Triple Dare (Sterling Shore 7)

One night. If I had just one night in history to undo…

CHAPTER 12

RUBY

“So you haven’t talked to him since the party?” Bo asks as she tucks her feet under her on the couch.

“Nope,” I say around a mouthful of popcorn.

I’d rather not elaborate. I just want to curl in a corner and hide. Isn’t alcohol supposed to make you forget all the embarrassing, humiliating, stupid-as-hell things you do when you drink too much?

“So you haven’t talked about the fact you two almost—”

“We didn’t almost do anything,” I interrupt. “Corbin won’t fuck me when I’m sober, so he’s sure as hell not going to fuck me when I’m drunk.”

“But he kissed you.”

“He had stopped himself. He didn’t kiss me again until after I triple dared him.”

I hate myself.

Covering my face with my hands, I slump back against my couch. Why oh why did I get that drunk? Instead of continuing to sulk, I get up and head to my bedroom.

“What are you doing?”

“Going to meet my parents at a bar. Dad invited me, and I wasn’t going to, but now I think I need to get drunk and find someone else to focus on instead of Corbin.”

The best way to get over a guy is to get under a new one. That’s my stepmother’s motto, even though she only used it a few times before meeting my father.

“I guess I’ll see you when you get back.” Bo says, leaning against my doorframe.

“You can come to the bar. It’d be good for you to mix with more than one person at a time.”

She shakes her head, like I knew she would.

“It’s not like I’m never around groups, but if I have the choice, I’ll pass. But thanks for letting me stay here until they finish the small renovations at my place.”

“Of course. Thanks for letting me hide at your place this week,” I say on a humorless laugh.

“At least they didn’t start work until today, so you had a week for things to settle down between you and Corbin.”

I just nod while pulling on a pair of jeans, a black shirt, and a pair of red high heels.

My phone rings, but I know who the Weak ringtone belongs to, so I don’t even bother checking it.

“If you love him,” Bo says suddenly, drawing my attention to her once again, “don’t be stupid, Ruby. We only live once.”

Not sure where that came from, but I shrug it off, trying to play it cool.

“I’m not being stupid. Trust me. Loving Corbin is like a drug for me. It’s a bad habit and nothing else.”

Grabbing my keys, I squeeze her hand on my way by.

“Just lock up if you leave.”

I don’t hear her answer before I leave, and I drive the short distance to the bar just outside of town. My father’s motorcycle is already here, so I hop out of my car and head inside.

Corbin Sterling may not want a Stepford girl, but it’s all that will ever fit into his life. Even if we didn’t have an ocean of fuck-ups between us, we’d still be facing a big divide. Nothing about us makes sense. Not one damn thing.

I really can’t believe I kissed him again.

Shaking off all the lingering thoughts of Corbin and that kiss, I head inside the wild, bizarre bar that would never be allowed inside Sterling Shore. I love it.

It doesn’t take long to spot my dad and stepmom, and Wanda waves when she sees me. She stands up and makes her way toward me at the same time. I roll my eyes when Dad slaps her ass on her way by.

Sadly, I envy their relationship. They’ve been together for over twenty years, and they still act like teenagers in love.

Wanda and I meet in the middle, and she laughs when she takes in my appearance.

“Looks like my girl is on a mission tonight. I take it you and Corbin are still playing games? When’s he coming?”

“He’s not. I’m not dressed like this for him.”

She gives me an I-don’t-believe-that-one-bit look.

“He’s really not coming.”

She sighs before dragging me over to the table. “You two gotta stop dancing some time and start fuc—”

“Don’t,” Dad interrupts, glaring at her, and I immediately laugh as she chuckles and sits down beside him.

I sit across from them, and Dad hands me a fresh beer he must have ordered for me.

“You look good, little Red,” Dad says, which is as close to a compliment as he gives.

Ink stretches across his bald head, running down his neck to start the full sleeves on both arms. I’ve done a lot of that ink myself.

“Have you run into your mother?” Wanda asks, eyeing me carefully.

“Sitting here with her right now,” I say with a brittle smile.

Wanda is my mother in my eyes, but I know she was talking about the cold bitch who gave birth to me. I don’t feel like speaking about Cassie though.