EIGHT
"How is my favorite Rankin?"
Lewis Hamilton grinned as he approached the woman that he considered to be one of his best friend's, watching as she turned around at the sound of his voice.
"Sleep deprived."
Josephine Rankin smiled sadly at the Mercedes driver, noticing how his face filled with a sad look which was full of sympathy and upset as he took note of how bloodshot her eyes were.
"Do you need a hug?" Lewis questioned as he held his arms out open, just in case that she would step in to them if she was needing it.
Tears immediately began to fill up in the eyes of the Australian as her head slowly moved up and down a couple of times, before she stepped in to his arms, practically melting in to them.
The arms of the Hamilton man immediately wrapped around her shoulders as her own went to his waist, finding comfort from within the hug that she knew that she had desperately needed.
"Hey Lew- oh."
Sebastian Vettel halted in his steps as his eyes found the two figures of Lewis and Josephine tangled together in a hug, making his chest deflate slightly.
"Hey Seb, what's up?"
Lewis smiled as he turned his head to the Vettel man, not releasing the Rankin woman from the hug because he knew that she was needing it.
"I, uh, came to see you but if you and Josie are, uh busy, then I can go and come back another time." The Vettel man forced a smile at the sight of the two of them together as he allowed his mind to wander.
Were they dating?
Had they been dating and trying to keep it a secret from his in an attempt to not hurt him?
"I'm okay." Josephine pulled away from the hug sadly, using her hands to wipe at the tears that filled her eyes and dampened her cheeks. "I'll leave you both to whatever you're doing."
The model attempted to walk away from the two of them, but found that she couldn't since a gentle hand grabbed at her wrist.
"Hey, you're crying, what happened?" Sebastian furrowed his eyebrows together sadly as he took in her red eyes, damp cheeks and trembling bottom lip, the sight of which made his heart ache.
"Nothing, I'm okay." Josephine gave him a small smile, gently removing herself from his grip before stepping away from him and walking away so that he could not ask her any more questions.
Sebastian turned his head back towards the Hamilton man, watching as he too had watched her leave before he met the icy blue eyes of the German.
"She's not been sleeping, that's all." Lewis informed the Vettel man in an attempt to make his friend less worried about the woman.
"Oh, I presume that you've tried everything to help her get to sleep? Lavender, a hot bath, cuddles?"
"Cuddles? I've recommended the others but I can't exactly recommend that when she sleeps alone, can I?" Lewis chuckled, shaking his head from side to side.
"So, you're not dating her?"
"Of course not! She's my friend." Lewis frowned as he noticed the deep sigh of relief leaving the chest of the German. "Last time I checked, she's single, but she's not ready so don't even think about it."
Sebastian shrugged his shoulders nonchantly, whilst his head moved up and down a couple of times. "I know, it doesn't mean that I can't still have feelings for her."
"It does when she doesn't feel the same, Seb." Lewis gently patted his friend on his shoulder with his hand as reassurance and sympathy. "I'm sorry, mate."
The German man moved his head so that he was staring down at his feet, a defeated huff leaving his body.
"It's okay, I should have known that Jules was the only man she was capable of truly loving. They were made for each other." Sebastian gave the Mercedes Formula One driver a sad but grateful smile.
It definitely hurt, knowing that he would never again have a chance with the Rankin woman, but he understood that she had moved on to somebody else, that she was prepared to settle down with only to lose him in the most tragic of ways.
He had to stay true to his feelings for her and let her be happy, whether she was by herself or with somebody else.
He swore that he would.
____________________________________________________
"Hi Esteban."
Esteban Ocon grinned like a Cheshire cat as he noticed his friend arrive at a restaurant that he had invited her to.
"Hi Josie, are you okay?"
He questioned her with care as he was able to notice her pale face and red eyes, which signalled to him that she had been crying within the past two hours.
"I'm okay, don't worry." Josephine Rankin smiled at the French man as she hugged him gently, having not seen her friend for a a couple of weeks.
"As we agreed, I'm paying for dinner because you paid for last time." Esteban smiled at her, gently kissing both of her cheeks in greeting.
"Yes but I like treating you because you're my friend, Estie." Josie giggled as the two of them ordered their food and drink.
Esteban was the only person, other than Jules, that had ever seen her drink alcohol, because she didn't often like going out in public to drink, in fear that somebody would recognise her.
If she ever did drink alcohol, it was always when she was home alone, and missing Jules which was why she had decided to try something new and out of her comfort zone.
"Are you ordering multiple cocktails at once?" Esteban grinned, small chuckles leaving his throat as he watched as the Rankin woman ask for six different cocktails.
"I don't like having to go back up and order more, so I'm ordering them now." Josie giggled lightly, a bright and beaming smile plastered on to her face which didn't seem to want to disappear.
Esteban subtly reached for his phone to take a quick photo of the Australian model, since he had never seen her with such a large grin on her face.
He quickly tapped his thumb on to his phone screen, sending the photo to one of his friends, of which he knew that they would be over the moon at her happiness.
HONEY BADGER:
She looks so happy :)
Make sure she doesn't get too drunk
Esteban glanced back up to his friend to see her slowly taking sips from one of her cocktails, nodding her head up and down in delight at just how nice the drink tasted.
She felt his eyes on her causing her to lift her head, locking eyes with the Ocon man who was grinning at her, almost as if he was proud of her.
"What?"
"Nothing. I just like seeing you smile." Esteban reassured her, noticing how her smile seemed to grow.
"How are you getting on with trying to find a seat for next season?" Josie questioned him with intrigue.
"Not too bad actually. I have been approached by Renault because they're not sure if they want Nico next year." Esteban explained, watching as her eyes widened slightly.
"That's amazing! Would that mean that you would be driving with Danny? And that Nico wouldn't have a seat?" Josephine tilted her head to the side slightly as she wondered what it would mean for the three drivers.
She obviously wanted Esteban to have a seat, since he had lost his when Lawrence Stroll took over Force India, but she didn't want either Daniel or Nico to lose their seat in order for him to do it.
Although she knew that unfortunately it was all part of being a driver in Formula One.
She just hoped that Daniel would be able to keep his seat.
____________________________________________________
A/N
This a shorter one than usual, I apologise
ITS NEW YEARS EVE, GOODBYE 2022
This year has been an absolute roller coaster in so many ways, I had multiple mental breakdowns, lost friends, lost family, moved to a different country, made friends, came out as asexual, been bridesmaid at my besties wedding, become friends with so many of you, released so many books that I'm worried for my sleep schedule, planned so many books that I am once again worried for my sleep schedule and so much more
I could not have done all of this without all of you and I love you so much for it, I hope that some of you will stick by me and support my writing and my future books
Thank you so much for having my back, I will never forget the love that you have given me❤️
(I have dropped a third meet my ocs book which has a lot of new books planned for 2023, including other motorsport drivers)
I hope you all have the best new years eve and an even better 2023!
I'll see you all in 2023 ;)
I'm so proud of all of you, my loves
Love you all so much,
-RUBY