The Dare Me Date (A Small Town Romance Short Story Series) by tonya kappes Page B

going to win that dare, I was going to have a nice couple of hours with a really hot guy.
    “Are you...?” I started to ask.
    “Yes, I’m Benjamin.” He bent over, wrapping his arms around me as if I would’ve expected it. Gingerly, I patted his back with my fingertips and glared at Maddie over his shoulder.
    Amusement sat on Abraham and Maddie’s faces.
    “You didn’t tell me you were bringing a friend.” He pulled away and dragged an empty barstool down, sitting it between Maddie and me. He placed his warm palm on my knee. “Or I would’ve brought someone.”
    “You know. It’s just. . .” I waved my hands in the air, trying to forget about the excitement of his hand that was sending my heart racing.
    “Too far of a drive from home.” He finished my sentence, only it wasn’t my sentence, it would have been Jasmine’s. “I told you that we could have met closer to New York. Then when I didn’t see you, I was afraid you didn’t get my email since I had been hacked. But here you are.”
    New York? Jasmine was obviously from New York and I was obviously not with my worn jeans and wool grey sweater, not to mention crazy shaggy hair.
    “Here I am.” I planted a big fake smile on my face and patted his hand that was still on my knee.
    “Okay, Jasmine and Benjamin, I’m leaving you to your date.” Maddie stood up and pointed toward the door. “I’ll see you back to the room.”
    “So you aren’t staying at the resort with me?” Benjamin questioned, his eyes were dark and assessing. “I thought...”
    “You are wrong.” Maddie jabbed a finger at him. “Jasmine doesn’t go around meeting any ol’ guy in strange places and stay with them.”
    “But we’ve been talking for over a year. I think we know each other very well.” His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Don’t you?”
    “I’ll be fine.” I played Maddie off. “You go back and I’ll call you.”
    “O-kay.” Maddie grabbed her purse off the bar and flung it over her shoulder, giving me one quick thumbs-up before she walked out the door.
    “What can I get you two lovebirds?” Abraham’s eyes danced with amusement. I was squirming inside and he knew it.
    “We will take two baskets.” I took the liberty of ordering since I knew it was the best fish in all of the United States.
    “Two baskets coming up.”
    “Can you bring them to that table?” Benjamin pointed over my shoulder to where he was sitting before this big lie began.
    “No problem.” Abraham nodded.
    “When you agreed to the fish fry, I was shocked.” He picked up my mug and moved it to the table. “Especially since you said you didn’t care too much for fish.”
    “Two fried fish dinners.” Abraham brought the baskets filled with fish and chips to the table and sat them down. “Anything else for you two lovebirds?”
    “No.” Benjamin wasn’t amused.
    “I guess they get that a lot this time of the year.” I smiled, and then took a big bite of cod. I like fish whether Jasmine likes it or not. And I wasn’t going to let Brew Ha Ha’s Friday night fish fry go to waste, especially with a one-hundred-dollar bill at stake.
    Trying not to look at him, I could feel his stare. He was assessing me, wondering what he had gotten himself into. I was definitely not the New York type nor did I have fancy clothes like his. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what Jasmine might look like.
    “I thought we could go to the ski lodge and see what they were doing there after we eat.” He scooted his chair closer to me and draped his arm on the back of mine. “Are you sure you want to go through with this date?”
    His wild sapphire eyes mellowed as he tried to read my face. The warmth of his smile made my heart turn over in delight.
    He’s not yours. He thinks you are Jasmine. New York Jasmine. I reminded myself that this was not a real date and this man was not really interested in me…Jozy…hostess extraordinaire.
    “I am a little tired from traveling, so maybe