The Race Director's Daughter (Sebastian Vettel)

8. The Afterparty (1)

Seb and Daniel walked into the packed nightclub where the afterparty was being held. Daniel attended the afterparty after every race, being a bit of a party animal. Seb didn't go out as much, but tonight he was relishing the thought of seeing Leah.

Was her dress sense really as bad as Daniel made it out to be? What would she be wearing to the club?

"Are you sure she's coming?" he shouted in Daniel's ear so the Australian could hear him over the loud dance track that was blasting out.

"Yeah," Daniel shouted back. "Tamara texted and told me she'd persuaded her. Cruella is coming too."

"Cruella?"

"The redhead. It suits her better than Jenna." Seb laughed. Daniel had such a way with words.

They headed to the bar and ordered a pint of lager each. Seb caught sight of himself in the mirror that lined the wall at the back of the bar. He'd made an effort tonight. He normally wasn't one for dressing up. He preferred casual clothes rather than smart ones.

He reached up and undid the top two buttons on the smart button down shirt he was wearing. That felt better.   The shirt was white and had tiny little palm trees on it.  He'd paired it with a pair of black skinny jeans and a pair of smart shiny black shoes. 

His hair was longer than it usually was and he'd combed it over to one side. It had grown so long at the back that it was brushing his collar. He just hadn't had time to get it cut.  He'd had Race of Champions, the car launch, the Barcelona test, the Bahrain test, and now it was race weekend. 

Even in between all those things his schedule  had been jam packed as he'd spent as much time in the simulator as possible trying to perfect the new car as much as he could.  His hard work had paid off with the third place he'd achieved today.

He ran his hand over his two week old stubble. Maybe he should have had a shave?  Oh well, it was too late now. 

He cast his eyes around the club, seeing if he could spot Leah.  Having no luck, he and Daniel made their way over to a table where some of the other drivers had gathered.

"Alright George?" he shouted at the young Mercedes driver. George gave him a thumbs up. 

He was pleased to see his old teammate,Charles Leclerc, there too.  Despite rumours to the contrary in the media, he'd always got on well with the young Monagasque.

The last driver at the table was Pierre Gasly.  He nodded hello.    Seb carried on looking around the room.  His eyes came to rest on a redhead dressed in black.  That was definitely Cruella...sorry, Jenna. If she was here then Leah must be too.

Daniel leant in closer to him. "That blonde over there in the green, that's Tamara!"

"I've seen her around." Daniel stood up and started waving around energetically, trying to get Tamara's attention. Seb rolled his eyes. He was pretty sure Daniel had had a few drinks before they'd left the hotel, he was definitely a bit on the tipsy side.

It seemed that Daniel had succeeded in making their presence known to Tamara. She grabbed hold of Jenna's arm and they made their way over. There was no sign of Leah. Seb felt disappointed. He'd been looking forward to meeting her.

Tamara squealed as Daniel pulled her onto his lap. "Hello gorgeous," he said. "Hi Cruella," he added as an afterthought.

"Hi, it's Jenna isn't it? I'm Seb," Seb said, trying to make up for Daniel's ignorance.

"I know," she said. They both laughed.

"Enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah, it's a blast. We just have to persuade Leah to get up and dance."