Page 64 of Drive Me Wild
He prances over, ditching his dad.Wow.Don’t think I’ll get over Blake being a dog dad anytime soon. Stopping in front of my feet, he lunges at my shoelaces. “Wait, I thought you weren’t training until later? What’re you doing here now?”
Blake gives me a guilty shrug. “As much as I like Poppy… I need a little peace and quiet.”
After spending summer break in New York—where Goldy successfully testified in the trial that put away the fucker who assaulted her last year—her best friend Poppy flew back to London with them to visit for the week. She’s in Portugal with the team for the Grand Prix this weekend before she heads back to New York.
“You want to play with Champ for a bit while I warm up?” Blake asks, walking over to the barbells.
I stare at him for a moment before rolling onto my side as I laugh. “You named your dog Champ… as in Champion?”
It’s a cute name, despite the fact that it sounds rather cocky.
He takes a large sip of his water and Champ’s ears perk up at the sound of the crinkling plastic water bottle. Not super environmentally friendly, but after a shitty practice three yearsago, Blake threw his metal water bottle at a wall and shattered a fuck-ton of glass. They’ve baby-proofed him with plastic.
“Yes. Champion Bagel Hollis-Gold.”
I struggle to breathe once I hear Champ’s middle name. “Bagel?” I cough out. “You’re fucking with me.” This is the best thing I’ve heard all day. It almost makes up for McAllister’s shitty updated contract.
“No,” Blake grunts. “And I suggest not giving me any more shit if you’d like your face to remain unbroken.”
I pick Champ up and press his little black nose against my own. “You have bigger balls than your daddy. Did you know that, Champ? Your mummy neutered him and keeps them in her purse.”
Blake chucks his water bottle at my head. If that had been his metal water bottle, my skull would be in pieces all over the gym floor. I’m grateful for McAllister’s foresight. Champ aggressively licks my nose, so I place him back in my lap. I let out a yelp as he latches onto my finger. This thing is more lethal than Blake’s attitude. I pry his tiny jaw open, but apparently, that’s me challenging him. “Champ. No.”
He nips at my arms, but every time I put him back on the floor, he jumps onto me like it’s a game. I accept the fact that my body is a chew toy and let him climb all over, his tongue happily hanging out the side of his mouth.
“Question for you, Blakey Blake.”
The weights he’s using clank against the floor, the sound causing Champ to momentarily stop his assault on my exposed skin. How can something so small have teeth so sharp? Christ.
Blake turns to me. “Theo, for the last time, I am not measuring my dick. Stop asking.”
I roll my eyes, although his reaction isn’t that unwarranted. I don’t know why he’s not curious how scientifically big his dickis considering it’s a third leg, but whatever. “I was going to ask when you knew you wanted to get serious with Ella.”
“Oh.”
I flip Champ onto his back so I can give him a belly rub. “So? What made you want to go from fuckboy to lover boy?”
Blake chuckles at my words, taking a seat on the bench nearest to him. “I realized that being the one to make her laugh or smile made me just as happy as kicking your arse during a race.”
Blake tilts his head as he studies me. “You know, prying isn’t my style, but friends with benefits with Josie doesn’t make sense. It’s like you’re saying she’s good enough to fuck but not good enough to have feelings for, which we both know is total bullshit.”
“I’m not?—”
“Let me finish. Relationships aren’t a walk in the park, but being with Ella is the single-greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I had zero interest in getting married and having kids until her. And now? I have a bloody list of baby names I like, mate. I wouldn’t trade what we have for all the World Championship titles in the world. And in case you forgot, I have six of those.”
How could I possibly forget that he has the highest number of championship titles of any driver ever?
“You’re right.”
Blake starts to speak, no doubt gearing up to argue with me, but quickly stops himself. “I’m right?”
“Mm-hmm.” I scratch Champ behind the ears. “But don’t get used to it.”
“I won’t.” He chuckles. “I have a girlfriend, Walker. That means I’m never right.”
“Sounds like a personal problem, Blakey Blake.”
Rolling his eyes, he stands back up. “So what’s the plan?”
