Casey, Evan and Jacob bundled through the door of their hotel room.
"Shotgun shower!" Evan yelled, jumping the sofa in his hurry to get to the bathroom. The remaining two both rolled their eyes.
"Okay. Jacob, what do I wear?" Casey asked as she headed over to a giant pile of clothing spilling over from her suitcase.
"Did you bring a dress this time?" he asked, throwing his own shirts across the room one by one.
She thought for a second, "Uhh, yeah, I think so..."
She eventually found it at the very bottom of her bag and pulled it out. It was a black, sleeveless crochet dress that pulled in subtly at the waist and fell to the middle of her thighs.
Jacob nodded optimistically as she held up up for him and wiggled it around, "That could be a winner. Put it on, we need to see."
Evan strutted out of the shower with his towel around his waist and Casey took the bathroom next. She quickly showered before drying her hair and curling it loosely. Lastly, she pulled on the dress and a pair of heels before walking out into the lounge to get the boy's opinions.
Evan turned around as she walked out and doubled over in laughter. She stared at him in alarm before looking down at herself in confusion. Was something hanging out where it shouldn't?
"I don't even know who you are!" he gasped.
Jacob pushed Evan away and stood in front of her, "You look beautiful everyday. But especially right now. That is what Evan meant to say."
She shot him a thankful smile, though was still a little taken aback at Evan's outburst, "Right so can we just do that again, but this time, let's simplify, and you guys just say either yes or no?"
Jacob nodded and Evan stood up straight, getting himself together.
"Okay, go," she continued, gesturing for them to respond.
"Yes," Jacob stated confidently, grinning widely.
"Yes," Evan said, biting his lip to withhold his laughter. He couldn't have been any less subtle.
"Is he drunk already or something?" Casey asked, nodding in Evan's general direction.
"No, totally sober," Jacob sighed, "Imagine what he's going to be like later tonight!"
"Too much excitement for one day. Like a four year old," she tutted as Evan sniggered to himself and turned to look through his suitcase.
"I just don't think I've seen you in a dress before Case," Evan finally called back, "I didn't know you had it in you."
"Not helpful," she muttered, sitting at the table in the lounge where she was applying a bit of makeup while waiting for the boys to finish fussing over themselves.
Evan walked up behind her and pushed her hair around to one side of her neck. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, "You look awesome."
She squinted at him in the mirror, "Feeling guilty are we?"
"I'm serious!" he cried, he lips breaking into a grin.
Jacob stepped out of the bathroom, looking stunning in a black button up shirt and dark blue jeans. Sometimes it gave Casey physical pain to witness just how beautiful Jacob was. Should Evan ever get his shit together, he'd be a lucky guy.
"So, I know you think we just forget when you disappear in the morning sometimes and magically turn up at work, and that we don't see all the little looks flying back and forth across the garage, but I'm afraid I'm officially bursting your denial bubble and insist you fill us in on the whole Seb situation, pretty much immediately." Evan announced in one long breath.
Casey dropped her mascara and gaped at him, trying and failing to keep a neutral expression.
"I don't kn-"
"Nope! Start again," he interrupted her mercilessly.
"Evan, there's noth-"
He held up his hand, "We can stand here all night Case."
She sighed in resignation, "Oh God... fine."
Jacob stopped doing his hair to listen in.
"Okay. Fuck. Where do I start."
"You don't even know where to start? How much is there?" Evan gasped, taking a seat next to her at the table.
She thought back, trying to figure out where it started.
"I can't pinpoint it exactly, but I guess the Twitter photos were the start of it, mostly."
Evan nodded, waiting for her to continue.
"He got me a drink at that club in China, which I told you about. And just to reiterate before you ask again, we slept completely separately after we went back to his room."
Evan snickered, "Okay, continue."
"So then, in England, when we had that weekend off, we hung out at his place."
Evan's mouth dropped open, "And you kept that from us this whole time? I hate you."
"Do you want to hear the rest or not?
He nodded eagerly.
"We just watched a few movies at his place. It was great," she shrugged, "But, as I know this question will be burning at the forefront of your mind, no, I did not sleep with him."
Evan frowned a little but continued listening.
"And ever since then, I don't know if I can explain it. There's little moments sometimes... but, I don't know. We're just getting to know each other more I guess."
"You like him then?" Jacob asked with a crooked grin.
"Who doesn't like Seb?" she shot back, tilting her head playfully. Jacob laughed and shook his head.
"I'm going to torture the hell out of him tonight," Evan breathed.
Casey's eyes went wide, "No, you're really not. Like, of all the things you'll do with you life, it won't be that."
"Don't worry, I won't say anything per-say," he said mischievously.
"Ugh, I regret the last ten minutes of our lives completely," she growled, she should have known Evan would terrorise her in some way.
"Evan, no. You will behave," Jacob said sternly, standing in front of the mirror again and deciding how many buttons to leave undone on his shirt. Casey caught Evan's gaze and knew he had absolutely no intention of following team orders on this occasion.
---
Finally, all three of them were ready. Evan sent a text to Brand to ask where to meet everyone and received an address back moments later. The three of them then headed downstairs to grab a taxi.
"Keep your hair down one side of your neck, like this," Evan said, adjusting Casey's hair as they stepped out of the taxi, "Your neck is an asset."
She gave him a weird look, "Your helpful advice comes in unusual, random bursts doesn't it?"
He smirked at her, "Just shut up and do it."
With Evan disappearing into the crowd almost immediately, Casey linked arms with Jacob and they walked into the restaurant together. She could see women staring at Jacob as they walked by and, admittedly, felt a little smug.
The restaurant was located inside a huge dome-shaped building with glass panes for a roof. The metal frames holding it all together were completely lined with soft golden lights. It was spectacular, like something out of a movie. They approached the still half-empty banquet table that had been reserved for the team.
"You two scrub up well then," Kyle laughed as, next to him, Harry let out a long whistle.
Casey looked around the table, pretty much everyone on the team seemed to have gone to their best effort for tonight. A double podium was an extra special occasion after all. They pulled out a chair each and sat down to join their teammates. Slowly the rest of the team filtered in, except the drivers, who would be a little late due to their press-conference. A round of drinks were ordered and everyone chatted happily.
"What have you got lined up for us after dinner, Brand?" Evan asked, reappearing to take the chair on Casey's other side.
"Rooftop club next door," Brand replied with a glint in his eye, "It is the top spot around here."
Evan nodded in approval, "I would expect no less."
Waiters began to surround their table, taking dinner orders, but had to stop half way through when Seb and Daniel arrived and the table erupted into a standing ovation and cheering for a solid five minutes. As they finally began sitting back down again, Evan glanced at Casey and grinned.
"Don't make me never speak to you again," she pleaded.
"I wouldn't really do anything bad Case, you know that," he replied.
She smiled at him hesitantly, still not quite buying it.
The two drivers milled around the table, slowly making their way down the line and chatting to all of the crew. Daniel reached them first.
"Wow Case, look at you!" Daniel beamed.
The sound of her name caught Seb's attention and he looked in their direction, his gut twisting as he caught sight of her. She looked stunning. His brain was struggling to remember what he was supposed to be doing.
Daniel leaned down to kiss her cheek and she blushed, smiling up at him.
"Congrats Dan," she replied warmly.
"Thank you! It has been an unforgettable day, that's for sure," he laughed.
Sebastian reminded himself to move as Daniel began progressing down the table again, shaking hands with everyone and kissing the girl's cheeks.
"Guess whose next?" Evan whispered before twisting in his chair and holding out his hand for Seb to shake.
"Great job man, what a performance," he exclaimed.
Seb grinned, "Definitely better than I was hoping for."
To Casey's great relief, Evan didn't seem to have any mortifying responses lined up and Seb moved swiftly on to her next. She smiled up at him proudly as his eyes glinted back at her.
Following Daniel's example, he leaned down and kissed her cheek, "You look amazing," he whispered against her ear. Amazing didn't cut it, but with the eyes of half the table on him, it would have to do for now.
"Well done today, Seb," she grinned, "We're all so proud."
He beamed back at her before tearing his eyes away and moving down to Jacob, who was waiting to shake his hand next.
The food arrived after a little while and everyone got stuck into their meals. Casey noticed everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get the formal part of the night over with so that they could head up to the club. On this particular occasion, she was quite looking forward to it herself.
Everyone waited for Brand's cue before they all hurried out on to the street and into the tower next door. Casey stood in the packed elevator squashed up against Evan as they waited to reach the 30th floor. As they stepped out and entered the club, their eyes could hardly believe what they were seeing.
It was a completely open-air rooftop with garden-esque grounds and lights twinkling everywhere. Huge manicured shrubs and flower beds flowed throughout the landscaped area. There were swing seats and hanging vines everywhere.
"This is just taking the piss isn't it?" Evan said, not knowing where to look first.
It was the most extravagant, beautiful place Casey had ever seen.
"What can I get you?" a beautiful waitress asked as she stopped in front of them. They ordered a round of shots and went to find a table.
The waitress came back shortly after and served their drinks. They clinked the shot glasses together and downed them. Casey made a face, laughing as her throat burned. Shortly after, Vikram, Kyle, Harry and Brand joined them.
They sat together and had another round of shots before Evan demanded it was time to dance. The DJ was playing a great set which was slowly coaxing more and more people to the dance floor.
Casey and Jacob allowed Evan to lead them over and they began to dance. 'Summer Love' by Justin Timberlake began to play. Casey squealed and twirled around with Jacob. "I love this song!" she shouted. By now, Casey had moulded Jacob into quite a decent dancer and they moved well together, while Evan was more of a lone ranger on the dance floor, joining in with random people and generally entertaining everyone.
---
Seb sat back in his chair. He was seated at a table with a bunch of the crew, but his attention was not with them at all. He watched Casey and Jacob dance, mentally thanking nobody in particular that Jacob was not inclined to women. They would have made an annoyingly perfect couple otherwise, he suspected.
He sipped his drink slowly, trying not to consume it too fast so that nobody would buy him another one. He didn't want to get drunk, he had the car parked out front. His mind kept playing through different ways to get out of here early, and somehow get Casey out with him.