Page 56 of One More Dare
“Yeah. What about you, have you ever had a job?” I ask lightly, but I’m still worried it comes off as bitter.
He scrunches up his nose as he smiles. “I helped run a lacrosse camp in my hometown last summer. Does that count?”
I smirk, nodding as I picture Will as a coach. He’d be great at it. “What about you though? You never said what you’re afraid of.”
We’re still walking, and he chews on his lip for a moment, as if he needs to consider his answer. “I think I’m afraid that I’ll follow the most logical path and wake up one day realizing it wasn’t actually what I wanted. I picked a major that made sense for me, but I’ve always been more focused on lacrosse than my potential job. I don’t know what I want career-wise. I could join the family business, but I think I want to try to make it on my own first, too.”
“I don’t think you have to worry too much. I can’t imagine you’d stay in a job or anywhere really that didn’t feel right.”
“Like you said, one month can turn into a year before you realize.”
I freeze mid-step, turning to look at Will, and he does the same. “How about we make a promise to each other?”
“What kind of promise?”
I can feel my heart racing, and for some reason this feels like an important moment for us. Maybe it’s because of how badly I missed him when we were apart, but the thought of Will only being temporary in my life is kind of devastating. I’m desperate to have some sort of reassurance that our friendship won’t end when the school year does, or even when we graduate.
This might be a silly suggestion, but… “If either one of us seems like we’re settling, like we’re shrinking, or just… drifting along in a life we don’t actually want, the other one has to call it out.”
“Call it out how?”
A slow grin spreads across my face. “They get to pick a wild dare.”
“A dare?”
“Yeah. If the other person dares you to do something disruptive, like quitting the job, booking the trip, applying for the thing, piercing yourotherear, whatever it is, we do it. We can blame the other one, use it as the final push, the excuse we need to do the scary thing.” I shrug, but I can’t stop smiling.
The idea of dares might sound kind of childish, but I feel like Will gets me, like he understands how this could actually help us one day. We’re both spontaneous and carefree now, but in the future we might need to help the other remember how important those things are.
The way his face is lit up makes me think he likes the plan too, so I add, “No rotting in comfort. If I start playing it safe because I’m scared, you can’t let me, and I won’t let you either.”
“Deal,” he finally agrees. “But if I do love being a phys ed teacher, you have to accept that, too.”
“Don’t worry, I will. No promises on not calling you out for being a cliché from time to time though.” I laugh, and the house comes back into view as we approach the beach that sits behind it.
“Wanna do something stupid? The first dare?” Will smirks, raising a brow.
“Any ideas?”
He nods toward the lake. “Cold plunge.”
I stop walking. “Okay, I don’t know what I was picturing, but that is not it. Absolutely not. That water’s got to be freezing! It’s barely April.”
“Come on,” he insists with what I think is meant to be an encouraging grin. “It’ll be fun. We have to get the first dare out of the way! Make it official.”
“It is not even remotely warm enough for that, and I’m not bored in my life yet!”
“It’ll be the perfect memory for when we do dares in the future. Shock your body and stuff. Come ooon!”
I fold my arms in protest, shaking my head as he laughs. “I’m not ruining this weekend by dying of hypothermia.”
“It’ll be fine! Athletes take ice baths all the time. We’ll run straight inside. Get under the blankets in front of the fireplace, cuddle for warmth. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
I eye the lake, then him. As nice as cuddling with him sounds… “I’m not an athlete. You’re insane.”
“Maybe,” he agrees, already backing toward the shore. “But I’m committed now, and I’d love for you to join me. Idareyou to join me.”
He starts stripping out of his jacket, shoes, and jeans until he’s down to his underwear, and fuck me, he is so sexy. He turns just before the water to yell back to me. “Last chance. You can join me, or I’m giving you a big, wet hug after I get out of here. Don’t miss out on the first dare.”
