by Ellie Messe
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got people I can call if you get too far gone.”
“Fair enough.” I grab the shot glass, “Bottoms up then.”
“We need a game.” She says, even though her smile is lazy, and her eyes are glassy she’s still obnoxiously pretty. “Like a drinking game.”
“Alright,” I look around trying to pull an idea, “Truth or dare?”
“What?”
“Yeah, truth or dare.”
“How is that a drinking game?”
“We make it one, every time you finish a dare you have to drink.”
“How do we decide winner? And what do we get?”
I like her more already, “If you lie or don’t do a dare you lose.”
“That’s too easy. It’s gotta be harder.”
“Sweetheart I’m already pretty far gone, how long are you planning on playing?”
“Until we can’t.”
“Fair enough, okay. If I win, which I will, you burn that little contract and spend one night in my bed.”
I raise my brow in challenge as she thinks it over, “Fine. When you lose, and I win, you have to abstain from sex for one week.”
“Deal.” I put out my hand and she shakes it, “Rules?”
“No sexual dares.” She gives me the stink eye and it’s kind of cute, “Nothing dangerous or illegal like driving or anything like that, aaaaaand-”
“No triple truths.” I add.
“Yes! Good one. Oh, and all dares have to be fair.”
“Define fair.”
“Like, I’m super afraid of snakes so you can’t dare me to touch one just for an easy win.”
I nod, “Fair enough. Ladies first, truth or dare?”
“Dare.” She smiles.
Look at the balls on this girl, alright. “I dare you to hit a bullseye.”
She follows my gaze to the abandoned dart board.
“How many tries?”
“As many as it takes.”
“Accepted.”
Sliding off the stool, I watch her ass as she sashays to the board, grabbing a set of darts from a red container off to the side, she steps back behind the white line. Turning, she gives me a wink and throws the darts in quick succession. Only one manages to hit the board. An angelic laugh falls from her lips as she collects them and tries again.
She skips back over, picking up the shot glass and throws it back.
Three tries later, a lucky dart kisses the center before falling to the floor.
“It counts!” She yells.
“Nope. Didn’t stick.”
“You said ‘hit’ a bullseye, not stick a bullseye.” She skips back over to me and it’s just about the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Pussy.” She whispers, usually I’m all about dares but I don’t think I’m going to be able to stand in a minute. We’ve ingested a lot of alcohol in a very short time and I think I might need a minute. “How many women have you had sex with?”
I blink hard, Jesus I don’t even fucking know. “A lot. Multiple a week since I was nineteen. Your turn.”
“Dare.”
“I dare you to get on bar and dance Coyote Ugly style.”
She laughs, “Have you ever seen that movie?”
“No, but I know it’s supposed to be hot as hell.”
“It’s really not.” She laughs, “But I know what you’re looking for. Feel free to give me a hard one anytime.”
“Sweetheart, I’ve got something hard for you but apparently a piece of paper says you’re not allowed to have it.”
She rolls her eyes, climbing onto the bar. I lean back on the stool to get a better look at her as her hips start to sway before she’s even upright, the bartender huffs at the other end, storming towards us as her hands run from her chest down her stomach. Fingers splayed she rubs her thighs, swaying side to side as she crouches down, just to push her ass out and rise slowly. I need to rethink my dares it appears because if she keeps doing shit like this while I’m this intoxicated, lines are going to blur and I’m going to end up with her pressed against a bathroom wall. The more my mind conjures up images the less I care about lines.
The bartender grabs her wrist, throwing her off balance. I’m out of my seat and pulling her towards me before I know which way is up. The room is spinning at a dangerous rate as I pick her up and set her back on the ground. I have to grab the bar for support or I would have seriously taken advantage of that.
“You guys have had enough,” the bartender snaps, grabbing our glasses, “Pay and get out.”
I laugh, “After you almost made her fall you think it’s wise to be shitty?”
“Pay up, asshole.”
If this was a dude, I would have bounced his head off the floor by now.
“I have somewhere we can go.” Emma tells me with a sway of her own.
Fishing out my wallet, I pull some twenties out and throw them on the bar. I have no idea if I paid enough or too much but whatever.
Wrapping my arm around Emma’s waist we walk out front and wait for the Uber to show up.
“How gone are you?” She asks, gently swaying in my arms.
“Gone. You?”
“Long gone, Tiger. I think I passed my limit of alcohol consumption in the kitchen.”
I laugh a little, watching the black SUV pull in. “That us?”
Squinting at her phone, she nods.
I help Emma in first before sliding in the other side. She must have given the destination before I got in because the driver takes off in a direction. She rests her head on my shoulder as we drive.
“Do you wanna go home?” I ask, hopeful she’ll say yes and then proceed to climb in my bed.
“No. We don’t have a winner yet.”
“I don’t think I’m up for much more drinking, Angel.”
“How about after five dares we take a shot?
I nod even though she can’t see me, she doesn’t seem to notice or mind my non-answer.
A few minutes go by before we’re pulling up to the automotive shop, I dropped her off at a few weeks back.
“Your dad’s clubhouse?”
“Mhm.”
“If you’re tired, we can go home.”
“No, it’s fine. Unless you’re forfeiting your turn making me the winner?”
“No chance, Angel. I’ve got too much on the line.”
She smiles and in that moment I know she wants me to win, it’s in her eyes, the way she licks her lips, the fact she hasn’t taken her hand off my thigh, when it got there I couldn’t tell you. All I know is that it’s there now and I really want her to slide that little hand up a few more inches and tell me to take her home.
She does neither of those, the fog clears from her eyes and she pulls away, opening her door and slides out. I follow behind her and into the clubhouse. Music blares through the walls as I approach, leaning forward I grab the handle and pull the door open.
We enter a massive room filled with men in leather and women in barely anything at all. Emma takes my hand and pulls me forward, smiling and nodding as she goes.
We pass a group on our right who are playing cards when Emma lets go, leaning over a hulking dude with three piercings in his lower lip, I immediately recognize him as the man she described as her uncle, Moose I think he name was. His hand comes up to the back of her neck in an awkward hug that she doesn’t seem to mind. She points to two cards in his hands before they both laugh.
Standing upright she comes back to my side and heads for the bar at the back wall.
I lean into her shoulder, so she can hear me, “Uncle?”
She nods, “Moose. This is his son,” I follow her gaze to the guy behind the bar. He’s this weird cross of hipster and biker with every inch of available skin on his hands and arms covered in tattoos. “Lynch. Lynch this is my roommate, Drew.” He nods at me and I return in kind.
“You both look shitfaced.” He tells us as we le
an into the bar.
“That’s ‘cause we are.”
“Be careful.” He glares at her before turning to me with an identical look, “Be a fucking gentleman.”
I cock a smile, “Sure thing.”
“I’m not fucking playing, you see all these brothers in leather? Not one of them will think twice before beating you into the ground if you take advantage of her.”
“Lynch.” Emma chastises him with a shake of her head.
“Where’s your vest?”
Her eyes widen as she touches the side of her ribs, “Fuck.”
“Yeah, fuck. This a habit?”
“No.” She shakes her head, still feeling her ribs like it might magically appear. “We left in such a rush, I forgot to put it on.”
“What’s the big deal?” I ask, not understanding his anger or her worried expression.
“The big fucking deal is that vest protects her, and it was part of the deal she made with her dad.”
Ugh, not another deal with a dad, I can’t take this shit anymore. “She’s with me, no asshole is going to mess with her.”
“Your ego is not your amigo, friend. You can barely stand straight let alone throw a decent punch.”
“Pfft, whatever.” I laugh, “No one’s going to fuck with her.”
He rolls his eyes before pulling a pen from behind his ear and pointing at Emma, “Your old man’s gonna lose his shit when he finds out.”
“Where is he anyway?”
“Office. Ah, ah, ah,” He stops her when she goes to turn, “I wouldn’t.”
“Gross.” She huffs, “We should probably go.”
“Alright.” I nod.
“Fucking A.” Lynch grumbles, digging in his pocket, “I’ll take you home.”
“We’ve got an uber.”
Lynch deadpans her until she nods.
“Why can’t you take an Uber?” I ask.
“Because I’m not wearing my vest, I have to be with one of the guys or wearing my vest. It’s part of our agreement.”
“Agreement for what?”
“I don’t know, peace?”
That doesn’t make sense, that or maybe I’m just too drunk to understand.
“Emma?” We both turn to the voice as that guy she said was her dad comes out with wicked hot brunette under his arm; go dad.
“Hey.”
He eyes her, Lynch, then me before speaking, “When’d you get here?”
“I just brought them in.” Lynch says quickly, “They wanted to get trashed, so I volunteered to play babysitter.”
“That was awfully generous of you.” Her dad says looking at Emma, “What’d you bribe him with?”
“I have no idea,” She says eyeing her cousin, “But I’m sure I’m going to find out soon.”
He smiles and wags his eyebrows, “I’ll remind her when she’s sober.”
Fuck, I’m drunk. He’s taking the heat for her right? Or did he come and get us?
“Sticking around?” Her dad asks releasing the brunette with a loud smack on her ass.
“For a little while.”
“Good, have a beer. Who’s your friend?”
The way he said friend was obvious he already doesn’t like me. If some dude was having thoughts about my daughter like I’m having thoughts about his, I wouldn’t like me either.
“Drew.” I extend my hand.
“Taker.” He grips my hand in show of dominance and I smile. “Emma’s father.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Mhm.” His gaze leaves as he releases my hand to look at his daughter, “You say hi to Moose yet?”
“Yeah.”
He nods, “Good. Come on, let’s have some beers.”
Holding my beer in one hand I lean in to Emma’s shoulder once again, “I believe it was your turn.”
She smiles a little trying to hide it behind her beer. “Truth or Dare?”
“Dare.”
“Brave boy.” She laughs, scoping out the room. “I dare you to win a hand.” She nods to the card table.
“Looks like the seats are taken, Angel.”
She laughs, “I’m royalty remember?”
My brow furrows but I follow behind her, heads turn as she steps beside Moose. “Mind if we steal the table? I’ve got a bet going with this one.”
Everyone except Moose drops their cards and stands. Damn, girl’s got power.
Sitting down next to Moose she nods to the seat across from her. I take it and watch as her and Moose have a silent conversation.
He chuckles, collecting the cards while she moves the current chips to the side.
“You know how to play, cowboy?” He asks, the light reflects off the metal in his lip as he speaks.
“Not really.” I admit.
“We’ll play basic then, nothing fancy.”
Shuffling the cards, he deals them out. My eyes have a hard time focusing as I strain to see what’s in my hand. The way the music is vibrating in my head mixed with the roll of my stomach I start to think Little Miss pain in my ass might just have my number.
Chapter Twenty-Three
EMMA
It took Drew nine hands before he won. I’m almost positive Moose let him win but my head is spinning entirely too fast to be sure.
I’ve progressed from sleepy drunk to giggly drunk and it appears Drew has moved on from brooding to flirtatious. My mind is too far gone to give a fuck that his hands are borderline on my crotch as I sway against him to whatever’s blaring out of the speakers. His face is buried in my neck giving me the chills as he breathes.
I feel good, too good.
“Fuck, you smell good.” He slurs, I feel his lips brush against my neck as he speaks and my reservations on not sleeping with him are lost. Currently, I’m heavily depending on my dad and cousin to keep us PG.
Someone yells shots and Drew pulls away slightly, “No, no, no. You’re cut off.”
He pulls me against his chest and it’s becoming harder to breathe, “Why’s that?”
“We’re both gooone.” I sway with the words before he steadies me while the room catches up. His chest is so hard, all of him is so hard. My eyes fall to his jeans on their own accord, throwing me into another round of giggles.
“Do I win then?”
I quiet down and try to look at him through my alcohol filtered eyes. “Win?”
“The game. Are you admitting defeat?”
The game? OH! The truth or dare; I actually forgot about that. “Absolutely not.”
“I think it’s your turn, Angel.”
“Dare.” Mistake, in case you were wondering. I don’t even know if I can stand on my own right now.
Drew looks around the room, his eyes focus on the bar before an evil grin spreads across his face. “I dare you to get on the bar and moon everyone.”
If my eyes could grow any wider, they would roll right out of my head, “My dad’s in here!”
My body shakes as he laughs against me, “Like he hasn’t seen it before.”
“Okay, well my cousin and uncle haven’t.”
“I said moon, not bend over the bar, though I’d be perfectly fine if you wanted to take door number two.” His hands slide into my back pockets, pushing me into his hips as he grinds against me.
Adult. I need an adult. He feels strong and incredible pushed up against me; I kinda wanna forfeit just so I can put myself out of this misery. I’ve heard the women, listened to them repeatedly through the walls, carrying on like he was God’s gift to women in a way I’ve never experienced for myself.
Lowering his face to my neck, his breath heats my skin as he speaks, “Or, I can take you home and fuck you until the only thing you remember is my name and the words; Don’t stop.” His teeth graze my flesh and damn me, I fucking moan. “That’s my girl.”
I’m losing this battle and I’m losing hard. One hand remains on my ass pushing me against him, the other tangles in my hair, twisting my head to the side as he bites and sucks a path from my should
er to just behind my ear. “If I would have dared you to tell me a secret what would you have said?”
I’m panting, my hand is holding his face to me, I’m abso-fucking-lutely losing. “I would have admitted to going to sleep every night fantasizing about you fucking me raw.”
“Hey, Ace!” Lynch booms. “Mind not groping my baby cousin?”
I offer him a nasty glare when he wiggles his fingers, implying he wants space between us.
“Make a choice.” Drew whispers, kissing my hair, “Either way I get to see that fat little ass.”
He pulls away, keeping one hand on my back so I don’t fall over.
Seeing Lynch and my dad helps sober my lust enough to remember I don’t want to sleep with him; I mean I do, but I can’t.
“Help me up, Tiger.”
He groans, licking his lip allowing the lust to flip a bitch and come back with a roaring heat. With a shake of his head, he takes my hand and walks me to the bar.
“Whatcha’ doing, Princess?” Moose gives me the side eye as I use his shoulder to help keep my balance on the stool while Drew holds my side.
“Might want to avert your eyes, old man.” I smile, “I gotta dare to win.”
Moose chuckles, offering his hand. Good ole, Moosey.
Once I get on the bar, I rest on my hands and knees to steady the room. My dad magically appears in front of me, his hands reaching for my hips. “Get the hell off my bar, kid.”
“I got a dare to win.” I mumble trying to stand.
“What dare?”
“I was dared to moon the room.”
“No,” He tightens his hands around me and starts to pull.
“That’s fine. Just means I can sleep with him guilt free then.”
Once my feet are on the ground, I feel his glare, he waits until I meet his eyes before basically barking, “What?”
“We have a bet going. I win; he abstains from sex, I lose; I’m his for a night.”
That’s right, right?
Before I can further my drunken thought the room whooshes past me. My fingers grip the cool, smooth surface of the bar before I realize I’m back on the bar top. Boots appear in front of my face as arms capture my ribs, hoisting me up.
“Whoa, I’m very drunk. Slow movements.”