peek at a top designer’s collection. My friends, back at my fashion school in L.A., would be so jealous. Even Kat would be jealous. What the hell, it's a business relationship and nothing more is going to happen.
“Okay, Gio. That would be fantastic. I'll be there at two, if that's okay.”
“Sure, two it is. Ciao, bella.”
I ended the call with excitement tingling through my body. Of course I knew why Gio was doing this. I wasn’t stupid, but I didn’t care. This was an opportunity to experience the high fashion world from the inside and I could handle a crazy Italian. I wouldn’t be swayed by him, no matter what he said in his dreamy Italian voice. I could accept his favors and not fall for his charm, as long as I stayed in control.
Chapter 13
Jesse
H ell yeah, training in Milan was the bomb, just like I knew it would be. And getting back into the action, riding again - I mean really riding, not just riding my Uncle Kenny's street bike – was what I lived for. This was the real deal and I was psyched. It had been exactly two weeks since Niki and I’d arrived in Milan. I was in a great mood when Coach called me into his office. I had just finished a three hour training session on the track and I was hoping Coach was calling me in to say I could take the rest of the day off.
I dropped my helmet and gloves outside Coach's trailer and gave my boots a kick to knock off some of the dirt before I entered. Pulling the latch on the camper door, I yelled inside as I opened it, “Hey, Coach. Did you want to see me?”
Coach was sitting at the kitchen table in front of a laptop, peering at the screen over some dark rimmed reading glasses. I stood hesitantly, afraid to ruin his white leather couch with my dusty riding clothes. He swiped the glasses from his nose and motioned with them for me to sit down.
“Have a seat. It's okay. Don't worry about the couch in here; it's an RV, for Christ’s sake.”
I nodded and took a seat, pitched forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
Abandoning his computer screen, Coach looked at me over the top of it as he spoke. “Jesse, I want to let you know I'm damn pleased with how you looked out there on the track today. From the looks of things, I'd say you're back one hundred percent. You get good times on the laps, keep it tight in the turns... everything is spot on. I'm happy as a pig in shit, but...”
I knew it, here comes the downer.
“But team morale sucks. It doesn't take a genius to see the cold stares between you, Ice and Santini. At first, I thought it was just you and Ice who had a bone to pick. Now Santini? Come on, you guys are killing me, here.”
Secretly, I didn’t give a damn about those two, but I understood where Coach was going. I mean, his ass was on the line if he couldn't produce a winning team. The season would be starting in the spring and if we didn't get our shit in one bag by then, there would be no trophies to hold up in the air after the finish line. And there would be no more dream job for me.
I sniffed and rubbed the back of my hand across my nose. How could I say this without pissing him off? “Coach, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but it's hard to pull together as a team when we're training twelve hours a day, seven days a week. Don't get me wrong – it rocks – but we all get short tempers when we're tired, man.”
He chewed on the end of his reading glasses for a moment in thought and then said, “Tell you what, Jesse. We're about half way into our month-long training program and I think we could take a break. So how about tomorrow, there will be no training.”
I just nodded, trying not to appear too excited.
“Our sponsor for the energy drink company is having a promotional event at a new club in Milan. You guys on the team should go. It would be good for all of you, not only for team morale but also for our sponsor, if we showed our faces there tomorrow night.”
I slapped my hands on my thighs. “That sounds like a
“Okay, Gio. That would be fantastic. I'll be there at two, if that's okay.”
“Sure, two it is. Ciao, bella.”
I ended the call with excitement tingling through my body. Of course I knew why Gio was doing this. I wasn’t stupid, but I didn’t care. This was an opportunity to experience the high fashion world from the inside and I could handle a crazy Italian. I wouldn’t be swayed by him, no matter what he said in his dreamy Italian voice. I could accept his favors and not fall for his charm, as long as I stayed in control.
Chapter 13
Jesse
H ell yeah, training in Milan was the bomb, just like I knew it would be. And getting back into the action, riding again - I mean really riding, not just riding my Uncle Kenny's street bike – was what I lived for. This was the real deal and I was psyched. It had been exactly two weeks since Niki and I’d arrived in Milan. I was in a great mood when Coach called me into his office. I had just finished a three hour training session on the track and I was hoping Coach was calling me in to say I could take the rest of the day off.
I dropped my helmet and gloves outside Coach's trailer and gave my boots a kick to knock off some of the dirt before I entered. Pulling the latch on the camper door, I yelled inside as I opened it, “Hey, Coach. Did you want to see me?”
Coach was sitting at the kitchen table in front of a laptop, peering at the screen over some dark rimmed reading glasses. I stood hesitantly, afraid to ruin his white leather couch with my dusty riding clothes. He swiped the glasses from his nose and motioned with them for me to sit down.
“Have a seat. It's okay. Don't worry about the couch in here; it's an RV, for Christ’s sake.”
I nodded and took a seat, pitched forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
Abandoning his computer screen, Coach looked at me over the top of it as he spoke. “Jesse, I want to let you know I'm damn pleased with how you looked out there on the track today. From the looks of things, I'd say you're back one hundred percent. You get good times on the laps, keep it tight in the turns... everything is spot on. I'm happy as a pig in shit, but...”
I knew it, here comes the downer.
“But team morale sucks. It doesn't take a genius to see the cold stares between you, Ice and Santini. At first, I thought it was just you and Ice who had a bone to pick. Now Santini? Come on, you guys are killing me, here.”
Secretly, I didn’t give a damn about those two, but I understood where Coach was going. I mean, his ass was on the line if he couldn't produce a winning team. The season would be starting in the spring and if we didn't get our shit in one bag by then, there would be no trophies to hold up in the air after the finish line. And there would be no more dream job for me.
I sniffed and rubbed the back of my hand across my nose. How could I say this without pissing him off? “Coach, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but it's hard to pull together as a team when we're training twelve hours a day, seven days a week. Don't get me wrong – it rocks – but we all get short tempers when we're tired, man.”
He chewed on the end of his reading glasses for a moment in thought and then said, “Tell you what, Jesse. We're about half way into our month-long training program and I think we could take a break. So how about tomorrow, there will be no training.”
I just nodded, trying not to appear too excited.
“Our sponsor for the energy drink company is having a promotional event at a new club in Milan. You guys on the team should go. It would be good for all of you, not only for team morale but also for our sponsor, if we showed our faces there tomorrow night.”
I slapped my hands on my thighs. “That sounds like a
Similar Books
