19.
"You cheat Lodge," Nate whined as he watched my green bean bag successfully push two of Chris, his partner's, bags off the board before somehow landing itself into the hole.
I grinned in triumph, ran between the two cornhole boards to give Riley a celebratory high five. Riley and I had just won our third game of corn hole in a row, beating Chris and Nate 21-19.
Riley intertwined her arm with mine, shot the boys a wide grin. "Come on boys. Even you guys have to admit that there was nothing foul about that toss. Only pure skill."
Chris and Nate both laughed. They knew I hadn't cheated. Honestly, with a game like cornhole there weren't really a whole lot of viable options to cheat short of walking up to the board and putting the bean bag in yourself.
The shot that I happened to pull off was nothing close to cheating, just pure luck. It wasn't skill. I knew that I would never been able to replicate that same shot.
"No cheating, I agree with that," Chris admitted as him and Nate joined Riley and I between the two boards. "I'm impressed. No one has been able to beat Nate and I at this game in ages."
"Oh really?" I asked, unable to fight the smile that threatened to spill over my features.
Riley smirked at the boys and pulled me a step forward with her as she used her free hand to push the two boys back. "Step aside boys, Zoe and I are the new cornhole champs."
I grinned. Who would have guessed that I was actually going to enjoy myself at a cookout for the hockey team?
"Hey, yo Lance!" One of the hockey players, Clint, I believe his name was, suddenly shouted from across the pool. All three of our attention's were pulled in the direction of the doorway. "Are you gonna grill us some burgers?"
Lance was among several adults that had found their way outside. I'd presume that they were all parents. All dressed in casual summer clothes. Even Lance was wearing a pair of blue swim trunks and a white tank top. He almost looked like a normal dad and not the insane businessman that I knew him to be.
I looked over my shoulder at Chris and Nate, looking for an explanation as to why Clint would talk to Lance in such an informal manner. He was talked to Lance as though he were his servant.
Chris laughed. "Don't worry, Lance loves the hockey team."
My brows furrowed. I was more confused than before. From what I had seen of Lance with Aiden, he sure didn't seem like he loved the hockey team. If he was that hostile with Aiden, I had a hard time believing that he would be so loving and open with Aiden's teammates.
"It wouldn't be a cookout without some barbeque!" Lance called back.
"You're the best, Lance!" Cheers of approval erupted from the other players in agreement.
I turned back around to face Chris and Nate. I was at a loss of words. It'd been two weeks since Aiden joined the rink. How on earth was the team so comfortable with Lance?
"I'm so confused."
Nate chuckled. "Lance is at all of our practices," he explained as if he had read my mind. "The whole team loves him. He's like the fun, supportive uncle that is easy to get along with."
I arched my eyebrows. I was not convinced. From the many hostile interactions that I had witnessed between him and Aiden, I had a hard time believing that he was so easy going. Aiden certainly didn't act like he was. If this morning was any inclination for the poor relationship between father and son, I had a feeling Aiden wouldn't be happy with his dad's presence.
I turned my head, scanning the yard until I found Aiden. Sure enough, he held a dull expression with a small glare pointed on his father.
"Right," I mumbled, "of course."
All of my friends were smirking at me when I turned my head back. Even Brendon and Brett had found their way over in the short time I was distracted and were also smirking.
"What?"
Chris shrugged. Simultaneously, all of their smirks fell from their faces. "Nothing."
Weird.
"Okay then."
___
Orange and red flames flickered upward into the night air, giving off a gentle warmth in the cool night air. It was 11:00 PM, and somehow, Riley and the guys had convinced me to join them at Chris's house for a late-night bonfire.
After the cookout earlier, I went back home to get in a good run before I showered, reapplied some makeup, and made my way out to the countryside for a night with new friends.
With the exception of Riley, everyone sitting around the fire were all hockey players from the rink. Most I had befriended, but not all.
"Who's up for a little game of triple dog?" Riley asked to break up the small conversations around the fire. Everyone's eyes all turned to her, awaiting further instruction. "The rules are simple. You give a dare; you get a dare. Don't worry though because you will get to choose who dares you."
I raised my eyebrows. Was Riley referring to the game from the movie Triple Dog Dare? If that was the case, there was no way that I would play.
"That doesn't sound too bad," John commented.
Riley held up her pointer finger, a devious glint flashed in her eyes. "There is a catch. If you fail to do the dare, we will shave your head."
"I will not shave my head." I shot Riley a challenging smirk, ready for her to tell me that we weren't going to be playing by those same rules. Instead, she returned the smirk.
"Well then I guess you'll just have to make sure you complete your dare then."
Riley stood from her chair, walked over to a picnic table that sat by the wall of the house. She pulled a black case off the table before making her way back to the fire. "In case anyone didn't believe me, here are the clippers. We will shave your head."
She unzipped the case, pulled out a pair of cheap, Walmart brand clippers. They looked brand new. I narrowed my eyes. Were these purchased for the sole purpose of this game?
The thought of having to shave my head made me shudder. There was no chance that I would be able to part with my hair. But what if I got some horrible dare that I couldn't complete? The game was just too risky.
"You are delusional if you think that I'm going to play this game."
Brendon, who was sitting next to me, put his hand on my knee. "Come on Zo, it won't be that bad. Everyone has practice tomorrow. The dares will be tame. I'm sure they won't be anything that you can't handle."
His words did little to comfort me. People didn't play a game with such a big punishment for not completing a dare if they were just going to have wimpy dares. It was counterproductive to have a punishment at all.
I shook my head. "No. I'm sorry, but I can't."
Brendon grabbed a hold of my hand as I went to stand from my chair, pulling me back down. "Come on. You only have to do one dare. We can even start with you if you'd like. One and done."
One dare or I had to shave my head. I'd seen the movie before. I'd seen all the dares that they had to do. The dares were not tame. I didn't want to have to go streaking down a street or urinate on someone's doorstep.
"Just play," Riley pleaded, pushed out her lower lip as she, along with everyone else, seemed to give me their best puppy dog eyes.
I groaned, staring at them for several long seconds before I caved and fell back into my chair. "Fine."
Brendon grinned and let go of my hand. "Go ahead and pick the person you want to give you a dare."
Great.
Everyone seemed way too eager for me to stay and play. No one seemed like a safe choice. I wanted someone who would give me a quick and easy dare. Something that was hopefully not going to be painful or too embarrassing. My gut instinct was Riley, but she was the one who wanted to play, and she seemed the most eager to have me play.
I was stuck having to decide out of the guys. None of which did I feel would give me a quick dare.
"Okay fine," I huffed. "Brendon, just give me a dare."
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. From the devious glint that flashed in Brendon's eyes mixed with the satisfied smirk on his lips, I knew that I had made a mistake.
"I triple dog dare you to make out with Aiden."
My stomach dropped. There was no way that I had heard him correctly. He wouldn't have wronged me like that. "Uhm, what?"
Brendon's smirk grew as he leaned forward in his chair. His elbows propped on his knees, he nodded in the direction of Aiden. "I triple dog dare you to make out with Aiden," he repeated, and I knew I hadn't misheard him.
I found myself swallowing a large lump that I had formed in my throat, shook my head in disbelief. There was no chance that I could complete this dare. Goodbye hair.
My gaze darted around the fire until my eyes fell on Aiden's. His dark eyes held an impossible expression to read. He didn't look as appalled as I felt, but he wasn't jumping at the chance to kiss me either. Shocking.
"No, I can't."
Aiden's eyes remained on mine. "For once I actually agree with you."
"If you can't complete the dare, Zo, we will have to shave your head."
I snapped my attention if the direction of Riley with a frown. Clearly, she didn't care that Aiden and I were both equally against the dare. They were seriously going to make me shave my head if I didn't do this. If there was anything that would kill a friendship quicker, I certainly couldn't think of it.
"I'm sorry," Riley said, offered a sympathetic smile. "It's nothing personal, that's just the rules."
This felt personal.
Chris, who was sitting on the other side of me, put a hand on my shoulder. "On the bright side," he chuckled, unable to hide his amusement, "you only have to kiss Aiden. Technically, he doesn't have to kiss you back."
I titled my head, gawking at him. Was that supposed to make me feel better? That would have been worse! I think I would die of embarrassment if I had to kiss Aiden and he didn't kiss me back. That would make an awkward thing turn into something so much worse.
"Alright, come on." In one brief moment, Brendon was up from his chair and had draped an arm around my torso to pull me up. My attempts to struggle were in vain and only met with a laugh. "I know you don't want to shave your head so come on. This is a simple dare."
I frowned. It didn't seem like a simple dare to me. They were asking me to be intimate with someone that I spent the last two weeks of my life doing nothing but fight with. This wasn't a normal make out session with a guy.
Brendon proceeded to drag me in the direction of Aiden, only stopping briefly so that he could pull Aiden up from his chair by the fabric of his hoodie. It surprised me that Aiden didn't put up a bigger fight. Unlike myself, Aiden had just as much muscle as Brendon.
Once we were around the corner of the house, away from prying eyes, Brendon stopped and released the two of us. "Have fun you two," he chuckled. Brendon placed a hand on each of our shoulder and gave us one final shove so that I fell into Aiden's space before he turned and rounded the corner back to the fire.
I blew out a huff of air. I'm going to get you guys back, I thought to myself, shooting a glare in that direction.
"I do not want to kiss you," I mumbled. All of my emotions suddenly felt compressed. I felt indifferent. Not angry, or upset, happy, or even nervous. It was like my body had kicked into its own coping mechanism that I wasn't aware that I had.
Aiden shrugged his shoulders, his eyes flickered behind me in the direction of the fire around the corner. "Feelings mutual."
"Good, then we are on the same page."
My eyes locked onto his face; I studied his features. Right now, his facial features were soft. Unlike myself, he was not at all tense. His expression however was quite unreadable. His dark chocolate eyes a cloudy mix.
I took a step forward into his space. "For the record, I would rather kiss a toad."
Aiden's lips curved upward; his eyes dropped to my own. "A toad would be more likely to kiss you back."
Despite his attempt at a dig, I smirked. Another step closer.
I took a deep breath in, leaned up towards him on my tip toes. Here goes nothing. All in one quick movement, I leaned upward just enough to give Aiden a quick little peck on the lips. It was short, less than a second, but I was hoping that Brendon would take pity on me and decide that that was enough to complete my dare.
I quickly pulled myself away from Aiden's space and backed up. "You happy?" I asked as I rounded the corner of the house to see the rest of the group chatting at the fire.
Brendon shook his head in disapproval. "No way that you made out. Try again."
He lifted his hand to shew me back to Aiden, and without thinking, I listened. A frustrated sigh left my lips as I rounded the corner back to Aiden who was now smugly smirking at me. Amusement flashed in his eyes.
"I seriously hate you," I grumbled, stopping in front of him. It didn't seem right that Aiden found this entertaining. "How are you amused? You do realize that I have to actually kiss you, right?"
Aiden shrugged, shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. He leaned down toward me, whispered softly in my ear, "It's worth seeing you so worked up."
I narrowed my eyes, took a step toward him to reclose the gap between us. My chest pressed up against him. "What," I hissed, leaned up on my tip toes. "You don't think that I will complete this dare?"
Aiden laughed with no hesitation. "It's highly unlikely."
I lifted my hands up, placed them on the middle of his stomach. I smirked. "We'll see about that."
No part of me wanted to kiss Aiden. I loathed him more than anything. He was cocky, arrogant, and worst of all, he didn't think that I would go through with this. I didn't want to kiss him, but I had to prove him wrong. I couldn't give him the satisfaction of me wimping out. Afterall, it was just a kiss.
I had kissed several boys before. I was no newbie to kissing. All I had to do to get through this was pretend that I was kissing someone else. Anyone else.
I slowly worked my hands up his stomach to his chest, grabbed a fist full of his hoodie. With my grip on his hoodie, I pulled him closer to my level. My eyes locked onto those chocolate eyes making it damn near impossible for me to picture him as anyone else.
"Don't get too attached to these lips," I whispered. Licking my lips, I drew his gaze down to them. I let me own eyes wonder down to his perfectly plump lips. "This is the only chance you'll get to taste them."
With my heart now beating out of my chest, I didn't give him a chance to respond. I reached up onto my tip toes, pressed my lips firmly against his. I could feel Aiden's whole-body tense against mine making me grin. I'd caught him off guard and I loved it.
I parted my lips, tugged on his lower lip. To my surprise, Aiden let out a small groan. It wasn't done out of enjoyment, rather he was fighting with himself – and likely losing. In a short moment Aiden caved. His hands left the front pockets of his jeans, his arms suddenly snaked around my waist, thrusting me closer. His soft lips melted into my own. Before I knew what was even happening, my lips moved together with his.
Holy crap, I was kissing Aiden Gray.
The kiss started off gentle. Like too much force and we would break. Then I parted my lips again, pulled his lower lip into my mouth. It was all over the second my tongue slipped into his mouth. I felt my body melt into his embrace. My knees were weak. Without the support of his strong arms around me, I would have quite literally fallen.
For a brief moment I pulled away. My forehead rested against his as I took a short moment to let us both catch our breath, but I refused to open my eyes.
"Catch me," I whispered. Something took over me and before I could think twice, I jumped up, wrapping my legs around his waist. He obliged; his hands placed firmly under my butt to support me.
Time slipped away from me the moment our lips smashed together again. This wasn't supposed to be happening. It felt wrong. I was breaking every single rule I had ever had, but I didn't care. In that moment it felt like no one else was around. It was just me and him. My hands wrapped around the back of his neck as our tongues danced in each other's mouths.
The kiss came to an abrupt stop as he suddenly pulled his lips off of mine. "Zoe," he breathed, his voice low.
Reality rushed back in that brief second. I opened my eyes and found myself staring into those damn chocolate eyes. What did I just do?
My face paled and I quickly stumbled out of Aiden's arms, falling onto the group with a loud thud. I cringed, feeling a sharp surge of pain run through my hip. I elected to ignore it, jumped to my feet quickly.
"I'm sorry," I muttered.
Then I took off in a sprint to my car that was parked out front. I didn't care what anyone had to say. What he had to say. There was nothing that would make me stay to find out. I had just embarrassed myself by making out with Aiden. Dare or not, I needed out of there.
I darted around the house, sprinted to my car. Fiddling in my pocket, I pulled out my keys before anyone realized I was making a run for it and tried to stop me. I swung open my car door, jumped inside. Throwing the keys into the ignition, I quickly threw my car into reverse and booked it the hell away from that house.
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