sunshine, ALEX ALBON

xi

"Did you have fun last night?" Sophie asked, pouring milk into her tea, giving it a light stir before carrying it over to where Evelyn was sat on the sofa.

"Yeah, it was great," Evelyn replied, smiling. "How about you? You seemed to be having a good time with Carlos."

Sophie blushed slightly. "He's really sweet. We had a nice chat. He asked if I was free today to have a walk around Monaco."

Evelyn's eyebrows raised as she smiled at her best friend. "You said yes, right?" She asked, shuffling over to give Sophie to sit down.

"Of course. I'm not stupid. Who in their right mind would say no to Carlos Sainz?"

One by one, the group from the night before joined the two women at their house for a hot drink or two before they planned the day ahead of them. George and Lewis arrived together, George looking surprisingly well-rested while Lewis looked like he could use another few hours of sleep.

"Morning," George greeted everyone cheerfully. "How's everyone feeling?"

"Like I need another coffee," Lewis muttered, walking to the coffee machine in the open-plan kitchen.

"Get me one too please, mate," George said, clapping Lewis on the back as he passed.

Carlos and Charles arrived next, both looking relatively fresh. "Morning," Carlos said, sitting down next to Sophie with a smile.

"Morning," she replied, her cheeks flushing slightly.

Daniel, Max, and Lando were the last to join, all three looking a bit worse for wear but in good enough spirits. "I think I left my voice at the bar," Lando croaked, earning a laugh from the group.

"That was some performance last night," Max said, grinning. "We should do it again sometime."

"Maybe with a bit less alcohol next time," Daniel suggested, rubbing his temples. "I feel like I've been hit by an F1 car."

"Fuck, who decided that going out last night was a good idea?" Everyone turned to look at Alex as he walked through the front door, locking it behind him, but no one replied, waiting for him to remember that he'd been the one to try and pressure everyone into going out the night before.

He looked like he'd just woken up, or hadn't slept at all. "What?" He asked, hiding his yawn behind a hand.

"You literally suggested it," Lando told him, shuffling closer to Daniel to make space for Alex next to Evelyn as Lewis returned with two coffees, one for himself and one for George.

"Did I?" Alex murmured to himself, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, yeah," he said, remembering. He then shrugged, going straight to the cupboard and getting himself a glass, which he filled with water. He walked back over to the group and sat in between Evelyn and Lando, giving the former a small smile, which she returned.

"He's gonna be a delight to spend the day with." Max spoke to Charles, not bothering to lower the volume of his voice, gaze fixed on Alex who now stared grumpily at the wall.

Charles nodded. "He can be Evelyn's problem to deal with," he replied.

"You know I can hear you, right?" Alex asked, glancing at the pair.

"That was the point," Max told his former teammate.

George grinned at Alex. "Cheer up, mate. You get to spend a whole day with your best friends. And you can't get rid of us."