06-09-2020, 03:07 AM
Nika had been out of town all week testing new components for the bikes at the famed Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in Rimini, Italy. The atmosphere had been complete madness. Fans, media, the teams and other riders...everyone was hyped up and bat shit nuts. It had seemed like a circus more than usual for some reason. She’d missed the race in Assen having been injured in practice by a careless competitor and no one, it seemed, was letting that die. Annessa, Ducati’s PR guru, had eventually stopped granting interviews because Nika had gotten tired of talking about the crash; her last account was something like, ‘For crying out loud, you’ve seen the video...I had no idea what happened until I saw it in hospital.’ Even Nika had her limits with the fucking press.
Thank God she was cleared by Medical to test too. Sure, she had some soreness in her wrist and still had to wear the sleeve over her fingers but other than that, right as acid rain. After a royal TARFU with the new fairings on Thursday that resulted in both her and Alex crashing, the team had had strong words and tense moments in a meeting afterward. Both riders were more or less able to continue but the mechanics needed to work all night on repairs so they’d have spare bikes the next day. Nika always felt for them when that happened.
Then there was the team rule where everyone put their phones away for the weekend. That was nice and crappy all at once. The guys’ significant others hated the rule. The guys who got bitched at a lot loved it. Nika was actually involved emotionally for the first time in a long while which was a weird place for her. Since the initial date with Liv, they’d been texting regularly...well that night and all the next day and a half...until the wallets were turned over to Annessa. And you know? It had been really nice. Nika was enjoying getting to know Liv. Nika was still reserved, not wanting to push too hard or fast or whatever, and hell Liv was too. They’d only been on one date! All the way back to Moscow though, they’d talked. Nika’d called her on video chat and asked about her day. It was nice. So naturally she’d been excited to be asked out on another date by Liv. So far so good.
Nika drove her baby, Sebastian, the black sapphire metallic BMW M3...the one that used to belong to a mobster. It was the least outwardly showy car she owned and it was also her favorite. It was all sharp, aggressive lines and raw, sexy power. 1600 horses under the unassuming hood. A monster of a car in disguise. She parked around the corner intentionally, not wanting to make a scene even if the car was 10 years old. Car people would appreciate it not even knowing what was under the hood. Nika didn’t think Liv was a car person. Into real things, that one. Still, maybe someday she’d get her on a bike. The thought of Liv the back of her Ducati, arms wrapped around her waist...danced across her mind as Nika parked. Hot. Stop it, Jesus. What’s wrong with you? Second date, dumbass. Still, Nika smirked a little as her alarm chirped and she put the key in her pocket.
Liv was in plain sight from a mile away. Not literally because there were a lot of trees and the street curved but Nika saw her plainly enough, clear as the optics on her sniper rifle. So cute in that dress. They’d said it was casual-y...so she’d opted for skinny jeans, street rocker high tops, a retro Doctor Who t-shirt and a Dainese leather jacket that was so supple, it looked like she was born in it.
Nika’s face spread into a smile when she neared and she gave a dorky little wave. “Hi.” She beamed. “You look so cute, if you don’t mind me saying that.” Her face flitted through the myriad of expressions associated with ‘what just came out of my mouth?’ She shrugged and held out a small dark blue book bound with a length of twine. The blank pages were thick, unevenly cut but not offensively so with that slightly yellowed/off-white color that screamed ‘handmade.’ “I brought this back for you.” Her dark eyes headlined a shy, dimpled smile. I missed you. Can’t say that aloud yet though. That’d be a little creepy.
Thank God she was cleared by Medical to test too. Sure, she had some soreness in her wrist and still had to wear the sleeve over her fingers but other than that, right as acid rain. After a royal TARFU with the new fairings on Thursday that resulted in both her and Alex crashing, the team had had strong words and tense moments in a meeting afterward. Both riders were more or less able to continue but the mechanics needed to work all night on repairs so they’d have spare bikes the next day. Nika always felt for them when that happened.
Then there was the team rule where everyone put their phones away for the weekend. That was nice and crappy all at once. The guys’ significant others hated the rule. The guys who got bitched at a lot loved it. Nika was actually involved emotionally for the first time in a long while which was a weird place for her. Since the initial date with Liv, they’d been texting regularly...well that night and all the next day and a half...until the wallets were turned over to Annessa. And you know? It had been really nice. Nika was enjoying getting to know Liv. Nika was still reserved, not wanting to push too hard or fast or whatever, and hell Liv was too. They’d only been on one date! All the way back to Moscow though, they’d talked. Nika’d called her on video chat and asked about her day. It was nice. So naturally she’d been excited to be asked out on another date by Liv. So far so good.
Nika drove her baby, Sebastian, the black sapphire metallic BMW M3...the one that used to belong to a mobster. It was the least outwardly showy car she owned and it was also her favorite. It was all sharp, aggressive lines and raw, sexy power. 1600 horses under the unassuming hood. A monster of a car in disguise. She parked around the corner intentionally, not wanting to make a scene even if the car was 10 years old. Car people would appreciate it not even knowing what was under the hood. Nika didn’t think Liv was a car person. Into real things, that one. Still, maybe someday she’d get her on a bike. The thought of Liv the back of her Ducati, arms wrapped around her waist...danced across her mind as Nika parked. Hot. Stop it, Jesus. What’s wrong with you? Second date, dumbass. Still, Nika smirked a little as her alarm chirped and she put the key in her pocket.
Liv was in plain sight from a mile away. Not literally because there were a lot of trees and the street curved but Nika saw her plainly enough, clear as the optics on her sniper rifle. So cute in that dress. They’d said it was casual-y...so she’d opted for skinny jeans, street rocker high tops, a retro Doctor Who t-shirt and a Dainese leather jacket that was so supple, it looked like she was born in it.
Nika’s face spread into a smile when she neared and she gave a dorky little wave. “Hi.” She beamed. “You look so cute, if you don’t mind me saying that.” Her face flitted through the myriad of expressions associated with ‘what just came out of my mouth?’ She shrugged and held out a small dark blue book bound with a length of twine. The blank pages were thick, unevenly cut but not offensively so with that slightly yellowed/off-white color that screamed ‘handmade.’ “I brought this back for you.” Her dark eyes headlined a shy, dimpled smile. I missed you. Can’t say that aloud yet though. That’d be a little creepy.