This is a huge fucking deal. Can I kiss him? Will he even let me?
“Shit, if you don’t want to, I will. Sign me the fuck up.” Poppy fans herself.
That little green monster called jealously rears up, and before I know it, my legs are eating up the space between us. I don’t pay any attention to the others as I make a beeline for Keaton. His eyes hold a hint of amusement as I make my way to him. He goes to open his mouth as I approach him, but I stop him by reaching up and pulling his face to mine. I don’t expect the sparks that fly through his lips into mine. Nor do I expect the breathlessness that overcomes me.
He drops his beer bottle as one hand falls to my hip and the other cups my face as I go to move back. He pulls me closer, capturing my lips once more.
My hearing is clouded, my mind fuzzy as he pulls back and meets my eyes. His hold a hint of confusion and raw hunger.
“What was that?” he whispers.
“A dare.”
Hurt flashes on his face, but I don’t stick around. I hear catcalls all the way back to my seat—not all of them coming from the guys, mind you.
I grab my drink as I sit down, taking a sip to calm my nerves.
What was that?
“You girls are having way too much fun without us. How about we join you?” I cringe at Keaton’s question as he comes up from behind me. The guys all take positions around us women, Keaton ending up next to Poppy.
I watch as they talk between turns, tuning out the rest of the game. It’s not until Keaton says “dare” that I remember we’re playing a game.
“I dare you to kiss me,” mystery girl who I’ve never seen before says.
My heart stops. It’s in that moment that I realize that my feelings for Keaton are much deeper than I thought. Two weeks ago, he could have kissed someone else, and I think I would have been hurt but okay.
Now? The thought is killing me.
My eyes meet Tinsley’s, but she no longer looks smug. She looks worried.
Looking back to Keaton and the girl, I watch as he leans in close to her. She closes her eyes as he reaches over and grabs her hand. I swear I could hear a pin drop as he moves in slow motion, getting closer to kissing her lips.
I want to look away. I really want to look away or close my eyes or magically disappear to another realm. Instead, like a train wreck or car crash, my eyes don’t even blink, unable to miss a single moment of this tragedy in the making.
When he’s a breath away, he pulls her hand up, pressing a kiss to it before pulling away completely, a smug smile plastered on his face.
Her eyes pop open as she looks at him confused. “I said kiss me.”
Keaton looks over to me and winks. “I did.”
“On my hand. You know that's not what I meant,” she huffs.
“I’m not a mind reader, Tiffany. You said to kiss you, and I did.” He shrugs.
She goes to speak again, but Keaton cuts her off. “Morgan, truth or dare?”
All eyes lock on me as they wait for my answer. The look in his eye says that I will regret it no matter what I choose.
Weighing my options, I decide it’s better to do something stupid than to admit anything deep.
“Dare,” I finally answer him.
“I dare you to go skinny dipping in the lake.” Keaton doesn’t miss a beat.
“What?” I screech.
“You heard me.”
“No way.” I shake my head. “I’m not going in that lake alone.”
“I’ll go with you, obviously. Don’t be silly,” Keaton says, as if he already guessed that I would object.
“You picked dare, so you have to do it… unless you want to switch to truth,” Tinsley offers.
Looking back to Keaton, I can see he’s begging for me to switch. The look in his eyes makes me stand up. “Fine. Let’s do this.”
The smile on his face promises me that this will be something I will never forget.
✽✽✽
Keaton
I can’t keep my eyes off her as she makes her way to the dock. I glance over my shoulder to see the others have continued the game, no longer looking our way. All except Tiffany.
I know she is pissed about the kiss, but I don’t care. The only girl I want to kiss is now stripping her clothes off in front of me.
“Can you turn around?” she hisses as she gets down to her underwear and bra.
I chuckle but do as she asks. I don’t turn back around until I hear the splash indicating she’s jumped into the water.
I quickly strip and join her. When my head breaks the surface of the water, my eyes easily find her. She’s swimming a few feet away, treading the water with the lower half of her face submerged.
After a short staring contest, I break the silence. “Want to tell me what that was about back there?”
“Truth or Dare. Thought you got that since you dared me to come out here.” The snark in her voice turns me on just as much as it annoys me.
“I meant the kiss.”
“Oh.” She sighs. “That was your sister’s doing. She dared me to kiss you. She saw some challenge on social media where the girl kisses her best friend.”
I swim a little closer. “I’m your best friend?”
“Of course,” she mumbles. “Always have been.”
My heart pounds as I ask my next question. “What are you so scared of?”
She’s about to answer, but then she squeals, flying towards me, ending up in my arms with her legs wrapped around me.
I can’t stop the reaction my body has to hers as she wiggles against me, whispering something about a snake in the water.
After a few deep breaths, I calm down enough to listen to her words.
“Something touched my foot. I
