Chapter 7: Kind-of Confession

                                    

                                          
Casey, Evan and Jacob all sunk into a soft couch and ordered a round of drinks from one of the many waitresses now tending to their large party. Casey had devised a plan that she would not drink as much as last time, in an attempt to sustain her dignity. Though, it wouldn't be easy with Evan demanding that she keep up with him.
                          
Jacob seemed to realise early on that she was taking it slow and when Evan wasn't looking, he quickly tipped her drink into his own. She grinned at him gratefully and he winked back at her. He continued to do this every now and then throughout the night and she was nothing short of indebted to him, probably forever.
                          
Meanwhile, Evan was getting more inebriated by the second. Thankfully, he was not an unpleasant drunk, instead, just getting slightly more vulgar and with a tendency to break out in song every so often. Opposite their couch, Brand, Harry and Kyle were sitting around on cushioned cubes and re-telling Alonso's final lap demise from earlier that day like excitable schoolboys.
                          
Casey sipped at a brightly coloured daiquiri and gazed around the room, feeling very content. She caught the eyes of Heikki and smiled at him, which he returned. He was sitting next to Britta, with Sebastian, Rocky and a few of the remaining technicians. As the night wore on, more Red Bull Racing staff turned up, including some of the administrators and assistants. Casey stood when she saw a pair of girls walking in. She recognised them, but had only ever spoken a few words with each of them. Truthfully, she was starting to feel the need for some female company. The two girls greeted her warmly as she approached them. Their names were Gemma and Isla. Gemma worked as a personal assistant to Christian, the team boss, while Isla worked in the strategist team, analysing track conditions such as temperature, wind direction and altitude; among an endless multitude of other factors.
                          
They went to the bar together to get a round of drinks before taking an empty set of seats a little further down the room.
                          
Gemma was 29, making her four years older than Casey, while Isla was 27. Both of them had been travelling with the away-team for 4 years now.
                          
"So, are you enjoying your new role so far?" Gemma asked enthusiastically, her wide blue eyes peering at Casey over her cocktail glass as she took a sip.
                          
Casey grinned, "I'd have to be completely brain-dead if I didn't."
                          
The two girls chuckled quietly before Isla spoke next, "Not a bad gender ratio around here either, huh?"
                          
Casey raised her eyebrows and laughed, "No, I guess not."
                          
"Oh! We should check the hash tags!" Isla said suddenly, causing Gemma to nod in agreement.
                          
"The what?" Casey replied, watching as they both pulled out their phones.
                          
"After every race weekend there's a good chance you'll be in a lot of the photos going around on social media. We kind of have a little ritual to check." Gemma explained with a sly glint in her eye.
                          
"Particularly you, Casey, being on the pit crew. Once the photographers catch wind of your existence, it'll be non-stop..." Isla said as she tapped something into her phone.
                          
Casey frowned slightly, "Is that because of the whole thing where I happen to not be a man?"
                          
Gemma looked up and jutted her drink towards her, "Precisely."
                          
"You've obviously watched a race before so you've probably noticed the relentless close-up shots of the WAGs and any other females in the garages," Isla said with a laugh, "Like they have to prove we exist."
                          
Casey nodded. She hadn't really thought about being targeted for photos and footage while working. She would need to be more aware of what she was doing in future. No more staring off into space.