The Dating Dare

by A. R. Perry

  I couldn’t wait for Lily to get up. After getting a whole five hours of sleep, I found myself in the kitchen peering into the fridge, trying to figure out what I could make for breakfast that I wouldn’t burn.

  Thoughts of Lily ran rampant in my head all night. Which might have had something to do with Milo popping back into her life at the store. Until that point it almost seemed like we were headed in the right direction. She was talking and most of what she said had nothing to do with murdering me. But then Milo showed up, and I ruined everything by getting possessive.

  So sue me…I had her to myself for a whole week and I didn’t plan on letting another guy swoop in and take that precious time away. Not when I needed every second possible to convince her that I wasn’t the grade A asshat she thought I was.

  And if Milo’s sudden appearance wasn’t bad enough, I let my mouth run away, asking questions I didn’t want the answers to. It stung when she confirmed Milo was her first kiss by dodging the question altogether. Whether she liked it or not, I knew her and all of her tells. Avoidance being a biggie. Not like it mattered, I had assumed anyway with the way they were always all over each other. But then she wouldn’t answer my question about who the lucky bastard was that stole her V card. Not that I wanted to know. Okay, I totally did, but I shouldn’t. There would be no stopping me from hunting the guy down and beating the crap out of him off jealousy alone.

  And yes, I was being a complete hypocrite considering I had my share of hookups. Most of which weren’t even girlfriends.

  I leaned my head against the open refrigerator door. Focus. I needed to focus. Screw Milo. Screw every other guy she’d been with. Those were repercussions I would have to live with. After all, there wouldn’t have been any other guys if I hadn’t ditched her. I would have made sure of it.

  Food. Focus on food.

  I grabbed the milk out of the fridge and set it next to the fancy coffee machine my dad bought earlier in the year. Something about it steaming milk and whatever else baristas at coffee shops did. I had a little time to figure it out before Lily woke up. From what I remembered of her practically falling out of her front door most school days, the girl wasn’t a morning person.

  I glanced at the clock. Almost eight. I could figure out the coffee then maybe she would help me with breakfast. We had bought eggs and bacon, which with my cooking skills would end up a burnt mess. Not all that impressive when your main goal is to impress someone.

  Right as my hand brushed against the instruction manual for the machine, Lily appeared in the kitchen.

  “And here I thought I could have a few hours without you this morning.” The sass was strong in her tone leading me to believe she slept about as much as I did. I could only hope it was due to her thinking about me. In a non-murderous way for once.

  She stretched, seemingly unbothered by me. Sleeping made her hair a disheveled mess, sticking up on one side in a cute little bird’s nest. She tugged at the hem of her shirt, one that was at least two sizes too big, fanning it as if she wished I hadn’t caught her wearing it. I’d seen her in worse. Her favorite Mickey Mouse onesie came to mind. I was about to voice that when my gaze drifted down and I caught sight of nothing but legs. If she had on shorts, they were tiny enough to qualify as underwear.

  I knew her legs were long, after all, she was taller than most guys our age. But the way the shirt fell, hitting just below the crest of her butt made them look even longer.

  “You should take a picture. It will last longer.”

  Her voice snapped me out of whatever creepy stare I had fallen into. I caught her smirk as she made her way to the refrigerator. Alert and already on the attack. The odds were most definitely not in my favor. Not without the voodoo magic of coffee.

  “I think I fried my brain trying to figure out this coffee machine.” I held up the manual as if it was at all believable. The damn thing still had the plastic wrap on it.

  “Oh my God, you do not have one of these. Aren’t they like two grand?” She leaned around me, taking in the fancy beast, occupying half the counter space.

  “How should I know? My dad bought it.” I tore off the plastic wrap and flipped through the pages. “Apparently we can make store-quality coffee or something. But this might as well be in Chinese.” I turned the book upside down and tilted my head for emphasis.

  Lily giggled and snatched it out of my hand. “So helpless.”

  “Just wait until you see me try to cook.” I reached into the refrigerator and pulled out the eggs and bacon.

  Her face fell as she clutched the manual to her chest. “Please tell me you’re not going to attempt bacon. Didn’t you almost burn down the house last time?”

  “I was nine.” I grabbed a cast-iron pan from the open shelves above the stove. “And you were the one who demanded I make it.”

  “It would have gone perfect with our maple pecan ice cream.” She pried the carton of eggs out of my hands as I went to open it. “As much as I love seeing you struggle. Boy, do I love seeing you struggle.” She hip-checked me. “I would prefer not to burn down your dad’s house. Looks like he spent your entire life savings renovating.”

  She was close to the mark, actually. I would be lucky if we had enough for college. Which is why Dad pushed swimming so hard. He felt bad about spending all our money and I felt bad bringing it up since I figured it was part of his grieving process. A scholarship was my only option. Just another reason swimming no longer appealed to me.

  “How about I figure out the coffee machine—or worst-case scenario, go buy some—and you do breakfast?”

  She let out an exasperated noise. “Fine. But don’t get used to it. I expect you to live off cereal for the next three days.”

  Lily got to work making breakfast starting with the bacon and I realized I would have done it backward leaving the eggs ice-cold by the time the bacon finished.

  The sizzling was a welcoming sound. The last time bacon was made in my house was when my mom was still alive. Dad and I were pretty much helpless in the kitchen if it wasn’t premade or cooked on the grill.

  Lily hummed under her breath, swiping hair out of her face with the back of her hand. I tried to focus on the coffee, but I caught myself wondering if her hair was as soft as it used to be. It was a lot longer than she kept it when we were kids that’s for sure. And even in its messy bed head state, it maintained her signature waves. Somewhere between curly and not. Synonymous with Lily.

  “You know, I’m starting to think you have a staring problem.” Lily side-eyed me as she flipped over the bacon.

  Shit. I was staring, wasn’t I?

  “Just dreaming about that bacon.”

  Yeah, sure, that was believable.

  Lily snorted, giving me the impression she felt the same exact way. What was wrong with my brain? No other girl, ever, flustered me enough to act like a total creep.

  I put my eyes back where they belonged on the coffee machine and fought the urge to steal another glance. She was still wearing those itty-bitty shorts, after all.

  “I think I figured it out,” I called seven long minutes later after forcing myself to concentrate. I poured milk into the pitcher and set the steam wand inside. While it heated, I pressed the button for the espresso.

  With my luck I’d burn that too.

  “Good, ‘cause breakfast is almost ready.” Lily took the plate of bacon out of the microwave and placed it on the island before transferring the scrambled eggs to each of our plates. “This kitchen is amazing.”

  You’re amazing.

  I winced and shoved the thought out of my head. I would never win her over by creeping her out. And the fact that even I thought it sounded pathetic gave me the impression she would be more than creeped out. Or turned off.

  I slid the cup of coffee in front of her as she settled onto one of the barstools. She eyed it suspiciously before she wrapped her hand around the handle and brought it to her lips. I held my breath. It was the fanciest coffee I had ever attempted. My experien
ce before this had been pouring whatever my dad brewed into a cup and topping it with milk.

  “Wow.” She wiped her wrist across her lips removing the tiny bit of foam that settled there. “Color me impressed.”

  I couldn’t stop the stupid grin that took over my face. Impressed was far better than annoyed.

  Lily grabbed a substantial helping of bacon before pushing the plate in my direction. If there was one thing I loved most in a girl was if she wasn’t afraid to eat. For some reason I assumed Lily would have grown out of that. Evidently, she could still eat me under the table.

  I took a bite of the scrambled eggs and moaned. Seriously, it had been way too long since I had them. And I didn’t count IHOP. Rumor had it, they put pancake mix into their eggs. My father put a quick end to our trips there when he found out. Extra carbs during the season were strictly forbidden.

  “Good?” Lily nibbled on a piece of bacon, turning her attention to the window overlooking the lake her expression full of longing.

  “Want to take the Jet Skis out?”

  “Nah.” After a gulp of her coffee she turned to me. “Figured I would go down to the beach and just relax. Bring a book or something.”

  “I could be into that. Well, you know, without the whole reading thing.”

  “We really don’t have to spend every second together. You do your thing, I’ll do mine and we’ll get through this week without killing each other. Then we’ll have the rest of the summer and we can go on pretending the other one doesn’t exist. Everything will be right with the world again.”

  My stomach sank. The progress I had thought we made proved to be nothing more than wishful thinking. Suddenly, I couldn’t control the urge to piss her off. Most of the time I did it just to get her attention, but in the moment all I wanted to do was make her feel as irritated as I was.

  “Whatever, 4.0. Have fun nerding out all by yourself. I’ll be out having fun on the water. Maybe I’ll even swing by Tracy McHugh’s house. I heard she’s up here for the summer and her parents gave her an early graduation present that I’ve been dying to get my hands on.”

  Lily’s face fell. “You’re a pig.”

  I dumped the remaining bacon onto her plate. “And you eat like one. No wonder you haven’t had a boyfriend since eighth grade. No guy likes girls who can outeat them. You should take a few pointers from Madison. Then again, why compete with her when you know you’ll lose?”

  Lily’s mouth dropped open as her face flushed a shade of red I hadn’t quite seen before. If the fire in her eyes was anything to go by, she had murder—specifically mine—on her mind.

  I left her sitting there to eat or stew or clean up and stalked off to my room to change. In the time it took to walk down the hall and slam my door, the reality of my comments set in.

  I had essentially called her fat. Insinuated that her best friend was more attractive that her, which was a bald-faced lie. And threw my own promiscuous behavior in her face.

  Because nothing makes a girl swoon for you like the douchebag trifecta.

  An hour later I sat in the middle of the lake, drifting in the waves the few boats on the water created. I never thought I could be sad on a Jet Ski, but there I was, sulking. After my comments, there was no way in hell I would be able to get back into Lily’s good graces. In fact, she would probably try to poison me the next chance she got. Which meant I was also on my own for lunch. And dinner. Then right back around to breakfast until my dad came up.

  I glared at the beach not far off in the distance. It was crowded for being early. I tried to pick out Lily’s form, but it was useless.

  My only options were to go home and see if she was there or go find her on the beach. There was a possibility she wouldn’t make a scene at the beach. Slim, but much better than my chances of catching her at home.

  With groveling in mind, I swung by the dock and tied up the Jet Ski before walking down to the beach. Much as I expected, bodies littered the shore. Someone had set up a volleyball net and a rowdy game of boys versus girls looked to be coming to an end. Girls lay out on their towels, most with bikinis that had to have been classified as lingerie. Not that I was complaining. But if Lily were there, she must be as uncomfortable as she looked in Madison’s skirt.

  Which might actually work in your favor.

  My eyes swept the shore searching for one person who seemed out of place. Problem was, no one stood out. Not a single fidgeting girl in a one-piece bathing suit that had to have been a few years too old. Okay, so I might have seen her at the community pool a few times. And there might have been a high chance I was there just to see her since I didn’t make a habit of swimming off-season.

  Right as I was about to turn and head back to the house to make sure she hadn’t called an Uber to take her home, I heard a familiar giggle.

  It took me only two seconds to zero in on the source. Ice filled my veins then was immediately replaced with a rush of heat when I saw Milo standing over Lily—who had changed into that ugly dress thing—shaking his wet hair at her as she tried to hide beneath her towel. A large umbrella cast a shadow over her, tilting with the slight breeze, which explained why I had missed her the first time.

  I attempted to uncurl my hands from tight fists, but the closer I got and the more I could plainly hear the flirting, blinding jealousy took over.

  Why couldn’t she be that carefree with me? Milo had dumped her when he moved away and that she forgave. My mom died, and I needed space and that she chose to hold a grudge.

  Lily whipped her towel at Milo who dodged with ease, giving the end a playful tug. Neither one of them saw me and for a fleeting second, the rational part of my brain told me to cut my losses and go home. The other side told me to break it up before she invited him back. Because if she did that, I would be tempted to break his jaw. Doing that would shatter my hopes of getting a swimming scholarship.

  “Fancy you guys running into each other. Again.” Milo looked over at me, shielding his eyes from the sun right as the smile dropped from Lily’s face.

  My gut twisted when I realized I was the one who took that away from her. The disproving glare she sent my way was all me.

  I should have gone back to the house.

  “Hey, Parker,” Milo called, his stupid friendly demeanor sending me right back into irritation.

  “Tracy’s gifts turn out to be less appealing than you thought?” Try as she might, Lily couldn’t hide the sharpness of her tone.

  So, she was still pissed.

  “Figured I would save them for a special occasion.” Tracy was the furthest thing from my mind. Something I should have told her then and there. Instead, my guard went up.

  Lily snorted. “Like the next time you’re at a crowded party?”

  Milo glanced between us, smart enough to read that something was going on, and took a step backward. “Well…I should probably get back to my friends.”

  “Don’t be silly. Parker is just leaving.” She shot me another glare and mouthed the word bye at me.

  “Parker isn’t, actually.” I surveyed surrounding area, noticing quite a few girls from our class. “Besides, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I let my girl sit here all by herself? It might give guys the wrong impression.” I locked eyes with Milo, making sure he heard me.

  “You’re not my boyfriend.” Lily jumped up and turned toward Milo, arms waving between them. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  I almost lost it then and there when I saw the look on Milo’s face. Okay, yes, it was a dick move butting in-between two people who clearly had a flirt session going on. It was even worse that I went back on my agreement to let the whole dating dare go. But no way in hell would I be able to survive a whole week of them hanging all over each other.

  “Well, whatever is going on I don’t wanna get in the middle of. It was good seeing you, Lily.” Milo gave her a weak smile before walking off toward his friends.

  Lily turned on me, face puckered and back to that impressive shade of red. “Seriou
sly? What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing, but I sure as hell didn’t want that moron hanging around my house for the next week.”

  Partial truth, but I wasn’t about to tell her it was because of jealousy. She wouldn’t have believed me anyway.

  “Besides, I saved you. Again. The dude is a player.” I motioned to the shore where Milo was seconds away from plunging into the water with a leggy blonde draped on his shoulder.

  “Oh yeah, I forgot… What guy would want me, right?” She scooped up her towel and bag before storming past me.

  “Lily, wait.”

  “Screw you, Parker.”

  Several faces turned in my direction out of curiosity. We probably were the first fight, but we wouldn’t be the last. The lake was notorious for hookups and heartbreak. By the end of the day the word around would be that Lily and I had some kind of lovers’ quarrel. Thankfully, by the next day everyone will have moved on to someone else.

  With a deep breath, I bent over to grab the umbrella Lily left behind. If I hurried, I might catch her before she called that Uber.

  My thumb hovered over the call button for the Uber. Sure, with surge pricing it would cost close to two hundred according to the estimate, but it would be money well spent if it meant I could get far away from Parker.

  Who the hell did he think he was, anyway? After explicitly promising to let the whole dare go, he used it against me the first chance he got. Twice butting in when Milo and I were reconnecting all while having plans to test-drive Tracy’s new chest. Hypocrite on all levels.

  With a groan that came out as a growl, I flopped onto the bed letting my sandals fall to the floor in the process. If I didn’t know any better, I would think Parker was jealous. But that didn’t make any sense. He made it perfectly clear during breakfast that he saw me as a fat, unattractive girl. One he would never come near unless it was to torture me for an entire summer.