The Battle Of The Heart

Chapter 5: Butterflies

For some reason, I felt way more excited looking around the Ferrari garage than I did at Mercedes. I told myself it had to do with my family. Why else would I be feeling over the moon right now? I frantically clicked pictures while Sebastian showed us around. My brother would be proud.

"And this is Gina."

I stared at Sebastian's car. Dressed in red, she looked like a fiery beast. A beautiful, fiery beast.

"Ah, what made you choose such a decent name for her?" I asked Sebastian.

He gave me a confused look.

"Randy Mandy, Kinky Kylie, Kate's dirty sister, Luscious Liz," I said, listing the names of some of his previous cars. "You've been known to be quite adventurous with the names in the past."

Sebastian beamed at me but did not say anything.

We found Kimi in the back, talking to one of the engineers. Sebastian grabbed a Ferrari cap and a polo shirt, and introduced us.

"This is Dani and Mariam from London. They're Lewis' friends," he said, handing Kimi the merchandise. "Think you could sign these for them?"

"I don't sign stuff for Mercedes supporters," Kimi joked. He was smiling. Kimi Raikkonen was smiling. I made a mental note to text my brother and tell him as soon as I could.

"No, Dani's dad is a big fan of yours and these are for him," Sebastian chuckled.

"Ahh, your dad's the smart one in the family then," Kimi smiled again and signed the goodies.

"You have no idea how happy he's going to be! He's been following you since your McLaren days," I thanked him. Mariam took a picture of the Ferrari duo and I which went straight on my instagram. Caption: Best.Day.Ever

We walked back to our seats to wait for the second session of practice and I couldn't keep the grin off my face.

Mariam noticed and remarked, "You must really love your dad. I've never seen you this happy."

"How nice were they? I never thought Kimi would happily sign something for me! You know, they call him the Iceman. He never smiles and is usually quite standoffish but he was so nice!" I was beaming. "And Sebastian was so sweet to even ask him for me. I was scared he'd think I'm a weirdo!"

"Yeah what was that about?" Mariam demanded. "You suddenly went in 'awkward teenager' mode as soon as he came."

"I don't know. I got so nervous. I grew up in a family who idolizes the likes of Sebastian, Kimi, Fernando and Michael. I just lost it for a minute," I said, feeling embarrassed again. "And I didn't expect Sebastian be this attractive in real life."

'Attractive? No. Lewis is attractive. And Daniel. And even Max, a little bit. But Sebastian's average looking, I'd say."

I completely, utterly disagreed but said nothing.

"And isn't the guy married or something?"

"No but he's been dating this girl from his school days, apparently," I replied. "And they have two kids. Two daughters. Though, I'm not sure why they're not married."

"Commitment issues maybe," Mariam offered. "The guy seems like a charmer. I'm sure he's a player. Lewis did say he's a dodgy character."

"I doubt it." I tried to remember everything I have ever read about Sebastian. "He's only ever been seen with one girl and he's always kept a very private lifestyle. You know, he's one of those modest, family man type of celebrity."

Mariam raised an eyebrow. "Seems like you're more of a fan than your dad or your brother."

I sighed. Practice was just about to start.

"Anyway," Mariam continued. "You're here to support Lewis, remember?"

'Of course."

And yet, for the next hour and a half, I was unable to take my eyes off Gina as she sped around the circuit.