Page 20 of Drive Me Wild
“Aww.” Theo pouts his lip. “That’s so cute that you thought you were my first option. Of course I already asked them. They’re busy.”
I smack his arm. “Rude.”
“What if I throw in the promise of ice cream?”
“Aww,” I mimic him. “That’s cute that you thought ice cream wasn’t already part of the deal.”
He throws his head back as he laughs, exposing the paleness of his neck in comparison to the rest of his bronzed body. “Does this mean you’re in?”
I rest my chin in my hands. Do I want to spend my Saturday night playing video games? No, not particularly. But I do want to re-establish the boundaries of our friendship, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Plus, my only other option right now is to third-wheel Ella and Blake. Again.
“Easy games only,” I concede, lifting a brow to show my seriousness. “And no yelling at me if I do something wrong.”
“It’s a date, princess.”
I absolutely hate the feverish rush his words give me. Theo does sex, not dates. There’s nothing wrong with that, except sexbetween friends is neverjustsex. I’ve seenMade of Honor. AndFriends with Benefits.And13 Going on 30.Hell, I even went to Katz’s Deli, which is where they filmed the famous orgasm scene inWhen Harry Met Sally, when I went with Ella to visit her friend Poppy in New York.
“Purely platonic, Walker,” I warn him.
“Or strictly sexual,” he challenges with a playful grin. “Come over around eight?”
“Yeah, I’ll come.” My cheeks heat at the innuendo of my words, so I quickly add, “To your hotel room.”
Theo doesn’t miss a beat. “I thought you said this was purely platonic, Bancroft?”
He winks and my ovaries explode like fireworks.Keep it together, Josie.Leaning back, he flashes me his signature smile, and it immediately feels like I’m burning up in the tropics.
A man with charm is a very dangerous thing…
A few hoursbefore qualifying on Saturday, I meet Wes in McAllister’s motorhome. Albie, McAllister’s head chef, made his famous toasties for lunch and to say I’m excited is an understatement. If I had the metabolism to eat this for every meal, I would.
“Do you want to do dinner tonight?” Wes asks, twirling her platinum blonde hair around her finger. “We can go to that Mediterranean restaurant you were telling me about?”
As a foodie, I essentially moonlight as a Yelp page in every city we visit during the season. “Wish I could, but I promised Theo we’d hang out.”
She doesn’t respond, giving me a look instead. There’s no way she knows we slept together.Right?My breath catches in my throat as I contemplate my options. Deny it? Own up to it?Pretend to faint to get out of the situation? I bit my tongue to stop myself from singing Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me.”
“There’s sort of a bet going on…” Wes finally tells me with a guilty smile. “Whether you and Theo are going to get together.”
My hands smack the table so loudly, people sitting around us turn to see what’s going on. “Between who?”
“Uh, everyone.” Wes laughs. “Wouldn’t be surprised if some of the team principals are in on it.”
I glare at her through my shock. “That is completely absurd!”
Absurdly accurate but absurd, nonetheless.
“Oh, c’mon, Jos! The two of you have always been close,” Wes rationalizes. She shoots me a wide smile, revealing the slight gap in between her teeth and the two dimples at the corners of her mouth. “This would’ve happened ages ago, but you’ve just always had a boyfriend. First there was Jason, and then Andrew… Wait, didn’t you date someone between them? His name started with an R?”
“Robbie,” I grumble. We only dated for a few months, but things got intense way too soon, like they always do. “He was never an official boyfriend, though.”
“My point remains.” Wes rolls her eyes and takes a bite of her sandwich. “You’re always datingsomeone. You’re a relationship girl.”
Tell me something I don’t know.
“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” she clarifies. “But maybe it’s time for you to have a little fun. Go for the guy who doesn’t want to settle down.”
I hate that everything she’s saying makes perfect sense. And if it were anyone but Theo, I’d probably jump on the idea. But adding sex to our friendship would dip us dangerously close to relationship territory when that’s the last thing Theo wants and the last thing I need. Our friendship is more important to me than some temporary sexual desire.
