What The Heart Wants (Sebastian Vettel)

17. Indianapolis

"Welcome to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway," Jessie announced as they stepped out into one of the stands that looked out over the track.  Seb smiled.  It wasn't his first time there.   This was where it had all started for him, albeit on the road course, not the oval. 

He glanced down at the yard of bricks that marked the start/finish line of the two and a half mile track.   So many great names had won here at Indy, including Formula 1 champions Jim Clarke, Graham Hill, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi and Jacques Villeneuve.   He would love to win it one day, but inside he felt like he still had unfinished business in Formula 1.   Still, he was here now, and he was willing to listen to what Roger Penske had to say. 

"It's special here," Jessie said.  "Penske won it three times while I worked for them. Juan Pablo Montoya, Will Power and then Simon Pagenaud.  I would say the celebrations were unforgettable, but the truth is most of us forgot what happened, we got completely shit faced."

Seb laughed and turned to look at Jessie.   She was dressed in a pair of blue skinny jeans and a black Josef Newgarden T-shirt that looked a size too small.  It was pulling tight across her breasts and Seb could barely keep his eyes off of her. 

"You know him well?"

"Who?"

"Josef Newgarden."

"Yeah, he's great, a good friend. As is his wife, Ashley."

Seb relaxed a little at the mention of Josef's wife.   He'd been a little worried the handsome blond American might set his eyes on Jessie.  

"Will's great too. He's a bit of a loose cannon, but he has a heart of gold."  Seb chuckled.  He knew all about Will Power, the fiery Australian had quite the reputation for losing his temper in interviews.  "I don't know Scott, I'd already left by the time he joined the team," Jessie continued, talking about Team Penske's third driver, New Zealander, Scott McLaughlin.

Jessie watched Seb as he stared out at the track. He'd been extremely quiet on the flight over, lost in his thoughts. She wondered what was going through his head. She knew deep down that he had his heart set on a return to Formula 1, but in the absence of a credible offer Indy could be a good alternative. She knew he'd fit in there, it was less formal, the drivers had more freedom to say what they liked without the governing bodies silencing them.

"Are you ok?" she asked tentatively. "You've been really quiet."

"Are you saying I'm normally noisy?" he jested.

"You can be," she retorted. "But I mean you seem lost in thought. You do want to be here right? You're not just doing this for me?"

"Of course I want to be here Jessie. I really appreciate everything you've done for me. Even if it comes to nothing it's a honour to be able to meet the Captain and to be here to witness The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

"And to hopefully witness a Team Penske victory." Seb chuckled.

"Still loyal to them?"

"Always."

"Are you still loyal to Red Bull?"

"No, but I'm loyal to you."

Seb turned and pulled her into a hug, surprising her.

Her words meant a lot to him.  Loyalty was hard to find in racing.   Everyone had wanted him when he was winning, but not so much when the wins dried up. They didn't care that he didn't have a car capable of winning, according to the media he was past his peak. 

He took a deep breath and released it.   Jessie was right. He'd been quiet.   Not for the reasons she might be thinking though. It wasn't his racing future that was playing on his mind.  It was her.