“Does this belong to your family?” I ask, bending down to trail my fingers through the water and then reaching up to flick it off on Ben as he sits down beside me.
He smiles and bends down to scoop his hand through the water, just stopping short of throwing it on me.
“No, it’s our neighbor’s. But they never cared if I came and fished a little when I was younger. It’s been a while since I’ve been back here. Sometimes, I wish I could go back to the easy days of being young.” Ben leans back on his elbows, tilting his face up toward the sun, and closes his eyes.
I study his face from where I sit. The clean lines, the sharp edges, the slight scruff from where he didn’t shave this morning. I want to reach out and run my fingertips over his lips to see if they’re as soft as they look. If this were a movie, I would lean over and press my lips to his to see what his reaction would be. Of course, he would reciprocate and slip his hand around my neck, holding our faces together as we melted in the late August sun. Then, the scene would end abruptly, and the camera would zoom back in on my face as I sat there, staring, showing that it had all been in fact playing out in my head and not real life.
Because real life isn’t like the movies. You don’t always get a happy ending. Sometimes, the people don’t end up together, and I’m smart enough to know that. So, I don’t tempt fate. I keep my face very clearly on my part of the dock and just admire Ben’s from where he lies on his side.
One of his eyes peeks open, and I quickly jerk my gaze away from him, barely registering the smile that tilted his mouth up on one side.
“What were you looking at?” he asks, his tone sounding lighter than it was back at the house.
“You had a bug on your face. I was considering how much it would hurt if I killed it.” I kick my feet back and forth, swishing the water around the dock.
No way in Hades am I admitting the truth.
Ben doesn’t reply. I glance back over and watch as he closes his eyes again, placing one hand underneath his head. Danger lies beside him, sunning in that carefree way that dogs have. I wish we could stay here forever and listen to the gentle lapping of the water, pushed by the wind rattling through the trees around us. The sunshine warming us and the water cooling us. It’s perfection, and I can start to forget about school and my parents and the lies I’ve told.
“Truth or dare?”
The deep voice startles me from my musings, and I look down, my eyes wide.
“What?” I ask, not sure I heard him right.
“Truth or dare?”
I bite my lip and cock my head to the side.
“Dare.” I’m not sure I can tell him my truths right now.
“I dare you to jump in the pond.”
Saw that one coming from a mile away.
I roll my eyes. “Real original, Ben.”
He gives me a wide grin that makes my heart beat fast and my palms feel sweaty.
“Should’ve picked truth then,” he says, sitting up and clapping his hands together. Danger’s ears perk up, and one eye lazily slips open but then closes again when he doesn’t find us very interesting. “All right, let’s see it.”
He expectantly looks at me, and I sit there, frozen.
“I can’t swim,” I say, my ears turning pink.
“Bull. You’re just stalling. Can’t go back on a dare.”
“What if you dared me to jump off the Grand Canyon or something?” I cock an eyebrow at him and cross my arms.
“Okay, you can’t go back on non-life-threatening dares,” he amends with an eye roll.
“But what about my clothes? I didn’t bring any to change into.” I glance down at my shorts and T-shirt and cringe, thinking about the ride back to the apartment, soaking wet.
“Seems like a personal problem to me.” Ben smirks, and I think that I maybe hate him.
So, I do what any self-respecting person would do when faced with a dare. I don’t back down. But I also up the ante. If he wants to watch me sweat, he’s going to squirm. I stand up, place my hands at the hem of my shirt, cross them over, and lift, pulling the garment over my head in one fell swoop. I’m standing there with my breasts heaving behind my bra. Ben’s face drains of color and then fills back up, red, and he glances out over the water before looking back at me.
I knew he wouldn’t be able to look away.
Now, I’m the one smirking as I reach to unbutton my shorts, sensuously dragging them down my legs. At least, I think it’s sensuous. If the look on Ben’s face is any indication, his feelings might not be as platonic as I thought. Or he’s just a red-blooded male who likes the sight of a woman in her underwear. But I choose to believe it’s the first option.
I turn toward the water, the excitement of stripping suddenly gone as I contemplate actually plunging my body into the pond in front of me. Goose bumps break out across my skin, and I cross my arms over my stomach before glancing back at Ben. He’s staring at my butt, eyes wide, and I feel myself flush, realizing that I did in fact just strip in front of him.
Who am I, and what happened to the modest girl I used to be?
I throw myself forward, the cold water sending a shock through me. I surface and glare at Ben as he’s bent over, laughing.
“Damn, I didn’t think you were actually going to do it,” he says between guffaws, slapping a large hand on his leg.
“You said I couldn’t back out of a dare,” I say, my
