Page 47 of Drive Me Wild
“Theo?” Josie says as we gather our stuff to leave.
I lift my head. “Hmm?”
A smile lights up her face before she presses her soft lips against my forehead. “You’re my favorite, too.”
EIGHTEEN
JOSIE
All Lucas will tellme about this “freelance opportunity”—which is sounding sketchier by the moment—is that I’ll be pleasantly surprised, whatever that means. I meet him at Wells Boxing, a gym that caters to high-profile athletes and up-and-comers. It’s like the SoHo house of sports. Lucas has his own performance coach, but occasionally, trains with the owner of the gym, a professional boxer with three titles under his belt.
The door of Wells Boxing is discreet and could easily be mistaken for a service entrance. Painted red with scratches marking up the metal, it doesn’t look like it opens into one of London’s most exclusive boxing and training gyms. Heavy breathing and grunts echo off the walls as I walk through the door. If I closed my eyes, I could easily be on the set of a porno.
I spy Lucas in the boxing ring that occupies the center of the room. He’s wearing a sweat-stained gray shirt that displays his taut, tattooed arms.
I make my way over to him, humming the theme song ofRockyand side-stepping the personal trainers and men with towels draped around their necks.
“Jos,” he calls out with a smile. “You made it.”
“I made it,” I confirm, holding up my camera to show him I’ve fulfilled my end of the deal. “Am I here to take thirst-traps for your Instagram?”
Lucas takes a swig from his water bottle before rolling his eyes. He lands somewhere in between Blake and Theo on the social-media-lovers scale. He doesn’t accidentally post memes to his story that belong in a private message like Blake, nor does he live-stream himself eating breakfast for two hours like Theo.
“Hardly my style, Bancroft.” He huffs out a laugh. Swinging his body beneath the elastic ropes surrounding the ring, he jumps off the elevated platform and saunters over to where I’m standing. “Ready to see something cool?”
“Something actually cool?” I ask with a frown. “Or is this like in Baku, when Blake wanted to show us something cool, and it ended up being a TikTok everyone had seen weeks ago?”
Lucas lets out a long laugh. “He sets the bar pretty low, but this isactuallycool.”
He leads me toward the back of the gym. I’m expecting to stop in the small office tucked away in the corner, but instead, Lucas opens the emergency exit and motions for me to follow him outside. It’s a warm night, but that doesn’t stop goosebumps from breaking out across my arms as we step into the dark alleyway.
We walk to the end of the alley and make a sharp right before stopping in front of a storefront with metal grates over the tinted windows. It’s a quiet street, the only sound coming from our footsteps against the cobblestone. I glance around so I can get a good description in case I need to repeat to the police where I was kidnapped. I’ve learned a thing or two from watchingLaw & Orderwith Ella.
“Just trust me,” Lucas says, as if reading my mind.
Apparently, we’re inAlice in Wonderlandbecause we walk through the empty store space and past yet another suspect-looking door at the back. Except this door leads into what’s either a den where delinquents run their drug ringora speakeasy that holds illegal gambling.
“Welcome,” a silky-smooth voice says from behind us.
I nearly jump out of my Converse, already on edge from the sketchy walk. Turning around, I take in the pure muscle of a man, otherwise known as Kelsey “the Hitman” Wells. With the legendary boxer standing before me, the cogs in my mind begin turning. “Oh my God. Is this an underground boxing place? LikeFight Club! Minus the insomnia and Brad Pitt?”
Kelsey’s amber-colored eyes sweep over me—not in a creepy or lecherous way, but almost as if he’s sizing me up. The mocha color of his complexion contrasts beautifully against his pearly white teeth as he smiles. “No, it’s not a secret extension of Wells Boxing, but I see where you’re coming from.”
“If this were a secret fighting place, I suppose you wouldn’t have the need for me to market it.” I shoot him a friendly grin before glancing around again. I can’t tell if the dust, driftwood, and tools scattered everywhere are because things are being built or torn down. “So, what exactly is this place?”
“Itwillbe the most-talked about bar in London,” Kelsey says with a chuckle. “Once I finish construction, name the place, finalize a drink and food menu, decorate it, hire staff, and eventually open. Plus, about a million other things.”
“Gemini,” I blurt out.
I’m met with matching furrowed brows. “Hmm?”
“You should call this place Gemini,” I explain, the excitement in my voice evident. “I used to be super into astrology, embarrassingly so. I would read my horoscope, like, every day. I’m a Scorpio, but a Virgo sun, Aries moon, and Libra rising. Anyway, um, Gemini’s are notorious for their two sides—one that they show the world, and then the hidden side, which is their true self. Sort of like this spot. You walk into that smallerroom and think it’s going to be one thing, say, a record shop or hair salon, and then you walk inhereand it’s something entirely different. The most talked about bar in London, if you will. What you think you’re getting versus what you are.”
Kelsey glances at Lucas and then back at me. “Lucas was right; you’re bloody brilliant.”
My friend teasingly nudges me with his elbow. He’s everyone’s biggest hype man.
Kelsey motions us over to a card table surrounded by folding chairs. I swear, I’ve seen a painting of dogs drinking whiskey and smoking cigars while playing poker at a table just like this.
