"How are you feeling today, Sandro?" my personal trainer, Aaron, asked.

"Good, just a bit tired."

"Alright, we'll take it easy and do some biking around the track."

I let out a sigh of relief. It was a struggle to get myself out of bed today, training was a far thought.

"What are you wearing to the dinner tonight?" Aaron asked as he biked beside me.

"Not sure actually. I forgot about it to be honest."

"You've got to be kidding me mate. The first one's always the most anticipated."

Every year at the start of the new season, all the teams got together for a giant formal dinner. It was a chance to introduce new team members and drivers before hitting the road for the 23 race season.

"Hey, I am just getting situated here. I keep reminding myself I'm not a test driver anymore," I defended as he chuckled.

"Feeling homesick yet?" he asked.

"A little bit, but it's mostly a change in atmosphere that's affecting me. Life here is so much different from life back in Italy. Everything is...chaotic"

"I had the same feeling when I first joined. It's odd being in a new country every week."

"I'm not complaining. This has been my dream since I was 7."

"You must've felt mighty proud when you got the call."

I smiled, remembering how my mother was jumping in excitement the night Zak called me.

"I've made it this far, but there's still a long way to go."

"You'll get there, mate. You'll get there," Aaron assured.

-------------------------------------------

"Alesso!"

"Alessandro!"

"Alessandro, I love you!"

I couldn't help but chuckle as fans shouted over the barriers separating the red carpet and the public.

The sound of camera shutters were incredibly loud as we walked towards the entrance of the restaurant.

I never knew how blinding the flashes could be until the camera's were pointed directly at me.

I had no idea where to look without blinding myself.

"Alessandro! Over here!"

My head whipped to the side, trying to find the source of the person shouting my name.

Unfortunately, it was just a journalist.

"Have you got a plus one for the dinner?!" he shouted over.

I held myself back from rolling my eyes, glancing around myself.

"Well... clearly not."

Laughter broke out from the crowd, somehow finding my statement amusing. People have terrible humor these days.

"Maybe he'll find one at the dinner," a voice said, throwing their arm around my shoulder.

"Sure, you're probably keen on doing just that, aren't you Daniel?"

The Aussie laughed loudly, shaking his head at the dig. Despite the fact that I had taken his potential seat at McLaren, Daniel was always a blast to hang out with. Hardcore partier, certified dancer, less than average karaoke singer, and 110% fun.

"Enjoy tonight, mate. It'll be a long time before you can catch a break," he said before leaving me to go meet others.

The restaurant was packed, but we were lucky enough to have our own private section. Several tables were pushed together to create one incredibly long one. Still, there was no way it would fit all of us.

There seemed to be some confusion before we were asked to wait as they rearranged the tables.

"Well, I guess I'll be starving for a bit longer," Lando sighed, coming to stand beside me.

"What a pity," I replied, earning a pout from the Brit.

"Do you know what the menu is?"

"Food," I responded.

"Mate, you suck."

To Lando, it seemed like forever before the tables were finally ready although it had only been 10 minutes.

"Finally, I was starting to think the napkins looked appetizing."

"No surprise there," Zak joked, coming to join us as we sat down at a table.

Dinner was served quickly and I realized how hungry I actually was. The food was delicious, although I preferred my home cooked Italian meals.

I winced at the shrill sound from the microphone as the Sporting Director stood up, tapping his glass.

"Thank you all for coming here tonight, as usual. We've got a long 22 races ahead of us and I can already tell it's going to be one hell of a season. A warm welcome to our new drivers, Alessandro Moreno, Yuki Tsunoda, Nikita Mazepin, and Mick Schumacher."

A round of applause erupted from everyone around and I smiled, giving a small wave.

It was odd to have so much attention on you, I still wasn't used to it.

"Does anyone have anything they'd like to say? Or should I force Christian or Toto to come on up here?" he joked.

Christian, the Red Bull team principal was sitting at the table next to ours and motioned for him to bring the mic over.

"Congrats to our rookies and cheers to a new season," he spoke and a round of applause sounded in the room.

"Watch, Toto's going to throw a hissy fit because I went first," he whispered into the mic making everyone laugh.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the statement, the Red Bull-Mercedes competition forever present.

"Don't worry, Netflix will pay us extra for the drama," Toto shot back from the Mercedes table and everyone laughed.

"Before these two get carried away," the director interrupted, "I'd like to do to a toast to Bernd, he's out for half the season for health reasons. Bernd, we miss you and we can't wait for you to get back out here with us."

"Cheers," I muttered raising a glass.

"And of course, because Bernd is absent, we have a new safety car driver. A warm welcome to Miss Dakota Sánchez," he spoke, gesturing to the table in the far corner of the room.

I couldn't see her, but I heard her laugh as she thanked the director.

"I requested to follow her on Instagram, she didn't accept it yet," Lando frowned.

"Maybe she doesn't check her phone 24/7 like you do," I shot back.

"What is it with you today? Is it Lando slander day or something?"

"Lando slander day, has a nice ring to it," I smirked making Lando roll his eyes.

We chatted a bit about our break and other things, straying away from the topic of F1. The food was good and quelled some of my homesickness. I felt like I was full to the limit - until Lando mentioned desert.

"Are we even allowed to have desert?" I asked curiously.

"Does it look like I care? Fuck the diet, I'm eating my tiramisu," he said, leaning back in his seat.

"Best tiramisu is homemade, Lando."

"Then you'll have to make some for me," he said.

We chatted for a while, nobody was really in the mood to leave yet.

"This season is going to be hectic. We have 3 races back to back throughout the season," Zak said, glancing at the calendar on his phone.

Zak was my boss, but it didn't really act feel like he was. He was like that one cool uncle that lives abroad and buys you whatever you want. I always felt at ease around him, unlike with Andreas. That man was always serious.

My gaze wandered around, taking in how everyone was buzzing with excitement for the new season. Then, my gaze landed on her.

She was dressed in a flowing dark purple dress that was simple, yet eye-catching.Her hair was pin straight, going down to just past her waist. Her light brown eyes were bright, only looking better with the added dark makeup look.

From where I was siting, I could make out a pinky nude shade of lipstick coated her bow-shaped lips. As she took a sip of her drink, it was the first time I had seen her without her mask.

"What are you look- oh," Lando trailed off, following my gaze.

"Nothing," I replied quickly, taking a sip of my own drink.

"Hey Dakota!" he called, making her look up.

"Shut it!" I whispered, kicking his leg under the table.

She stood up, making her way over to our table. I was still weary of her. I never intended to cut her off that night on the way to the MTC. It was fun to mess around sometimes, but I guess she didn't like it very much.

Her gaze lingered on me for a barely moment before she turned to Lando.

"I actually stood up to come here, you better have something good to say," she huffed, crossing her arms playfully.

Lando rolled his eyes, patting the empty seat beside him.

"Anyone sitting here?"

"No, Andreas went back to the hotel. He had enough for one night," Lando shrugged.

The table for 8 was now down to the two of us as Zak had made his way over to the Alpha Tauri table.

"Bummer," she replied, taking a seat.

I sat awkwardly beside the two as they conversed, periodically picking up my phone to check the time.

"Do you know where the restroom is?" I whispered to Lando, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Dakota, do you know where the restroom is?"

Her gaze shifted to me, only her eyes peeking out from the mask.

"Straight through the door and on the left," she replied.

"Thanks," I muttered, standing and making my way over.

I pushed the door open and was immediately hit with the smell of heavy perfume.

Not thinking much of it, I let the door close shut behind me and walked further into the restroom.

Only then did I realize I had walked into the women's restroom.

I frowned, surely I turned left and not right?

I hurried out of the womens restroom, glancing to see if anyone had seen me.

Directly across from me, on the right hand side, was the mens restroom where a man was just coming out.

My brows furrowed in confusion but I quickly used the restroom, washed my hands, and made my way back to the table.

As I approached, Lando was looking at me like I had just cracked the funniest joke ever. His eyes were teary and his face was red, as if he had been laughing really hard.

Dakota stood up, said a few words to Lando, before coming towards me. There was a mischievous look in her eyes.

Then it clicked.

She had directed me to the women's restroom on purpose.

"Paybacks a bitch," she whispered, bumping my shoulder as she walked past me.

She made her way over to her own table, sitting down beside one of the PR officials.

"The way you just marched into the women's restroom," Lando's high pitched laughter was loud, finding it absolutely hilarious.

"Shut it," I muttered.

"Give him a break," Zak chimed in, but I didn't miss his amused expression. Clearly he was in on the little prank Dakota had pulled on me.

I huffed, taking a bite of my tiramisu.

If you asked me what it tasted like, I wouldn't be able to tell you because quite frankly, I don't remember.

My focus was elsewhere.