Sebastian saw her the second she walked into the club, she had on a slip dress, with a bomber jacket thrown over it casually, emblazoned with Minnie Mouse on the back. He’d been speaking with someone by the cloakroom when she walked in, and the second she walked past him, he could not remember who he was talking to or what the conversation was about. He followed the mystery woman as she made her way into the club. He doesn’t even know what she looks like, only caught a glimpse of her face, her curly fro swayed softly with every step she took towards the VIP section, where his friends were. He headed up the stairs to the office above the bar where he had the best vantage point from which to observe her. Curious, she knew his friends but he’d never met her. Before she reached the section, Blair bounded towards her, excitedly, and the others followed suit quickly. Of course, Blair’s birthday and his god sister would know the coolest woman on the planet wouldn’t she. His mother was godmother to Blair, they grew up together and are close family friends. They were all gathered here for her birthday. Only Blair would make him miss a day on the road during the season for her birthday party.
Sebastian sent a message to Simon, Blair’s husband, one of his closest friends.
Sebastian: Who is that chick? I love her.
Simon: Who?
Sebastian: The one with the encrusted Minnie Mouse jacket and the black dress.
Simon: Oh that’s Wylder. Haven’t you met her?’
Sebastian: ‘I’m marrying her.
Simon: LOL.
Sebastian: I’m serious she’s gorgeous. I followed her from the door soon as she walked in. Tell her to turn this way.
Simon: Why?
Sebastian: I want to see her face.
From the office, Sebastian watched his friend slickly get his girl’s attention so she has to turn in his direction.
‘Damn.’ He should not have asked her to turn around, because now her face is emblazoned on his mind, he’ll never forger it. She’s beautiful, dazzling even. Something about her feels cool, her full, wild and beautiful fro, alive with wayward curls, skin a sexy shade of brown, cheekbones the defy gravity, full lips coated in red lipstick and from what he can gather, hips that curve into her cinched in waist, and an arse he’d love to palm. He’s an arse guy, and an everything else guy now when it came to her apparently.
She is led away to sit with Blair and his phone pings
Simon: good enough?
Sebastian: perfect. She’s gorgeous.
Simon: you really are sprung.
Sebastian: I am.
Just then a waiter delivers a bottle of champagne for her, Dom, at first, she looks surprised but then he motions to someone behind him on the other side of the VIP section. A man. She smiled, shook her head and then laughed in a way that lit her face up. She motioned for him to come over and join them. It seems the others know him too, and if Sebastian were to hazard a guess he would say they dated or are dating.
Sebastian: WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?
Simon: who?
Sebastian: that fucking punk that sent her the bottle of champagne. The one now talking to her.
Sebastian watched Simon read the message and laugh before showing the phone to Dexter his best friend and lead engineer. Dex reads the messages, looks up to the manager’s office where he knew Sebastian had perfect vantage point.
Dexter via Simon’s phone: stop being a weirdo, come down and meet your girl before someone walks away with her.
Sebastian: WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING? WHERE ARE THEY GOING?
Dexter read the message and doubles over laughing.
Sebastian: give Si back his phone you idiot.
His girl and the man who sent her the champagne left their VIP area, his hand pulled her close to him; an embrace she leaned into, and Sebastian wanted to burn the place down.
Sebastian: ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?
Simon and Dexter were in their own comedy club with him as the main attraction.
Sebastian: WHO THE FUCK IS THAT GUY?
Simon motioned to his wife to come over and when she does, he gave her the phone to read the messages. Blair looked up at the office, same as Dexter had, where she knew Sebastian was watching them; she smiled with a little wave.
Blair via Simon’s phone: she’s one of my best friends.
Sebastian: what is that supposed to mean?
Blair via Simon’s phone: it means she’s one of my best friends, she is not like any of the women you mess around with Bash. She’s an absolute sweetheart and a badass.
Sebastian: oh come on Blair! It’s not like that. I really like her.
Blair via Simon’s phone: uh huh.
Sebastian: who is that guy she’s with?’
Blair via Simon’s phone: her ex-boyfriend.
Sebastian: are they on or off? He seems too familiar with her. Are they still sleeping together?
Blair via Simon’s phone: stop being weird, come down and I’ll introduce you to her. You hurt her and I will come for you faster than the cars you drive around the track. She is one of my best friends, one of the good ones. The great ones.
Sebastian: I am marrying her.
Blair actually laughed out loud before replying.
Blair via Simon’s phone: come down she is coming back without her ex.
Sebastian gave it ten minutes before heading down to where his friends were, Simon and Dexter were laughing at him, and he gave them the finger.
Blair looked at her husband and their friend, embarrassed at their immaturity before saying to Sebastian, ‘come on you.’
‘Not yet, don’t be so obvious.’
‘Have you met my wife.’ Simon brings an arm around his wife, and gave her a kiss on the cheek, ‘she is captain obvious.’
‘You two would actually make a cute couple.’
‘I think so.’ Dexter says wiggling his eyebrows.
Sebastian rolled his eyes ignoring his friend’s ribbing.
‘Aww he really like her.’ Blair said.
‘Shhh she’s coming.’
Blair turned to see Wylder approach them smiling.
‘Hey missy I have something for you before I forget.’
‘Oh yay!’ Blair bobs up and down, ‘Wylder you are the best, you know how much I like a present.’
‘It’s your birthday darling, of course I had to get you a present, and I sent the cake to your house.’
‘She gets a cake too. What do I get for my birthday?’ Sebastian took the opening she easily offered.
His girl smiled and up close, his knee nearly buckled; she was even more stunning, and the light caught her face to reveal a smattering of freckles. Oh man! he is fucked.
‘When’s your birthday?’ Wylder asked.
‘It can be tomorrow.’
She laughed.
Blair took that as her cue to step in. ‘Wylder this is my god brother and family friend Sebastian, we all call him Bash or Fox, depending on how terrible he is being. Bash, this is Wylder one my besties.’ It was a standing rule among their friend group that no one introduce him as an F1 anything, he had to deal with that on the world’s stage, he would rather not anywhere else. His friends are incredibly protective of his privacy and respect that.
‘Lovely to meet you.’ She spoke with an English accent and Bash felt himself go weaker in the knees.
‘You too.’ He took the hand she held out to him, dainty hands with a firm handshake, he couldn’t be more in love if he tried.
‘What kind of cake would you like?’ Wylder asked.
‘The kind you’d bake.’ Bask replied and they both laugh.
Their audience observed this exchange between them, and Blair was right, they do look cute together.
In the course of the night as they migrated into the lounge of the VIP area, Sebastian found himself sat next to Wylder.
A waiter brought a tray of shots for the group to drink in toast to the birthday girl. As ordered by the birthday girl of course.
‘Okay, bottoms up.’ Blair announced and as one the friends follow the requisite process; Shots. Lime. Salt.
Except one person who sipped on her shot.
‘Really?’ Sebastian looked at Wylder having downed his shot in the normal fashion.
She rolled her eyes with a little laugh.
‘Wylder doesn’t do shots, so she sips them.’ Monroe, another friend informed Sebastian.
‘I don’t like tequila, but they make me drink it, so I sip. It’s a form of protest.’
‘What do you like?’
‘I’m not a shot girl per se.’ Wylder shrugged.
Sebastian motions towards a waiter and whisper something to him briefly.
‘Would you like some champagne?’ Wylder offers.
He smiled; champagne from ex-boyfriend? ‘No thank you. Is that what you prefer?’
‘I like champagne, but I like more than champagne.’
Just then the waiter returned with three bottles of Pappy Van Winkle and shot glasses, which he set down before them.
‘What’s going on?’ Wylder asked.
‘You’re going to figure out what shots you like, fifteen, twenty, and twenty-three-year-old bourbon, some people find them more appealing for shots, and you don’t need the lime or salt.’ Sebastian explained to her.
Wylder offered a cheeky smile, ‘okay.’
‘Bash, are you trying to corrupt my friend already?’ Tallulah another friend asked.
‘I’m giving her a shot lesson be quiet.’ He filled three shot glasses with the three different ages of bourbon, ‘bottoms up.’
Wylder downed the first shot, and it went down smoothly. So smooth. The second was a bit of a kick back and not her favourite. She threw back the third and it was the clear winner, so he poured her another glass.
‘How did you know I’d prefer a bourbon?’
‘Something about you.’ He shrugged, it was a lot of things about her.
‘What?’
Sebastian shook his head refusing to elaborate.
‘Thank you. I love a good bourbon and now I have a new favourite.’
‘You’re welcome.’
Just then ex-boyfriend, champagne boy, walked up to them, they didn’t see him approach.
‘Hey, I’ll be out shortly.’ Ex boyfriend didn’t miss the intimacy between his ex-girlfriend and Sebastian Rose-Jones. Wylder definitely does not know who he was, Formula 1 is not her thing, and he was obviously flying below the radar tonight as he always does when he is not racing. He liked him as a race car driver, was his favourite even, talented and ruthless on the track, but seeing him with his ex-girlfriend, the one that walked away, the one he was desperately trying to get back together with, he’d never hated anyone more.
Sebastian exchanged a look with “champagne boy” the briefest of looks, before he did something that was meant to send him a message. He filled her champagne flute with ex-boyfriend’s champagne and drank from the same spot she had, the spot that had an imprint of her red lipstick. A kiss. Champagne boy got the message.
Wylder stood and gave him a hug in farewell, ‘take care of you.’
‘You too. Good to see you. Let’s do dinner before I leave town.’ Champagne boy said that for Sebastian’s benefit, but who was he kidding. He said his farewells to the others and left with a lot less swagger than he came in with.
‘Did you enjoy the champagne?’ Wylder asked, even in her tipsy haze, she knew what he was doing.
‘Not as much as I enjoyed the kiss.’
Wylder laughed at his brazenness, then leaned him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, ‘that’ll have to do.’
‘For now.’
They left the club together that night, with her friends’ blessings and she spent the night at his place. It was the beginning of something special between them, the something that encouraged late nights calls, long conversations and lots of butterflies.