Seb, Casey, Britta and Heikki filed into the new hotel, quickly proceeding through check-in before heading to the elevator.
"You've got 35 minutes before I need you back downstairs," Britta instructed, giving Seb a sideways glance as the elevator climbed upwards.
"Mhmm," he nodded, looking at his watch thoughtfully.
The elevator crawled to a halt and both Britta and Heikki exited, heading to their rooms to offload their luggage and freshen up after the flight. Seb and Casey continued waiting until the elevator reached the top floor. Finally, after a long day of travelling, they dragged themselves into their first shared hotel room.
Seb shot Casey an amused grin as she looked around enthusiastically. He quickly shoved his bag to the side and walked over to join her near the window.
"Hey," he said quietly, slipping his hand into hers. She turned to him and smiled happily.
"I feel weird."
"Good weird?"
"Yeah, good weird," she laughed. She was still processing that this was how things would be from now on. Travelling in first class, staying in penthouses, having Britta and Heikki support her whenever needed... it was a lot to take in, but it was exciting.
"So... Twitter says we're dating now," she said, a sly smile creeping across her features.
He chuckled and stepped in closer, resting his hand against the side of her face. "Probably a little further along than that," he muttered, leaning in and kissing the side of her neck.
Her eyes fluttered closed and she slipped her hands under his shirt, resting them on his hips.
"Girlfriend is a better word, no?" he said, pausing to switch sides of her neck.
Casey's insides somersaulted a little and she nodded shyly.
"Are you sure you want this?" he asked quietly, stopping to rest his forehead against hers and watch her eyes intently. He looked the smallest bit worried.
"Want what? You?"
He shrugged, "Moreso everything that comes with me. Schedules, cameras, sitting on planes, a constant stream of criticism, limited privacy..."
"Pfft," she dismissed, "None of those things can be more annoying than Evan, I'll be fine."
Seb's face broke out into a grin and he kissed her lips eagerly. Eventually he pulled away again, "Girlfriend it is then."
---
An hour later, Casey wandered around the huge apartment alone, waiting to hear a knock on the door. Seb had left some time ago as per his instructions from Britta. He wouldn't be back until much later that night after a sponsorship dinner. Finally, she heard tapping against the door and hurried over to answer it.
Evan bolted through the door as she unlocked it.
"Jesus, Ev," she breathed, shaking her head and watching him spin around to flash her a huge grin.
"I can't believe you went public!" he roared, "You should hear it."
"Oh god, hear what?"
"It's all anyone on the team is talking about! They keep asking me for more details on the famous new couple!" Evan rambled excitedly, "I feel like Nicole Richie."
She grimaced at his choice of reference and walked over to him, pulling him into a hug, "Calmmm," she cooed.
"How can I be calm? Oh man, I can't wait to see what will happen on Monday when we all go back to work."
"Seriously, you're not helping right now," she said nervously, releasing her hold on him, "Where's Jake?"
"He was called back to the factory. He'll fly back on Sunday night."
She nodded and pulled him over to the couch, "Well then, tell me what they're all saying."
"Brand had kittens. He's touting that he knew all along now."
"Of course..." she laughed, "What else?"
"Most of them can't believe it, they had no idea at all. The photos of you guys in the airport were their first introduction."
Casey's stomach filled up with butterflies upon hearing about how the team were reacting. It was a stark reminder that this was big news to pretty much everyone except the small handful that already knew. She suddenly heard her phone ringing and jumped up to get it, feeling surprised as she realised it was her dad's name on the caller ID.
"Casey!" he breathed down the line when she picked up, "What on earth is going on?"
"Dad, uhhh..." she stammered. She probably should have told her parents about it a little earlier than this.
"There's reporters camping at the gates of the factory!" he cried.
"Really?" she asked, biting her lip. It was only about 12 hours since the airport photos had hit the internet.
"Is it really true? You and Sebastian?" he asked incredulously.
"Uh, yeah Dad, it's true," she replied, turning to look at Evan and stifling a laugh.
Evan could hear her father's voice babbling at a million miles an hour down the phone from across the room.
"How! When? Why didn't you tell us!" he exclaimed with a mixture of shock and indignity.
"Sorry Dad, I'm sorry, things have just been crazy."
"I can bloody well see that!"
She could hear her mother fussing in the background.
"Your mother wants to speak to you, hold on."
She waited, listening to the scuffling as the phone was passed across.
"Casey!" her mother squealed finally.
"Hi mum."
"Oh my goodness, what's he like in person? Where are you right now?"
"I'm in Austria," she answered selectively, pulling the phone away from her ear slightly as her mother burst into a tirade of frantic questioning.
"Hi Julie!" Evan called from across the room.
"Is that Evan? That sounded like Evan. I thought you two were going to get together, how wrong was I!"
"She says hi back," Casey lied, looking at Evan quickly before turning away and rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"When can we meet this Sebastian Vettel then?"
"Whenever you want mum, do you want to come to a race or something? I'll get you passes," she offered, assuming she could probably have Britta arrange that for her now.
"Greg, Casey is asking if we want to come to the next race, she'll get us passes," her mother said faintly, as though she had turned the phone away slightly. She sighed, not missing as her mother conveniently moulded the offer to the next race.
"I'll see if work will let me have the time off," she heard her father reply.
"He says yes!" her mother said, her voice loud again.
Casey laughed to herself quietly, "Alright then, great, oh and Mum? If any reporters find you over there, please don't speak to them, okay? Otherwise I'll get on a plane and come and strangle you myself."
"Well, if that's what it takes to see my daughter!" she sang, laughing at her own joke.
Casey fielded a few more questions from her mother before pretending she had to go and promising to call back later.
"That woman is going to be out of control," she muttered, walking back over to Evan, "She basically shoe-horned her way into coming to the very next race."
"You do realise the next race is in Germany right?" Evan said mischievously as she hung up.
She looked up at him quizzically.
"Seb's parents always go to the German Grand Prix too," he explained, waiting to see her expression. Her eyes bulged as realisation hit her, "What have I done?"
"You're gonna' have a full house of parents! How sweet!" he teased, laughing deviously at her expense.
---
Casey and Evan spent the rest of the day and evening in the penthouse doing what they did best, watching movies and eating.
"So, are you missing Jake?" she asked, leaning against the arm of the couch as Evan snuggled up against her side with his head on her shoulder.
"Ugh, no," he replied sarcastically.
She sniggered, "Well, how's it going then?"
He squirmed a little and she smiled wryly, "Spit it out!"
"He said he loved me," he mumbled, barely audible.
She grinned, turning to kiss his hair, "Course he does. You said it back right?"
"I'm not that much of an idiot. Of course I did," he retorted, causing Casey to chuckle.
Not long after that, she felt him go limp against her as he fell asleep. She smiled happily to herself and watched the rest of the movie alone in peace.
At 10pm, the apartment door clicked open softly as Seb arrived back. He looked over at them as he walked in and beamed when he caught Casey's eye. He looked at Evan curiously, noticing he was asleep on her shoulder, and silently walked over to them.
"Hello beautiful," he whispered, bending over and guiding her chin up with his hand. He kissed her slowly and felt a jolt run through his body when she moaned softly against him.
He reluctantly pulled away and crouched down in front of her. She used her free hand to stroke his jaw, admiring the soft covering of facial hair she personally preferred him to have.
"How was it?" she asked him, her voice low and quiet.
He shrugged, "Same old. Did you have a good night?"
She smiled and nodded, "We had a really wild party here."
"Yes, I can see that," he laughed, casting his eyes over Evan's unconscious form.
"Oh and, I've done something terrible," she added.
Seb frowned worriedly, "What?"
"I invited my parents to the next race."
He took a moment until understanding dawned on his face and he laughed quietly, "Ah, Germany. Well, that's going to be interesting then isn't it. All four parents in one place."
"I completely forgot which race it was. What an idiot," she grimaced.
He shook his head with a lop-sided smile, "It might be fun."
"Yeah, maybe. Or... maybe it definitely won't be."
He laughed under his breath and stood back up, kissing her forehead before heading off towards the bathroom to shower.
"Ev," Casey called gently, "Hey, Evan!"
He stirred groggily, "Ugh, I forgot how uncomfortable you are."
"Fucking rude," she muttered.
"What time is it?"
"Just after ten."
He groaned and sat up as the sound of the shower caught his attention, "Ah, Seb's back?"
Casey nodded. "Yup, so I need you to get the hell out," she said cheerfully.
He snickered and stood up, stretching his arms above his head, "You're rude."
She stood up too and they walked over to the door together.
Evan pulled her into his chest as they reached it, "See ya' tomorrow maybe."
"Call me," she nodded, kissing his cheek.
Seb came out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist.
Evan's eyes flicked up to him and he smirked, "Oh, hey Seb. Look at you, all naked and ready."
"Oh my god, get out," Casey hissed, ushering him towards the door.
Seb looked over at them and nodded with a cunning look on his face as he disappeared into the bedroom. Casey looked over her shoulder at him and bit her lip before turning back to Evan, "Seriously, get out," she whispered with a laugh.
"Nice..." Evan commented quietly as he winked at her.
He finally left with a smug grin plastered across his face and she closed the door before wandering over towards the bedroom Seb had disappeared into.
"Seb?" she called, not immediately seeing him in the darkened room. She gasped as he suddenly grabbed her from behind and spun her around before pinning her against the wall.
"Shit," she breathed, laughing quietly.
His lips landed on hers and she instantly melted into the wall behind her. She ran her hands down his chest, still extra warm from the hot shower, and marvelled at the muscles beneath her fingers. As her fingers reached his towel, he picked her up and she locked her legs around his waist, kissing him more urgently as he stepped over to the bed.
She squeaked as he tipped them both on to the bed in a heap and crawled on top of her. She giggled under his weight and pulled away briefly.
"I think you lost your towel," she whispered, biting his lip gently.