Out Of The Blue (Sebastian Vettel)

23. Date Night

Melissa looked in the mirror and put the finishing touches to her make up. It was finally date night. Seb wouldn't tell her where they were going. All he had said was to dress casual. She was feeling very nervous.

She hadn't been alone with him since that night in his hotel room. She hadn't seen much of him at all to be honest. He'd been in a foul mood after the Canadian Grand Prix after having to retire the car a few laps in after being rear-ended by Alonso. It meant that he'd lost the championship lead after Daniel had finished in fifth place, and got the fastest lap,  so he had stormed off back to the hotel after finishing his media commitments.

He'd sent her a text apologising for his mood and explaining he just wanted a quiet night in. She understood, he had been so confident of a good result in Canada and was feeling a little deflated that he'd come away with no points through no fault of his own.

Zipping her makeup bag up, she checked the time. She had to meet Seb in the lobby in ten minutes. They'd had to push the date back by an hour as he'd been later arriving than planned as his flight had been delayed. She hoped he was in a better mood now he had had a chance to get over his disappointment.

All of a sudden she felt overcome by a sense of what could only be described as panic. Was it really a good idea to go on this date? What if they found out they had absolutely nothing in common with each other? She sat down on her bed, shaking. Sophie looked up from her magazine and noticed straight away that something wasn't right. She got up and sat by Melissa, and took her hand.

"Melissa, don't do this. You're over thinking again, aren't you?" Melissa nodded, a wry smile on her face. "Want to get it off of your chest?"

"What if he doesn't like me so much once he gets to know me? He's a four  time Formula 1 World Champion. I'm a nobody. His last girlfriend was stunning. I'm just plain old me."

"Seb likes you Melissa. YOU. If only you could see it the way all of us do. The way he looks at you, he makes it obvious. And you really like him don't you? It's ok to be scared. That's perfectly natural. You had your heart broken before, but life goes on Melissa. You deserve to be happy. And he makes you happy, doesn't he?" Melissa nodded. "It's ok to feel nervous. You wouldn't be human if you didn't. Now go, enjoy yourself. Go get your man girlie."

Melissa took a deep breath and released it. Sophie was right. She did deserve to be happy. Even if nothing came of their date at least she would know she'd tried. It was time to stop hiding herself away. It was time to take a chance. She stood up and straightened her dress.

"How do I look?"

"Beautiful, he won't be able to keep his hands off of you." She was wearing a knee length coral dress. It had spaghetti straps and showed just a little hint of cleavage. She wore flat white sandals with it. Instead of her usual braid, or ponytail, she had left her hair down. She grabbed her handbag and put her phone inside it.

"I'll see you later Soph, wish me luck."

"You won't need it, but good luck babe."

She headed out and caught the elevator down to the main lobby. When she arrived she looked around trying to spot Seb but she couldn't see him. He was still coming wasn't he? What if he'd changed his mind?

Then, to her relief, she saw him. He looked so handsome. He was wearing a pair of  black jeans and a blue and green plaid shirt left open over a white tshirt. His hair was a tousled mess of curls, his stubble long enough to be classed as a beard. He gazed straight into her eyes as she crossed the lobby towards him. As she reached him he smiled and leant forward, kissing her on the cheek. She inhaled the fresh scent of his aftershave.