"Ciao ragazzi", I wave at the camera in front of me. The meeting with the clinica mobile is done. We discussed all the footage we've seen and it was interesting. Matteo has some insides I didn't think about. Now I need to wait for my call with Dr Zasa.
"You done?", Fabio asks, standing in the kitchen.
"Almost. You can stay if you want", Fabio sits down opposite from me. This conversation shouldn't be that interesting.
"Ciao Julie, sto bene?", Dr Zasa comes in view.
"Hello, yeah, I'm good"
"That's great. I wanted to ask you two things. And I will be quick", he tells me and I nod.
"First can I change your schedule to Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Sunday you will be somewhere out on track with marshals. Helping with crashes and injuries", he asks. Now I was only scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday warmup. But more work means more money.
"Yeah, sure. No problem"
"Fantastico. Second, I got a call from Alessio Salucci", I look up confused, who is that.
"Uccio", Fabio mouths to me.
"And he told me, they asked you to work for them freelance"
"Yeah, they asked. I didn't know what to tell them. I don't know if I'm allowed something like that and I wanted to come to you during Misano to discuss it"
"Well I think this is a good opportunity for the clinica mobile. A lot of teams and riders still see us as a massage salon, so it's good to show what we can do. I've talked to him and he wants you for the entire vr46 riders academy", he explains, "that's a lot. And a little unfair. We can't agree on you working with Morbidelli but not Quartararo. And with Bagnaia but not Miller. And they have a lot of riders in the Moto2 and Moto3 so that's like a full time job", Fabio looks interested ever since his name fell.
"So I talked to Lin Jarvis and Davide Tardozzi and Alessio. And if the riders want to work with you and you want to work with them, you can start whenever you like"
I briefly look at Fabio, he's grinning at me. "So with the two Yamaha, Ducati Corse and VR46 riders? So six in total?"
He nods, "Si. And in Mugello you will be in the clinica mobile and on track, but after, in Barcelona you can stay in pitboxes during free practices or qualifying. You can decide with the riders. You will get payed by every team and we pay you something extra for your work. The riders are not informed yet and they can decline if they don't want to", he explains everything. I can only think about how this is the best solution.
"That's great! Thank you!"
"So you're excited?" He laughs, "the riders will be informed somewhere between now and Friday. And the teams will reach out"
"Yeah, of course. It sounds amazing! Oh. Can I get the footage from Jack's race as well? I've reviewed the other riders for the clinica mobile. So if they want to discuss things, I atleast know what I'm talking about"
Dr Zasa nods, "Si, perfetto. Grazie Julie. Ciao"
I close my laptop, still a little perplexed.
"What just happened?", I ask out loud.
"You are gonna be one of my coaches", Fabio tells me grinning.
"Yeah, something like that. But wait you don't even know this yet"
"If this is Lin's work, he said yes on my behalf. He knows you from the last race in the pitbox. So he knows I'd want this"
"Really?"
"Yeah, Lin knows everything about his riders and what happens in the pitbox. He probably knows you've been staying in my motorhome. He has seen our embrace after the race. He probably knows this is more than friendship"
"And he still said yes? He is kind of my boss now. That's so weird"
Fabio stands and walks around the table, kissing my cheek. "You are amazing, Ma Chérie"
That afternoon I got a text message from Pecco, telling me he's excited and Fabio got a call from Tom. Tom was the one recieving the news from Lin Jarvis.
We are watching a movie, when Fabio stops it. I look up curious, "What's wrong?"
"Your mind is elsewhere, you weren't paying attention. What are you thinking about?"
"Yeah, you're right. I'm just thinking about how I can handle working with six different riders at the same time. And how do I keep it even without anyone saying I'm spending too much time with you? Or you getting jealous about me spending time in different pitboxes?", I share my thoughts.
"Well, we can be professional right? As long as you end up in my bed at night, I won't get jealous. And keep wearing that necklace, even if it's under your clothes. Maybe you get jealous about all the girls hanging around me", he winks.
"I think I will get jealous, yeah. You get way to much attention", I tease him.
"Me?", He asks, "have you seen how many stares you get in the paddock?"
"They don't stare at me"
We banter a little back and forth before going to bed.
Fabio tosses me one of his shirt to wear, "I really like those nightgowns, but I like you in my clothes even more"
He gives me the privacy of changing, although he has seen most of it today. When he walks back inside I'm in his shirt and a thong. His mouth almost falls open.
"Definitely much better", he says, slowly walking closer. He kisses me passionately, his hands go to my almost bare ass.
The kiss is slow and deep, Fabio's lips mould to mine perfectly. My mouth opens and I feel his tongue slide in. My hands go to back of his neck, playing with his hair. Our tongues dance together and it feels amazing. I push him back slowly until he's lying on the bed, me on top of him. Still not breaking the kiss. Fabio sucks at my lower lip, causing me to let out a low moan. We eventually break the kiss. I start kissing down his neck, earning a sexy moan from him.
"Julie.. we need to stop.."
"What if I don't want to stop?" I ask, looking in his eyes.
"Ma Chérie, I want to.. I really want to do this.. but I think it's a bit early.. I don't want it to be a mistake. I want us to last", his eyes are soft and sweet.
I know he's right.. And I don't even know if I'm ready. I just want to make this night special. It's the last night we are really alone. Tomorrow we go to Mugello and after it is Monaco for Fabio and then it's Barcelona.
I nod, laying next to him, "sorry"
"Nothing to be sorry about. Another time", he says, pulling me on his chest.
"Fabio?" I ask uncertain.
"Ma Chérie?"
"Do you... do you think it's weird?", I ask him. I mean he must think it is.
"What is weird?"
"Me, being a virgin at 22?"
He stays quiet for a few moments. "Hey, look at me." He tells me and I turn my head to look him in the eyes.
"Of course not. If it's not right, it's not right. It will be right eventually, with someone you really trust" he tells me. Like it's normal.
"Can you tell me about your experiences?", I ask him, laying my head back down.
"Yeah, if you want to", he tells me. I nod slowly.
"Okay.. my first time was when I was 17. It was with an older lady. I didn't like her, but I was drunk and she liked me. It lasted a few minutes", he tells me hesitant. I don't really like hearing it, but I want to know.
"The last few years people started to recognise me. They started showing interest. And I kisses quite a lot of girls. The last two years, I've had hookups, but I never dated anyone or had a girlfriend", he looks a little embarrassed, cheeks a little red.
"Everyone wants something from the world champion", I state, "are they really coming to you, offering sex because you are the world champion?"
Fabio nods, "Yeah, some do. Others just hope for a kiss in public so they can get attention. But it works the other way around as well. I've used the sentence 'did you know I race in MotoGP' or 'I am the world champion' to get a girl in my bed"
"Seriously?"
"Yeah.. not my greatest moments. But yeah"
I'm glad he's this open with me. I'm sure this isn't something you want to tell right away.
"I hope you don't think I'm some egocentric asshole now"
"I don't. But I'm glad you told me. In some way it makes me a little calm", I honestly tell him. I try to speak my mind, although that's hard some times.
"It doesn't make you insecure right? I was afraid it would", he tells me.
"A little. But it's calming to know that you have experience, but at the same time never did any of that with a girlfriend. With meaning I mean"
"All of this is more new to me than to you I guess. Was Alex your only boyfriend?", his hands slowly move up and down my back. It's comforting.
"Yeah", I didn't really have a boyfriend before him. "I mean, I was twenty when we got together. Before I didn't really have boyfriends. I was too shy to talk to boys, I only had a few drunken kisses. Alex was the one who did all the hard work before we started dating. He asked me out on a date, he kept texting me, he bought flowers. The time before he really was my boyfriend, he was really sweet and romantic", Fabio kisses my forehead in a sweet and careful way.
"Is that what you're afraid of? Why you're hesitant of a relationship? That I will change as well?", He asks, looking intently at me. He's trying to find some kind of emotion on my face.
"Maybe? I don't know. I know you're nothing like Alex. I know you will never purposely hurt me. But at the same time, I didn't think Alex would", I try to tell him my thoughts. "I'm sorry, I know I'm hurting you, saying this. And you need to know I don't want you to feel some kind of obligation to be with me"
I don't want to hurt Fabio. He's doing everything he can to help me. And right now, I think he's one of the sweetest persons I know. But I can't really trust my instincts anymore.
"I don't feel obligated. And it's not fun to hear you say something like that, but I get it. I'll show you, you can trust me"
I kiss his lips softly. "Thank you"
"The next few weeks are really gonna be crazy. If something is wrong, please promise to talk to me", Fabio says, hugging me tight against him.
"Are you gonna be home between Mugello and Barcelona?"
Fabio shakes his head. "I'm sleeping at my parents in Nice for two days. And after Barcelona I was hoping you'd want to join me to Geneva"
"Geneva?"
"Yeah. Quentin invited me. But I don't want to spend more time apart"
"Let's see how it goes, okay?", I tell him.
"Let's go to sleep, Ma Chérie"
We turn, my back against his front and I fall asleep in seconds.
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I wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone reading, voting and commenting. It's great! Thanks for everything!!
Sleep tight