The Driven Series

by Bromberg, K.

  “Thank you,” I call out to her before stepping in. The familiar décor inside the car causes memories to flood back from our first time, my nerves heighten from the dark promise of the words Colton said to me as we made the same ascent in a different elevator. The car dings when I reach the top floor and I exit, unable to fight my smirk over the desperation-filled, clumsy exit we made that night.

  I knock on the Penthouse door and hear a giggle from behind it as the knob starts to turn. Zander opens the door with Avery standing behind them, both have beaming smiles as they look at me. And the carefree giggle that falls from Zander’s mouth warms my overflowing heart even more.

  “Hi, guys! Let me guess, you have a clue for me?”

  Zander nods his head frantically as he looks over at Avery to see if it’s okay to give me what’s in his hands.

  “Hey, Rylee.”

  “Hi!”

  “Okay, our clue is, what one word first comes to your mind when you see what Zander has?”

  I look down as Zander produces a small black box from behind his back and holds it out to me. I look down at it, as perplexed as the look on Avery’s face, until Zander flips it over.

  And then I laugh.

  The box contains a fire engine red pocket square for a tuxedo. My senses are suddenly assaulted with every sensation Colton evoked from me in the limo that night, when we were overdressed and underdressed. But that can’t be the answer because that’s two words. “Anticipation!” I almost shout when the word hits me like lightning, images of that more than memorable evening flashing through my mind.

  “Bingo!” Avery cries out as Zander hops up and down.

  “Good job, Ry!” he says as he holds out another box and envelope to me. I look at him with a furrowed brow that has him giggling again before I take it from him.

  “This is for me?” I ask him.

  “Uh-huh!” he says, nodding his head.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes! Just open it!” he says with amused exasperation.

  I slide my finger across the envelope and smile before I even know what it says because I know Colton’s words are going to touch me.

  Ry- I always knew you were different than the others … but this is the night you became my checkered flag. Without a doubt. Here’s to the night I knew the one thing I never wanted, I’d fight like hell to keep. Go where you first became familiar with the object in the box.—C

  I cautiously open it and roll my eyes and shake my head when I see a scale model of a red F12 Ferrari. I know exactly where I’m going next because that night is most definitely one I’ll never forget.

  I say my goodbyes and vibrate with anticipation as I ride the elevator down to the lobby and hurry past a smirking hostess at the front desk and out to the car. I slide in and tell Haddie about the clue and laugh when she shakes her head as she drives the few blocks to the hotel where the other gala I attended with Colton is.

  I direct her to drive to the top floor of the parking garage and instinctively suck in a breath when Sex comes into view. Images and emotions fill me and I don’t even try to stifle the sigh they evoke in me.

  “Damn that car is like a fucking visual orgasm,” she says with a hum of appreciation.

  “You have no idea,” I drawl then whistle and am left blushing as I slide out and walk the short distance to its isolated spot in the garage. As I get closer I see a figure behind one of the columns beside the car and my heart leaps in my throat. I hope it’s Colton. I’ve had enough of memory lane, and as much as I love this right now, I just want him. Desperately.

  I laugh as Beckett steps out, a shit-eating grin spread wide across his handsome face. He looks over my shoulder at Haddie and nods his head subtly at her, his grin softening to a smolder that has my curiosity piqued, but my attention is diverted quickly when Becks talks.

  “Well, I’m not sure what you’ve done to my man,” he says, giving me a quick hug, “since his balls seem to have retracted, judging by this overt display, but fuck if I don’t love it!”

  “I’m sure you’re giving him tons of shit,” I tell him, and he just angles his head and looks at me for a second, a softness settling over his features.

  “It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him,” he says with a nod.

  And before I even think of what I’m saying, the words are out of my mouth. “But why do you think that is?” I ask.

  He just laughs that low chuckle of his and holds out a white plastic bag with humor in his eyes. I take the bag from him and look into it. It takes my mind a moment to figure out what I’m looking at. “Because I’m the whole alphabet,” I whisper as I gaze at the plastic preschool letters.

  “A to motherfucking Z, Ry,” he says, causing my head to snap up so I catch the wink that he gives me mixed with a lazy, lopsided grin. I just look at him, a stupid smile on my face. “So, I am in charge of getting you to your next destination,” he says.

  I immediately look over my shoulder and am surprised to see Haddie’s car gone. I was so caught up with Becks that I didn’t even hear her leave. He motions for me to get in and I oblige. The minute that our seat belts are fastened and the engine roars to life, Becks looks over at me. “Where is the one place you proved to Colton that rookies can drive for the win?”

  I laugh immediately, thinking of our intimate exchange about rookies and racing before realizing that Colton’s referring to a more innocent time with the boys. “Go-kart track!” I shout as we head out of the parking garage and onto the side streets.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he tells me as we merge onto the freeway and lose the traffic behind us. We talk about this and that, but regardless of how hard I try, I can’t get Becks to tell me what the rest of the clues are or the end game for this evening. He just smirks at me and shakes his head.

  In no time, we arrive at the industrial park where Colton took the boys and me go-karting. “I’ll be right here,” Becks says as I hop out and enter through the glass door.

  My smile widens as I see Dane and Scooter leaning against the counter. “Rylee!” Scooter yells and runs to hug me.

  I squeeze him tight and kiss the top of his head before I arch an eyebrow at Dane. “You knew and didn’t say anything to me!” I tell Dane, eliciting a belly-giggle from my sweet Scooter.

  “Some things are worth being secretive about,” he says with a shrug and a smirk before pushing off the counter to hand Scooter a bag.

  I shake my head at him with a fake glare that makes him laugh. I don’t say anything further because Scooter is basically bouncing out of his shoes with excitement. “Okay, Scoot … you gonna help me figure this one out?”

  “Can I?” he asks.

  “Of course!” I tell him as I reach in the bag and lift out a plastic action figure of Spiderman. Tears immediately prick the back of my eyes, despite the soft smile forming on my lips.

  “What’s the answer? What does Spidey make you think of?”

  And I think for a second because there are two possible answers, but given that Scooter’s way of saying I love you was the catalyst that started all of this, I say, “I Spiderman you!” And I know immediately when his face falls that I got the answer wrong, but I don’t care because I still got to tell him I love him. So then I try my other guess. “Spiderman. Batman. Superman. Ironman.”

  “Yay!” he shouts, jumping up and down before hugging me tightly as Dane and I laugh.

  Dane looks up and meets my eyes as he holds out an envelope. “I guess things are as perfect as they seem.”

  “Imperfectly perfect,” I tell him with a quiet smile as I open up the envelope.

  Why the superheroes? Because after that night at the track, I’m not scared anymore. My childhood comfort isn’t needed because I have you, Ry. It’s your name I chant now, not theirs. The clue to your next location: “Welcome to the big leagues, Ace.”

  I laugh at the memory of him telling me this, of turning my lame attempt at seduction back around on me, all the while reeling from the other words
that he’s written. That he holds me in as high of a regard as he does his beloved superheroes. My heart is so swollen with love that it’s bursting at the seams. When I look up to meet Dane’s eyes through my tear blurred vision, he says nothing but his eyes say it all. He’s the one.

  I say my rushed goodbyes and hurry outside to the sexy purr of the F12. I slide into the seat and look over at a grinning Beckett. “Where to next, Ry?”

  “The Surf Shack,” I tell him with a shake of my head as we just stare at each other for a beat.

  “What?” he asks as he angles his head at me.

  I breathe in deeply and stare out the windshield for a moment, taking it all in. “Nothing, I’m just trying to process all this … it’s just overwhelming.”

  “Yeah well,” he says, gunning the engine at the stoplight, “it appears Hell sure as fuck has frozen over.” He laughs and I join in, laying my head back on the head rest. I’m thankful that Becks allows me the silence to collect my thoughts and reflect on everything Colton’s told me so far today.

  We pull into the parking lot and my mind immediately remembers taking Tanner here and Colton’s near fight with him. Of the overabundance of testosterone and the shocked look on his face when I left him standing alone outside in rejection. I look over at Becks and the look on his face seems to be saying “Well, go on then.”

  I climb out and enter the restaurant to find Rachel standing at the hostess podium. Her grin is huge and she immediately says, “Your table is waiting for you.”

  “Thanks, Rachel,” I say as I hurry past her to see what my next surprise is. I assume it’s Kyle since he’s the one boy I haven’t seen yet. I walk out onto the patio and think back on getting to know Colton during our first time here, learning about his past, his family, and how he likes me laid-back.

  When I look up through the cloud of memories I see Quinlan and Kyle sitting at the table—our table—with grins as wide as the ocean at their back. “Hi, guys!”

  “Hey, Ry,” Quinlan says the same time Kyle greets me. “So … we have another clue for you.”

  “Your brother is something else,” I say affectionately.

  “Yeah, I think so,” she says with a laugh. “But then again, love will do that to you.” Her eyes well with tears as they meet mine, and I see a softness there, an acceptance, a thank you.

  Kyle interrupts our silent exchange by shoving another box toward me. “Open it, open it!” he says. “You have to give the right answer to get the next clue!”

  I slide the lid off the box and start laughing when I see a set of sheets, sheets with the alphabet on them. Quin looks at me oddly and says, “I sure hope there’s a good explanation for that one because it seems rather odd to us outsiders.”

  “Oh there is definitely a good explanation.” I laugh, impressed that he didn’t forget anything on this scavenger hunt. I look over at Kyle. “Nothing between us but sheets.”

  “Woohoo!” he says, jumping up and almost knocking over the table. Quinlan steadies the table and wraps an arm over his shoulders with a laugh. “She got it right!” he tells Quin. She responds with a nod and he hands an envelope over to me.

  “Should I open this?” I ask, although my fingers are already itching to rip it apart.

  “Yes!” he cries, startling other patrons in the restaurant.

  I tear it open and read the note inside:

  Ry- I knew more than ever when I couldn’t have you, how much I couldn’t live without you. I might not have said it with words, but I thought about it often. Where were we when we talked about “Nothing between us ever again except for sheets?”

  I feel like I have a permanent smile plastered to my face as I say my goodbyes and make my way back out to Beckett in the waiting car. “Well?” he asks with a tilt of his head.

  “Broadbeach Road!”

  We head up the coast, and as we draw closer, my excitement rises. I’m certain Colton is waiting for me.

  AS WE DRIVE DOWN BROADBEACH, I’m excited and nervous and every emotion in between. The gates open before we reach them, and I don’t even give Beckett a chance to stop completely before I’m out of the car and running toward the front door where Sammy stands.

  “Hi, Sammy!” I say almost out of breath as I wait for him to move away from the door.

  “Don’t you want your next clue?” His deep voice rumbles and I think my mouth falls lax and shoulders sag because I thought there were no more clues. I thought I was in the homestretch and on my way to see Colton.

  “Sure,” I force out. Without thinking, I suddenly cover my face to block it from whatever Sammy is throwing up into the air. For a minute it doesn’t register with me. The tiny sparkles of silver reflecting against the sun’s rays and then it hits me. Every part of my body stands at attention as goose bumps blanket my body. And it seems so funny really, that this strong, intimidating man is standing amid a rainfall of sparkle. It’s priceless in more ways than one, because it’s glitter in the air.

  The sob strangles in my throat as a smile spreads across Sammy’s face as he holds out a box to me. I take it from him, words robbed, and my heart tumbling fearlessly. When I open the box, the tears I have held don’t stand a chance because inside is a coffee mug filled with sugar cubes.

  And it may be corniness at its finest but the thought that Colton heard me that night, heard me tell him the significance of the bridge of Pink’s song and is saying it back to me right now on top of all of the other gestures he’s made tonight wrecks me.

  Undoes me, lays me wide open, and completes me with a single, ugly pink coffee mug filled with sugar cubes.

  “So?” Sammy asks, trying to suppress the grin on his face at my overemotional reaction to this tacky clue.

  “You called me sugar,” I tell him with a wavering voice and a smile on my face.

  “Attagirl!” He laughs and steps aside, opening the door behind him. “Last clue.” My eyes flash up to his. “Go where you first heard this with Wood.”

  “Thanks, Sammy!” I yell over my shoulder as I run like a madwoman through the house and up the stairs. My heart is pounding and my hands are shaking and my mind is reeling, desperate to see him, touch him, kiss him, thank him, but when I reach the patio it’s empty except for hundreds of lit candles sprinkled over every imaginable surface.

  I gasp at the beauty of the soft lights twinkling amidst the darkening sky as I walk into the upstairs terrace. I run my finger over the top of a chaise lounge as I hear Glitter in the Air floating softly on the speakers above and laugh.

  “Fuckin’ Pink.” It’s his amused voice, that rasp that washes over me, holding me a willing hostage, and as much as it startles me, it makes me feel at home.

  “Fuckin’ Pink,” I repeat as I turn to face Colton—the man I love with all of my heart—standing before me with the sunset at his back haloing his dark features in its soft light. So many emotions surge through me as he stands there, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his worn denim jeans, his favorite T-shirt covering his shoulders leaning casually against the doorjamb, and that half-shy smile that melts my heart gracing his lips.

  “Did you have a good day?” he asks casually as his eyes rake up and down the length of my body, his tongue darting out to wet the lips he’s fighting not to turn into a full blown smirk.

  And God how I want to run into his arms and kiss him senseless, my body vibrating with both an emotional and physical need so strong that I squeeze my hands around the coffee mug to prevent myself from giving in. “I was kind of sent on a wild goose chase, but I’m pretty sure I’m right where I belong now.”

  “Hmm …” He pushes off the wall and saunters slowly my way, sex personified and then some. “And where would that be?” he asks with an arch of his brow.

  His nonchalance is killing me, burning a hole right through the fire raging inside of me. All I want to do is devour this man. This man who put thoughts and words and mementos of our time together and wrapped them up in one neat package for me to unravel piece by pie
ce, allowing me to remember the significance of each and every one. And more importantly, he remembered each and every one. That they all matter to him as much as they do to me.

  “Right here,” I breathe. “I belong right here with you, Colton.” I step toward him—my need, my fix, my eternal addiction—and reach out to place my hand on his cheek when all I really want is to pull him to me and hold on forever. “Thank you,” I tell him, our bodies mere inches apart but our hearts undeniably connected. “I’m speechless.”

  He lets his smile spread and reaches out to play with a curl resting on my shoulder. I watch as his eyes follow his fingers. The fact that he seems nervous over my compliment, makes him that much sweeter, and this whole evening that much more meaningful.

  After a beat, his eyes move slowly back to mine, crystal green swimming with emotion, a soft shrug of his shoulders. “You are the most selfless person I know. I just wanted to do something to show you how much it means to me. I wanted the boys to be a part of it all so they can show you how much it means to them too.”

  Tears well in my eyes for the hundredth time today, and I swallow down the lump in my throat as I look at this man so beautiful inside and out. A man I once thought arrogant, who only looked out for himself. A man that proved me wrong in spades.

  Or I guess I should say in aces.

  I rub my thumb back and forth on his cheek and smile at him. “I’m floored … overwhelmed really … by everything you put into this.” I look down for a minute to try and steady the waver in my voice. “No one’s ever done something like this for me before.”

  He leans in and brushes the sweetest of kisses against my lips. I try to deepen the kiss, ravenous for the rest of him, the sound of his sigh, the heat of his touch, but he pulls back, kisses the top of my nose, and then rests his forehead against mine. He brings his other hand up to match the first, fingertips tangled in my hair while palms cradle my jaw.

  “So a first of sorts,” he says, the heat of his breath warming my lips.