Page 37 of Drive Me Wild (Drive Me #2)
THIRTY-SEVEN
JOSIE
I turn onto my side and reach out, only to find the other side of my bed empty. My muscles tighten as I momentarily wonder if last night was a dream. Did Theo not come to Gemini’s opening party? The sudden bang and thump of things falling in my bathroom reassures me that Theo is indeed here.
“Babe?” I call out. “You there?”
My words cause some sort of volcanic explosion, because that’s the only explanation for the subsequent noises that come from my bathroom. What in the bloody hell is that man doing? Before I can get out of bed to check that my makeup isn’t shattered on the floor, Theo comes waltzing out. Just like the first time we slept together, he’s completely naked and utterly happy about it. Unlike the first time we slept together, I can now study his gorgeous frame without an ounce of embarrassment. I’ve never met someone so comfortable in their natural form—not that I’m complaining.
He walks over, swinging his dick like a helicopter, and slips under the covers with me. “Morning, gorgeous.”
“Morning, handsome.” I snuggle against the hard warmth of his body. Muscular arms wrap around me, trying to pull me even closer. “Should I be scared to go into my bathroom?”
When he doesn’t answer right away, I nudge his rock-hard abs.
“I organized it,” he says quickly. “How’d you sleep? I slept like a rock. Well, a very rock-hard rock, if you know what I mean.”
The only part of that sentence I focus on is the word “organized.” This is what I get for sleeping in. Before I can demand an explanation and answers, he gives me a pout and says, “I even took before and after photos.”
I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry. “What’s wrong with how my things are organized, Theo? Please tell me you didn’t throw anything away.”
“For starters, none of the labels are facing the same way,” he says defensively. “How do you know what anything is? I only threw out expired medicines and face creams.”
I smack his arm. “Why’d you do that? You can use medicine for, like, two years after it expires, babes. Google it.”
“No, you can’t,” he groans. “And if you don’t properly shut your toothpaste, bacteria will spread and multiply.”
I shove my face into my pillow so I don’t say anything I regret. This is what happens when Theo is left unattended for too long. Chaos .
He presses a kiss against my forehead. Such a boyfriend move. “I’m just preparing you for when we eventually live together because your lack of organization is not going to fly, princess.” Theo nuzzles his face into my neck. The rough feeling of his scruff against my skin tickles, and I squirm underneath him. “I’ll be the best roommate ever. I cook, I clean, I make you orgasm, and I watch all your shows with you.”
“You don’t stop chattering during my shows. It took us two hours to get through a thirty-minute sitcom because I kept having to rewind.”
He purses his lips in thought. “But it makes me more lovable.”
“It does. You’re very, very lovable.” I place a few kisses on his stubbled jaw. “Should we turn on the race?”
Theo’s started in almost one hundred and fifty Grand Prix. This morning marks the first one he’s missed in nearly eight years.
“Weird hearing you say that, eh?” Theo chuckles. “But nah, I’m okay. I’ve had my fill of Formula 1 this morning. Finalized the details of my contract.”
Ah. That explains why he was up early enough to organize my entire bathroom.
“Everything’s sorted now?”
He nods with a satisfied smirk. “Yep. You’re looking at AlphaVite’s newest driver.”
The noise that comes out of my mouth is half actress-being-scared-in-a-horror-movie and half actress-being-surprised-in-a-cute-way-in-a-romcom. Theo waits as I bombard him with question after question, not giving him any time to answer one before jumping to the next.
“Slow down, baby.” Theo kisses my forehead again. “Yes, I’m happy with my decision. Yes, McAllister is about to go through a PR nightmare. Yes, I’m taking a pay cut, but I’ll still be able to buy you unlimited ice cream, so don’t worry. And yes, it was completely my decision. It’s what I want. AlphaVite is an opportunity for growth and new challenges. And even with the clauses in my McAllister contract gone… well, fuck them. I’m petty.”
My petty, perfect man.
I leap out of bed and rummage through my closet until I find what I’m looking for. It’s buried beneath the rest of my F1 attire, which is mostly McAllister shirts and hats, but it’s relatively easy to spot, considering it’s the only blue item in a sea of red.
Theo laughs loudly when I reappear wearing my gifted AlphaVite baseball hat. “Why the hell do you have that? Have you been hiding it?”
“David gave it to Ella when she interviewed him,” I admit. “She re-gifted it to me because?—”
“Blake would have had a fucking hernia if she wore that,” he finishes for me. “It looks sexy on you.”
Jumping back into bed, I straddle Theo and place my hands on his chest. “Blue is going to look super sexy on you. Much better than red does.”
He gasps playfully. “You don’t think I look good in red?”
“You always look good—which is quite annoying, by the way—but red is a tough color to pull off. Blue compliments your eyes and complexion more.” I take the cap off and place it on his head to illustrate my point. “There! You look perfectly gorgeous.”
“You’re perfectly gorgeous.”
My cheeks flush as I smile. “Thank you.”
“Now that we’ve determined we’re the most perfectly gorgeous couple,” Theo says with a grin. “How shall we spend the day? Besides millions of orgasms, of course.”
“Do you want to come?—”
“Yes. I thought we just clarified that part, angel.”
I roll my eyes. “You didn’t let me finish! What?—”
“I always let you finish.” A boyish grin pulls at his cheeks. “Quite proud of myself for it, too, eh?”
Fighting the urge to laugh, I press my hand over his mouth, so he stops interrupting me. “Do you want to come to brunch with me and my parents, you horny Aussie?”
Theo shifts nervously as my parents make themselves comfortable across the table from us at the restaurant. The moment my boyfriend is around my dad, he seems to forget the entire English language, including how to greet someone. He mumbles some incoherent “hello” before downing half a glass of juice.
Opening her menu, my mum peers over the top and casually asks, “How was the makeup sex?”
Orange juice sprays out of Theo’s mouth and onto the white table in front of us. And we’re off to a fantastic start. My dad pretends he doesn’t hear the question, knowing he’ll get dragged into choosing sides if he does.
“Oh my God, Mum,” I hiss. “We’re in public . And that is absolutely none of your business.”
She waves me off with the flick of her hand. “Making love after an emotional separation is gratifying, Josephine. It’s a healthy way to reconnect and bond with your partner. Nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Caroline,” my dad interjects after an intense staring contest. “Why don’t you talk to Josephine about this in private? Later, hmm?”
He nods to Theo, who looks white as a ghost. Poor bloke. He better buckle in for a lifetime of this kind of questioning. He hasn’t even heard my mum talk about pregnancy sex or childbirth.
She sighs dramatically. “Fine, fine. Tell us about the party. Was last night a smashing success?”
My mum and dad wanted to come to Gemini’s soft opening but had already committed to attending a charity gala. I think it worked out for the best because the last thing I needed was to spend the whole night stressing out that my mum was telling people about some new dildo or lube.
Before I can get a word in, Theo remembers how to speak in front of other people and starts filling them in at rapid-fire speed. Pride sits on his face as he tells them about the appetizers, the guest list, the decor, the drinks, everything he can remember. My dad’s features soften slightly as he listens to Theo animatedly applaud and admire me.
“It was very sweet of you to miss your race to be there for Josephine,” my mum comments.
“Josie’s the only trophy I need,” he says before blanching . “Not that she’s a trophy. I mean, she is—she’s amazing and deserves to be on a pedestal. But I meant she’s not, like, property. I’ll take the title of her boyfriend over the World Champion title any day of the week, though. Wow. It’s hot in here.”
Instead of wrapping his hands around Theo’s neck, my dad simply nods. “I hope McAllister didn’t give you too hard of a time for missing the Grand Prix. Especially after the bullshit with your contract.”
Theo gives him a tentative smile. “Yeah, and I just signed a new contract with another team, so there’s not much they could do, anyway.”
My mum presses her hand against her chest. “Josephine didn’t tell us! Congrats, Theo. That’s very exciting.”
“I just found out this morning,” I cut in.
“During post-coital pillow ta?—”
“What team?” my dad, thankfully, interrupts my mum.
“AlphaVite,” Theo announces. I give his thigh a quick, supportive squeeze under the table. His new contract won’t be announced until next week, but telling my dad he signed to his favorite team will definitely earn him some brownie points.
“They’re a great team.” My dad nods in approval. “What do you think about their engine change?”
“So far, it seems fantastic. The wing design seems to have really helped with porpoising as well, which was always their biggest issue in previous cars. Have you ever played the Formula 1 video game?”
My dad shakes his head. “I haven’t played a video game since Pac-Man first came out.”
Before I can beg Theo not to go into a twenty-minute, in-depth review on it like he’s a video game reviewer with a YouTube channel, he does just that. My parents look at him in equal parts confusion and amusement. Their one and only child preferred dolls over driving games.
“We can play together sometime,” Theo offers excitedly, his smile wider than a cartoon chipmunk. “If you want, I mean.”
I hold my breath as I wait for my dad to respond, only releasing it when he gives Theo a simple, but firm, “Okay.”
Theo grins like he won today’s Grand Prix rather than simply made progress with my dad. He grabs my hand under the table before talking about his other favorite video games… all nine hundred of them.
As a server delivers our food, he turns to me and murmurs, “Have I told you how much I love you?”
I lean into his feather-light touch. “Not in the past ten minutes.”
“Well, I love you. More than anything, angel.”
“I love you, too,” I say softly. “And thank you for being here. I know this isn’t a usual Grand Prix Sunday for either of us, and it won’t be the new norm, but it means a lot to me.”
Theo responds by singing the chorus of Frankie Vallie’s “Can’t Keep Me Eyes Off of You.” A smile stretches across my lips and doesn’t leave for the rest of brunch. Hell, I never think it’ll leave. Not with Theo by my side. He’s my favorite person, my best friend, and my lover all rolled into one ridiculously loud, dangerously handsome man. And he’s mine, forever.