Driving Miss Catherine

Cat looked over the car with increasing apprehension. It looked too small, too open and unprotected.

“And you drive how fast in this?” She asked Seb incredulously and he smirked.

“About 300 km/h, or more,” Seb snickered at Cat’s shocked reaction.

“How do you all not die?” Cat asked, and then realized the poor wording of her question.

“Sometimes there are accidents, as you know, but no one has died for many years,” he explained with sadness in his eyes. He had reluctantly told her the details of the crash after they’d woken up in one of Kimi’s many unused bedrooms. It had been a long night, from the sauna, to the shower, to the bedroom, and they didn’t get up until nearly lunchtime.

But that was nearly two weeks ago. Now they were at the racetrack, and Seb was about to suit up for the first time since the Australian GP. He was nervous, but he had gotten his spark back, or maybe it was a new spark. He and Cat had somehow become an item, though exactly what that was had yet to be defined.

Cat gave him a quick kiss before he put his helmet on. She retreated to the paddock and slipped on a pair of headphones to watch Seb drive around the track.

“Miss Catherine?” She heard his voice through the headphones and jumped.

“Yes?” She replied and adjusted the mouthpiece. “Are you driving yet?”

Seb laughed. “No, I am still 20 feet away from you. I just wanted to say thank you. For talking to your father and arranging this. I never would have been able to get a car to drive, here at Spa-Francorchamps, on such short notice. Who exactly does your father know?”

Cat laughed, “I’m not sure, but don’t worry about it, just drive. And be safe!”

“As you wish.” She heard the unmistakable sound of an engine starting, a sound she would soon get very used to, and Seb was off down pit lane. He wasn’t driving the RB10 he had just started getting used to before his season was cut short, but he was in an F1 car, and that was good enough. It was like taking a hit off an old drug; soothing, yet the memory of being cut off sent shivers through every nerve. As he sped through the chicane at the bottom of Eau Rouge, the calming effect of racing he loved so much returned and cleared away any remaining anxiety.

This was not what Cat had pictured when her dad said he'd gotten them a day at Spa. She was expecting facials and massages, but this seemed to be just as therapeutic for Seb.

When he finally came off the track and slid out of his racing overalls, he was a different person. He was almost the old Seb, someone Cat had only seen glimpses of.

“I see you enjoyed yourself,” she said and helped him fix his hair after he took his helmet off.

“Enjoyed myself? That might be an understatement,” he gave her a passionate kiss, which surprised Cat, but she did not object. “That was the most fun I have had in months! Not that driving you has been boring…”

“I”m glad you had fun. Unfortunately, we need to go soon,” she put her arm around him and ignored his pout as she led him back to change.

“You know,” she said slowly after the door clicked shut behind them. “I didn’t want to say this over the headphones because I didn’t know who else was listening, but that was pretty hot.”

Seb stopped untying his shoe and looked up at her. “Really?”

“I dont know what it was, but there is something so alluring about seeing you do what you do best. Now I see why you’re a four time world champion.” She leaned in to give him a kiss, and he pulled her down on the bed next to him, quickly kicking his shoes the rest of the way off.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a girl right after a race, but this is close enough,” Seb paused his passionate endeavor long enough to say, before diving back into his mission to ravish Cat.

With his heart set on returning to F1, and Cat supporting him, Seb set about trying to resign with his old team. He set up a meeting with Red Bull to talk about the upcoming season. He made sure to dress nicely, although he didn’t feel like he should need to impress his former employers. Why wouldn’t they want him back? He’d brought them four world championships, and possibly many more in the future.

What he was not expecting, was rejection. Yes, he had brought them four world championships and four constructors championship titles, but he had left them with a lot of unanswered questions, and many legal issues. They had spent months explaining his absence, and gave up on trying to talk to him. He disappeared for a while, and refused to return their calls once he started working for Albert. Devastated, he returned to Switzerland the next day.

“I’ll never race again,” he said to Cat when she came home from school. She found him sitting in the living room with a glass of scotch. He had paused the tv when he heard her come home. She glanced at the screen to see what he was watching: an old race from 2012.

“Sebastian the crab does not give up,” she flicked off the tv and sat down next to him.

“What? I don’t recall that being a part of the plot of ‘The Little Mermaid,’ unless I missed something,” he laughed, and she took the bottle of scotch out of his hand and put the cover back on.

“Okay, so maybe I made that up. And thanks for drinking my father’s scotch.” She replaced the bottle on the shelf with the other barely used bottles. “There are other teams you can drive for, I’m sure they would be more than happy to have you race for them.”

“No, if my own team doesn’t want me-”

“They’re not your team any more. You can sign with another team, and show Red Bull what they’re missing.” Cat tried to sound optimistic. “I heard Ferrari is looking for a change, and you look good in red.”

“Thank you,” he looked at her questioningly. “And where did you hear that?”

“I, um,” Cat blushed. “I may have started looking into it after I saw how happy you were after you drove at Spa. I just want you to be happy.”

Seb was touched, and not just because she was looking into his F1 career, but she cared about him. Their relationship had been seemingly physical up until now, and he wanted to tell her his feelings, but he didn’t know how.

He put his hand on hers and smiled, “With you by my side, I can get through this.”

“We can get through this,” she corrected him, and kissed him on the cheek.

“Miss Catherine, have you always had a secret wish to be an F1 WAG?” Seb asked jokingly..

“A what?”

“WAG? It means ‘wives and girlfriends’...” His eyes flicked across her face to see her reaction.

She looked confused at first, until she figured out what he was saying. She smiled, “No, but now I do.”