Chapter 33
Travis
“Mom, you’re going to squeeze the baby out if you hug her any harder,” I say while wrapping my fingers around Alyssia’s arm.
They both laugh as they pull apart, and I don’t waste time pulling her to my side.
Where she belongs.
It’s Saturday evening. Qualifying ended a few hours ago and my parents, Alyssia, and I just finished dinner at our place.
It feels safe to call it our place since she hasn’t gone back to her France apartment since her uncles arrived, and I haven’t returned to my second apartment downstairs.
Alyssia’s uncles are now staying in her France apartment while coming in and out of Monaco for race weekend. They left a couple of hours ago.
We’re standing in the living room thirty minutes after my dad first said it was time for them to head out so I could rest for tomorrow’s race.
But Mom just had to tell Alyssia the story about the time Chloe used our mom’s makeup on me while I was sleeping. With pictures as proof, of course.
“You’re so dramatic,” Mom says, then redirects her attention to Alyssia. “Speaking of dramatic, did I tell you about the time he—”
“Dad?” I turn to the only other man in the room. But he’s just as enamored with my mom as Alyssia is.
“Precious, maybe it’s time to wrap this up,” he tells her, then leans down to say something in her ear.
Mom immediately swats his arm but the sideways grin she gives him makes me groan.
“Can you two take that to your own apartment?”
“You’re being rude,” Alyssia tells me.
“If I don't, these two will be here all night regaling you with stories no one wants to hear.”
“I want to hear them.” She grins. “It’s fun seeing you as a little boy. Gives me an idea of what our little one might be like.”
She covers her belly with her hands.
My mom’s swoon is heard around the room.
Wordlessly, Alyssia takes my mom’s hands and places them on her stomach.
“He or she becomes so active at night these days,” Alyssia says.
“The triplets were like that, too.” Tears fill my mom’s eyes.
“I cannot believe you gave birth to three babies at once.” Alyssia’s voice is full of reverie, her gaze trailing over my mom’s petite frame.
Mom laughs. “It wasn’t easy. Did I tell you how much heart burn those three gave me?”
I look over at my dad, our eyes meeting. He gives me a little nod.
“As beautiful as tonight has been, we really need to let Travis and Alyssia rest,” Dad tells Mom.
It’s another five minutes of promises to meet up tomorrow morning for breakfast between my parents and Alyssia before the race. I’ll have to head out super early, so I won’t be joining them.
“It’s been a long day for you.” Alyssia cups my face.
I kiss the inside of her palm and take her by the wrist. In the bedroom we change and climb into bed, facing one another.
Apart from our morning walks, which we still do, this has become my favorite time of the day. When Alyssia and I are alone, nothing between us but talks about our day, the baby, or anything else that comes to mind.
“Tomorrow’s race is important for the championship, right?”
“They’re all important.”
She drops her gaze, then looks back up at me.
“I looked up your rankings. You’re number two,” she says. “That’s really good, isn’t it?”
My chest tightens.
Not good enough.
“It’s still early in the season,” I say. “I can never get complacent or too confident. I made that mistake last year.”
Especially not with the bullshit blackmail attempts. They’ve gone silent over the past few weeks. Just because they failed to follow through on their threats, so far, doesn’t mean they’ve gone away.
My uncle is still working on answers.
A wrinkle of curiosity appears between Alyssia’s brows.
Though I want so much to forget about it, I tell Alyssia what happened in the final race of the season.
“It was mine to lose and I lost it,” I finish.
“Honestly, it sounds a little bit like sabotage.”
I tighten my lips as well as my hand into a fist, before forcing myself to release the tension that’s just built up in my body from hearing my silent thoughts spoken out loud.
“My team principal lodged a complaint and request for review from the committee. While the call was ruled ‘suspicious,’ the decision was upheld.”
She shakes her head, eyes narrowing. “Bastards.”
I lean in, kissing her lips. Cliché as it is, she’s fucking sexy when she’s pissed.
“How can he get away with that?” she continues.
Her outrage and question trigger a thought. Ultimately, Ronald Stevenson was forced to step down for the call he made.
What if he’s angry about it?
Angry enough to blackmail me into losing it all this season as some sort of personal vendetta.
“Travis?”
“What was that?” I bring my attention back to Alyssia.
“I asked how did you get over it?”
I pause, thinking about my mood at the beginning of this season. While I never thought about quitting the sport I love, I was pissed for a long time. At the beginning of this season, nothing mattered to me more than redemption.
I still want what was taken from me.
“I’m not over it,” I answer honestly. “I’m still out for blood this season. Finishing anywhere less than first place is unacceptable.
“And I want you there,” I say. “Every step of the way, Alyssia. Starting tomorrow.”
I might be an asshole for putting pressure on her to come to my race, but I need her there.
“Promise me you’ll make it?”