The Dare (North Woods University 2)

Asshole. As an act of defiance, I walk over to Alan, running a hand down his arm. The touch is innocent, but I still know it’s wrong. I don’t like Alan, he’s cute, yeah, but he’s not Vance. That doesn’t matter in my mind right at that moment. I still touch him, just to get a rise out of Vance, to show him there are other options out there for me.

“Sure, I’ll have one more,” I coo, beaming up at him. Taking the shot out of his hand, I bring it to my lips. The clear liquid sloshes against the rim and onto my bottom lip. Flicking my tongue out, I lick up the bitter liquid, a sour expression contouring my features.

Alan’s gaze turns molten following the movement of my tongue. I follow the shot with a huge gulp of beer from the cup in my hand. My legs sway, the alcohol sinking heavily in my stomach. I down the rest of the beer and consider getting another when Alan opens his mouth to say something.

“Want to dance?” he asks, extending his hand out to me. Usually I’d say no, but the three shots and all the beer I’ve drank swirling around in my stomach are giving me a fuzzy, happy feeling and I just want to have fun and be carefree. I want to forget about the asshat across the room and if I can do that by dancing with someone else, then I will.

Taking his firm hand, I try to ignore the feel of Vance’s eyes on me as we walk to the makeshift dance floor in the center of the frat house living room. A pop song comes blaring through the speakers. It’s not really slow dance material, but we make the most of it. Alan holds my hands while he dances with me. It feels nice, but it’s nothing like when I danced with Vance.

There’s no electricity between us, no spark, no fire. Alan doesn’t seem to notice or maybe he doesn’t care, I don’t know. He moves closer, pulling me into his chest, his hands moving to my hips as we dance. I want to have fun. I want to forget about Vance and I want to like Alan, but I can’t. It doesn’t matter how nice or good looking he is, he is not Vance.

This feels like a mistake. Dancing with someone while thinking about someone else, it feels wrong, like I’m cheating, which is ridiculous since Vance and I are nothing but mortal enemies and as far from a couple as it gets. I’m about to politely excuse myself, shame blanketing me when Vance appears out of nowhere, his hand wrapping around my wrist gently.

“It’s time to go home,” he yells over the music, tugging me off the dance floor.

“Are you serious?” Alan asks the question that was lodged in my throat.

“Very. Now let’s go, Ava,” he orders, his green eyes piercing mine. He’s paying Alan no attention and I’m thankful for that. I don’t want another fight to break out.

“It’s fine,” I tell Alan, who’s giving me a weary look. “Really, its fine, I want to go home anyway,” I reassure him.

Alan frowns, but releases me, taking a few steps back before giving me a wave goodbye. Vance tugs on my arm and I follow along behind him, not that I could do anything anyway. I feel bad for not saying bye to Jules, but I suppose I can always apologize later. As soon as we step outside and the fresh air hits me, my head starts to spin. I press a hand to my stomach to stop the contents inside from sloshing around.

Maybe three shots within ten minutes wasn’t such a great idea. Vance’s pace slows when he realizes my steps are becoming unsteady. Turning, he wraps an arm around my waist, hauling me against his side. It feels nice, nicer than I expect it to, especially after the way he acted earlier tonight. A smart girl would push him away, tell him to get bent, but I’m not smart. I’m broken, so horribly broken.

“What are you doing?” I ask him, realizing that I’m slurring my words a tad. I’ve been drunk maybe twice in my life. One other time back in high school with one of my friends, it also happened to be the night I lost my virginity.

“Helping you to the car.” His arm tightens around me and the familiar tingle I feel every time he touches me zings through me. I want him to keep touching me, to tell me everything is going to be okay. We’re not even halfway across the front yard when a familiar voice calls out my name.

“Ava!” The sound is deep, manly and it stops us dead in our tracks. Vance turns us so we’re facing toward the owner of said voice. My eyes light up when I see Jules and Remington walking toward us.