Triple Dare (Sterling Shore 7)

CORBIN: Looks like I’ll just have 4 left. See you soon. xx

Tossing my phone to the bed, I groan while pulling my shirt off.

“What’s going on?”

I ignore her while fighting back the urge to turn into a whiny brat. Digging into the back of my closet, I pull out the outfit I can’t wait to burn. Bo’s eyes widen when I walk out and hold it up, and she coughs on her drink while sputtering a laugh.

“Thanks to that fucker, I have to change.”

CHAPTER 17

CORBIN

Maverick doubles over, laughing so hard he stumbles against the wall as Ruby holds up both of her middle fingers and glares at me on her way to our booth. I’m fucking dying. I can’t help it.

It hurts. My damn side hurts.

“And I thought Rye and I were weird,” Brin says with a grin, and that has Ruby turning those extended middle fingers toward her. Brin stays in Rye’s lap while he remains unusually quiet—brooding.

Dane buries his face into Rain’s neck as his body shakes with suppressed laughter, and Rain covers her mouth with her hand as her eyes grow wide in her head.

“Totally buying you one of those,” Kode tells Tria, to which she just laughs.

It’s all we could get to come out on such short notice, but it’s enough to keep Ruby here.

“Hello, Kitty,” Maverick says, making the worst groan-worthy pun ever.

“Wow,” Dale says as he walks up, surprising me by even showing up. “Umm… Is it Halloween?”

Ruby flips him off as well, since it seems to be her favorite gesture tonight. Finally, she plants those hands on her leather-clad hips, and turns to glare at me. The effect is lost, considering the mask she’s wearing only makes me laugh harder.

Her long hair is down her back, but the top is hidden by that mask.

“What’s with the catwoman suit?” Brin finally asks. “Triple dare?”

I start laughing harder again, and Ruby slides into the booth, sitting across from me as she takes a spot by Dale.

“Long-standing triple dare,” she grumbles, cutting her eyes toward me again. “You seem to forget you have some old, long-standing dares out there as well.”

My mind goes blank on what dares I have left, but none of them are this bad, so I don’t stop laughing.

“Why are you so quiet?” Rain asks Rye, showing Ruby some mercy.

I prefer merciless friends.

Brin starts laughing, and Rye glares at the back of her head, tightening his lips like he’s holding back a string of things he wants to say.

“He sounds like Minnie Mouse on helium right now,” Brin explains, erupting into hysterics thereafter, while all of us just look… confused.

“How?” Ruby asks, and immediately my eyes cut back to her.

“Don’t even think about it,” I growl, but her lips merely twitch while she keeps her gaze trained on the laughing Brin.

Brin finally stops laughing enough to speak. “Raya has a chemist genius in her family, and he makes these amazing little voice-altering pills that look a lot like aspirin.”

She starts laughing again, and Rye opens his mouth to speak, but quickly claps his lips back together before resuming his glower.

“Why would someone make a pill like that?” Rain asks, but I can see the intrigue in her eyes that has Dane suspicious.

“Because he has a sense of humor?” Brin says, even though it sounds like a question.

Everyone starts laughing as Rye broods and keeps his lips sealed. Damn. I really want to hear him talk now.

“Don’t worry,” Brin says, twisting in his lap so she can see him. “It’s only supposed to last twenty-four hours… In most cases.”

“Most cases?” he mouths, his eyes widening. “What a bow tall races?”

Hmmm. Maybe that’s not what he’s saying. My lip-reading abilities aren’t that great.

“What?” Brin mocks, holding a hand to her ear. “I can’t hear you.”

He gives her an I’m-going-to-kill-you-in-your-sleep look that Brin just snickers at before redirecting her attention back to us.

“You feel like stretching your kitty cat legs on the dance floor?” Brin asks Ruby. “I’ll try to make you purr.”

Ruby scowls over at me, and I grin like a cheeky bastard at her.

“Yeah. I have something I need to do anyway,” Ruby says as something sinister crosses her eyes.

My smile immediately falters, and I tilt my head, studying her as she holds my gaze. That usually means one hell of a nasty triple dare.

Nah. No worries. It’s my turn to triple dare, so there’s nothing she can do.

All the girls flee the both, and like the pathetic asses we are, most of us watch them as they move onto the dance floor.

“Anyone else have the urge to say ‘I’m Batman’?” Maverick asks, mimicking the low rasp Batman has on the last part.

Several spurts of laughter follow, including mine.

“You really should be dancing with her,” Dale points out.

“I will later,” I say dismissively. Dale is one seriously observant motherfucker, so I don’t need to give him any reason to pay attention to me.