by Tonya Kappes
TONYA
KAPPES
The
Dare Me
Date
Chapter One
“While money doesn’t buy love, it puts you in a good bargaining position.”
~ Christopher Marlowe
“Do you realize that one year ago today we sat in this exact same spot?” I tapped the bar top, turning to look at the snuggly couple next to me. In disgust, I watched him lightly stroke the woman’s back as he leaned over and whispered into her ear. Quickly, I ducked to miss the woman’s long honey colored loose curls as she flung her head back in a hyena laugh. Running my fingers through my shaggy blonde hair, I secretly wished I had long hair like hers. “And I think they were here too.” I gestured to the couple and picked up my mug of warm beer.
The brew had been cold a few minutes ago, but having my weekly Friday night drink at Brew Ha Ha’s with Maddie, my best friend since forever, didn’t even appeal to me, and it was normally the highlight of my week. There was nothing better than Brew Ha Ha’s fish fry Friday nights. But not this Friday.
Valentines…”ugh”…I sighed at the realization that on tomorrow’s lover’s holiday, I was alone…yet again.
“Did you hear me?” I waved my hand in front of Maddie’s face. Her emerald green eyes were in a stare and her mouth gapped open. A sure sign she was eavesdropping. I leaned back on my bar stool, peering over her shoulder to get a glimpse of the guy whose back was to us.
“Shh.” Her lips pursed and she tilted her head toward the guy. Her eyes jumped out of their sockets. She made a phone with her fingers, telling me that he was on the phone and she was getting the lowdown.
Yep, she was good at eavesdropping. If eavesdropping were an Olympic sport, Maddie would be a triple gold medalist. That was how we heard about most of the gossip in our small town of Floral, Wisconsin.
“I should work tomorrow. I need the money to pay my rent.” I drummed my fingers on the mahogany wood bar. “I’m not doing anything, so I might as well watch all the lovers enjoy their holiday. Plus, Maggie could use an extra hand.”
One of my many duties as hostess at Maggie’s Bed and Breakfast was to make sure that all the couples had everything they needed to enjoy their stay while in Floral. Maggie’s was well known all over the world for her five star treatment. There were only four couples at a time in the bed and breakfast, which created a yearlong waiting list on normal weeks, but Valentine’s was a different story. If you wanted a room for Valentine’s Day, you were looking at a five-year wait list.
“Do you know him?” Maddie whispered, pointing to the guy.
Leaning back again, I took a good long look at the back of his head. He definitely wasn’t from here. His grey sweater, jeans and fancy black shoes were a dead giveaway. Most men from Floral were a little shaggier, at least the ones who came to Brew Ha Ha for Friday night fish.
I shook my head, straightening myself back up on the barstool.
“You’ve been nursing that beer, Jozy.” Abraham stood behind the bar with a couple bottle of Bud nestled between his fingers. “Are you feeling alright?”
“What? You think I’m an alcoholic?” My eyes narrowed as I watched him deliver the beers to the couple at the far end of the bar.
“Not at all!” He shouted over the crowd that was coming through the door. He made his way back over and planted his forearms on the bar top. “By the time Friday rolls around, you are generally ready for a good cold one. Especially with the ski season in full force.”
“Well, not today.” I pushed the warm mug away from me. Abraham was right. I loved working at Maggie’s. In fact, I started out there when I was fifteen-years-old, folding the laundry. It was nestled perfectly near the lake and ski resort that attracted a lot of visitors. Winter and summer were our busy seasons with great snow skiing and great water skiing, but Valentine’s Day brought all the lovers to Maggie’s, and this was the second year in a row that I did not have a date.
“I can change that.” Abraham set a frosty mug in front of me, filled to the top with a very inviting dark and tan, a pricey drink that I only get on special occasions. “I don’t like seeing you all down-faced. There are a bunch of us going skiing and then back here for a few drinks if you want to join us.”
“Aww thanks. I’ll think about it.” I picked up the mug just as Maddie elbowed me in the ribs. “Ouch!”
She tilted her head toward the mystery guy as her eyebrows lifted in delight. Making eye contact, I grinned in reciprocation of his smile.
“He was on the phone with someone saying he was waiting for someone from date.com. You know---that dating website.” Maddie caught herself from falling off the barstool as she watched him go into the bathroom. “Her name is Jasmine and he’s never met her.” There was a little too much excitement in her voice.
“Of course they are meeting for the first time,” sarcasm dripped from my lips. I picked up the mug and took a gulp. “Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. I bet they are going to snuggle up at the ski lodge and just have a grand ole time.”
She grabbed my arm, making me spill the beer again.
“Maddie!” I brushed my hands down my shirt that was now soaked with beer. “What’s wrong with you?”
“You don’t have to work tomorrow.” A grin crossed her lips, lifting her eyes into a mischievous smile. “You can pretend to be Jasmine!”
“Uhh…no,” I said flatly. “Besides, Jasmine will be here. He’s hot ,and I’m sure they have seen each other through pictures or something.”
“No, they haven’t. That is the big thing about that site. You aren’t allowed to see pictures or anything, so you get to know the soul and spirit of the person before you fall in love with their appearance.” She tapped her ear. “He said to the person on the phone that he had no clue what she looked like. It’s perfect!”
“Right.” I rolled my eyes. Maddie and I had done some really stupid stuff when we were little, but this would be an extremely stupid stunt. “And how do we explain who I am when hottie Jasmine shows up?” I let out a big sigh, “Doesn’t Jasmine sound like a hot name?”
“Hot or not, she’s not here and you are.” Maddie grabbed her bag off the bar and pulled out her wallet. “I dare you.”
“You dare me?”
“Double dog dare you, and put a hundred on it.” She pulled a one-hundred-dollar bill out of her wallet. “You did say you were going to be short on rent this month.”
Even though it was a very enticing offer, I wasn’t ten years old anymore.
“You have got to be kidding.” I looked over and Maddie definitely wasn’t kidding. Her face was as straight as an arrow, not a smirk or grin to be seen.
“No, I’m serious.” She slapped the Benjamin Franklin on the counter. “One hundred dollars on a dare that you won’t tell him you are Jasmine. Hurry up and decide before he comes back out.”
“I don’t know.” I looked between her and the bathroom door. What harm could it do? I could totally pretend to be someone else for the rest of the night, which was only a few hours. It would be the easiest one-hundred-dollar bill I had ever made.
With shear horror, I watched the bathroom door open. The guy’s eyes scanned the bar as if he was looking to see if anyone new had come in. There hadn’t.
“Well?” Maddie nudged me.
“I”…I stammered, knowing this was not a good idea.
“Oh, Jasmine, you are so funny!” Maddie threw her head back as her laughter filled Brew Ha Ha’s.
“Did you say Jasmine?” The guy’s southern accent filled my ears as it dawned on me what Maddie had just done.
“Yes, her name is Jasmine.” Maddie stiffened her back, creating a straight line. “Right, Jasmine?” She nudged me.
“Um. . .�
�� I stuttered. “Yes.”
Just for a brief moment, I felt a sense of fright and fear. Only for a moment. Then excitement began to build. Not only was I going to win that dare, I was going to have a nice couple of hours with a really hot guy.
“Are you...?” I started to ask.
“Yes, I’m Benjamin.” He bent over, wrapping his arms around me as if I would’ve expected it. Gingerly, I patted his back with my fingertips and glared at Maddie over his shoulder.
Amusement sat on Abraham and Maddie’s faces.
“You didn’t tell me you were bringing a friend.” He pulled away and dragged an empty barstool down, sitting it between Maddie and me. He placed his warm palm on my knee. “Or I would’ve brought someone.”
“You know. It’s just. . .” I waved my hands in the air, trying to forget about the excitement of his hand that was sending my heart racing.
“Too far of a drive from home.” He finished my sentence, only it wasn’t my sentence, it would have been Jasmine’s. “I told you that we could have met closer to New York. Then when I didn’t see you, I was afraid you didn’t get my email since I had been hacked. But here you are.”
New York? Jasmine was obviously from New York and I was obviously not with my worn jeans and wool grey sweater, not to mention crazy shaggy hair.
“Here I am.” I planted a big fake smile on my face and patted his hand that was still on my knee.
“Okay, Jasmine and Benjamin, I’m leaving you to your date.” Maddie stood up and pointed toward the door. “I’ll see you back to the room.”
“So you aren’t staying at the resort with me?” Benjamin questioned, his eyes were dark and assessing. “I thought...”
“You are wrong.” Maddie jabbed a finger at him. “Jasmine doesn’t go around meeting any ol’ guy in strange places and stay with them.”
“But we’ve been talking for over a year. I think we know each other very well.” His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Don’t you?”
“I’ll be fine.” I played Maddie off. “You go back and I’ll call you.”
“O-kay.” Maddie grabbed her purse off the bar and flung it over her shoulder, giving me one quick thumbs-up before she walked out the door.
“What can I get you two lovebirds?” Abraham’s eyes danced with amusement. I was squirming inside and he knew it.
“We will take two baskets.” I took the liberty of ordering since I knew it was the best fish in all of the United States.
“Two baskets coming up.”
“Can you bring them to that table?” Benjamin pointed over my shoulder to where he was sitting before this big lie began.
“No problem.” Abraham nodded.
“When you agreed to the fish fry, I was shocked.” He picked up my mug and moved it to the table. “Especially since you said you didn’t care too much for fish.”
“Two fried fish dinners.” Abraham brought the baskets filled with fish and chips to the table and sat them down. “Anything else for you two lovebirds?”
“No.” Benjamin wasn’t amused.
“I guess they get that a lot this time of the year.” I smiled, and then took a big bite of cod. I like fish whether Jasmine likes it or not. And I wasn’t going to let Brew Ha Ha’s Friday night fish fry go to waste, especially with a one-hundred-dollar bill at stake.
Trying not to look at him, I could feel his stare. He was assessing me, wondering what he had gotten himself into. I was definitely not the New York type nor did I have fancy clothes like his. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what Jasmine might look like.
“I thought we could go to the ski lodge and see what they were doing there after we eat.” He scooted his chair closer to me and draped his arm on the back of mine. “Are you sure you want to go through with this date?”
His wild sapphire eyes mellowed as he tried to read my face. The warmth of his smile made my heart turn over in delight.
He’s not yours. He thinks you are Jasmine. New York Jasmine. I reminded myself that this was not a real date and this man was not really interested in me…Jozy…hostess extraordinaire.
“I am a little tired from traveling, so maybe after dinner we should go our separate ways until morning.” I had to think of something fast. At least I’d have the night to think about what I had agreed to and get some decent clothes on. “We can hit the slopes early.”
I assume he and Jasmine had planned on skiing. It was peek season and that was the huge attraction to Floral.
“Sure.” He smiled and scooted his chair back. “I’m really glad you agreed to come and meet me.”
“Me too,” there was a tremor in my voice as our eyes met and a shock ran through me. Jasmine was a lucky girl.
Chapter Two
“I love romance so much. I’m a sucker for it. I love it so much. It’s pathetic.”
~Drew Barrymore
“What have you gotten me into?” I asked Maddie. I called her as soon as I walked into my apartment.
“You’re home?” There was disappointment in her voice. “It’s only been an hour---a no-go on the Benjamin.”
“You better get over here and fast.” I rushed through the small loft to my makeshift closet that was a metal rod spanning across the back of the room. Resort towns were expensive to live in and this was the only place I could afford. “I have to pull together a New York look and fast for this all day date. Bring clothes!”
I slammed the phone down. I needed all the help I could get to pull this off.
Within no time, Maddie was at the door with an armload of clothes and shoes.
“He’s hot.” She told me something that I already knew. She dangled a pair of hot pink five-inch heels in my face. “These shoes will make him come crawling.”
“I don’t want him to come crawling.” I pushed her hand away. “I feel bad. He’s a nice guy and what we are doing is lying.”
“Did Jasmine show up?”
“No.”
“Then we aren’t lying.” Maddie shrugged. “We are helping him. You can even break it off if you want after tomorrow night.”
“I think I’ll go on the date, and quietly slip out of his life.” His eyes kept popping into my head, along with the warmth of his lips on my cheek when he dropped me off at the ski lodge. I had fibbed and told him I was staying there, and then walked the mile home after he dropped me off.
Too bad too, ‘cause he was a great guy. And she was right, he was hot. But, if he knew who I really was and how my life was so different than New York Jasmine’s, he’d be bored.
“I bet Jasmine is exciting. A big fashion queen.” I slid my hangers one-by-one as I looked through the same old clothes I’ve had for years.
“I brought my computer so we could look up People magazine and go through the celebrities to see what’s in style there.” Maddie pulled her laptop out of her bag.
She had all the latest equipment. Her laptop could tether to her phone so she would have wifi. I, on the other hand, didn’t own a computer. It was one of those luxuries that was going to have to wait until I became manager of Maggie’s. That could be years. Until then, I was content with using the guest computers at the bed and breakfast or the library.
See,” she shoved her computer in my face, “you could go as Bethany in a grey cable sweater, white t-shirt and jeans or Sarah in skinny jeans rolled at the ankles with those high heels on.”
I took the laptop and sat on my futon, clicking through the Star Tracks pictures. I could use some items from my closet to put together just for one day, or I could call it off.
“I don’t think I’m going to go.” I shut the computer and sat it next to me.
“What?” Maddie’s mouth dropped. “Oh, no. We have come too far now. I dared you!”
“Maddie, this is his heart we are playing with.” I paced back and forth. “Jasmine could be the love of his life.”
“She didn’t show up.”
“What if she was in some car wreck and in an emergency room right now dying?” I hope
that wasn’t the case, but it could very well have been. “Or what if she missed her flight and will be here tomorrow?”
“What if’s it’s everything you want? You are going to follow through for two-hundred dollars.” Maddie upped the ante.
“Two-hundred?”
Maddie smiled. “I saw the way he looked at you. This could be the real deal.”
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head. My shaggy hair flopped from side to side reminding me that I had to do something with the mess. “Based on lies? Or this mop?”
“I already thought about that head of hair.” Maddie took her fingers and fluffed up my curls. “I made an appointment for you at Babb’s to get it straightened. Be there by 9 am.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was more of a setup than a dare.” I watched as she put all sorts of crazy clothes together.
“Just leave it to me.” She held up a fringed jacket up to my shoulders. “You are going to be way better than the real Jasmine.”
Chapter Three
“Soul meets soul on lover’s lips.” ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley
Nervously, I waited by the fireplace at the lodge where I told Benjamin I would be, wearing the skinny jeans and white wool sweater that was a little tighter than I normally would wear, but Maddie insisted on it and the fringed jacket. I opted out of the sky-high heels for a cute pair of ankle boots until tonight. I figured if the date was going well, it would continue into dinner and I’d slip on the heels for a more formal look.
But who was I kidding? I wasn’t Jasmine from New York. I was just playing Jasmine.
“Hey.” Benjamin put his hand on my shoulder and turned me around to face him. “I called out your name several times, but you didn’t hear me.” He tilted his brow, looking at me with uncertainty.
“It’s so loud in here with all the people; I guess I didn’t hear you.” I played with the dangling leather fringe to keep me from looking into his captivating eyes. I knew if I stared much longer, he’d have that hold on me that wouldn’t be easy to break.