Page 7 of Dare (Fighting Fate)

Barely refraining from rolling my eyes, I huffed. Brad knew I wasn’t much of a party animal anymore. That shit left my system when Noah had gone undercover. “I’m almost over this shit, man.”

He nodded his agreement. “I hear you. It feels like we’re so close to the end, but I know we’re still so far away. The bar exam scares the shit out of me.”

Looking out at all the laughing bodies, dancing and swaying and acting like they didn’t have a care in the world, I couldn’t agree more. As much as I was rea

dy to see the end of my schooling days, what came next was seriously daunting. The need to succeed that ran through my veins was like an itch. Failing just wasn’t an option.

“Maybe it’s time for a little distraction,” I muttered, searching the room for options.

“What did you have in mind?” he asked, instantly on board with whatever I decided. “Blonde or brunette?”

The omission of ‘redhead’ as an option was how I knew he was a true friend. Because I’d been doing everything I could to avoid looking across the room to where the one redhead who was my weakness stood.

As my gaze fell on a sweet little brunette through the crowd, her gaze already taking me in with heated interest, I gave Brad a slight nod. “Looks like it might be brunette tonight.”

Discreetly, he shifted until he saw what I saw, then he drew in a calculating breath. “Five minutes.”

My eyebrow twitched as I met his gaze. “I was going to say ten, but we’ll go for five if you want.”

Our time bet had been one we’d joked around with since our freshman year of college. Jordan had started it when he’d discovered a senior checking him out and bet Brad he could get her to come talk to him within ten minutes. It wasn’t a game I got into back then, but since I’d made the decision to put dating on hold, the only relief I could get was from the odd casual night every now and again. The only rule I placed on myself was that she had to come to me. The last thing I wanted was to chase a girl and give her the wrong idea.

Looking back over at the girl, I smiled when I found her still watching me. If she was too shy to come talk to me, she was too good to play around with.

“Is the party still on for tomorrow?” Brad asked, obviously trying to keep some form of conversation going. Of course, it was Noah’s party he was asking about. The one I was excited for, yet dreading at the same time, because the number of times I’d been tormented by Jess’s appearance whenever I was around Noah made my life a living hell.

“Yeah, are you still coming? I might need someone to stop me from making an idiot out of myself,” I said, already knowing how painful it was going to be.

Brad laughed, but he didn’t comment on my sad life. “How’s Noah doing with his degree?”

Happy for the easy conversation, I nodded, my gaze making contact with the pretty brunette who looked very much like she was making her decision on me. “He’s killing it, man. He only has another ten units to go and he’s done.”

Brad coughed, obviously impressed. I was too. I was seriously proud of my little brother. “Damn, dude can work,” Brad said, shaking his head. “Makes me feel like a total slacker.”

Taking a swig of my beer, I nodded. “I know. Fucker kicks my ass in the gym too.”

Narrowing his eyes, Brad huffed. “Whatever, Mister Muscles. You and your brothers disgust me with all your twelve-packs and bulges and shit.”

I laughed. I couldn’t argue with him. The Murphy brothers’ love of fitness was strong. We got it from our parents. “Dude, you know I’m a stick compared to my brothers,” I said, chuckling because it was true.

Brad pinned me with a look of disgust. “A stick my ass.”

Another red solo cup appeared in my line of vision before it clicked against mine, splashing beer up the sides. Jordan raised one bushy eyebrow and smirked at Brad. “You want who to stick what in your ass?”

Unable to stop the laugh that burst free, I held my fist out for Jordan to bump, while Brad tried to glare through his smothered smile.

“No, seriously,” Jordan said, looking quite amused. “Whose ass are you talking about? It’s Jess’s, isn’t it?”

As I watched his gaze swing across the room to where I knew Jess was draped all over Wyatt, I grunted. “Fuck off.”

“She looks pretty hot tonight too,” he said, his shit-stirring motor in fine form, as usual.

Brad chuckled before trying to conceal it by taking a sip of his drink.

Lifting my chin, I gazed at Jordan and quirked my eyebrow. “Do you really want to start on me, dude? Because I saw Amber yesterday, and I could probably describe what she was wearing and exactly how it clung to her if I had to.”

The smile slipped clean off his face at the mention of Amber’s name. She was another one of Kaeli’s friends, but she was tall, blonde, and made strictly for trouble. Jordan’s infatuation with her wasn’t anywhere near as bad as mine with Jess, but it was still as funny as shit.

“Fair point, Bro,” he said, his expression morphing into one of contriteness. But then he raised his cup and grinned. “A toast. To the end of another round of fucked-up exams.”

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