Page 7 of The Dating Dare

“That I am.” With a roguish tilt of his lips, he put his foot and arms down and stood tall. Then he proceeded to do the weirdest, most fascinating thing. With his tongue.

His red, wet tongue slid up his upper lip as though he was about to lick it, but his tongue kept moving upward. Up and up until his tongue hit the tip of his nose.

Holy Mother Teresa.How was he doing that?

She stuck her tongue out. Maybe it wasn’t that hard. She’d just never tried it. Tara valiantly contorted her face and craned her neck, trying to copy the maneuver. It wasn’t easy. It was impossible. Her tongue just wasn’t long enough.Wait a minute.That meant Seth’s tongue was long, and… full of potential.

When she started drooling—from keeping her mouth open too long or from daydreaming about Seth’s potential, she didn’t know—she knew she’d lost the dare. She closed her mouth and dragged her sleeve across her slobbering mouth.

As soon as Tara gave up, Seth ceased his weirdly erotic tongue magic, and burst into laughter. “Oh, my God. You should’ve seen the faces you were making. Dammit. I should’ve recorded it.”

With a glare that threw a thousand daggers, Tara tilted back her beer and slammed down the empty glass.

“Your turn.” She wore her game face, but she was having a fantastic time. Seth had somehow chased away her restlessness to the far corner of her mind, and she felt happy and relaxed.

“Truth,” he said without hesitation.

“When wasyourfirst kiss?” He probably started his playboy ways early. Maybe at the tender age of six. But she should rule out the innocuous pecks. “With tongue.”

He pulled at an earlobe that was turning an interesting shade of red. “When I was eighteen.”

“Eighteen?” she practically yelled, eyes bulging. She clamped her mouth shut before she repeated herself.Eighteen?She’d assumed that he’d lost his virginity before then.

“Yeah, I was a late bloomer,” he said, shrugging sheepishly.

It was endearing, and she wanted to hug him and plant kisses all over his face. She liked him. She really liked him, and it wasn’t because she was drunk. Then again that was exactly what a drunk person would say.

Besides, she couldn’t forget that liking him was a bad idea.Chaos and annihilation. Remember?She should focus on why she agreed to have a drink with him in the first place. Because she didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want to be sucked into the hollowness left byAubrey’s wedding. And like Seth had said, he made great company. That was all this was.

“Cool, cool. I’m down with that.” That was probably the least cool thing she could’ve said.

“Okay. Moving on. Truth or dare?” he asked, putting an extra dose of challenge into his words.

“Dare.” She could handle dares. They were harmless.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” A warm, seductive smile spread across his face.

“Stop playing mind games with me.” Her stomach fluttered at his smile, but Tara crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Do your worst. I can take you.”

“I want you to go out on four dates with me—”

“What?”

“I wasn’t finished. I want you to go out on four dates with me, and not fall for me.”

She stared at him slack-jawed for three seconds before busting out laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Not at all.”

“Aren’t you leaving for a new job in Paris soon? And how do we fit in four dates when you’re in Santa Monica and I’m here?”

“I volunteered to house-sit for Landon and Aubrey while they and the baby are off on their extended honeymoon. I’ll be your neighbor for a month, so meeting up should be easy enough.”

Go on four dates with him.Pfft.It was a ridiculous proposition. She should just drink the beer and be done with it. Then why wasn’t she reaching for her glass?Why? Because you’re seriously tempted. That’s why.

“Why do you want to date me anyway?” she asked on a spurt of annoyance.

“Are you fishing for compliments?” he teased with a charming grin. “Because I’ll gladly oblige.”

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