Page 116 of Double Dare

“Pushover,” Jed scoffs. “Look, Laken. Think about it, okay? What if she shows up there and causes a scene that ruins your friendship with Gar? That’s only going to hurt both of you, so try to think about this rationally and do it somewhere neutral, while we’re around, and where Amber can’t interrupt.”

Before I get the chance to maybe agree to that, because let’s be honest, he’s right, Kade is pulling my back to his chest and Jed is crowding my front. Wedged between them, my mind blanks and I forget what the point of this fight was. We’re all kind of saying the same thing, anyway.

“Whether she did the Instagram thing or not, we don’t trust her. Can you at least respect that? We’ve already had to watch her hurt you once.” Jed wraps a hand around my waist, squeezing gently.

“Allegedly.”

“Sure. Allegedly.” Kade pulls my head back, his lips pressing to my neck.

“Invite him to Mom and Dad’s at the very least, yeah?” Jed tries, pressing his taut body against my front, smirking like the devil I know he can be.

My body is warming and my mind is in the gutter, and my flirting game totally backfired on me.

“Kolt and Bass are off today, so they can be buffers if Amber wants to show up like a crazy bitch.” Kade’s palm lands on my hip, pulling me back until my ass is pressed to his hard dick. “She’s so jealous of this sexy ass.”

“Speaking of that sexy ass. It’s my turn to fuck it,” Jed whispers against my lips, riling me up even more.

Good god.

“Can I?” Jed asks.

“Yes.” I’m hypnotized, as starved for this as they are. It’s been a few days, and…yeah, I’m thirsty!

“There’s time now,” Kade suggests, and I’m nodding already.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Jed smirks and Kade laughs, both of them stepping away from me. What the…what’s happening?

“Knew we could distract her long enough,” Jed laughs.

“You ready, Lakes?” Kolt shouts, coming in the front door. “Chauffeur has arrived!”

Oh, these assholes! They planned this whole conversation as a diversion to keep me in the house until Kolt got here? Fuck them. I glare at them both, watching them be way too pleased with themselves.

“Whoa, what am I walking in on?” Kolt asks, sensing the war we just fought and the one still brewing.

“She’s just pissed she lost this round,” Kade says like a douche.

I might have lost, but I can still get the last word in. I grab my things, throw on a coat, slip into my boots and link my arm through Kolt’s. “Maybe the twins will win the next round.”

I pull Kolt out the door to the sound of them warning him to keep his hands to himself.

Idiots. I’m the bigger idiot.

It all worked out anyway. I sit on the front porch of the Dare house with Gar, looking at the snowfall, the mountaintops and the bay. He’s sipping a whiskey and I’m sipping a coffee because I haven’t been able to stomach a drink since the fall. I’m a bit queasy at random still, but not much, and I’m getting a little sick of everyone asking me if I’m pregnant. Not everything is a pregnancy symptom. Jeez. Plus, I’m mainly back to normal now, thankfully, and the staples come out in a few days.

The twins, Zahn and Dom are all inside, getting ready for boarding. I have a feeling they won’t leave until Gar does, but I’m not rushing my visit for their sake.

“Honestly, Lake, I don’t think it was her. I can’t see her doing it, but if there’s any chance she did, I'll…” he sighs. “I gave Hardin my phone so he can try to figure out what’s been going on with it all.”

I think he just doesn’t want to see it, but still, that’s not the reason we’re hanging out. I just miss him. “We don’t have to talk about that. I just wanted to apologize for those idiots. I’m sorry they came at you like that.” He’s not as bad looking as I thought he’d be. Bit of a black eye and a little cut on his lip, both of which he didn’t deserve, but otherwise, he’s okay.

“They already apologized.” He waves me off. “I just don’t get why or how she’d even do something like that. We’ve been good lately, and you barely come up in conversation anymore. She’s not as weirded out by our friendship, I mean.”

Clearly, she is. We used to hang out all the time, and Gar would come on work trips with me to the Fjords or other scenic locations, and I’d sometimes go out on the boat with him while he was working, but not lately. It sucks. It sucks to be questioned about our friendship just because we’re opposite genders. We’re platonic. Always have been and always will be.

“Did you ask her about it?” I sip my coffee, hating asking him that.