The Miami Grand Prix was electric. The crowd came alive, chanting songs for their favoured drivers and preferred teams. The cars, as Alessia predicted, did go 'vroom' around the track and it was far more entertaining than she anticipated.

"Which one is Pierre?" Carla whispered to her friend after returning to the AlphaTauri area.

"No idea." Alessia confessed. She could tell which team was which from the distinctive colours that they had all chosen but how could she tell which car was Pierre's and which car was Yuki's?

The race was coming to its final stages. There were individual battles all over the track. A battle for the podium, a fight for points and a melee to not finish last. There was a lot of drama and Alessia couldn't help holding her breath. It was tense and she was on the edge of her seat.

"Here comes Norris, ready to overtake Gasly." She overheard someone commentating. Alessia hoped that Pierre would be able to hold his own and maintain his position but she audibly gasped when they went wheel to wheel and Norris spun out, puncturing a wheel and crashing into the wall.

Alessia held her breath, only exhaling when the driver indicated that he was fine. Pierre looked to be okay and stayed out but ultimately, the damage to his car was too much and he was forced to retire.

When Pierre walked back into the AlphaTauri area, she resisted the urge to make beeline towards him. Alessia knew as well as anyone that when a race didn't go well, sometimes she just needed space. If Pierre wanted someone, he would come to her and that's exactly what he did.

Spotting her in the crowd of people, he approached her and when he was standing in front of her, she reached up and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Disappointed, huh?" Her voice was soft as she asked the question, seeing the disappointment on his face. His usual smile was absent and his eyes didn't have their usual sparkle.

The inaugural Miami Grand Prix was not all that had lived up to be for Pierre.

"You raced well though-" she started but she was cut off by Pierre laughing.

"You didn't know which one was me, did you?" He questioned and Alessia wondered how in the space of a week, he had gotten to know her so well.

She shook her head sheepishly. Even after all of the information that she had absorbed from Pierre over the past week, she still had no clue as to how the sport worked.

Pierre kept his arms around Alessia as they watched the end of the race together. He stood behind her, his arms around her waist and his chin resting on the top of her head. The Frenchman let out small comments of appreciation for the other drivers and if Alessia was being honest, she paid more attention to what he was saying than to what was happening in the race.

Fortunately, when the race ended, Pierre didn't have any interviews to do. He had managed to get them out of the way when he first came off the track and so now, he was free to do whatever he pleased.

Alessia noticed how eager Pierre was to leave and retreat back to his own space. She went to grab her crutches but Pierre told her to leave them. He would grab them for her later on but for now, he encouraged Alessia to jump onto his back. She did so, enjoying the more playful side of Pierre Gasly.

Pierre walked as quickly as he could with Alessia still on his back through the paddock, down the multiple corridors she saw earlier and back into Pierre's room.

"Do you mind?" Pierre asked as he set her down on the bed gently and pointed to his race suit that he was still wearing. A pink flush appeared on Alessia's face and she shook her head. Her dark curls fell into her face but she didn't move them. Instead, she allowed them to be a curtain, keeping Pierre's body out of her vision. She wanted to see what his body looked like but she wasn't about to invade his privacy.

Finishing changing by pulling a t-shirt over his head, Pierre couldn't keep the cheeky smile off his face. Alessia's innocence was adorable.

"Can you explain more about the race to me? I thought you were fine-" Alessia started. She did want to know more about the ins and outs of racing but it was her conversation starter because she didn't know what else to say to him. Not when she had caught a glimpse of his toned body.

"I don't want to talk about the race. Actually, I don't want to talk at all." Pierre sat down next to Alessia on the bed and moved his hand so it was touching Alessia's. His pinky intertwined with hers.

"I can think of better things to do." Pierre smirked and looked at her longingly with his ocean blue eyes.

"Like what?" Alessia was genuinely confused but she had an inkling of where things were going. The Italian just didn't want to jump the gun.

Pierre leaned forward and Alessia could feel his hot breath fanning against her face. His eyes flickered from her eyes, to her lips and eventually back to her eyes. Just as he had done every other time, he was asking for her permission.

With a sudden surge in confidence, Alessia closed the gap. Her soft lips met his slightly chapped ones and once again, Alessia felt as though she was in paradise. How much she loved kissing Pierre Gasly, Alessia would never have the words.

What started out as a slow and gentle kiss soon became more heated and urgent. Pierre wanted all other distractions out of his head. He only wanted her on his mind. Alessia wanted to be closer to Pierre. She wanted to feel his hands all over her body and his lips on hers. They needed each other.

Coming away to take a breath of fresh air, Pierre's lips moved to attack the skin on her neck. He nipped at the delicate skin at the base of her neck and Alessia knew that it would leave a mark in the morning but at that very moment in time, she didn't care. They were both where they needed to be.

1074 words
6th July 2022

note from e !

Ahh, these two really get the butterflies going! A successful or unsuccessful Miami GP for Pierre? I think he would argue for the former.

Happy fourth of July if you celebrate! I don't as I'm not American but considering that this book is based off the lyric, "on the fourth of July, I met a man, Pierre", it felt quite fitting to upload a new chapter. Especially when Alessia and Pierre met on the fourth of July.

It also means that this book has been sitting in my drafts for a year now and I really want to get my updates back on track because I love Alessia and Pierre's story so much.

What have you all been up to recently?
- It's Wimbledon time again so I've been watching that. It was great to see Andy Murray back on centre court and absolutely smashing it today! Also good to see Cameron Norrie getting through to the next round too. I hope you've all been enjoying your summer holidays!

Enjoy and stay safe!

Lots of love, e x