Monza (Formula Men)

Chapter 7

Sette

My mother's visit merely shook the teetering edge I was trying to hold on to. I wasn't feeling any better a few hours later, so I had to succumb to taking my medication once more. The aches and pains I could deal with, but the blinding headache that was pounding my skull needed addressing since it was getting worse. Each sound my ears picked up felt a hundred times louder.

Felicia Constantia di Medici had the audacity to demand such idiotic things from me just because she was the person who gave birth to me. Her main objective was to save us and for the family name not to be tainted by bad press. Regardless, I wasn't a child she could simply boss around and have cater to her whims and wishes. I had lived with my fair share of wanting to please my mother, but I had later realized that she was never going to be satisfied. She would forever demand whatever she needed to suit her purpose. There was no winning with her; I had long ago admitted that fact.

With an intrusive mother, my father actually was the polar opposite. Gianni di Medici was a reasonably fair man. He didn't necessarily intrude into my personal business unless it was critical. We had a good relationship, but it was one that wouldn't be considered close.

Not one single person I knew at the moment seemed to have any qualms about me being in bad shape. Even my best friends, Jacques and Andrès, had advised that I should seek help. I felt betrayed by everyone. I had no one—not a damn soul—who would simply be there without having to judge my actions. It was a saddening thought. It wasn't so long ago where the three of us were thick as thieves. But I suppose, as we got older, things were truly shifting to place where we were gradually drifting apart.

Based on the negative spotlight on me as of late, I was actually wondering why FIA hadn't called yet for my suspension. I had been fielding calls left and right from friends and acquaintances to media outlets, vying to get a word out of me. There were heavy speculations about my drinking and that there was a "reliable source" from the hospital that confirmed I had alcohol in my system during the time of the crash.

Sighing, I checked the time to see how long it had been since I had taken the pills. It had been five minutes of waiting for the medicine to relieve the pain. I was getting frustrated when it didn't do anything, so I decided to sleep it off.

"The sun's going to be out soon," she happily observed as she looked up, admiring the beautiful, contrasting colors of the first signs of the dawn breaking into morning. She released a whimsical sigh before pressing her breasts against my chest.

We were on the hill in my family's orchard where we had spent the night on a blanket underneath the lemon tree, surrounded by the invigorating, romantic scents of lavender and roses.

I knew it had only been a few days, and this was the first time we'd had sex, but I had never felt this peaceful state. It was refreshing, exciting to be with a woman who didn't irritate me. Not only that, but her cute, quirky attitude and filthy mouth made her even more endearing. And after dealing with my mother's pestering about taking on a wife from her meticulously selected roster, I knew I had to get her away...away from the chaos that was my life. There was no better place to take her on a short trip but here...to the place where I would gather my thoughts—my sanctuary—a place where I never brought any woman before until this very instance.

Faintly brushing her soft strands with my fingertips, I took in the simplicity of our setting and how right it felt to be cuddling with a woman, something I rarely did. I couldn't even recall when the last time had been, if ever.

There was just something about her that simply enthralled me and kept me from being able to take my eyes off her, which was unnerving to say the least. The women I typically dated were vain, haughty, snobby women, so being with Kimberly was a nice surprise. It was a true novelty to be able to enjoy a woman's company without having my credit cards being beaten to death by endless shopping sprees. That type of lifestyle, of course, was what I had grown up with, so seeing how much women spent on clothes and other frivolous purchases was my normal.