Alex leant back against the workbench, diving her hand into a packet of ready salted crisps. She felt like all she'd done lately was eat, she'd been feeling hungry all the time and was constantly snacking. At this rate she'd start putting on weight. There was only one thing or person to blame for her increased appetite and he was stood a few feet away, getting ready to get into the car; his gorgeously shiny, green AMR21.
Training had been a bit lax lately, she admitted to herself, or maybe she should call it sporadic. When they'd been in the zone, the programme had been followed to the letter and had gone well. When they'd been alone in the house......well, training had been the last thing on their minds.
She couldn't really pin the blame solely on Seb; she'd been just as bad, giving in to him far too easily. But then who could resist the lure of Sebastian Vettel? She thought back over the last week; a few highlights sprang to mind, such as the morning when Gisela had taken the kids on the school run and he'd accosted her in the laundry room, pulling away her clothes just enough to gain the access he'd needed to fuck her from behind (her tight sports leggings meaning that she couldn't part her legs and the added friction for them both had been out of this world). Then there was the day they'd been up in his office and he'd slipped his hand down the front of her shorts while she was sat on his lap, making her cum with just his fingers while they kissed. On another day they'd been working out together in the back garden, it had been a hot day and the sight of Seb's sweaty body had been too much to resist. She'd ended up riding him on the lawn, both of them knowing that Gisela could have returned from a shopping trip, to get supplies for her jewellery business, at any moment. They'd had to pick their moments and pounce on any opportunities that came their way but boy, had they maximised them to the full!
Seb could feel her watching him and turned to spot her, openly staring at him with a crisp in her hand, poised in the air between the bag and her slightly open mouth. He snickered to himself, he'd never known a woman with such a voracious appetite as Alex and he wasn't thinking about the crisps. She suddenly blinked, her eyes meeting his, then she smiled and blushed, looking away as she realised that she'd been caught. While he found her blushing adorable, he knew that little moments like these were going to have to be kept to a minimum, otherwise people would notice and tongues would start to wag - like Jake's, who caught his eye as he looked around to check if anyone had been watching. He walked over to her, knowing that it was best to quietly warn her.
Seeing him approaching her, she dumped the bag of crisps on the bench behind her and hastily wiped her hands on the front of her jeans, snapping straight into professional Aleksandra mode. She'd have to be standing by the car, waiting for the pit lane to open, with everything to hand that he might need once he was in the cockpit. "Not long to go now." She glanced at her watch. "Make sure to take on extra fluids, it's baking out there." She nodded to the garage exit, where the sun was shining and slowly roasting the great British public who were sat in the stands opposite.
He stood at an angle, purposely turning his back towards Jake. "I know you find me irresistible right now but....."
"Try not to ogle so hard? Yeah, sorry. I was thinking about......stuff." She chose her words carefully, finishing Seb's sentence for him. She knew they had to be very careful; people gossiped in the F1 community, she'd quickly learned this after wearing a short sleeved polo top on Thursday, showing her scars and fading bruises from her accident in public for the first time. It hadn't taken long before word had got back to the Aston Martin garage that she was being talked about.
"You have a one track mind Miss Van de Berg." He teased before stepping away to finish getting himself ready.
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Standing on the grid still felt weird and it still made her feel exposed as TV cameras from various channels swarmed around and photographers darted in and out, capturing candid images of Seb who was stood on the grass beside her with his headphones on, listening to music, while she held an umbrella to shield them both from the hot sun. What felt even weirder though, was that they were standing on the grid like this on a Saturday. It made it feel more like a Sunday and the grid was just as busy as it would be on a race day too. Alex didn't see the point of doing a sprint race, not when they'd still gone through qualifying yesterday and Seb wasn't particularly keen on losing a valuable practice session. Thankfully today was a trial, with another one to come in Monza in September.
The black rucksack on her bag was making her feel even hotter and felt like it was sticking to her back and the heat was actually making her feel a little nauseous. She reached to her utility belt and grabbed her drinks bottle, flicking the top open with her thumb so that she could take a long drink.
Seb had qualified tenth for the seventeen lap sprint race that would decide the grid for tomorrow's race. Like Alex, he couldn't really see the point of it either. Sure, it was good for the fans and an intense short race would create some extra interest and excitement but when they still had to qualify on Friday? It didn't sit right with him, he was a traditionalist at heart and didn't think that the qualifying format should be altered that drastically. Still, he'd give it a chance and go into the race with an open mind.
He glanced towards Alex, who was just putting her drinks bottle back into its place on her belt. He quite liked the utility belt on her, it gave her an Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider kind of vibe; all she needed was the tight black vest top and the tight little shorts. It was an alluring thought and as an image of Alex dressed like that popped into his mind he felt a stirring in between his legs. Oh god, not now, please! He instantly looked away, switching his focus to Ted Kravitz from SkySports who was walking through the grid, stopping close to car number five to talk about yesterday's qualifying session and any changes made to the set up ahead of the sprint race. Thankfully, looking at Ted worked and Seb's semi-hard cock behaved itself.
Alex checked her watch just as a klaxon sounded, signalling that it was just ten minutes to lights out. Seb didn't need reminding of the time, he'd heard the klaxon go off above his music and was already pulling his phone from his pocket to hand to her, along with his headphones which she hung around her neck. She bent to pick up his helmet and HANS while he pulled the white towel from around his neck, dropped it on top of a black hold-all and proceeded to shrug his arms into his race overall.
It was all so calm and efficient. They'd said nothing to each other for the past twelve minutes, Alex just had what he needed, when he needed it and in the order he wanted things too.
It was so ingrained into her mind that she didn't have to think, she'd just pass him what he wanted and when he got into the car, she was there standing dutifully beside him, holding a blower that was pumping cool air into the cockpit while he held the umbrella to keep the sun at bay.
It was already scolding hot in the car, even though the team had left an open umbrella in the cockpit. The seat still felt hot against his behind and his back and the seatbelts made it feel all the more stifling. It wouldn't even get cooler once the race was underway as the heat from the engine would be heating up everything further from his seat to his drinks bottle. A minute later, someone placed a bag of dry ice onto his lap. That was blissful, almost as blissful as it would have been if he'd had air con in the car.
He spent the last few minutes, staring ahead, visualising the start in his head and those first few corners and then the whole circuit; where he'd have better chances of passing and where he wouldn't, where he had to try to improve and claw back the tenths he was missing and where the car would feel a little unstable. He knew this circuit like the back of his hand, where he'd suffer from oversteer or understeer and where all the best lines were going into and exiting corners.
The area around him cleared and for the first time he could see the cars in front and the one beside him.
There was final radio check, a final message from his race engineer and his strategist. Then it was time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alex had been grateful for the cool air conditioning in hospitality as she sat and waited for Seb and Britta to return so that they could all head back to the hotel. She was hoping to be able to spend some time alone with him tonight because she knew that for the next race weekend in Hungary, Gisela and the kids would be travelling too and time alone would be virtually nonexistent.
She wasn't finding it easy being around Seb when he was with his wife and kids and to be fair to Seb, he wasn't finding it easy either. Gisela didn't travel to many races with him but Hungary was one she attended every year as the girls were on their summer holidays from kindergarten.
Seb was still waiting for Alex to give him an answer on whether she was coming to Finland with them for a week to stay in his holiday home there. Although really she knew that saying no wasn't an option, he didn't want to leave her on her own and had made his feelings clear.
"Day dreaming about a certain German are we?" Jake quipped as he plonked himself down in the seat opposite her.
"If you mean, am I thinking about him in a professional sense, then yes." She replied curtly.
He sniggered and then winked at her in an exaggerated manner, "yeah, sure you are Alex."
"It's Aleksandra." She pointed out, wondering why he'd decided to behave like a jerk today.
"He gets to call you Alex." Jake announced, giving her a challenging smirk.
"I don't think he does." She shot back in full denial while inside it dawned on her that he was right, that Seb had called her 'Alex' several times lately and she'd failed to correct him. "Why are you so obsessed with him anyway? Anyone would think you're wanting to get into his fireproofs. Jake."
"Me?!" He spluttered, bursting out into loud laughter.
"You can't stop talking about him and quite frankly, it's getting embarrassing." She said, giving him a look that said 'I know I'm right, prove me wrong'.
"Oh my god! Jake, lad!" One the truck drivers, an older man called Adam, just happened be walking past and heard them, stopping behind Jake and slapping his hands on both of Jake's shoulders. "Are you....."
"No." Jake snapped irritably, the laughter quickly ceasing as he shrugged his shoulders in an effort to get Adam's hands off of him.
"I mean, there's nowt wrong with it if you are, just saying." Adam grinned at Alex and then added, "and I know that Josh is single right now."
"Fuck off Adam." Jake snapped again, keeping his unimpressed gaze fixed on Alex who found it highly amusing.
Adam took the hint and wandered off, heading to the bar to ask for a mug of tea.
"What?!" Alex asked playfully, giggling at Jake's icy stare. "I'll admit, Seb's a good looking man, I wouldn't blame you if you fancied having a go. He's all into equality and one love and all that, he's very broad minded, he doesn't discriminate at all."
He stood up, nearly knocking the chair over. He glared at her before curtly muttering, "I'm not gay" and stalking off, clearly offended that his sexuality had been questioned.
Seconds later Jake's vacant seat was filled by Seb, who gave her an accusatory look as he sat down.
Alex looked puzzled and glanced to her left and right before simply asking, "what?"
"You've upset Jake again."
"It wasn't just me." She pointed out defensively, just as Adam walked back past her with a mug of tea in hand. "Adam helped."
"What did you say to him Aleksandra?" He relaxed back into the chair, folding his arms, looking serious.
"I only pointed out his obsession over you." She replied casually, drawing invisible little circles on the table with her finger. "And that he might be wanting to get into your snug, sexy fireproofs....and Adam happened to overhear and now thinks that Jake might be gay."
Seb couldn't help but snigger, he actually found it a bit comical.
"I did point how broad minded you are too." She added, keeping her gaze on her finger as she twirled it round and round on the table. "You know, just in case he fancies his chances."
He leant forward, leaning on his arms on the table and cocked his head to one side.
Alex couldn't decipher from his face if he was annoyed or not but the look he was giving her was smouldering, making her muscles clench in the deepest depths of her.
Seb hid his concern but knew that Jake was watching them already, though they'd done nothing to prove to him that anything was going on between himself and Alex. Still, maybe it was better to act now and nip this in the bud before the rumours started. "I'll have a word, I think he'd be better off based at the factory instead of part of the travelling team." He said, leaning back again so they didn't look too cosy.
"I disagree." She shook her head. "He might be a useful distraction in the future, he just needs putting off the scent."
"He seriously thinks that somethings going on between us?" Seb asked, his beautiful features darkening at the thought of them being found out already.
"He's under the impression that we fancy each other, that's all."
"And he's jealous because you don't fancy him like he does you." He pointed out. "He needs removing."
"I think he'll be useful." She argued. "Maybe I should let him get a little closer to me."
"No." Seb's eyes flashed with possessive anger and he leant forward in his chair again, placing his palms firmly on the table, trying to keep his voice down. "Absolutely not. I've told you before, he doesn't get to touch you or even breathe on you."
Aleksandra smirked and leant forward herself. For a second, a brief fantasy of grabbing him by his t-shirt and pulling him across the table for a passionate kiss crossed her mind. Instead she just seductively purred, "whoa, easy there tiger."
He leant back again, aware that if he didn't control himself then he'd be drawing attention to the pair of them. It didn't stop him from angrily muttering, "he wants what's mine."
"And he can keep wanting. Do you really think I'd go for him when I've got you? Do you really think he'd be even half as capable and good at making me cum as you are? No Sebastian, he'd be shit. You're the one I want. Every single time." She leant back in her seat again once she was finished, watching as Seb's lips curled into smug, satisfied smile.
"Ooh someone looks happy." Britta chirped as she appeared from what felt like no where.
"I was just telling him how he fantastic he was today, how he drove the balls off of that car." Alex replied as Britta leant her hands on the table.
"Honey Ryder doesn't have balls." Seb corrected her while grinning happily.
Praise kink activated, thought Alex, catching his beaming face. "Ok, you drove the tits off of her, better?"
"Better." He nodded.
"And you enjoyed the sprint race more than you expected." Britta pointed out, remembering some of the things he'd said during his interviews afterwards.
"Yeah, it was interesting and it gained us a couple more places for tomorrow so I can't say that it was a bad thing." He admitted, standing up and walking around the table to pick up his rucksack that Alex had helpfully repacked for him. "Have you booked our flight tickets for Finland?"
Britta looked at him as if he was joking. "I've not exactly had the time."
"Don't forget to book an extra ticket for Alex." He reminded her, sensing Alex gaping at him before she not so subtly reminded him of her name.
"Aleksandra."
"Aleksandra. Don't forget to book an extra ticket for Aleksandra." He said, looking to her as if to say, 'happy now?'
Britta looked at them both, while she understood that Seb didn't want Alex to be left on her own, Alex didn't look too thrilled at the idea. Maybe she had other plans? She'd still have to do as Seb asked though and make sure to book Alex onto the flight.
Alex didn't argue, she knew that if she'd said no then he'd still have gone ahead and booked her onto the flight. She just hoped that whatever kind of relationship this was between them, it would survive a week holed up in a Finnish forest with his wife and three kids. It was dawning on her that maybe neither of them had properly thought this all through.