I wait.
He smiles.
“Tell me why you haven’t had a real boyfriend.” It’s an instruction, not a question. It, of course, causes me to blush yet again, a wild crimson that spreads like fire to my chest. Dare shakes his head.
“Don’t be embarrassed. I quite like it, really. I’m just curi
ous as to how you’ve remained an undiscovered treasure.”
God, I love the way he talks, so British and so refined.
I shrug. “I’ve always been Funeral Home Girl, remember? No one ever wanted to get close enough to know me. The mere fact that I live in a funeral home with my crazy brother is enough to creep them out.”
“That can’t be true,” Dare argues. “You’re beautiful. Teenage boys never think anything through logically. They think with the crotch of their pants, and their crotch would react to you. Trust me.”
Oh, I do. Especially when I remember how his crotch had reacted to me yesterday. A flood of feminine power and lust spreads through me suddenly, like a wave, and I want to crest on it forever. But I don’t. I turn my attention back to Dare and shrug again.
“I guess they hid it well, then, because I was pretty much ostracized. It’s ok. Don’t worry about me. I’m leaving here, remember? I’ll never have to see them again, and neither will my brother.”
My brother.
I glance toward the woodshed and I’m surprised to find him gone. I scan the trail and the beach, and I don’t see him there, either. Maybe he went to shower.
I look at Dare. “What about you? Have you had any serious girlfriends?”
Surely so.
He shrugs, downplaying any role they might’ve played in his life. “Oh, there have been girls,” he concedes.
I raise an eyebrow. “So you’re a player?”
He laughs. “I plead the fifth.”
I gaze at him. “You’re not American. I’m not sure our constitution applies to you.”
He laughs again.
“What’s your favorite color?” he asks, instead of answering.
“Viridem,” I answer immediately. “Green. It means life. I like that.”
Dare nods. “I like that too. And I like that you know Latin.”
I smile because of our thrust and parry game. “Finn knows Latin,” I correct him. “I’ve just picked a few things up from him.”
“Why does he love Latin so much?”
I shake my head, checking the trail for Finn again, but he’s not there.
“He wants to be a doctor. A Psychologist, really. Latin is the base for medical terminology, so I guess he figures he’ll get a jump start.”
“Smart,” Dare nods.
I have to agree. “Finn is brilliant,” I tell him. “Truly.”
“You’re not just saying that because you’re twins?” Dare teases. I shake my head.
“Nah. He’s way smarter than me.”