They were sitting at a small table in the corner of the restaurant. The other tables were packed and it was clear that the place was very popular by the locals. The smell of cheese was making her mouth water and she could see the impatient look in Seb's eyes. He clearly was also very hungry and was staring hopefully at all the plates that were coming out of the kitchen.
'So, what exactly are we going to eat?' she asked him. He had ordered for her because he wanted her to experience the traditional Raclette, whatever that was supposed to be.
'Just wait. It's cheese, what can go wrong?' he grinned and took a sip of his wine.
'You're right, but why was I only allowed to order white wine? I'm thirsty.'
'Well, the tradition is to drink white wine when you eat raclette. The story is that when you eat cheese and you drink water, the cheese will harden inside your stomach and therefore cause you a lot of pain.'
She raised an eyebrow and looked at her wine. 'That sounds like bullshit,' she admitted.
'I don't know. It's just how the Swiss see it and you know, they're very traditional,' he gave her a serious look.
'I've noticed,' she grinned. The restaurant was also decorated in the traditional Swiss style and the staff were wearing clothes that would have been in fashion a decade ago.
'But this place is already very modern,' he gestured towards the grill that was standing on the table.
'In what way?' she sounded surprised. She couldn't think of anything that would classify as modern in this room.
He tried not to laugh and his eyes glimmered in delight. 'I can see you confusion, but believe me. Here we can melt our own cheese using this grill, instead of shoving a wheel of cheese inside the fire and scraping off the melted cheese.'
'Groundbreaking stuff.'
'Well, progress needs to start somewhere,' he admitted and he gave her a lopsided grin.
'I agree, you can't rush things. For example, it was only in 1991 that all the Swiss women were allowed to vote,' she rolled her eyes and pressed her lips together. It was incredulous to think she had already been born before this country entered the 20th century, when the others were approaching the 21st.
'You're joking, right?' he sounded unconvinced.
'Nope, not at all. Look up Apperzell Innerrhoden and you'll find that a bunch of white privileged men were being idiots,' she said.
'Aren't we still?' he grinned and the corners of his eyes crinkled.
'Oh look, food!' she exclaimed when she spotted the waiter coming over to their table.
Their table was being loaded with cheese, boiled potatoes, pickled onions, Gherkins and dried meat. It smelled heavenly and they couldn't wait to tuck in. Seb showed Keira how to use the grill and how to smother the potatoes in cheese. When the cheese was browned they could finally start eating and a silence fell over their table as they were both too busy stuffing their faces. The walk had left them hungry and the food was too good to slow down.
'It's really good,' she said when she had finished her first portion.
He swallowed his last piece of potato and put his fork down. 'I told you so, I would never take you somewhere were the food isn't excellent,' he said happily.
'I could eat this every day.'
'You'll get fat in a week,' he chuckled and he pushed out his stomach to show how that would look like.
Trying not to laugh she picked up her glass of wine. 'You look pregnant,' she said and tried her hardest not to spit out the wine.
'Well, you hear something new every day.'
'I'm glad I could help,' she smirked. He rolled his eyes at her and she blew him a kiss in reply.
Their attention was then drawn towards the table next to them, where four girls just had sat down. They were very loud and one of them almost swung her bag against Keira's head, not very nice she thought. They were discussing something insignificant but when one of them spotted Keira and Seb the girl's eyes widened. It was very strange and she checked herself to find out if something was weird about her appearance, but she found nothing. She could see the girl nudge her friends and now they all stared at them. They broke out in a giggle and whispered something in each other's ears. They eyed Seb with the greatest interest and they were now frantically batting their eyelashes in his direction.
'I think you grabbed their attention,' she said nonchalantly and she nodded her head in the direction of the girls.
He looked uncomfortable and plastered a smile on his face. 'I think they forgot their glasses,' he grinned.
She tried to sound not too annoyed when she answered. 'Don't be stupid.'
'Why?'
'Because you know perfectly well that you're good looking, don't try to pretend you don't know that.'
'I know I'm not ugly, if that's what you mean, but I'm nothing more than average,' he replied shrugging his shoulders.
She sighed and threw her head back to not have to look at him. 'You look good, accept it and go on with your life,' she said with a slightly higher voice than normal.
'If you say so,' he answered but he was still not convinced. He grabbed the potatoes to make himself more dinner and he focused on the food, fixating his eyes on the cheese.
The girls were still whispering amongst them and once every minute they shot their sweetest smile at Seb, clearly in the hope that he would notice them. He clearly tried his hardest to ignore the girls and she was glad that he did. It showed her that he was not one of those guys who grabbed every opportunity to flirt with girls and that he actually was kind of decent. The girls didn't seem to like it and their attempts became more extravagant, like dropping their forks next to their table. When they bent down to pick them up, they swept their hair back dramatically and almost put their cleavage in Seb's face. She was shocked by these blatant attempts to get his attention and she didn't understand why they would go this far for someone they didn't know. She would admit that he was incredibly good looking, but it was clear that he wasn't interested. Something didn't add up, but she couldn't exactly put a finger on it.
'Excuse me, but I have to go to the bathroom,' he said when he finished his food again and for the first time this evening there wasn't a smile visible on his face. He pushed his chair back and threw his napkin on the table.
She nodded and her eyes followed him when he walked away. He looked flustered and he didn't seem like himself at all. She could hear another chair being pushed back and saw the blonde girl standing up and giggling when her friends told her something. She quickly followed Seb and just before he could leave the room she caught up with him. Keira could see her tap him on his shoulder and he turned around, clearly agitated. She didn't seem to mind and was batting her lashes and pouted her lips. She also played with her hair and was leaning towards him, to get his attention. When the girl said something she could see him quickly turning her down and leaving to room to find the bathroom. The girl clearly felt outraged as she returned to her friends with an angry look on her face.
'He was so rude,' she said very loudly.
More of the conversation she couldn't hear, because the girl had sat down again and there was no more reason to raise her voice. The other girls had also narrowed their eyes and they clearly weren't happy with the way Seb had treated their friend. She tried her best not to laugh and she thought it was exactly what they had deserved. When they spoke about being rude, they had to look at themselves first.
Across the restaurant Seb was leaning against the wall in the empty corridor. He had just escaped the blonde girl and was now taking a moment to get his composure back. The way they always threw themselves at him was disgusting and he had never liked it. He hated the fact that girls presented themselves as lust objects instead of trying to get someone's attention by just being themselves. He had been very afraid that they would say something to him in front of Keira, then he would have been forced to explain to her why they were coming after him. He knew it was risky being in public, but normally this town left him alone. Most of them didn't even know who he was and others knew he liked his privacy. It was the reason why he had moved here, to lead some kind of normal life for as long as that was possible. These girls had almost ruined it and he didn't regret being rude to the girl. They were only after his money or his fame, so they couldn't have much brain capacity anyway.
He felt that his hands were sweating and he wiped them dry on his trousers. Banging his head against the wall was a last attempt to get rid of his frustration and he gritted his teeth in pain, sometimes he wished he had just chosen a normal job. He knew he had to go back inside, because he couldn't let Keira sit next to these witches alone, but he really didn't want to. He took a deep breath and fixed his hair, making sure to look normal when he entered the restaurant again.
'Want more wine?' Keira shot him a sympathetic look and had read his face correctly. She was holding the bottle and pointed at his glass.
'Yes please,' he sighed when he sat down. 'I also wouldn't say no to some vodka,' he added with a grin. Kimi always knew how to make him feel better, just open a bottle of vodka and all your problems would disappear. Funnily enough it was always true or at least it was for Kimi. When he woke up in the morning all of his problems always came back and they were always worse because he would be severely hung over.
'I didn't take you for a heavy drinker,' she said in surprise. The bottle of wine was now almost empty as she had filled up their glasses.
'Only when there's a special occasion,' he said with a wink.
'Being attacked by random girls is a special occasion to you?'
'I forgot to add I also drink when I feel sorry for myself,' he chuckled and raised his glass. 'Cheers,' he added.
'That's actually not a bad idea, next time you can share with me,' she said nonchalantly, but her cheeks were definitely pinker than before.
'Drinking together is always better than drinking alone.'
'You normally drink alone?' she had raised her eyebrows in surprise.
'No, normally I drink together with my best friend. I only lose out badly each time, because I swear he drinks vodka like water,' he shook his head in disgruntlement.
'That doesn't sound normal,' she laughed.
'I think it's because he's Finnish,' he said slowly thinking about all the Fins he knew. They all were insensitive to high alcohol consumption and high temperatures in the sauna.
She grinned and her eyes twinkled. 'I don't know many Fins, but the ones I know do fit that description.'
'You know Fins?' he asked with interest.
'Not really, only from TV. When I was younger I used to watch Formula 1 with my father and there was this funny Fin, they call him the Iceman or something and he fits your description of Fins perfectly,' she said in an amused tone.
He felt the air escaping from his lungs and the colour draining from his face. This wasn't possible, he had been sure she didn't know anything about motorsports or Formula 1 in particular. Now he found out she knew about Kimi and he had carelessly told her many stories about him, because he had thought it wouldn't hurt. What if she had known one of those stories and had found out he was keeping this big part of his life from her? It was stupid enough to not have told her when she had asked in the first place, but it was also increasingly becoming difficult to tell her now.
'Earth to you,' Keira said while waving her hands in front of Seb's face.
'Huh?' he said sounding confused, it was clear that he had spaced out for a moment.
'Am I that dull to listen to?' she laughed and leaned back against her chair.
'No, definitely not,' he said with a guilty look on his face and he felt a light blush creeping up on his cheeks. Keira had noticed, but sadly the girls at the table next to them had spotted it too and they seemed to have forgotten that they were angry at him. He shot them a deadly glare and hoped they would leave him alone. He refocused his attention on Keira and they quickly ended up in conversation again. The rest of the evening was very enjoyable, he couldn't remember having a nice evening like this in a long time. It made him relax more than he normally could and his smile never left his face.
---------
They were walking through the streets and it had definitely cooled down a lot, the cold breeze made Keira shiver.
'Are you cold?' Sebastian asked her sounding concerned.
'Just a bit,' she answered. 'I am wearing long sleeves, so it isn't that bad,' she said while pointing at her arms. She still didn't dare to wear anything different, because not all the bruises were healed yet. They finally started to fade, but the evidence was still very significant and she didn't want Seb to know how bad it had been.
'You can have my hoodie?' he said and he stopped walking to pull said hoodie out of his bag.
'You don't mind?' she asked, because he also looked quite cold.
'Of course not, otherwise I wouldn't have offered it to you,' he grinned.
'Then you wouldn't have been a real gentlemen, they always offer their stuff even when they need it themselves,' she said and she stuck her tongue out at him.
He scratched his head and he bit his lip. 'There's always room for improvement,' he said innocently. 'Here, take it,' he pushed the hoodie into Keira's hands.
'Thanks,' she accepted it gratefully. She was actually colder than she had admitted and she pulled the hoodie over her head. The now familiar scent of mint and petrol was stronger than the times she had been close to Sebastian and it made her head spin. It felt like Seb had wrapped his arms around her, so close did she feel to him at the moment and to her surprise it didn't feel suffocating at all. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, filling her brain with Seb's scent and cherishing the moment. Slightly disappointed she pushed her head through the right hole and wiggled her arms in the sleeves.
'Looks good on you,' he winked while checking her out.
She felt blood rush to her cheeks and she stared awkwardly at her feet. When she did that she spotted a logo on the hoodie, it was the Red Bull logo. 'Why do you have a Red Bull hoodie?' she asked sounding puzzled.
His mouth snapped shut and his eyes panicked. 'I just liked it, I guess? I don't know really,' he answered casually.
'I like it too,' she smiled at him and she could see his expression soften.
'Come on, let's go. I promised you to walk you home and I would like to be in bed before it starts snowing or something.'
'You're such a drama queen,' she grinned and she tried to push him.
'Why do people always say that?' he pouted.
'Other people call you that too?' she grinned and imagined him being a diva.
'I shouldn't have said that,' he sounded exasperated and he ran his fingers through his hair.
She spotted his shirt had rode up again when he had raised his arm and she couldn't help herself imagining what the rest would look like underneath that shirt. Why he had this effect on her she didn't know, but it made her feel like a teenager again and she didn't know if that was pleasant or not. She was glad when they reached her house and she could say goodbye to Seb. He thanked her for the evening and she did too.
'I'll see you soon,' he said while nervously putting his hands into his pockets.
'I'm looking forward to it,' she smiled shyly.
'OK, I'm going then,' he said and he gave her his brightest smile.
'Bye then,' she answered a bit out of breath. She grabbed the doorpost to make sure she would stay on her feet, he should stop smiling like that. Her eyes followed him walking away and watched him turn around to wave when he crossed the road.
She closed the door and leaned back against it while closing her eyes in the process. This evening had been fun and she couldn't stop thinking about his smile. Damn Seb, why did he have to be so gorgeous? A wave of mint and petrol filled her nostrils and she realised she was still wearing his hoodie. It was too late now to go after him and something inside her head told her that she didn't want to give it back. She sniffed the fabric again and flopped down on the sofa a few moments later, nestling herself in the cushions and turning on the TV.