Page 9 of The Dating Dare

“Nah. I’m used to it. But I’ll join you to celebrate our ridiculous arrangement.”

She filled up a pitcher and set out some beer nuts before coming to sit beside him.

“To the dating dare.” He raised his glass with a happy grin, and forced aside his unease. He would have Tara to himself for four whole dates. How could that be anything but fun? “It’s going to be a wild ride.”

“You’re so corny. Is this what I have to look forward to in the next month?”

“This and so much more awesomeness,” he said, hamming it up.

Tara rolled her eyes, but her smile was blinding. “You certainly won’t be boring.”

Since their drinking game had come to a very satisfactory conclusion, Seth switched to water, being mindful that he had to drive back to his hotel later. While Tara appeared to be in a lighter mood than before, she continued to drown her lingering sorrows in her beer.

Her alcohol tolerance was impressive. Her gaze was focused and she enunciated each word perfectly even after drinking all the penalty beer, as well as from the pitcher in front of them. The woman could probably drink him under the table. But with a suddenness that startled him, Tara’s eyes went from sparkling with humor to clouded with alcohol.

“Are you feeling okay?” Seth asked. “We should call it a night.”

She seemed to be trying to focus on his face, but ended up staring at the tip of his nose, making herself cross-eyed.

“Don’t be such a… um… party pooper,” she slurred, drawingher brows down. Then she burst into a fit of giggles. “Party pooper. It’s funny because… poop. Quit pooping on the party, Seth.”

“All right then.” He chuckled under his breath. Potty humor was a clear indication that sobriety was far gone. “Let’s get you home.”

He stood from his seat, and tidied up the best he could, rinsing the cups and pitcher in the bar sink. Seth worked quickly, but Tara began slumping on the stool.

“Whoa.” He got to her side just in time to prop her up. “You need to tell me where you live.”

“I live over yonder with my faithful parents and overprotective big brothers.”

Overprotective?God, he had to get her home if he didn’t want his ass kicked by Jack and Alex. He’d had no idea she was this drunk. She literally went from sober to hammered in a hot second.

“And where might yonder be?” he asked.

“The street where the houses are,” she whispered as though she was telling him a closely held secret.

Oh, boy. Seth wiped a hand down his face. “Okay, let’s get you to my car.”

“Onward ho,” she hollered, pointing toward the ceiling.

“No, not that way. This way.” He redirected her arm toward the back entrance, and led them out through it. “We need to lock up. Where are your keys?”

She waved vaguely at his arm where her purse hung. With a heavy sigh, Seth rummaged through it, trying not to notice what was in there. When his hand wrapped around a jingling set of keys, he pulled it out and held it up to Tara.

“Which one?” he asked. She laughed in his face, and leaned her forehead against his shoulder, shunning the keys he held in front of her. He huffed a defeated sigh. “I guess I’ll have to try them all.”

After several failed attempts, Seth finally found the right key, and locked up the brewery.Why does the woman have so many keys anyway?

“Here.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her arm over his shoulder. She was practically dead weight in his arms, bogged down by a vast amount of beer. “I need you to help me walk you to my car. Otherwise, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.”

“French fries. Mashed potatoes. Tater tots. Mmm… I love tater tots.”

“We’ll get some tater tots on one of our dates.” Seth laughed despite his frustration. How could he not have known how drunk she was? Regardless, she was adorable.

Turning his attention back to the task at hand, they stumbled slowly to his car. When they arrived at last, Tara whispered with awe, “Look. A car.”

“Yup. It’s a car all right,” he agreed, opening the passenger-side door. “Please get in.”

“Okie dokie.” She made an awkward dive for the seat.

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