Truth or Dare (Kingston Brothers Book 2)

by Isabel Lucero

  “Just feels weird, I guess.”

  “Whatever, weirdo. Anyway,” she says, dragging the word out. “Cillian was at your place today.”

  “Yes, I know. I was here, too,” I say with a laugh.

  “To you show you pictures he had on his phone.” She lets the statement hang between us, like she’s expecting me to pick up on something.

  “Yeah, pictures of his painting.” It nearly sounds like a question, because I never saw them. Based on what they had to say, I assume that’s what they were, but I’m just now realizing he didn’t show them to me.

  “Right, but he has your number, so he could’ve just texted them to you.”

  Shit. “Well, yeah. I don’t know why he came over.” God, I’m a terrible liar.

  “Mmhmm.” I can tell she’s smiling. “Maybe he wanted to see you.”

  “You’re crazy,” I say with a laugh. “Cillian is not interested in me.”

  “I think you’re the one who’s crazy. If you’re interested in that man, lock him down now, cause like I said, girls are gonna be lining up for him like it’s goddamn Black Friday.”

  “But you know how I feel about relationships,” I say, knowing I’d probably be jealous and annoyed if he was with anybody else. “And we don’t even know where he stands on them, considering what he just went through.”

  “Yeah, but Midge, are you really planning on being single for the rest of your life? Yes, a lot of men suck and don’t know how to treat their women, but look at Cillian’s case. Zoe was the one who cheated on him! Women suck, too. There will be a man out there who treats you like a queen, but you have to give them more than three dates to prove that.”

  I breathe down the line. “I know.”

  “All right, well I’ll leave you alone about it for now. You know I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “I love you, too. See you later.”

  After we hang up, I climb under the covers and do a lot of thinking.

  Since I broke it off with Matthew, I’m aware of the shift that happened. I used to believe in that fairytale type of love—the love my parents have. I loved to be loved, and I thought Matthew loved me. I loved him more than any other guy in my life. I gave him all of me. Everything I did was for him. And that was wrong. I put him before me. His happiness was more important than my own, but I didn’t see it then. Looking back, I know that wasn’t real love, but my whole heart was in it and it got destroyed in the demise.

  So, I’ve been enjoying these past few years of being free. Of putting myself first and not having to worry about anybody else. You know the saying, you have to learn to love yourself before you can love someone else, well, I’ve learned to love myself these past few years, so maybe I’m ready. But it’s still scary.

  It’s scary to hand your heart to someone with only the mere hope that they’ll take care of it. Knowing it’s up to them to protect it and not rip it open with deceit, and that there’s nothing you can do about it is absolutely terrifying.

  Now the question is, should I really try to have a relationship with Cillian? Is he the best person or the worst person to start something with?

  Pros:

  He’s my friend

  He’s easy to be around.

  He makes me laugh.

  I like him.

  Great cock.

  Smart.

  Kind.

  Talented.

  Cons:

  I’m a rebound.

  Breaking up would make things awkward for more than just us.

  It could end our friendship completely.

  I can’t really think of any more cons. Yeah, sure, we won’t have that new couple sensation since we already know each other, but isn’t that better? To not feel shy and uncomfortable? To be able to be yourself completely right from the beginning? And since we’ve already been intimate, we won’t have those awkward first kiss and first fuck moments. Luckily, those were both great.

  We can still have a first date. There’s still a lot of firsts to have, and that’s exciting. The first time we spend a holiday together. The first time we take a trip together, alone. The first time we spend the night with each other.

  But before I get ahead of myself...is Cillian interested in a relationship with me? I’m aware of the comment he made earlier. We just might be perfect for each other. But then he smiled and walked away like it was no big deal. He’s so casual and laid back about everything, I’m sure it was just a joke. Plus, I’m the first woman he’s been with since he got out of a pretty serious relationship. Is he interested in playing the field before settling down again?

  I mean, I probably made him re-think this whole thing since I made a huge deal about dinner. And he didn’t even kiss me goodbye when he left, so maybe he was upset.

  I huff and angrily flop onto my stomach and try to push all the thoughts out of my brain. Maybe I’ll just play this by ear. I’m not even sure when I’ll see Cill again, but I hope it’s soon. And that in itself is new, because I’ve never been so desperate to be around someone like I am when it comes to him. We were together just hours ago, and yet I’m dying to be around him again.

  27

  Cillian

  I let two days go by without contacting Midge. It’s now Wednesday night, and since I know her and London are at my brother’s bar, I’m trying to decide on whether I should show up or not. It’s not like it would be weird. It’s my brother’s bar. I could be going to visit him. I’m not, but it’s not like anybody would know that.

  If I play it right, I can pretend I didn’t even know Midge would be there. Okay, maybe not. They’ve been doing this Wednesday bar thing for over a year now. Everybody in that place knows to expect them there on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

  I try to re-focus on my painting, dipping my brush into the paint and working on the details of the water. I wondered if my creativity and motivation would fade away once I got back into town, but I’ve been just as dedicated.

  By the time my phone dings with a text alert, I’ve moved on from the details in the water, and finished the maple trees. I check the phone and find a message from Elijah.

  Elijah: Heading to the Tavern. Want to come?

  Yes! Now I have an excuse besides just wanting to see Midge.

  Cillian: Yeah, sure. Meet you there?

  Elijah: I’ll be there in fifteen.

  It only takes about ten minutes to wash my brushes and palette, then put it all away. Before I shut the lights off in my studio, I take a quick glance around. Midge was right, this place needed a little sprucing up. I’ve hung a few of my pieces that I’m most proud of. It gives the room a little life. It definitely needs more work, but it’s good for now.

  The bar is nearly five blocks away, so it doesn’t take long for me to get there on my bike. I pull up just a couple minutes before Elijah.

  “Hey, man. Were you painting?” Elijah asks, coming around the back of his Audi, twirling the keychain around his finger.

  “Yeah, but I had been there since six, so I got plenty done,” I say, checking my watch. It’s nine-thirty now, so I got a good three and a half hours in.

  “That’s good.”

  We walk around the corner and head for the front door. “Yeah, what’ve you been up to?”

  “Not a whole lot, just enjoying the summer break,” he replies, opening the door.

  When we approach the bar, Royce spots us and gives us a nod, letting us know he’ll get our drinks ready.

  Five minutes later, Royce walks to the end of the bar and places our drinks on the counter. A pint of Bud Light for me, and a Scotch for Elijah.

  “Thanks, man,” I say, handing him a ten. “Can you stash this for me?” I hand him my helmet and leather jacket.

  “Sure.” He takes them and stores them on a shelf under the bar. “Need anything else?”

  “We’re good,” Elijah says.

  “Cool. I’ll check on you guys later.”

  Royce travels back down to the other side, leaving us sitting on
the end of the bar with a view of the whole place. I scan the crowd, looking for a sign of either Midge or London, but I don’t see them at their usual seats along the bar.

  “So, I saw Zoe the other day,” Elijah says, grabbing my attention.

  “What? When?”

  “It was while you were at the lake. I ran into her at the golf course.”

  “The golf course?” I question, making a face. “What the fuck was she doing there?”

  “Well, she wasn’t alone.”

  I shake my head. “I see. So the new guy is into golf. Pft.”

  “I was there, too, you know?”

  “Yeah, well, you should really get some new hobbies. You’re such an old man.”

  “I have plenty of hobbies, thanks.”

  “Anyway, did she say anything to you?”

  “She appeared to be nervous at first. I’m sure she knows we all know what happened. She gave me a little smile and wave, but then the guy came up behind her, so she walked the other way.”

  “And what was he like?”

  Elijah shrugs. “The complete opposite of you.”

  “Whatever. I hope they’re happy together.”

  He turns in his chair. “Really?”

  “I don’t give a shit, honestly. Haven’t really given her a second thought since this all went down. You know how we were.”

  He nods. “I figured the end was coming soon. Too many break-ups happening in short periods. That can’t be good.”

  “Nah, it wasn’t. I was constantly stressed out.”

  I hear Midge’s unmistakable high-pitched cackle, and it draws my head up and my eyes find her immediately. She’s back at the bar, only about twelve feet away from me, and she’s laughing at something a guy standing next to her must’ve said. One hand’s on the bar, and the other hand touches his arm as she folds over in laughter.

  My jaw clenches at the sight.

  “Typical Margaret, right?” Elijah says. He’s the only one of us that calls her by her given name.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Life of the party. Loud, happy, grabs everybody’s attention.”

  Well at least it’s not just me. “Yeah.”

  Midge spins around, looking for London, but she finds me instead. She stops laughing, her eyes focused on mine, but gradually, a smile appears on her lips, and she waves at both me and Elijah. We lift our hands in response.

  The man standing behind her places his hand on her shoulder, stealing her attention. They have a brief conversation before the man hooks his thumb behind him, followed by Midge nodding. Then he walks in the direction of the bathrooms.

  “You okay?” Elijah asks.

  “Huh? What?” I peel my eyes away from Midge and look at Elijah.

  “You look pretty tense, and if that glass could bruise, it would be, based on how hard you’re squeezing it.”

  I glance down and notice my grip is tighter than usual. “Oh. I’m fine.” I let go of the glass and look up just in time to see Midge taking the same path the guy did.

  My leg starts bouncing, and I try to keep myself seated and not hauling ass down the hall and toward the bathrooms. It’s not my business what she does. Right? I mean, we’re fucking, but that’s all it is. I guess we’re both technically free to do whatever we want. Doesn’t mean I like it. Not one fucking bit.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Elijah angles his head over his shoulder, watching me drum my fingers on the bar as my leg continues to bounce.

  “Yeah, I just need to piss. I’ll be right back.”

  Once out of my seat, I’m bounding across the room, both wanting to get there before they can do anything, and terrified I’ll walk in on them already in an embrace.

  I hear someone call my name, but I don’t stop to acknowledge it or even try to determine who it was.

  I shove open the men’s bathroom door and quickly scope out the small room. One of the three stalls is closed, but I don’t hear any noise coming from it. Other than that, it’s empty.

  Back into the darkened hallway, I glance in both directions but don’t see either one of them. Maybe they went into the women’s bathroom, but I’m not about to go in there to check.

  Disappointed, yet somewhat relieved, I start to make my way back to Elijah. Before I can fully leave the hallway, a woman approaches me with a smile.

  “Hey, Cillian.” Her smile is wide as she pushes her shoulders back and walks with an exaggerated sway to her hips.

  “Hey,” I respond politely, giving her a quick grin.

  “I called out to you earlier, but I guess you didn’t hear,” she says with a giggle, pulling her red hair over her right shoulder.

  As I actually take the time to look at her, and not scan the room for Midge, I realize I went to school with her.

  “Jenny, right?”

  “You remember. Yeah,” she replies with a smile that shows all her teeth.

  “Sure. How ya been?”

  I remember we dated back when I was fourteen, if you can call it dating at that age. We spent most of our time too shy to speak to each other, and held hands a few times, and maybe kissed twice. I think it lasted a few months.

  “I’ve been good. I spent a year traveling overseas, but I’ve been back in town for six months now.”

  “Sounds nice,” I say, looking over her head and scanning the bar for Midge.

  “Oh, it was so nice! So, how have you been?” She tilts her head to the side, batting her lashes at me.

  “Can’t complain,” I respond with a grin, trying to figure out how to get out of this conversation. I can tell she’ll have me here forever if I let her.

  “That’s good. I had heard, well, I don’t want to bring up bad memories, but is it true you and your girlfriend broke up?”

  “Yeah.” I shrug. “It happens.” I take a step to the side, about to excuse myself.

  Jenny steps in front of me, placing her hand on my arm. “Oh, well, I was just wondering if you wanted to grab some coffee sometime or something.”

  “Oh.” I’m completely caught off guard by the invitation and unsure how to respond.

  Sure, Jenny’s cute. She’s a natural redhead with freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. She’s tall and slender with bright blue eyes, but I’m not really interested.

  Before I can say anything else, someone brushes up against my arm, so I step back to my left and look over my shoulder. It’s Midge. She’s come up from behind me, so she must’ve been in the bathroom after all.

  She looks at Jenny with venom in her eyes.

  “Oh, hey, Midge,” Jenny says. Though her tone doesn’t sound one hundred percent pleasant. There’s an edge in it, almost taunting.

  Midge delivers a hate-filled look that should send chills down Jenny’s spine, but Jenny only smirks in response. After a few uncomfortable seconds, Midge walks away.

  Jenny scoffs, rolling her eyes. “She’s such a bitch.”

  “Midge is a friend of mine, and one of the nicest people I’ve met.” I step around her. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  I rush off, wanting to talk to Midge before she gets back to London, so I take several long strides and grab her arm. She swings around with a look to kill. When she realizes it’s me, her face softens a little, but not completely.

  “Oh. Done with Jenny?”

  “She was just trying to catch up. I guess she’s been overseas for a while.”

  “I don’t really give a shit to be honest with you.”

  “Are you mad that I was talking to her?”

  “I heard her ask you out. You going?”

  Midge’s face stays pinched with anger, but she can barely look at me.

  “I wasn’t planning on it, no.” She doesn’t say anything, she just continues to look anywhere but at me. “Hey.” I grab her hand and she stiffens slightly. There’s several people around us, so I’m sure nobody we know can see, but I let go anyway. “I was looking for you.”

  She makes a noise in the back of her thro
at. “Oh yeah?”

  “I was, yeah. I saw you walk toward the bathroom with...well, I saw you walk away, so I came to look for you.”

  Midge finally meets my gaze. “Saw me with who?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t know. I was just looking for you.”

  She grins. “You talkin’ about the short guy with glasses?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “That would be Stephen, and he would be one of Jon’s friends. One of Jon’s very gay friends who is in no way interested in me or anything I have going on.”

  I try not to breathe an audible sigh of relief, but damn, I’m happy to hear what she just said.

  “Cool,” I say with another shrug.

  She laughs. “Jealous much, Mr. Kingston?”

  I twist my mouth up at her. “No, but what about you and Jenny? Looked like you wanted to rip her eyes out.”

  Her face changes again. “That has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with her.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it. Not right now.” She glances around, finding her friends at the bar. “I should get back.”

  “Yeah. Me too,” I reply, looking in Elijah’s direction.

  “I’ll be leaving soon. Should I text you when I get home?”

  I smile. “Yeah, do that.”

  “Okay.”

  She pivots and heads back to London. I just now notice that Jon and Daniel are there, too. And Jon’s friend.

  When I get back to my stool, Elijah waits for me to sit down and take a drink before saying anything.

  “So, how long have you two been messing around?”

  “What?” I laugh nervously. “What’re you talkin’ about? Me and who?” Elijah just keeps looking at me. “Who? Midge?” I laugh some more.

  “Are you done trying to bullshit me now?”

  I sigh, then take a swig of my beer. I guess it doesn’t matter too much if Elijah knows. He doesn’t really hang out with us all the time. He’d be unaffected if things ended badly. I know Midge is mostly concerned about Royce and London.