With Seb's father watching the qualifying sessions in the garage with Antti, Chloe had chosen to sit with Eva and Steef in the hospitality suite. The second session had just come to an end so she took a few minutes to check over Seb's various fan accounts on Twitter and Instagram as well as checking for new emails.
"Still the same rumours going around?" Eva asked, leaning in to look over Chloe's shoulder at her phone screen.
"Yes and no, still the same retirement rumours and still a few baby rumours but now we have the added extra of one or two new rumours of a move back to Red Bull, just because he's been seen at the Energy Station." She kept scrolling through the feed, endless pictures of Seb filled the screen.
"He looks hot in those fireproof tops, doesn't he." Eva remarked, smiling until she thought about what she'd said. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." She stopped and took a large sip of her white wine, it was only a few days ago that Chloe had found out that they were swingers and that she had slept with Seb, she felt that her comment might not have been the best thing to say.
"It's fine Eva, really." Chloe looked up from her phone. "And yes, he does look hot like that." She smiled and fanned her face with her hand, although she had fully accepted Steef and Eva's unusual hobby, she hadn't got her head around it being Seb's until after she had talked with him that night.
"Hey, how about the hot guy sitting right here?" Steef nudged his wife and looked at Chloe. "You think I'm hot too, right?" He grinned.
"Of course Steef." She smiled and nodded.
"I think she prefers Germans really." Eva smiled at her and Chloe gave her a wry smile back as Eva didn't know how close to the mark she was, being completely unaware that Seb wasn't the only German she'd slept with. "I know I've already said this but I'm so glad that you and Seb are ok, he's so happy with you and it's wonderful to see."
"You're good for him." Steef added, watching Chloe smile and blush. She turned her gaze to the screen on the wall as the image of Seb's car sat in the garage appeared, there seemed to be alot of activity to one side of it and someone from the FIA was there too, she frowned, sure that there was a problem. Steef's eyes soon followed hers. "What do you think they're doing?" He asked.
"I'm not sure, it looks like they've removed some bodywork from the side." She looked at the timer, there was five minutes to go before the third and final session started.
"Seb's still in the car so it can't be anything too serious." He noticed the concern on her face.
"Hopefully not, he was second on the time sheet in Q2." She replied, deciding that now was the time to check her emails. She fell silent as she typed quick replies to a couple and simply deleted others, a few she saved to show Seb later as some involved requests to sign merchandise for competitions and charity auctions.
"Q3 is underway." Steef said, making her realise how quick those five minutes had gone. Looking at the screen there was a hive of activity at the side of Seb's car still, Lina would not be going anywhere yet and Chloe sighed, Q3 was only twelve minutes long and the clock was ticking. Everyone was now glued to the screen as the minutes went by and Seb's mechanics were still hard at work, even Mattia had come away from the pit wall to have a look. With five minutes remaining Chloe stood from her seat, shaking her head at the screen.
"He won't be going out now." She muttered dejectedly.
"There's still a few minutes to go yet, there's still a chance." Steef looked up at her as she leaned on the back of the chair.
"Nah, the covers are still off, it's fucked." She huffed, beginning to get pissed off. She reached over and picked up her dictaphone and slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans while still looking at the screen, now there was four minutes left, Seb was still sat in the car and the team were still frantically working around him. She picked up his sunglasses and hung them in the neck of her top and then grabbed his baseball cap and her mobile phone. This would be the first time this season that a problem with the car had forced him not to run. With three minutes to go Seb was seen climbing out of the car and he began thanking his mechanics while the other side of the garage, Charles' side, was looking extremely hopeful of claiming pole. "Bollocks." She muttered. "One day he'll get an actual fucking break and have some luck for a change. I've got to run, I'll see you later." She gave Eva and Steef a weak smile and walked out, crossing the busy paddock to walk through a storage area and into the back of Seb's garage where his father was still watching the last minute of qualifying. "Hi Norbert, has Seb gone to be weighed?"
"Yes, Antti has gone too." He nodded, keeping his reply short as his English was not too good.
"Thanks." She headed back out of the rear entrance as cheers erupted from the other side, Charles had got pole. She quickly made her way down to the FIA garage to wait for Seb to emerge with Antti, knowing that he'd have mixed feelings about today and she hoped that his mood wouldn't be too bad. She arrived just as he came out of the back entrance, with Antti following behind him carrying his helmet and HANS device like he always did, it was just one small part of a routine they'd all followed seamlessly all season so far. Seb's eyes briefly met with hers before he took his sunglasses from her and put them on as they began to walk to the media pen. As he took his baseball cap from her, his fingers touched hers and lingered for a moment, she felt a little unexpected spark of desire and she looked at him, he'd felt it too, she could tell by the way he looked back at her. The intensely focused racing driver had momentarily vanished to be replaced by a man who was telling her how much he wanted her, wordlessly, in just one look. She swallowed, now it wasn't only the heat that was making her feel hot. He ruffled his hair before putting the logo'd cap on his head as he readied himself to face the media, then continued to let his fingers brush against hers as they walked.
"Danke, ich liebe dich." He said, making her smile, obviously his mood wasn't too bad then.
"Gern geschehen, ich liebe dich auch." (You're welcome, I love you too.) She placed her hand on his back and he looked at her, smiling.
"I see your German is slowly getting better." He remarked, noticing the couple of new words she'd said.
"Thought I best learn a few words that would be acceptable to use in public." She giggled "What was the problem with the car?"
"Air pressure line to the engine." He replied, he could see by her face that she hadn't got a clue what that was. "Don't worry." He added, smiling. Entering the pen they were met with several reporters trying to beckon them over but Chloe stuck with usual, trusted, ones they normally spoke to and she ushered him over to Sky Sports. She stood to one side of him, trying to stay out of shot of the camera, holding her dictaphone and looking around her while he was being interviewed. In her mind she had already decided who he was speaking to next and she gave the reporter from Sky Italy a smile, he gave her a nod and smiled back. Feeling that she was being watched was nothing new to her here in the media pen, but she suddenly felt uncomfortable and looked around her again, it took seconds to spot Stephen's beady eyes looking back at her from behind a BBC reporter and she found herself frozen to the spot as she thought of the fact that he had seen private images from her laptop and was ready to use them against her. Seb's fingers touching her arm brought her back from her daze and she realised that he had already moved along to Sky Italy and had started without her while Daniel had replaced Seb to be interviewed by Sky Sports. She mouthed the word 'sorry' to him as he glanced at her while he spoke, listening to Seb speaking in Italian was something that she never tired of and it made her smile and quickly forget that god awful pair of beady eyes. "You ok?" He quickly asked before they moved on the next interview. "I saw him too."
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks." She absent mindedly rubbed her hand up and down his back a couple of times. "Straight on to RTL next." She pointed Kai Ebel out and he dutifully walked across to them while thinking how he really wanted to get his hands on Stephen, preferably around his throat, after smashing his face in. He smiled to himself and shook his head for a moment thinking how unlike him it was to have violent thoughts. Maybe hitting Stephen and getting his hands around his throat was going too far, but giving him a not so gentle warning would be ok, wouldn't it? "Going to tell me what you're thinking about?" She whispered in his ear before Kai had a chance to start his interview, she had forgotten that he was broadcasting live on tv. Seb just looked to the floor for a moment, still smiling, causing Kai to look at them both, wondering what kind of moment he'd just missed.
~*~
Fresh from both his shower and his team debrief, Seb walked with Steef and Antti along the paddock with Chloe and Eva in front of them. Hearing Steef and Seb discussing classic motorcycles, the two women nudged each other, pulled an exaggerated yawning face and then sniggered, Chloe turned to look back at Antti who did exactly the same thing, adding an eye roll at the end before she turned back and snorted as she tried not to laugh. He wasn't in to bikes like Seb was, to Antti the idea of being covered in grease and oil from maintaining an old motorcycle was abhorrent, while Seb loved it.
"Want to share your joke ladies?" Steef had upped his pace to walk inbetween them, slipping an arm around each of them.
"We had to make ourselves laugh, otherwise we would have fallen asleep on our feet listening to you two." Eva grinned.
"Oh, boring you am I, Mrs Jansen?" He raised his brows at her, and a wicked smile crossed his lips. Before she even had a chance to answer he'd lifted her and swung her over his shoulder, he started to run with her towards the underground passageway that connected the paddock to the entrance and exit gates and then back again. She was laughing and screaming wildly as he turned around and started to run back in the direction of the passageway once more until he stopped, put her down and pulled her close for a kiss. Chloe shook her head in amusement and turned to look back at Seb, only to find he'd gone and Antti was following behind her texting as he was walking.
"Antti, where's Seb?" She stopped suddenly, making him almost collide with her.
"Huh?" He slipped his phone into his pocket.
"Seb's gone, where is he?" She looked around, then smiled, this had got to be him mucking about. "Ok Seb, you think you're, like, nine or something playing hide and seek?" She called out.
"He was here a minute ago." Antti shrugged.
"He's wearing a vivid red Ferrari t-shirt and you didn't see where he went?" She put her hands on her hips.
"I wasn't looking, I was....." He paused, she was right, he should have seen where Seb went. "...busy." He finished.
"You mean you were too engrossed in whatever you were doing on your phone." She looked around, she just wanted to get back to the hotel now. "Seb, come on, stop fucking about!" She called, there was still no sign of him.
"You've not lost him have you?" Steef asked, joining her with a giggly Eva.
"Antti didn't see where he went, he was too busy on his phone." Chloe replied, she was finding this slightly annoying now.
"It's not my job to know where he is every single second of the day you know." He shot back.
"He won't be far guys, don't worry." Steef casually lit a rolled up cigarette and Chloe hoped there were no 'no smoking' signs around this area, the last thing she needed was him getting arrested as well as Seb disappearing.
~*~
Grabbing at his shirt, Seb heard the material start to rip as he pulled Stephen up from the floor before shoving him hard against the wall. Anger and sheer hatred suddenly began to boil over inside him and a need to get some kind of vengeance for Chloe took over as he pinned Stephen to the wall with an arm across his chest.
"Now come on Sebastian, this will do you more harm than it will me." Stephen said, he was eerily calm and that only aggravated Seb more.
"A little warning from me, we know it's you with those photos and video, and I'm telling you, they stop, right now." He spoke loudly, his voice full of aggression, his face suddenly millimetres from Stephen's.
"I haven't got a clue what you're talking about, what crap is she feeding you now?" Stephen shook his head.
"Liar!" Seb snapped. "You're sick! You hacked her laptop, you're a fucking pervert!"
"Been finding out what she's been up to with Michael have you?" He smirked.
"You think you got away with violating her body, and you think we do not know it is you sending her those messages, you will not get away with it anymore!" Seb's hand balled into a fist.
"I have not sent her any messages, you are barking up the wrong tree my friend and she needs to come and put you back on your leash." Stephen still remained calm.
"You're lying!" Seb hissed.
"And as for violating her body..." Stephen stopped, making sure to look into Seb's eyes. "....she took no persuading from me."
"You fucking know what you did! You're a rapist!" He raised his fist and drew it back. "I should have beaten the shit out of you the moment I found out!"
"Come on then, hit me, trust me it will you do and Chloe more harm than it will me." Stephen kept his eye contact and Seb stepped back, it went quiet between them for a moment, like being in the eye of a storm, until the red mist finally took hold and he lunged, striking a harsh blow to Stephen's abdomen. The older man fell to the floor, wheezing and holding his stomach while Seb just looked down at him.
"You're fucking disgusting, sick bastards like you should be caged!" He spat, adrenaline started to pump through him, he felt more than ready to finish what he'd just started but for now he knew he'd have to stop, Chloe wouldn't want violence no matter how much it would satisfy him. "You've been warned, you leave her the fuck alone." He turned and walked away, leaving Stephen on the floor, still trying to catch his breath. He watched as Seb left the room and closed the door behind him without looking back, if he thought that warning him off was going to work, then he was wrong.
~*~
"Where the hell have you been?!" Chloe stood with her hands on her hips, smiling with relief as Seb walked towards them.
"I needed to pee, were you worried liebe?" He jogged the last few steps to her.
"You could have told me or Antti where you were going, one second you were here and the next, you'd gone, I was beginning to get worried." She replied.
"Are we all here now?" Steef asked, stubbing his cigarette out on the top of the nearest bin. "I'm starving, let's go." He grabbed Eva's hand and everyone began walking towards the underground passageway.
"Is your dad joining us for dinner this evening?" Chloe asked as they walked.
"No, he's going to use room service, he said he'll see us all in the morning for breakfast with the team, so I was thinking that maybe once we've eaten we could get an early night." Seb slipped his hand into her hair and gently caressed the back of her neck and she turned her head to look at him. "Earlier on, after quali, I know you felt it too. I can't wait to get you alone." He added lowly.
"You need sleep tonight superstar, not sex." She grinned, feeling his hand slip down her back and into the back pocket of her jeans. "You've got a lot of work to do tomorrow from ninth on the grid and I don't want you feeling shagged out before the race has even started."
"Urgh, don't remind me." He groaned. "Q3 is even more of a reason for you to let me have a little fun tonight, I need stress relief and you don't want me stressed tomorrow do you." He pouted at her.
"Antti will give you a massage, you'll be fine." She looked around her at the pictures of Niki Lauder on the walls as they entered the passageway, she hadn't had a chance to look at them again this morning because Seb had been running late for an engineering meeting and they'd had to run through here.
"I'd much rather have you massage me, you know I'd return the favour." He said, hoping the promise of a massage from himself would swing it for him. She didn't reply but instead pulled her phone out from her pocket, she had heard it chime with a message. Seb couldn't help but try to look at her screen, wondering if Stephen had ignored his warning and sent her something else, he removed his hand from her back pocket as she stopped walking suddenly. "Is it from him, from Stephen?" He asked, seeing her frown as she read it.
"No, it's spam, apparently I've been in an accident that wasn't my fault." She shook her head. "If only they knew who they were texting." They began to walk again, aware that Steef, Eva and Antti were now ahead of them and exiting the passageway. Seb glanced behind him as he thought of Stephen, glad that her text message wasn't from him, hopefully after his warning she wouldn't be hearing from him again.