The other woman

The race that never was

"Did it even stop raining last night? It's atrocious out there!" Britta complained as she came scurrying into hospitality with Seb close behind her, carrying a large umbrella.

"That's God's way of saying what he thinks about the FIA for stealing Seb's podium. Shit race stewards, shit organisation, shit decision, shit weather." Alex remarked, a smile forming on her lips as Seb slipped into the seat next to her and squeezed her knee under the table.

"That's a lot of shit." He quipped with a snicker.

"Don't let Michael Massi hear you say that, he'll have you banned." Britta replied as she unzipped her rain jacket and shrugged it off.

"I just don't think it's fair that they penalise a driver for something that's not directly his fault. He just drives the bloody car, it's not like he has anything to do with the technicalities of a fuel tank. It wasn't Seb's fault that they couldn't get a fuel sample. Penalise the team, yeah, but not the driver." She ranted, tapping her pen in the table. "That was something that was out of his control."

"Are you done?" Seb asked with a chuckle when she fell silent. He loved how defensive she was of him but unfortunately there was nothing more to be done to prove that there was a sufficient amount of fuel left in the car at the end of the Hungarian GP. As much as it had hurt, he'd had to accept to the final decision of the race stewards - he'd been disqualified from second place. It was at times like that, that he had to remind himself that he loved racing, he loved driving fast, on the absolute limit and he loved the adrenaline rush he got from it. Formula One was still his passion, though he had a new passion sitting beside him in Aleksandra.

"Sorry, this sport just winds me up sometimes with some of it's stupid rules and regulations." She droned, sounding completely fed up.

"Well you know what this is...." He began, with a smile on his face as he squeezed her knee again, making her giggle and kick her leg out as he squeezed right where a nerve was.

"It's harassment by the FIA!" She cut in, still laughing as he kept his grip on her knee.

Britta watched on with amusement, they seemed quite close after spending summer break together. She'd thought that the time off might have seen them disagreeing on some random thing again but if anything, they'd forged a really close friendship. Now that Aleksandra had fully opened up (Seb had privately told her about Alex's scars), they were bouncing off each other with jokes and banter and they really seemed to care about each other. It was almost as if Seb had gained another sister.

"No! Well, you're right but that's not what I was going to say." He laughed as she shrieked and kicked the table with a bang, making everyone in the room turn and look their way. "I was going to say it's hot chocolate weather."

As he stopped squeezing her knee, she looked at him. Still giggling, she lifted a hand to his face and squished his cheeks together, transforming his grin into something that looked more like a gurn. "No, unless you want these cheeks to get chubbier!"

Seb found himself gazing into her eyes as they sparkled with amusement, like two sapphire gemstones in the sun. His expression changed from one of mischief and fun to one that smouldered and conveyed his feelings towards her very clearly.

Alex rose a brow, trying to remind him of where they were. She just hoped that Britta hadn't noticed. "I'm surprised they don't have to crane you into the car after the shit you ate over the last few weeks." She added before biting her bottom lip as she waited for his reaction.

"Oh mein gott!" He gave an exaggerated gasp and slapped a hand on to his chest, feigning hurt while trying not to laugh. "Alex!! That hurt!! Ouch!!"