from our job, she only wanted to know my family's condition. Nothing more."
"I agree, Seb," Antti finally spoke. "Silvia is such a nice person. It got me shocked when I found out that she should leave the team."
"So, Britta, as you two are women, I won't forbid you to be friends with her. But you should also understand if I'm not used to talk to her."
Britta nodded at him. "I understand, Seb. To be honest, before you told me that, she never asked me something personal about you. But I should be careful now."
"That's good. You know what to do." Then, Seb was starting to arrange the words as he was about to talk about Samantha. "For the second one... I honestly don't know where to start."
"Take your time, Seb. If you are not ready to talk about it, we can wait."
Seb chuckled. "No, it's not like that, Britta. It's just that... I don't think it's important for you both. It's also about a woman."
Britta and Antti glanced at each other. Although she could sense that he was a little embarrassed, but she ensured him that they were ready to listen. "It's okay, Seb. Who are we going to talk about?"
Seb took a deep breath before he spoke, "Her name is Samantha. She's an F1 fan and we met at Zandvoort last weekend."
"An F1 fan? Who is she supporting? You?" Antti asked.
"It seems so. We met twice and on both occasions, I saw her wearing different t-shirts that is related to me. One of them was my personal logo and the other one was the special edition of my 2010 title."
"And then, do you like her or what?" Britta asked right to the point.
"I don't just suddenly like her. But, I feel like there's something about her that I really want to know."
"Where did you meet her and what things do you know about her?"
Seb was remembering the moment he met her for the first time. "On Friday, I met her with her parents at the entrance with other fans. Her father is Stefan, but I don't know his wife's name. He asked me to sign his cap. But before I wrote his name, he asked me to write his daughter's name instead. We talked in German, so I guess that they're from Germany."
"Then, what about your second meeting with her?" Britta started to feel interested with Seb's story.
"Britta, I think that you still remember when I was a bit late to come to the team's press conference after qualifying," Seb said to her and she replied it with a nod. "We met again in the paddock on that day, and she still wore her sunglasses, just like on our first meeting. I accidentally nudged her, because I was focusing too much on my phone. When I realized that she was alone, I asked her where her parents were. But she seemed panic,"
"She was separated from them and she didn't know where they were. She also said that she forgot to bring her phone. When I offered her help to phone her parents, she didn't remember their phone numbers. Fortunately, some minutes later, they appeared. Then, Samantha hugged her mother so tight, as if she was afraid if she lost her. I mean, she is an adult, not a child anymore. She could think of many ways to find her parents."
Antti shared his opinion. "I'm sorry, Seb, but maybe she's a person with monophobia. She's afraid of being alone. Although she was with you and she obviously knows you, but you are still a stranger to her."
"Antti is probably right, Seb," Britta agreed on his opinion. "Maybe at the time, she got panic attack which made it difficult for her to think how she could find her parents."
"Yeah, maybe you are right." That was the only thing that Seb could answer. But then, he smiled miserably. "I wish I could meet her again someday. But it's gonna be impossible."
"Nothing is impossible, Seb. She is an F1 fan, as you said earlier. Maybe there will be time when we can meet her again on a race weekend." Britta also warned him, "But please, Seb, don't let her distract your mind."
"Don't worry, Britta, she won't." As he felt that he had poured out all his heart, he would end the talks there.
He was grateful that Antti and Britta didn't laugh at him for telling about a stranger nor ask him to completely forget anything about her. He was hopeful that there would be any other chance to meet her again.