"You're gonna have to ride without me." I'm cheesing at the sun so I can't tell if Whitey is frowning or not. There is a long pause. Timo, who is seated, shuts his laptop and sighs.

Whitey clears his throat, "You mean ride without you today?"

"I mean forever, I'm pulling out."

I could tell the exact moment Whitey finally understod what I meant, his nose wrinkled and his eyes sort of went to the left.

"God damn it Alessia, you owe me!" He shouts, throwing his hat on the ground.

I wave my hands, "I know, I know, however I got you someone else."

"I don't want anybody else, why can't you do it?"

"We would be better off without her, stats says she's almost slowest on track out of all of the contestants."

Both Whitey and I turn to Timo, I'm giving him my nastiest glare.

I turn back to Whitey "He'll be here any minute and he is really really fast."

I might not have been telling the truth, however, Angelo was very eligible. Whitey's face enlightenes when him and Valentino finally comes walking. It's good to see that Angelo has fully recovered from his accident, although, Valentino has been telling me that he still hasn't been back to the track other than to help his little brother.

Whitey's expression seems to be at ease when the boys emergs but not for the right reason.

"Great, you got me Valentino Rossi instead!" He chants. Even Timo looks to be surprised.

I hated having to break it to them.

"I got you Angelo Binotto." I shove Angelo in front of me.

"Who?"

Angelo turns to me with raised eyebrows.

"Angelo Binotto!" I say, really trying to sell him to the guys. "He was doing great in the tournament we had here last fall....."

"Until he broke his leg." Timo chuckles, he turns the computer screen to show us the article he just googled.

"Alessia what is this?" Angelo says. Poor guy must think I've brought him here to get insulted.

Valentino interupts: "Angelo has been making me sweat all my life and he is a great mechanic, he'll be fast on learning how to ride your bike sir, that I might say is quite complex in a good way." His words makes the conversation take a turn. Whitey retrive his hat from the ground and begins to brush of the dirt.

"I still don't understand why you can't do it Alessia." There is disappointment in his voice.

"Err...I'm surprised that you have failed to notice that I am five months pregnant." I say.

"Pregnant!" He shouts.

I don't like the way Whitey and Timo's gaze immedeatly x-ray my stomach, trying to spot the belly through my hoodie.

"By who?" Whitey frowns.

Timo's eyes quickly shift between Valentino and I." He then lets out a vicious chuckle. "No way, does Hilda know about this?"

Valentino is quick to hold me back before I launch after him and his smug face.

Whitey moves to sympathically pat Valentino on the shoulder "I'm surprised that her grandfather even let you live to see another day Rossi." he laughs

"Anyway..." I interrupt. I am very annoyed by the way all of this took a turn. "....Angelo is fit for the fight and ready to go."

Finaly Whitey gives in "Alright alright, let's se what you've got!"

******

The road to Mugello was beautiful. One time Mama took Etienne and I to Florence, which isn't far from Mugello, however that was in the fall, it's almost summer now and the Tuscan landscape resembles a big scenery taken straight out of a painting.

Painting? I wonder how Miss Curso would have interpreted it all?

"What?" Valentino's hand that had been resting on my thigh, now gave my flesh a little squeeze.

I turn to him, "What?"

Like little kids on a road trip we are seated in the backseat of Uncle Flavio's truck, while he drives. I insisted on him taking shotgun , however Valentino refused and insisted we both sit together in the back. He is sweet that way, not wanting me to feel left out, he does that at the house too. If for instance I would be late to dinner, he would let everybody else eat without him so that later the two of us could eat together.

"You were laughing at something." He smiles.

I shake my head, "Oh, I just thought of something stupid."

"What?"

"Miss Caruso." I chuckle.

"Hey, she's not stupid."

Her art is." I giggle. "Be bold, be proud, art is drawing outside of the lines!" I Impersonate.

".....Vale make sure you call Sophia and tell her we'll be at the office at three." Uncle Flavio utters from the front seat.

"Yeah, I'll send her a message now."

"Who is Sophia?" I ask curious, I watch as he types the message.

"Oh, she's my press officer and manager."

"Thought Uncle Flavio was your manager?"

"I am." Uncle Flavio butts in. " But once you guys move I won't be able to follow, I've got to manage my own life, maybe start a shop or two."

For some reason this news stirs my stomach. I thought I'd at least have Uncle Flavio accompanying me whilst Vale went off and did his thing, turns out that I'll be all alone, not knowing anybody. I hold my stomach while I take a few calming breaths.

"Are you okay?" Valentino immediately noticed. "Do we need to pullover, are you feeling sick?"

"No, I'm okay."

"Is everything alright back there?" Uncle Flavio meets my gaze in the mirror.

"Everything's fine." I start fanning myself with my hand, "It's just a bit hot, isn't it?"

Within a second all windows slide down and unwanted wind now stirs my hair.

******

We are staying at a hotel not too far from the circuit, Valentino and I have a room together, Uncle Flavio's room is down the hall.

"So I'll basically be in meetings all day..." Valentino opens his suitcase on our bed. "...but tomorrow you can come to my photoshoot, I'll introduce you to the team and Sophia, they'll love to meet you."

"Right." I say, I guess I'll be watching TV all day.

"There might be some nice shops in town, you should go there." Valentino finds what he is looking for and slides the bag under the bed.

"Thanks, but I'll just stay here, watch some TV or something and wait for you to come back." I look for the remote before stretching out on the bed.

"All day?" Valentino frowns.

I nod, "Mhm."

"I'll give you some money if you need some."

"Oh, that's sweet, but I'm good, I have enough for room service."

Valentino sighs, "I meant for shopping."

There is a knock on the door.

"That's Uncle Flavio, I better get going, I'll be back in a few hours." Valentino crawls on the bed to give me a kiss then he gives me a timid wave before closing the door behind him.

It's a beautiful day, I'll admit, at one point I walk out on the balcony to admire the view, however the burning sun makes me sweat in my hoodie.

I watch three romantic comedies before falling asleep. Soon I am woken up by Valentino who gently shrugs my body.

"You're back." I yawn.

"You ready for dinner?"

We all had dinner at one of the local restaurants in town. I order a big bowl of pasta, extra parmesean of course, then Valentino lets me have a slice of his pizza. By the time we get back to the hotel all I want to do is to step into the shower and crawl into bed again.

"Are you gonna take a shower?" Valentino catches me on my way to the bathroom.

"Mhm." I nod. "Did you wanna go first?"

He shakes his head. I can't help but to notice his slightly blossomed cheeks. He is giving me the look.

"What?" I say, hands on my hip.

"Can I join you?"

I am thrown off by his sudden question, I myself start to feel timid. I clear my throat, "What was that?"

Valentino rises from the bed and takes a couple steps towards me. His eyes wander up and down my body, making me stretch out the bottom of my hoodie. "I want to join you." He says, this time with more confidence in his voice.

I can't deny what it does to my body, especially my nether region, however: "Sorry, I was gonna wash my hair so..." I look to the floor avoiding his eyes.

"Oh, okay."

I can hear the disappointment in his voice.

I sigh closing the bathroom door behind me. To make things worse I am met by the bathroom mirror, my reflection staring right back at me. I walk towards it and do the usual: First I do a 360 rotation, looking over my back to see if my but is sagging, then I cup the bottom of my stomach and imagine the life that is growing within. The last thing I do is squeeze my thighs that are thicker than usual and the excess fat on my sides, then I trace my finger along the newfound stretch marks that have begun to tare my skin all the way up to my waist.

Of course I wasn't really planning on washing my hair, I couldn't let Valentino see me in the light, not like this, he'd think I'm disgusting.

Valentino is tucked under the covers and flipping through channels, once I get oot of the bathroom. The room is dark and the light from the TV only lights up one side of the room. I feel confident enough to change in front of him, although I don't let the towel slip until my oversized t- shirt covers all of me.

"What took you so long?" He says, once I slip under the covers next to him.

"I have a lot of hair."

Valentino is quick to rail me in, "I missed you." He says, his voice is hoarse.

"Vale." I moan, giving in to the soft kisses that he plants on my neck. His hands starts to trail down my body. He doesn't get far, my hand is quick to stop him. The light from the TV gives away his surprised expression.

"Are you alright?" He asks confused.

"I'm fine, I'm just tired."

"But you slept all day." He chuckles, with that the kissing resumes. I let his hands cup my breasts, but when he moves one of them down towards my panties, I stop him once more.

"Vale I'm tired." I whine. My heart drops seeing his puzzled expression as he looks to my hands that are giving his naked chest a light shove.

"You're always tired"

The bed suddenly rocks as Valentino gets out.

"Where are you going." I say, my voice is small.

"Shower" He groans.

It's like a punch in the stomach hearing the anger in his voice.

I fell asleep crawled up in a ball.

Later.

It's still dark out, my eyes flung open, Valentino wakes me up by gently stroking my cheek.

The moonlight outside lights up the contours of his face. 

"I'm sorry." He whispers.

I want to utter something too, but my body is too limb. However he seems to understand, we shift positions so that my head lays across his chest.

I fall asleep with him stroking my hair.