“I have a feeling you’re going to like a whole lot of fun,” Tanner said as he looked over my shoulder.
I followed his gaze and narrowed my eyes at the girl across the room. There was something familiar about her that I couldn’t quite place. “Why do I feel like I know her?” I asked.
“Oh, you don’t know her, but she and her roommate know you.”
I gave Tanner a look. “What?”
Tanner grinned, looking as if he were having more fun than he had in years, and leaned forward. “Quick, that one right there? She’s on her way over here to talk to you. I have a feeling you’re going to like what she has to say.”
I looked over at Tanner. “Why are you acting so weird? Like the man behind the curtain.”
He shook his head. “Don’t look at the man behind the curtain.” He laughed. “But they seemed interesting when I met them a few weeks ago at the coffee shop. You should talk to her.”
Coffee shop? And why did that sound familiar? “Talk to who?” I asked but looked over at the girl with the light eyes, the pointed chin, and the soft face. I swallowed hard.
Suddenly, the guys were gone as if shadows and ghosts had swallowed them up.
The girl in front of me couldn’t be taller than my chin, even in heels, and she had her shoulders hunched forward for a moment. She met my gaze, but nearly tripped over her feet as she rolled her shoulders back.
“Hi,” she squeaked and held out a hand. She blushed and nearly lowered her proffered palm, but I quickly reached out and took it. Her hand was warm, a little clammy, but I squeezed it before letting go.
“Hi,” I said, confused yet intrigued by this girl with her wide eyes and pouty lips.
“I didn’t mean to try to shake your hand just then. I’m not very good at this.”
I looked around, wondering if anyone was paying attention. I couldn’t see my roommates, but her friend was watching us, warmth in her eyes—not abject terror or snarkiness so I had to count that as a win.
“Well, hi. I’m Dillon.”
“Oh, I know,” she blurted before groaning. “At least, that’s what my roommate said. Anyway, I’m here for a reason.”
“And that reason would be?” I couldn’t keep my gaze off her.
“I am on a dare. I’m not good at them, but I’m going to do my best on this one.”
My brows shot up. “What on Earth could I have to do with your dare?” I asked, fascinated.
“I need you to kiss me,” she said quickly. “Preferably without everybody watching. Is that okay?” she asked. I looked down at her and then up at her friend, only to see that she wasn’t alone anymore. No, Tanner was there with her, along with Pacey, all three of them smiling and raising their drinks in cheers.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“My friend thinks I need to get out more. And she dared me to kiss you. I thought I would ask first because…hello, consent.”
“Yeah, consent is good,” I said, truly confused.
“Anyway, my name is Elise by the way. It’s nice to meet you. I guess. I sort of saw you around the coffee shop before. Well, not like today before, but before-before.” I felt like I couldn’t catch up, and she kept rambling. “Anyway, this is the most insane—insanest?—thing I’ve ever done in my life. But I came up to you, I told you about my dare, and now I’m going to go home and hide under a blanket. That would probably be good. I’ll be back after the semester’s over.”
She turned on her heel, and I reached out and gripped her hand before she could leave. She froze and then turned to me slowly, looking like a deer in headlights.
“It’s nice to meet you, Elise.”
She blinked. “Oh, it’s nice to meet you, too.”
“So I take it that you consent?” I asked, not knowing why I was doing this but knowing I needed to.
Her eyes widened. “Consent? You mean for the dare?”
“Yes,” I said slowly.
Her mouth parted, her eyes getting even wider, if that were possible. “Oh. Well, yes.”
I didn’t let her say anything else. I simply lowered my head and kissed her, living in the moment for the first time in a long while.
Chapter 2
Elise
I honestly couldn’t believe I was doing this. But there were lips on mine, and I felt as if I were drowning. Who was this person, and why was he doing this? Why had I been the one to dare him?
No, that wasn’t right. Corinne had dared me. She had said that I needed to have a little fun and see if I could best my nerves and kiss the guy I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about for weeks—not since I had seen him in the coffee shop. And now, here I was, standing next to him, his hand on my cheek, his thumb brushing across my skin, and his mouth on mine. I could hear someone cheering, knew others were looking at me. It wasn’t like I could hear them looking at me, but I could feel their gazes on my skin. And I hated it. I didn’t want to be the center of attention. And yet, I couldn’t stop what I was doing. And so, I parted my lips and let him kiss me harder.
He pulled away, his breath a little choppy. And then he smiled at me. A sweet grin that spread over his entire face and brightened his eyes, making him look like the sexiest guy I had ever seen in my life.
What the hell was I doing?
“Did that satisfy your dare?” Dillon Connolly asked. I blinked before mortification set in. My stomach dropped, and I took a step back.
“Oh. Maybe. Anyway, I should go.”
I turned on my heel again, but Dillon reached out and gently touched my wrist. “Don’t.”
“I really should,” I mumbled.
I looked over at him as he stared at the people staring at us. Suddenly, everyone looked as if they had something else to do.
What would it be like to have that kind of power? To be the big man on campus. The one who didn’t know it.
I saw Dillon around now that I knew to look for him. Everywhere he went, he acted as if he might not have a care in the world, but he also didn’t push people away. Didn’t think he was better than them, even though he was better than most guys on campus. Yet it was still weird because I felt like he didn’t understand the power he wielded, the magnetism that brought people to him like a moth to a flame.
“I really should be going.”
Dillon shook his head, a smile still playing on his lips. “You’re just going to leave me after kissing me like that?”
I raised a brow, doing my best to look my most haughty. “You’re the one who kissed me.”
“Only because you asked.”
Shame crept up my spine, and I lowered my head. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
Dillon cursed under his breath. “That’s not what I meant. I was just trying to play along. Come on, let’s meet this friend of yours who dared you. And talk. I don’t usually kiss strangers.”
I looked at him then, raising a brow. “That’s not what I hear.”
“You’re hearing things about me?”
I could have kicked myself. “That’s not what I meant. Forget I said anything.”
Dillon shook his head. “No, we’re going to talk about that. Plus, I just had my mouth on yours. I think that gives me the right to maybe a little conversation.”