Page 23 of Drive Me Crazy
The conversation on our way to the garage revolves entirely around Blake’s eating habits. I’m intrigued. It turns out he prefers chocolate milk to regular milk and not just out of a glass, in his cereal, too.
“Blakey and Goldy!” Theo greets us as we enter the pit. “Here to hang out with me?”
His eyes look extra blue this morning. Is being attractive a prerequisite for being a Formula 1 driver? The fucking accents alone are enough to send me over the edge.
“Blake’s showing me around,” I explain.
He quickly picks up on the warning look I give him. Hislips are sealed; he won’t tell Blake he’s already done this tour with me.
“You’re fine with him calling you Goldy?” Blake frowns. “Because I hate when he calls me Blakey.”
I don’t think he cares about the nickname. I think he cares that Theo and I have gotten to know each other well enough to even have nicknames.
“It beats sweetheart or babe.”
Theo ruffles my hair playfully. “I thought ‘muffin’ was a cute nickname.”
After about two weeks of him calling me a variety of pet names, we had a little chat. Unless my parents legally change my name to “babycakes,” he isn’t allowed to call me that. When he started with “Goldy,” I accepted it. The only cutesy names Theo hasn’t called me are “princess” and “angel.” Those seem to be specifically reserved for Josie.
I stick my tongue out. “Call me ‘muffin’ again and I’ll shove one where the sun doesn’t shine,sweet cheeks.”
It’s hard not to smile when Blake laughs. It’s deep and makes the corners of his eyes crinkle. The butterflies in my stomach come out of hibernation. I take a baggie of trail mix out and pop some in my mouth. All the snack talk from earlier has my stomach grumbling.
“See, Blake?” I shake the bag in front of him. “This is how nuts should be eaten. Surrounded by chocolate, raisins, and cereal.”
“Are there even nuts in there?” He squints his eyes and peers into the baggie. “Do you even know what a nut looks like?”
There are very obvious peanuts and cashews in my trail mix. The ratio is just not in their favor.
“Trust me, I definitely know what nuts look like.”Welp, that sounds obscenely sexual.“Want to try some?”
“Of your nuts?” Blake shakes his head. “No, thanks, love.”
“Whynot? Are you scared of my nuts, Blake?” I tilt my head, leaning into the mess I’ve made by turning my trail mix into a sexual innuendo. “Scared they’re bigger and better than yours?”
He grunts in amusement. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re impossibly exhausting?”
I give him a dazed look of bewilderment, exaggerated confusion clouding my eyes.
“Exhibit nine hundred,” he says.
“You looking at me like a murderer when I said your snacks looked like you were preparing for an apocalypse is exhibit nine hundred of why you need a higher education in the world of sweet and savory.”
“A murderer? Who says that instead of I don’t know—any other word? Do you have a criminal record or something?”
I rub my hands together and laugh like I’m Dr. Evil.
Blake mutters under his breath. “You’re insane.”
“Insanely smart, insanely amazing, or, your third option, insanely impressive?”
Theo’s head is bouncing back and forth like he’s watching an intense tennis match. “I’m glad Blake’s finally talking to you, but you guys fight like an old married couple.”
Blake shoots me a roguishly handsome grin. “Probably because just like an old married couple … we’re not fucking either.”
Not this again. I thought we left this behind us.
“When are you going to let it go? I’m not going to apologize for not sleeping with you. I’m a professional, not a porn star, Blakey.” I know my use of Theo’s nickname for him is going to grind his gears.
