The Dare by Rachel van Dyken

twin dragon tattoo! And on your necks! How
lovely! The dragon is the symbol of being connected. It's rare for
couples to be so committed upon arrival!"
    "That's us," I said in a dry voice. How the
hell was I going to talk myself out of that one? I'd signed the
damn document. "Committed." I kicked Beth under the table.
    She winced as Dr. Z examined the rest of the
papers. "Alright, I'll just schedule the rest of your week and slip
the paper under you door this evening. Your first session is with
one of our newer therapists. She's absolutely lovely."
    The sound of Dr. Z's heels clicking against
the tile floor felt like a noose getting tighter around my
neck.
    "Tattoo?" I tilted my head. "You think you're
funny, don't you?"
    "You weren't paying attention."
    "I was." Sort of. If watching her mouth move
was paying attention, and memorizing her scent was my pop quiz.
Yeah, I was paying attention.
    "No, you weren't. We shook on it. Six days. I
don't want you ignoring me, I don't want you texting. I want the
fantasy. God knows, it's only six days." Her face fell a bit before
she smiled to cover up her disappointment.
    Shit.
    "You're right." I reached for her hand. "I'll
do better. It's just been a long day." And if she kept saying six,
I was going to six the hell out of her in a public forum.
    "I know." Beth stared down at our hands.
    I should have pulled back. I should have run.
Instead, I placed my other hand on top of hers and whispered, "Why
don't we go back to the room. I'll draw you a bath and romance the
hell out of you."
    Which also meant I was going to be rewarded
with sainthood for not trying to seduce her the minute we were
alone.
    "I thought you were gifted with words?"
    "Exhaustion. It's set in. Plus, I'm cursed.
Don't expect perfection."
    "Who said I wanted perfection?" She winked.
"I just want the fairytale."
    "Didn't we already have this talk? They're
the same thing."
    "No," Beth stood, "they aren't. And that's
why you're so bitter. Some things aren't always black and white,
Mr. Senator. Now romance me."
    "Day one." I smirked.
    "Day one." She agreed.
    I held her hand the entire way to the
hut.
     
    ****
     
    "Sure, I'll dance with you." She put her hand
in mine. I walked her to the dance floor, unable to take my eyes
off her glistening dress or pretty brown hair. My cousin was going
to kill me if I bailed on her, but the pull was too strong.
    "You're really pretty." I pulled her into my
arms and tried act smooth, even though I was pretty sure my hands
were shaking. "What's your name?"
    "Beth." Her head tilted back, enough for me
to see her crazy green eyes. "What's yours?"
    "Jace." My voice cracked at the end. Great,
I'd just give away my age. No doubt she was a senior and thought I
was about as cute as seventh grader with a cold.
    "Thanks."
    She leaned her head on my shoulder. At least
I had my height going for me.
    "For what?"
    "The rescue." She laughed. And a part of me
that had been dormant for a lifetime flared to life. God, she was
beautiful.
    "I'll rescue you anytime. Day or night."
    "Is that a promise?"
    Her smile was deadly. It made me want to kiss
her, and the last thing I needed to be seen doing was kissing a
girl from another school while I got my ass handed to me by the
defensive line of the football team. It was their territory, not
mine.
    But I couldn't stop the words from coming.
"Of course."
    My head descended; she met me halfway. Our
lips touched, and I kissed her hard. Harder than I'd ever kissed a
girl before in my entire life. It was a hello and a goodbye kiss,
because I knew it wasn't something I'd be repeating. She was way
out of my league. As it was, I was playing with fire even kissing
what I'm sure was the quarterback's girlfriend. But I couldn't help
myself.
    "Brevik," a male voice sneered from
behind.
    I pulled away from Beth and slowly turned to
face, who I was sure, would be the largest kid in school.
    Instead, it was the coach from the football
team. Aw, hell. He only knew me because I'd