Joey had just arrived outside Liam's house. After a disappointing ending in Monza, for Seb, she had unwillingly left the German's rented villa early in the morning and had flown to Dublin to finally meet up with her best friend. He had organised for her to stay with him for a night of games and drinks with Kat and Will, who lived not far from his house. Joey eagerly knocked on the door and, as soon as Liam opened the door, she jumped to hug him tightly against her body.
'You absolute moron, you' she said, in between sobs. 'You gave me such a big scare, you know'
'Woah, woah. You're in a relationship now, honey. I don't want F1 stars come knocking my door down and punching my pretty face in'
'Seb is lovely, he wouldn't punch you. He would probably look at you disapprovingly, but he would never resort to violence' Joey chuckled. 'Speak of the devil' her phone buzzed with a call. 'Mind if I take this?'
'Of course not'
'Hey, Seb. All good?... yeah, I literally just got here.' She smiled looking at Liam who was pointing at her phone and waving. 'I guess my mime friend wants to say hi... Seb says hi back' she told Liam. 'Yeah, nothing fancy. Just a few drinks and games with the guys... I know! He is an alright PT, or maybe you just need to get Antti to loosen up a little' she chuckled. 'Alright, yeah... hope you have a good week in Maranello... I love you too, speak later' she pressed the red button on her screen and turned back to her friend who was staring at her with his mouth wide open.
'What?! Close that mouth or you're gonna get some flies in there'
'YOU USED THE L WORD. YOU DON'T USE THE L WORD. I DON'T THINK YOU EVER EVEN TOLD ME YOU LOVED ME.' He blurted out.
'I tell my dad, my grandad and Matt I love them all the time. And I told you every single day since your accident' she shrugged.
'But... he... Sebastian! You're in love? Oh, come here!' He pulled her into a hug, again. 'I knew you seemed happier, but in love?! I need to hear it all.'
Joey and Liam spent most of their day catching up on what they had missed in each other's lives. By late afternoon they were joined by the rest of the crew. The four of them had been friends since they could remember. Even when Joey had moved away, they had stayed in contact and had spent most of their summers together, be it in her grandad's country home or surfing on the coast, the girl couldn't have asked for a closer group of friends. Even after months of not seeing each other, their relationship was unscathed. She never had to try hard with them, she never needed to hide her true self. They were her safety net and the people she trusted more in the world.
When the doorbell rang once more, Joey jumped up from the sofa.
'Pizzas are finally here, I'm starving' she stated. 'Nope, put those away' she told her friends, who were looking through their wallets 'my treat'
She walked to the door, quickly counting a few euro notes that would have been enough to cover the bill and give the rider a decent tip.
'Evening! Keep the cha...' she stopped midway through, as her jaw dropped. There stood Sebastian. A small luggage resting by his side and he was holding two large pizza boxes in his hands. His smile was beaming from side to side and he could barely contain his amusement at Joey's shocked face.
'Hello' he said simply. 'May I come in?'
'Sebastian' she said, as if to convince herself.
'That is what people call me' he cheekily replied.
'What? When? How?' A sudden realisation came to her. 'LIAM GRIFFITHS I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU' she shouted, marching back into the house.
'What's up, babe?' Liam asked, acting surprised.
'DON'T YOU WHAT'S UP BABE ME! YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID' She shrieked.
'I did absolutely nothing. Fabian did most of this' he shrugged. 'Where is he?'
'Oh shit.' She turned back on her steps. 'Sorry, sorry. Please come in. Let me take those.' She apologised to Seb, grabbing the boxes out of his hands. Sebastian had seemed to find the whole situation hilarious, Joey's surprised face was enough to repay for a few annoyed Ferrari sponsors he had to reschedule for.
'Hi guys' he told Kat and Will. 'Liam, nice to finally meet in person'
'I'm so gonna kill you both' Joey huffed.
'It must be lovely to have such a warm welcome' Liam raised an eyebrow. 'Excuse my friend, she's so rude'
'So rude, really' Seb teased. 'I've learnt to accept it'
'Try 26 years of this' Will added.
'Sounds like a nightmare' Seb chuckled.
'Hey! Why is everyone ganging up on me?' Joey moaned. 'Were you all in on this?'
'Kinda' Kat smiled. 'And it was definitely worth it'
'I called this, by the way.' Will smirked.
'Shut your pie hole, please' Joey replied.
'Canada, was it?' He asked the rest of the group.
'Yeah, definitely Canada. You must remember?' Kat added.
'Oh yeah, you guys were video chatting when Joey was in the hotel lobby' Seb recalled. 'Wait. Back then?' He asked Joey, surprised, but looking rather smug.
'God damn it' she hissed. 'I'll explain later, please'
'Oh no, I think we all want to hear it now' Liam smirked. 'Tell the story, Josephine. Or we could tell the story ourselves'
'You motherfuckers' she huffed. 'Let me kick you arses at Mario kart'
'But I liked the idea of the story' Seb pouted, instigating laughter from the group.
'Need I remind you you're on my turf, Vettel? I can easily leave you out to sleep on a park bench'
'Alright, yeah. No story time, yet. You've got my number, though' Seb turned to Liam 'Tell me another time'
'I hate you lot.' Joey sighed, letting herself fall on the sofa next to Liam. 'Let's play and pretend Canada never happened'
~•~•~•~
That night Seb and Joey tucked in bed in Liam's spare room. Sure it was a change from the glitz and the glamour of the drivers' hotels and even Seb's rented accommodation, but it felt so homely. The walls were covered in pictures of the group growing up and Liam's travels before he had joined Joey as her PT in Germany.
Seb had looked curiously at the different stages in Joey's life. He could see how close the friends had been throughout the years.
'You and Liam' he asked out of the blue, as he played with her hair that was scattered on his chest. 'Always been friends?'
'Yeah, I met him at nursery' Joey recalled, with a smile. 'He was crying. He had dropped his lunch or something, so I sat next to him and we shared mine. Haven't gotten rid of him ever since... oh. I just got what you meant' she said, looking at his raised eyebrow. 'Yeah, always friends. Never anything else. I mean he's cute, I guess, but if you look at my history... not my type'
'Your type?' Seb asked.
'Well, I seem to have a thing for blue-eyed blonde men...' she teased.
'Oh, do you?' Seb locked his eyes on hers, Joey could see a sparkle lighting up behind them.
'Mhmh' she nodded. 'Especially the jealous German types'
'I'm not jealous'
'Who said I was talking about you?'
'I travelled all the way here, you're mean' he pouted.
'Come here, you' she pulled him towards her, hungrily catching his lips with hers. Soon their tongues were dancing together and their bodies were intertwined in a passionate and messy making out session.
'I find it a bit awkward, knowing your best friend is in the room next to us' Seb whispered. 'Maybe we shouldn't'
'Maybe you should tell that to your friend' Joey gazed over at his visible bulge. 'You'll just have to be quiet' she winked.
'I? Me? I hate this sass' he laughed. Joey didn't reply, only giving the German a guilty look. She pushed her hands under his t-shirt, tracing with her fingers around his sculpted abs. She started nibbling on his neck, feeling Seb's desire for her grow.
'Guess we'll be quiet, then' he groaned, pulling her pyjama bottoms off hungrily.
~•~•~•~
The following morning, Joey woke up nestled into Seb's naked body. He shuffled in his sleep and opened his eyes before giving her a smile.
'Morning beauty' he brushed his lips on hers.
'I could wake up like this every day' she mumbled, before kissing him once more.
A knock startled both of them and interrupted their idyllic moment.
'Guys, I'm making breakfast. Seb, any issues with a full Irish?'
'Didn't have any last night' he chuckled, earning a slap from the girl next to him.
'What?' Liam asked 'can barely hear you through the door'
'He said it's fine' Joey shouted. 'I'll fucking kill you, Vettel' she, then, hissed before getting out of bed. She grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from her luggage and threw them on.
'That what you're wearing?' Seb raised an eyebrow.
'Yeah, it's hot dude'
'You're hot' he cheekily said. 'No! Don't say it. I heard myself, it was cheesy'
'Your words, not mine. Let's go! I smell bacon'
Watching her best friend cooking still gave Joey a sense of disbelief. The last time she saw him, she had been preparing to say goodbye; now she and her boyfriend were sitting in his living room, as he prepared a full Irish breakfast, dancing along to music playing on the radio.
Joey joined Liam in the kitchen, making coffee for both of them and a tea for Seb.
'So... how was the sex?' Liam asked her.
'Liam!' She turned bright red. 'Did you hear us?'
'No' he laughed loudly 'But I guessed it would be happening so I forced myself to sleep as soon as we went to bed. The way you look at each other... I just hope you didn't make a mess' he teased.
'I'm outta here. Fucks sakes' she walked away from him.
Liam smiled to himself, he loved teasing her and he could see how happy Sebastian had made her. It seemed like life was going to turn the right way for her, finally.
'You'd better not hurt her, Vettel' he mumbled to himself, plating up their breakfast.