Page 42 of Drive Me Wild
My mum bows her head slightly, a worried frown creasing her Botox-free forehead. “You’re sleeping with Theo?”
Oh my God. Is there a muzzle available on the menu?
“Yes,” I admit, crossing my arms over my chest. “Can you stop looking at me likethat?”
Rather than smooth out her expression to “nonjudgmental and understanding,” the corners of her mouth droop down further. She’s turned from sex therapist to mum-mode.
“I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions regarding my body,” I continue, a frown of my own forming. “That’s what you always taught me, right?”
“Of course.” She gives me a small smile, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “But sleeping with Theo isn’t casual, darling. It’s complicated.”
“No, it’s quite simple, actually,” I argue, my voice getting defensive. “We’re still friends. We’re just friends who happen to have sex occasionally.”
Besides the sex that makes my toes curl and vision blurry, our friendship has remained the same. We laughatone another as often as we laughwithone another, and we can talk about everything, anything, and nothing. We just also give into the insane chemistry and temptation now.
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” my mum says cautiously. “Casual sex is only casual if you’re not emotionally invested in the person. Theo’s one of your closest friends, and you already care deeply for him. Adding intimacy will unequivocally change things. It’s an emotional war zone, and you’ve had no formal training.”
“I’m not jumping into a relationship,” I explain. “Theo’s not looking for anything serious either, so we’re on the same page. It’s the ideal situation. We’re making casual cool, not complicated.”
Put that on a bumper sticker.
My mum sets her mug down on the table. Twin lines seem to have carved themselves between her brows as she studiesme. “You love deeply, Josephine, and it’s one of the things I admire most about you, but are you sure you’re going to be able to separate the sex from the friendship? The feelings from the friendship? Or are you going to convince yourself everything’s fine when it’s not?”
And she’s back to therapist-mode.
“I meant it when I said I’m focusing on myself.” I fidget with the gold chain around my neck. “And I appreciate the fact that you’re looking out for me, but I need you to just trust that you raised me to make smart decisions. And if it turns out I’m wrong, well, then that’s my problem.”
My mum nods resolutely. “You’re right. I just… Well, I hope you’re at least being safe and using protect?—”
I don’t need this speech again. Nope. No, thank you.
“Mum,” I groan, cringing both inwardly and outwardly. “Please. I donotneed another sex talk, thank you very much. I’m pretty sure I can recite it better than you at this point.”
She lets out a low laugh, the sound melodious. Picking up her mug once again, she takes a long sip. “Fine, fine. Tell me about work.”
“There’s not much to tell,” I admit with a shrug. “Work is work.”
“Sounds rather boring, darling.”
I fiddle with the handle of my coffee mug, running my fingers against the smooth ceramic. “No, it’s okay. It’s just the same as always. Remember how I told you that Lucas mentioned some freelancing work?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“He texted me the other day, asking if I was still interested, and I said yes. Can’t hurt to at least hear what it is, right?”
“I think that’s a brilliant idea, darling. There are too many wonderful possibilities in life to keep doing the same thing if it’s not making you the best version of yourself.”
“Did you read that quote on Pinterest?”
“No, I just happen to be rather great at giving advice.” She grins and flips her hair over her shoulder. “Speaking of which, have you heard of the podcastDating and Dildos?Someone from their team reached out about having me on as a guest.”
Oh dear God.
I immediately motion to our server. Screw coffee, I need a mimosa without the orange juice.
SEVENTEEN
THEO
