Fifth Light (Sebastian Vettel)

Chapter 23: Revelations

Casey momentarily forgot they weren't the only ones in the room. Seb was the first to pull away.

"Did you miss me?" he whispered, stroking his thumb across her cheek.

She smiled in response, tilting her head to kiss his hand quickly before turning away. She walked back into the lounge, trying to keep a straight face against the two curious gazes coming from Evan and Jacob.

"Hey guys," Seb said, wandering over to the couch.

The two boys greeted him enthusiastically in return and they all chatted casually for a few minutes while Casey grabbed Seb's meal from the counter. She walked back into the lounge and set it on the table next to her half-finished one. Seb watched her and moved around the couch to take his seat.

"Thanks," he said quietly, flashing her a grateful smile.

The four of them sat around eating and talking as the TV showed the local news. Casey couldn't help feeling a bit anxious, even though it was only Jacob and Evan. It felt weird to be able to act normally in front of other people.

---

Work on Tuesday and Wednesday passed by quickly. Casey spent a while in the car on Wednesday afternoon, helping to prepare it for Seb the next day. The first two practice sessions were always on Thursday in Monaco. Then the drivers wouldn't be in the cars again until Saturday for the last practice session and finally qualifying.

Rocky had been impressed with her retention of the system checks. She'd known every single command on the first call and was surprisingly quick to respond. She'd had felt a little guilty when he'd praised her. He'd probably soon find out how she'd gotten so good so quickly.

On Wednesday, she'd left the Hotel De Paris to go back to the team hotel. It would be too risky to continue staying with Seb with the media now in town. He would be followed absolutely everywhere and if she were seen going in and out of the same hotel as him, away from the rest of the team, that would just be asking for it.

On Thursday morning the team arrived at the track as usual, getting to work quickly to warm the car up for the first practice session. Seb was wandering around the garage chatting with various members of the team, discussing the recent improvements and changes for the weekend.

Casey was standing outside the garage door, waiting for a couple of electricians to finish making adjustments around her corner of the car. While she waited, she gazed around at the other crew members from various teams who were wandering up and down the pit lane. Some of them would cast her a friendly greeting as they passed by.

Her attention locked on Kimi Raikkonen who was walking in her direction. His eyes were fixed on the ground as a cameraman followed him closely.

"Kimi!" Casey heard Seb's voice from back inside the garage.

The surly Finnish driver looked towards the sound and cracked a smile, veering off his path and walking past her to the entry of the Red Bull garage.

She watched as the two drivers shook hands and leaned against the tyre stacks just inside the door, chatting together happily. Seb and Kimi were a notorious fan favourite pairing among the drivers, often being captured together in photos and goofing around on the podium together.

"How's it going Lucy?" an unfamiliar voice called from Casey's other side.

She looked sideways dubiously, catching sight of a red jacket passing her.

"Or is it Casey?" the voice continued, laughing.

She focused on the face and her mouth dropped open slightly. It was the guy from the rooftop club who'd sat at their table and apparently pretended to have no idea who they were. Blake.