The Dare by Rachel van Dyken Page B

ran toward the bathroom.
    "So big!" Beth yelled.
    The shower was one of those walk-in ones,
where there was no curtain or door or anything to hide any scratch
of your body.
    Beth was standing in the corner with a
shampoo bottle in her hands, pointing at the opposite corner.
    The first thing I noticed was her nakedness,
but it was quickly trumped by another shout and a shampoo bottle
flying by my head, causing another thump.
    "Get him!"
    A spider that looked a hell of a lot like a
shrunken MMA fighter barreled toward me. Now, I wasn't a fan of
spiders. I didn't hate them, but that didn't mean I particularly
enjoyed the idea of something hairy sinking its fangs into me. So I
did what any logical man would do.
    I looked for a gun.
    And when I realized I wasn't James Bond nor
did I live in a spy novel, I grabbed the next best thing.
    The hair dryer.
    It wasn't plugged in, but it was big enough
for combat. I smashed the hell out of the spider until all that was
left were tufts of legs and pieces of hair.
    "Did you get him?" Beth came up behind me,
shivering.
    "Yeah" I wiped my brow with my arm, "it was a
battle. Lots of lives lost. Blood shed. But… I got him."
    "My hero," she whispered, wrapping her arms
around me from behind.
    I froze.
    Not because she was calling me her hero.
Please, I wasn't that narcissistic. It was because she was naked.
And she had forgotten about her nakedness at a very fortunate
time.
    Men everywhere: Applaud. I didn't even
react. Not one gasp or shudder. I simply basked.
    Basking: Another word
for utter stillness when a lady is pressing against you in such an
erotic way all you can do is close your eyes and smile. See also: Euphoria.
    "I'm naked." Beth released her hold. My body
immediately tightened in all the wrong places, and I'm ashamed to
admit, I let out a pathetic whine. Or maybe it was a growl, because
the next thing I knew, I was turning around and pushing her into
the shower, up against the wall, and taking her like a —
    Great, so not only had I frozen in a euphoric
state, but I had resorted to daydreaming.
    "Thanks." I saw movement out of the corner of
my eye as Beth leaned back under the shower and closed her
eyes.
    It was like watching my own personal Pantene
Pro-V commercial, only the girl was hotter and available.
    But not to me.
    Not in reality.
    "Are you going to watch me, or are you going
to get ready?" Beth said, water dripping from her face.
    "Do I get a choice?" I half-pleaded.
    "No, but you'll get a knee to your balls if
you don't leave in five seconds. The spider's gone, you've saved
the world, now take your hammer and go."
    "Uh, hammer?"
    "Hammer, hair dryer — same thing. Go, Thor. Go get your cape on. We have
therapy."
    Men. We're easy. No really, we are. She'd
basically called me an Avenger, which, in my book, meant I was like
two steps ahead of Iron Man, and a hell-of-a-lot
better-looking.
    I sported a smug grin the entire time I got
ready.
     
    ****
     
    Thanks to the water-stealing princess, I
wasn't able to shower in time. And Doctor Z had specifically said
that we needed to be on time. Not wanting to start off therapy on a
bad foot, I took one for the team.
    "It's only an hour, and then we have what the
schedule states as Couple Fun Time by the pool." Beth
checked her watch and handed me the map of the place.
    I locked the door to our hut and turned the
map sideways.
    "North," I said, examining the red circle
that said Serenity Circle.
    "I don't like that name." Beth snorted. "It
sounds like a place to get high."
    "If they have drugs, just say no." I stuffed
the paper into front pocket of my lame-ass linen shirt and grabbed
her hand.
    "What are you doing?" She tried to pull
away.
    I held tighter. "What does it look like I'm
doing?"
    "Holding my hand." She squeezed back, and
then a girlish smile appeared, all sense of hostility evaporating
instantly.
    "That I am." I pulled her closer and inhaled.
Damn, her shampoo smelled good. "You said you wanted six days of