But to suspect us? That’s not possible. We were careful. Deke and I had picked him up outside his favorite bar that night. Threw him in my trunk and met the guys on the Lowes estate to carry him up to the cemetery. He had taken a cab to the bar, so we didn’t need to mess with his car. As far as the police know, he got lost or mugged on his way home. Even this city has streets that you don’t go down alone after the sun sets.
“Cole?” Deke snaps my name.
I look up at him. “What?”
“You okay?” he asks softly so the girls can’t hear him. They’re in their own world talking about some shit girls talk about.
I run a hand through my hair. “We’ll be back,” I say to Austin and Becky and slide out. Deke follows me without thought.
“What is it, man?” he asks when we walk outside.
I stop in front of my car and turn to face him on the sidewalk. “Do you think we covered our tracks well enough with Jeff?” I ask.
He snorts. “Don’t let Shane get to you, man. All that shit he was saying last night didn’t make any sense. He’s just scared …”
“This has nothing to do with Shane.”
He frowns. “Then what does it have to do with?”
“I was talking to Austin—”
“Austin?” he interrupts me. “What does she have to do with this? You think she’s gonna go to the police?” he asks.
I shake my head and take a step back from him, running a hand through my hair again nervously. Then I start pacing the sidewalk.
“Cole.”
I stop and look up at him.
He has a sly smile on his face. “She’s getting to you.”
“No, she’s not,” I say like he asked me a question.
He snorts and crosses his arms over his chest. “Becky was right.”
My teeth clench. “No …”
“She said that it’s more than you’re letting on.”
I roll my eyes. “Deke, come on.”
He steps into me. “It’s okay not to want to use her.”
I shake my head. “She is nothing more than part of the game.”
“You’re not in the game,” he says matter-of-factly. “You have your eyes on Austin a hundred percent of the time, and although I don’t have a problem with it, it’s blinding you.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I growl.
“It means you’re not seeing the big picture, Cole.” He sighs heavily. “Kellan is up to something. That night at the clubhouse, I baited him to see what he would do, knowing you would test him. And you did. Even though he didn’t fuck her right then and there, he still failed.”
My body tenses at the thought of Kellan wanting her in any way. “I know!”
“He may want to fuck her, but he wants her gone more. And when he realizes what I’ve figured out.” He smiles, and I wanna slap it off his face. “That she means more to you. He’s gonna take you up on your offer to fuck her, and when you tell him no … He’s gonna make a move.” My hands fists. “Shane can’t decide what side of the fence he wants to be on when it comes to her. And Bennett … is just, well, Bennett. In his own world. He’s not a threat to her. Yet. But we both know that he would take her out without a thought if he felt she jeopardized—”
“I know all this,” I snap, interrupting him.
He glares at me. “Then you need to decide what she means to you. Because I see it all fucking coming to a head. Not soon but eventually, and you’re gonna have to pick a side. Save her. Or kill her before the others do.”
“And you?” I demand. “Where does she stand with you?”
He uncrosses his arms and places them in his pockets. “She’s my girlfriend’s best friend and my brother’s girl.” He looks me in the eyes. “I do what you say. Whether that means protect her or kill her, so her blood isn’t on your hands, is up to you.” And with that, he turns and walks back into the restaurant.
AUSTIN
“So what are you guys doing tonight?” Becky asks me.
“Nothing—”
“We’re going to a movie,” Cole interrupts me as he slides in next to me.
“Really?” she asks excitedly.
I eye him skeptically.
He places his arm over my shoulders and pulls me to his side. I hate that my body instantly softens. “Really,” he says, looking at her.
I’m about to open my mouth and say no when he continues. “We are taking Lilly to see the new Disney movie. She won’t leave me alone about it.” My heart melts a little bit at the mention of Lilly. “You guys wanna go?” he asks.
Becky looks at Deke. He shrugs. “If that’s what you want—”
“Yes. We’ll go,” she interrupts him.
Deke looks at Cole and smiles. “I can drive if you want,” he offers.
Lunch went well although I was tense for most of it. Cole is acting differently, and I can’t figure it out. And Deke kept staring at me with a smirk on his face like he knew a secret. It put me on alert.
“What’s wrong?” Cole asks while he drives me home.
“Nothing,” I lie.
He looks over at me and snorts. “Your knees haven’t stopped bouncing since we left the restaurant.”
I slap my hands on my thighs to help tame them. “Why am I going to the movies with you?” I blurt out.
He frowns. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“We don’t do that.” When his frown deepens, I add. “Date.” This isn’t even a real relationship. He told me I was his, and no one else will date me. I kinda have no other options.
“I promised Lilly yesterday I would take her to the movies tonight, and I figured you’d want to come. Is there a problem?”
I open my mouth but then close it. Not sure what to say. “No,” I say when I come up with nothing. “I like spending time with Lilly.”
He smiles. “But not with me.”
Is he being playful?
I don’t say anything to that because I’m not sure what I like at this moment. He’s got my mind twisted. He’s a killer. He’s been nothing but a dick to me. But then I find out he has this heart that is so big he would rather the entire city hate him than soil his friend’s reputation. Then, of course, Lilly. He thinks the world of her. Raises her. And then there’s the sex. Fuck me! The sex. It’s amazing. Sex with Martin was slow and soft. He was always high, and I was always on top while he played some slow blues music. Sex with Cole is crazy and animalistic. Makes me wanna play some hardcore metal and have his hand wrapped around my neck.
“Your phone is done charging,” he says, unplugging and handing it to me. I go to reach for it, but he pulls it away. “Why do you have the retina scanner on it?”
“It came with the phone.”
He comes to a stop at a red light and looks over at me. “The real reason, sweetheart.”
“Just give it to me,” I bark.
He places it in the side of his door. “When you can be truthful, I’ll give it back.”
“Cole,” I growl.
“Austin.” He smiles.
I don’t like this new playful Cole. It’s annoying. “You don’t get to do this,” I snap.
“Do what?”
“Not tell me anything but want me to tell you everything.”
“So there is a reason you use the retina.”
I sit back in my seat and the light turns green. He doesn’t go. The car behind us honks its horn. I turn around to look as the guy swerves around us. “Cole. The light is green.”
“I know,” he says simply.
Another car honks its horn. “Well, why are we just sitting here?”
He yanks the emergency brake up and crosses his arms over his chest. “We’re not moving until you tell me why you have a retina scanner on your phone.”
Another car honks and flies by us. My teeth clench. “You are such a dick.”
“Call me whatever you want, sweetheart. I always get what I want.”
A car passes by, and the passenger sticks his right hand
out flipping us off. Thankfully, Cole’s windows are blacked out so no one can see us. Finally, the light turns red, and I just stare straight ahead. I remain silent as does he. I pray that he goes through the stoplight the moment it turns green again. But he stays put.
Fucking bastard.
I let out a long breath while cars pass us once again. “I walked into my bedroom one day and found Phillip going through my photos. Photos that I had taken of myself and sent to Martin. After that, I knew I needed to put a lock on it that he wouldn’t be able to guess. Retina scanner was the best bet.”
He tosses my phone to me, and it hits the door. Then he releases the emergency brake and throws the car in gear and squeals the tires as he takes off, barely making it before the light turns red again.
I look over at him as he drives like a maniac now through traffic. Cutting cars off and tailgating. “What is your problem?” I demand.
He slams on the brakes at another red light. I can see his jaw tighten.
“Why do you make me tell you things and then get mad at me? If you don’t want to know the answer, then don’t make me tell you. It’s not that hard of a concept,” I snap.
He remains silent, and I look down to turn my phone on. It starts to ding instantly with notifications. I open my Facebook page and see I have over a hundred new friend requests, which is a surprise. But only one stands out. Cole Reynolds. His profile pic is of us. I’m sitting on the counter at his father’s house, and he’s standing between my legs, kissing me.
I ignore it and go to my pictures. I scroll through them, looking at the ones I have with Martin. Each one makes me angrier and angrier that I haven’t heard from him.
I click on his page. His profile is still the same picture it has been for two years now. Him standing with his surfboard on the ocean. I scroll down through his posts and see that he is still addicted to the games. He likes to smoke weed, sit back, and play on his phone. I see he was tagged in a picture just a few days ago. The person doing the tagging is a girl. She has short brown hair and light brown eyes. His lips are on her cheek and her hand is on his chest. But there’s no caption.
I swallow, hating the feeling that he is with someone else so fast. I’m not gonna say I thought we would get married, but he was a big part of my life. And then, boom. Nothing. It hurts.
It’s not like Cole and I are anything important. Like I wanted this relationship with him.
I unfriend Martin, exit his page, and go back to mine, deleting every picture he was in.
Cole pulls up to my house, and I open the passenger door to get out. “Austin …” He grabs my upper arm.
I swing my head around to glare at him. “I didn’t delete them for you.” Then I yank my arm free and get out.
_________________________________
Sunday evening, I find myself back at the clubhouse with the guys to do another dare.
I sit on the couch with Cole to my left and Deke to my right. We haven’t spoken much since yesterday afternoon. We went to see a movie last night, but the best thing about movies is that you can’t talk during them. Then afterward I told him to take me home. He didn’t argue even though earlier in the day he had told Celeste I would be staying the night with him. I think he knew I was pissed and didn’t wanna to fight with me over it.
“So who’s up?” I ask.
“Cole,” Deke answers.
“Don’t make your dare illegal,” Cole warns me without looking my way. And I know it’s for my sake, not his.
I ignore him.
Like last time, Shane passes out pieces of paper and pens. I write down a dare and put it in the bowl.
I peek over at Kellan standing by the table, and he’s staring at me. I look away.
Cole gets up and goes over to the bowl. He draws out a piece of paper and silently reads it to himself at first. His jaw sharpens and nostrils flare. His eyes instantly go to Kellan who smiles back at Cole, then looks back at me.
“I dare you,” Kellan says to Cole with a sinister smile on his face.
I swallow nervously.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
COLE
My eyes go to Austin, and her face is white, eyes wide. She looks nervous. Looking back down at the paper, I read it out loud. “You must fuck Kaitlin. Consequence. If you do not complete your dare in one month, you must pull out of the group.”
Deke snorts and mutters, “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I’m very serious,” Kellan says, looking at Austin.
Her face has turned red, and I’m not sure if it’s from anger or embarrassment.
Deke stands and looks at Kellan. “What the fuck, man?”
He shrugs carelessly. “Not sure what the problem is. We all know that he’s just playing with Austin for the month, and he’s fucked Kaitlin before. Not like she’s a bad lay. We’ve all had a piece of that.”
“You know why,” he snaps.
Shane runs a hand through his hair nervously while Bennett looks at Kellan with a tight jaw. We all know what he’s doing. But there’s nothing we can do—rules are rules.
I smile. Kellan is just asking for me to fuck him over. He still doesn’t know that I’m aware he’s fucking Celeste. I know she hasn’t said a word to him because he would have confronted me.
I could tell him. But what good would that do? It won’t change anything now. Plus, I want him to continue fucking her. I need insurance. And I won’t get it if he stops.
Kellan looks at me. That smirk still on his face. “You’ve got a month, Cole,” he says, then looks to Austin and winks before he walks out.
Her eyes meet mine, and she looks absolutely pissed. And I find I like another side of her. One I’ve never seen before—jealousy.
_________________________________
Everyone but me, Austin, and Deke have left the clubhouse. She still sits on the couch. She hasn’t said a word since I read my dare out loud over thirty minutes ago.
Deke sighs heavily as he approaches me. “What are you gonna do, man?” he asks, lowering his voice.
“What I have to do,” I say simply.
He shakes his head. “I told you shit was gonna come to a head. And it’s gonna happen within a month.”
“It’ll be fine.”
He growls. “Kellan was out of line.”
“He’s playing the game.” Not very well, I might add.
“Fuck the game,” he snaps.
I slap his shoulder. “I’ve got it under control.”
“You can’t pull out of the group.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I assure him.
“So you’re gonna fuck Kaitlin?” He gives Austin a quick look over his shoulder. She is typing away on her cell. “You can’t come back from that, Cole.”
“Quit worrying so much, Deke,” I decide to say.
He lets out another long breath, shaking his head. Then without another word, he turns and walks out.
“Let’s go,” I say to her.
She stands from the couch and walks out to my car. I follow her and close up the clubhouse. When I get in the car, she looks straight ahead. I turn the car on and take her home.
As I pull up to her driveway, she’s already reaching for the door. “Wait,” I say, grabbing her arm.
She finally looks over at me, and her green eyes are simmering with rage and her lips thinned.
“Trust me.”
She says nothing. Doesn’t even blink.
I hold in a sigh. I’m gonna fucking kill Kellan. I haven’t worked this hard to get her where I want for him to come along and fuck it all up. “I know I haven’t given you a reason to, but I need you to trust me on this.” Deke was right; I could never come back from this. And if I want Austin Lowes to fall in love with me, fucking another woman isn’t gonna do it.
“You’re right. You haven’t given me a reason to trust you, and I’m not gonna start now.” Then she gets out, slamming the door behind her.
_________________________________
&
nbsp; The next week went by quicker than I would have liked. And I hated it. This was the last free week I would have before I was gonna be spending all my time in a pool. My weekends full of swim meets. It was the last time before I graduated. And Kellan fucked it up by giving me that ridiculous dare.
I still picked up Austin and took her to and from school. She didn’t say anything to me when we were alone. She spoke to me here and there in class and while at lunch, but I could still tell that she was mad. And I’m not sure what to do about it.
I have a little over three weeks left to complete my dare, and I’m gonna take up every single day of that. Because once I fulfill it, shit will hit the fan. And I’m not ready to clean up that mess yet.
Friday afternoon, we are all sitting at the lunch table with the exception of Kellan. He’s been MIA since last Sunday. I see him in practice, but we ignore one another. So does Deke and Bennett. Shane seems to be the only one speaking to him at the moment.
“Austin, I need a favor,” I say, turning to face her. She sits beside me eating Chick-fil-A nuggets.
“What is it?” she asks, not bothering to look at me.
“Can you take Lilly to school and pick her up for me next week? Blanche is busy, and Bruce is going to be back in town …” She drops her nugget in the barbecue sauce at the mention of her father. “So Celeste will be too busy—”
“Yeah,” she says, interrupting me and digging it out.
Becky gives me a glare, and I ignore her. She’s been cold since last Sunday, but that’s to be expected. I’m sure Austin filled her in on my dare.
“Thank you,” I say, but she’s gone back to ignoring me.
“Hey, babe, I made our reservations for tomorrow,” Deke tells Becky.
She looks at him but doesn’t say anything. Their relationship is on the rocks as well. Not sure what happened there, but it’s not good.
Deke throws me a glare.
I Dare You Page 23