The Dare: Sterling U: Book 1

by Amanda Ray

  He stared at me for a minute. Just watching me before keeling over with laughter. The asshole actually, full-on, from the pit of his stomach laughed at me. I growled and went to walk away but Nate grabbed my shoulder. "Brooks. Man. I know you wanna complete this dare, and trust me I want you to, too. But if what you're saying is true. If this girl has gotten under your skin. Gotten in your head. Then she's different, B and isn't that worth figuring out? Figuring her out? You're my best friend and I've never seen you get this way over a girl, especially one you claim to hate. So why don't you stop thinking about the dare for a minute and try to just think about Letty? "

  I watched him, letting his words sink in. He's right. I need to forget about the dare for a minute. Maybe a day. Maybe the weekend. Because right now I need to figure out what's going on with me and Letty. I let out a deep breath, shaking my head, "It doesn't even matter though, dude. She's been ignoring me since we had sex."

  "Damn. That bad huh?"

  I almost punched him before seeing his shit eating grin and knowing he was just fucking with me. "I don't know what happened. It seemed like she loved it. Hell, I fucking loved it but now she's ignoring my texts and I don't fucking know what to do."

  "Well, you have two options here. You can either stalk the shit out of her. Meaning you go to her and confront her. Figure out what the hell is going on. What's in her head and why she's ghosting you. Or, you can be a bitch and ignore all this shit for the night and come to the frat house after the game for a party and try to get your mind off Scarlett."

  I laughed at him. He always knew just what to say. Should I be a man and a creep and go find her or should I be a bitch and back off, giving her what she apparently wants? Defeated I looked from the floor back up to Nate, "Fuck it. She seems to want space so I'll head to the party tonight and get fucked up. I don't think anyone else can compete with her right now but maybe liquor can get her out of my fucking head. And shit, if all else fails I'll confront her in class on Tuesday. But for the love of God, do not and I fucking repeat Nate! DO NOT let me drunk dial her tonight! Got it?!"

  Fucker laughed at me again, "Yeah, man. I got it. Just go get fucking ready so we can get outta here. I can't wait to fucking crush Princeton's team."

  "You know those fuckers are going down! Mason's been blocking every shot we've thrown his way in practice and you know for damn sure as long as the dream team- me, you, Ky, Drew and Ronnie- stay out of the penalty box we can kick their asses." I heard Nate's laughter from the kitchen as I went in my room to get ready.

  The minute I was done we hopped in my Jeep and headed toward the rink. My focus went to hockey. To winning. And I knew right then that tonight was going to be about celebrating, drinking and forgetting Letty. Or at least that's what I thought.

  Chapter 17

  Letty

  "Hey babe, you ready?" I look over to the doorway where Savvy's voice greets me. Giving her a tight smile, I nod, "Almost. Just gotta figure out what kinda shoes I'm gonna wear." She walks into my room headed straight for my closet to help me decide. I give myself one more glance in the mirror. Taking in a deep breath I shake my head of the images that have been haunting me for the past few days. Ever since I slept with Brooks it's like he's permanently on my mind. I can't stand it. I told Savvy about everything and she told me I needed to go out, get drunk and get under someone else. I laughed. But like always she was right. So here I am, Saturday night, getting "sluttied up"-Savvy's words not mine- to go to a campus party to get plastered and potentially sleep with someone.

  Savvy comes out of my closet with a pair of black stud booties. They pair well with my denim shorts, black bra and black see-through, long sleeve shirt. I left my shirt tucked in to showcase my curves and let my natural waves do their thing. Simple mascara and eyeliner and- at Savvy's insistence- the red lips were back. Savvy showcased with a white form fitting mini skirt, tied up ACDC T-shirt and red heels. Her shoulder length brown hair was curled slightly away from her face, her makeup identical to mine. She pats my butt when I stand after putting on my shoes, "Damn girl, we look good! Now let's go get fucked up in more ways than one." I laughed at her excitement.

  "I'm just ready to get drunk and hook up with some people. Just don't let me go home with any idiots, okay?"

  "Girl, you know I got you! But seriously, don't let me go home with any idiots! I know we're getting you drunk and hopefully under someone for certain reasons but mama wants to get drunk and have someone eat my face for other reasons."

  A whole hearted laugh left my lips. That's my best friend for you. "And pray tell what are those reasons? Hmm?"

  Savvy lets out a deep sigh and my heart drops a little. I know something's bothering her and I think she needs this night just as badly as I do. "Just family shit. You know how it is." She shrugs at me and I grab her shoulders, bringing her in for a hug before kissing her temple.

  "Mom or brother?"

  Savvy shows me her phone and I shake my head letting out an angry breath. When we first met she had thrown me for a loop when she had admitted to hating her family but the more we were around each other, the more we opened up, and I finally understood why she had made those claims. Savvy's had it rough with her family. Her mom is the type of woman who always has to have the last word in things, regardless of the situation. The type of woman who needs to put others down. Who needs to yell, fight, and scream for no apparent reason. The first time I had heard a fight between Savannah and her family my mouth had hit the floor with what they had said to her. Her mother and her brother both talked to her like she was the lowest piece of scum on the earth and she just sat there and ate it. Told me that in the past she would try to speak up, fight for herself, but there was no reasoning with people who thought they were always in the right. Who thought they were the victims in every situation.

  I learned that day that as much as I want to stand up for her. To fight for her. She was right. Because you can't fight with people who think they're never wrong. Who are so closed minded that they can't see beyond what's right in front of them. You can't help people if they think there's nothing to be fixed. Because in the end there's no winning. You can talk, yell, fight and scream until you're blue in the face but if they don't want to hear it, truly hear it, then there's nothing you can do to fix the situation. They'll end up taking all of your fight and you're left being worse off than they are. That's something that Savvy taught me. In the beginning I thought that she was being weak for not standing up for herself with her family but I came to realize quickly that by staying silent she was actually fighting harder, stronger. Doesn't mean it still doesn't get to her sometimes.

  I delete the fifty in-humane text messages from her mother and pass her back her phone. "Do you wanna turn it off for the night? I'll be with you the whole time so you don't really need to talk to anyone else tonight." I laugh to try to lighten the mood, "Or do you wanna leave it on and just go get completely blacked out in liquor to the point that we need to call an Uber right now to take us home later?" Savvy laughs, giving me a tight hug.

  "I love you. You know that?"

  "Yeah. So I've heard. You're not so bad yourself, slick."

  Savvy pushes me gently as we make our way out of the apartment, "Let's go get fucked up! I'm blocking her number for the night and keeping my phone on me. She doesn't get to win and she doesn't get to take my night away."

  I smile brightly at her, "No. She doesn't. Come on babe, first rounds on me! Let's go find some parties!"

  After three stops in different dorm parties Savvy and I have made our way to Greek row where all the frat houses are currently throwing ragers. We stumble into a frat house where Savvy leads me toward the kitchen for another drink. Looking around it looks oddly familiar but in my drunken haze I can't place it. Pushing through people I laugh at how aggressive Sav gets when it comes to her liquor. We make our way to the make shift bar at the kitchen counter and she pours us two Jungle juices that the fraternity has made.

  "Fuck! This shit is stron
g" I say through a coughing fit. The potent liquor coats my throat and I can feel it instantly fill my blood. Yup, we're halfway to being plastered.

  "I think two more cups of this and we will have successfully hit the I-got-so-fucked-up-I-can't-remember-what-happened phase."

  I can't control my laughter at Savvy's response because it's so true. I carefully nurse my drink, swaying to Selena Gomez's Look at her now when I see Savvy's eyes go wide. "Sav, you okay?" She doesn't answer. I put my drink on the counter, waving my hand in her face, "Savvy? What's up?" She looks at me and shakes her head before looking back behind me. Reluctantly I slowly turn around to find what it is that's caught her eye. The moment I do it feels like I've been punched in the gut. All the air in my body's left and I'm trying really hard not to keel over.

  What.

  The.

  Fuck.

  Now I know why this house looked so familiar. It's Nate's frat's house. I shake my head trying to get out of my trance but it's not working. I should have known that I was going to run into Brooks eventually. Hell, we have class together so I knew that I was going to have to see him eventually. But what I wasn't prepared for, was to see him with his tongue down someone else's throat right in front of me.

  Brooks is on the makeshift dance floor, in the far left corner, his hands groping some girls ass while he takes her mouth with his. I've seen her around before. Her long red hair, porcelain skin, tall, thin physique. She's just his type. But why does it matter? Why does it bother me? I turn back around to Savvy, grab my drink from the counter and down it before filling it back up to the brim. She eyes me carefully before asking, "Babe, you okay?" I don't respond, just keep drinking gulp after gulp. "You know what! Fuck. Him! He's an asshole. We already knew that. This just proves that you need to get under someone else tonight! Want it to be one of his friends?"

  I laugh bitterly, contemplating actually screwing one of Brooks' friends just to piss him off but decide against it. I fill my cup up with more punch for the third time, "Nah. Not worth it. It was a one time thing. Brooks doesn’t mean anything, remember?"

  "You sure? He's got some pretty hot friends. I hear Nate's single. Just saying."

  I smirk at her comment, "No, Sav. We'll save him for you." She blushes and I can't help the little laugh that leaves me. "Come on. Fill up your cup. I wanna go dance!" Savvy fills her cup up to the top like mine and we make our way to the dance floor.

  We're sloppy, stumbling and jumping all over the place to the music. Singing at the top of our lungs, tone deaf and drunk. If only we cared. I spin around, hair flying in my face, getting trapped on my sweaty forehead when I see Ivy green eyes piercing into mine. My breath hitches and I can feel my heart pounding out of my chest. Brooks’ eyes are wide as if he's just seeing me now. Shock and nervousness pour out of them. He gives me a wry smirk and I roll my eyes before turning back around to face Savvy. She looks behind me, her eyes wide. Biting her lip she says, "He's coming over."

  My eyes widen but I'll be damned if he can see that he affects me. I feel his breath at my ear before his hand grips my waist, pulling me back slightly into him. "What are you doing here?"

  I turn around to face him, fury in my eyes, "What? Surprised to see me?"

  "A little. Yeah. You've been ignoring me."

  I shrug, "Yeah, well. I didn't come here for you. I came here to get drunk and forget you." Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. Shit. Did I really just admit that he's been on my mind? Fuck!

  Brooks’ eyebrows reach his hairline before he gives me a knowing smirk, "Oh really? I'm that good that you need to come get plastered in order to get me out of your head and forget the way I feel inside you?" Fuuuuuccckkkkk, if that didn't get my panties wet. I stop mid dance and stare at him for a moment.

  I shake my head, laughing under my breath, "Nah. You were okay. But I'm sure your little red head friend will help inflate your ego by telling you that you're amazing, so run along now. I've got some dancing to do." Brooks’ eyes are wide in shock. Disbelief. Hurt? But I don't waste time dwelling on it, I turn back around to Savvy and continue dancing. I see said red-head staring at me like she wants to chew my head off but I just roll my eyes and focus on the music. Daya's Thirsty comes through the speakers and my mood perks up at least ten notches. Brooks is still standing behind me so I turn, jumping up and down dancing. Yell singing in his face.

  His eyes dwindle down and he smiles at me before laughing. Fucker laughs at me but I'm too far gone to care anymore. I start laughing back as I'm singing and dancing, grinding up against Savvy. The song is coming to an end and I look around to see Nate smiling, walking to stand next to his buddy and I shoot Savvy a look. She ignores me, continues drinking and dancing with me. The song changes to Playin’ wit me by Kyle and Kehlani. I turn around to Brooks to continue my little performance of sing-yelling but he beats me to it. Him and Nate start belting out the lyrics to me and Savvy. Swaying to the music and getting closer and closer to our face as all four of us take turns singing in each other's faces.

  I'm the first one to break. I start laughing so hard tears fall down my eyes, followed by Savvy, Nate and then Brooks. We're all standing there laughing and looking at each other when a guy comes up behind me grabbing my waist. I turn slightly to see who it is. It's one of Brooks' teammates, Kyle, I think his name is, "Damn girl, you sure know how to dance. Care for a partner?" I smile up at him before briefly looking at Brooks.

  His eyes are hard, his jaw tight. He's pissed. Somewhere inside of me heat builds. He doesn't own me! He has no right to be angry right now especially when he was just making out with someone else!

  Anger fuels me and I want nothing more than to make Brooks angry. Nothing more than to make him feel gutted. But why when all we had was a one night stand? I don't know right now. I'm too drunk to figure that out, but all I know is that I want him to be furious! So without thinking anymore I turn toward Kyle, take his face in my hands and smash my lips to his.

  Chapter 18

  Brooks

  I was on a high. I vowed to forget about Letty, focus on the game and celebrate tonight. I was all for it. We won our game against Princeton 3-1 with two slap shots from yours truly and one from Nate. We were unstoppable together and the team was number one in the league so far. We planned to have it stay that way. We were celebrating.

  After the game I got cleaned up and made my way over to Nate's frat house for the party where I was instantly bombarded with women and drinks. It's no big deal. After every game there's always a few puck bunnies waiting outside to see who wants a ride and walking into a party after winning a game is basically the same thing. Girls lining up at the door waiting-no begging- to be our arm candy and for one of us to take them home, screw their brains out and dump them with their friends so they can brag about the godly hockey player they were just with.

  I strolled in immediately finding my teammates and got to work with getting myself properly drunk. Letty was still on my mind and I needed her somewhere else. On my cock preferably. But it pissed me off beyond words that I would look around at all the hot tail and not even want to touch them.

  So in the spirit of who-the-fuck-cares, I started downing jack and coke-minus most of the coke- from the minute I entered the house. I was about four drinks in when Serena-the hot red-head from the party at the beginning of the year and the coffee cart approached me. She gave me all the signs. Stroking my arm, openly flirting, biting her lip. Even the boys noticed. "Yo, she wants your dick. Bad!" Ronnie had remarked, to which I punched him in the arm and gave him a sly smile. Well of course she fucking wanted me. Hello! Everyone wanted me. Except for a certain girl who has been ignoring your dumbass, my subconscious decided to remind me.

  I needed to get that shit out of my head. I downed the rest of my drink just as Serena wrapped her talons around my neck, pulling me down to her thin lips. Everything about her was the opposite of Letty. She had bright red hair to Letty's chocolate brown. Blue-green eyes whereas Letty had a caramel, sunlight brown. Her lips were th
in compared to Letty's plump, kissable ones. And fuck I needed to stop comparing Serena to Letty. I didn't fight it when her lips met mine. I closed my eyes tight, picturing the feisty brunette from the other night. My hands wrapped around the small body of the girl before me and I squeezed, willing my body to give in to the sloppy kisses. All too soon I felt myself pulling away, needing to break the contact from the mouth that was just...wrong. I wasn't expecting to look up and find the girl I've been thinking about in front of me. Dancing like no-ones business.

  When I made my way over I had felt my chest tighten, my heart pounding so hard it was bound to escape. I wanted her. Needed her. But fuck me, I could tell she didn't want me. She confirmed it right now when she grabbed Ky and started sucking his face! My jaw locked when my teeth clenched down. Even over the loud music I could hear Nate and Savvy gasp. Letty's friend's eyes were wide before she shook her head smirking at the scene that lay in front of us. Nate looked at me and then back at the make-out session, shaking his head. My fists clenched at my sides before I crossed my arms at my chest, eyes narrowed at my scum of a teammate making out with the girl he fucking dared me to get to fall for me.

  Ky didn't know everything that had transpired between Letty and I but the fucker still knew that I was working hard to get her to fall for me. Hell, he was the one who fucking chose her! We all stood there, frozen in time, watching Letty and Ky kiss and suck on each other. It took everything in me not to punch him in his damn face and throw her over my shoulder marching out of the party. When she finally pulled away, after what felt like hours, her cheeks were flushed, her lipstick smeared and her eyes low and glassy. Was she embarrassed? Who the fuck knows because my eyes went straight to Ky who was sporting a smug ass grin that I wanted to wipe off his damn face. I felt my anger boiling up. I wanted to kill him.