Page 41 of The Summer Dare
“Extremely long story short, I either have to tell the truth or take the dare… it’s how I’ve always gotten my sisters to spill the beans when I wanted to learn something about them… but damn, the student has become the teacher.”
“And this dare was…” I draw out, hoping she’ll fill in the dots to her cryptic thoughts.
Eventually, she admits, “To kiss the next guy who walked up to the party.” Then she tilts her head to the side and asks, “Wait… how did you know I was here?”
“Uh, your sister Raven told me.”
“Oh, that brat, I’d bet anything they were both in on it.”
“Wait… was that all done on a dare?” I ask, feeling very defensive at the moment.
Pointing to the beach, she laughs again. “That wasexactlyhow it was supposed to be. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you this week. Now we don’t have to sneak around because apparently, I wasn’t fooling anyone.”
Feeling a little on edge, I ask, “Am I just a pawn in this game of yours?”
“Oh, god, no.” She stops and looks me dead in the eye. “I was. I really like you, Ryan. It just took a push from her to admit it.”
Relief washes through me and she notices.
“Shit. I really fucked this up, didn’t I?”
Fuck. She’ll never understand my reaction unless I start from the beginning.
Taking her hand, I lead her on a path parallel between the house and the beach, away from anyone we know. “Let’s go for a walk and I’ll explain.”
We walk in silence until we can no longer hear any of the partygoers. When we get to a large log, I sit down and pat the spot next to me, hoping she’ll do the same.
She worries her lip as she massages her hands. Wanting to put her out of her misery, I take her hand and link my fingers through hers and I lay out my truth.
“First. You haven’t fucked anything up, or at least not as far as I’m concerned. But there’re some things that are non-negotiable with me, and I need you to be aware of them, so we can hold each other accountable.”
“Okay,” she draws out and waits, slightly calmer than before for me to continue.
“You see, I don’t have a lot of experience with dating. I was that quiet, shy guy who was always the friend, but never the boyfriend. If I crushed on someone, I did it from afar. I was the friend they could count on, and I didn’t want to add any pressure to them because they were going through a lot and the timing was never right.”
“Okay….” she draws out again, but I can see questions turning in her head.
“But over this last year, I’ve decided I’m no longer gonna be that guy on the sidelines. If I like someone, I’m gonna tellthem. If they feel the same, great. If they don’t, then I’ll move on.”
“I guess…” She starts staring at the sunset, then turns to face me. “I don’t understand what this has to do with us?”
“Freshman year, I met this girl…”
“So this is really about someone specific.” Christ, she’s already drawing her own conclusions, so I’d better just spit it out.
“Yeah. I guess it is…”
“Did she hurt you?”
“Not in the way you think… she was actually innocent in it all, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t hurt in the process.
“You see, I met this girl freshman year. She was going through a rough time, so I started out being just a friend she could count on. But as the years went on, she essentially became the girl I compared all others to. She’d been through a lot and wasn’t ready to date, so I just sat back and waited.”
“What changed?”
Shrugging, I rip the Band-Aid off, “She met someone who got her attention and I watched her fall deliriously happy in love.”
“Wow, that had to hurt.”
