Inheritance

Chapter 9, Truth or Dare?

 Lying on the woven linen picnic blanket draped over the beams of the dock next to Dakota, who's warmth radiated off of his skin and onto mine while he pointed out a constellation, was perfect. The lite beers we'd had had long since worn off, but the fireflies, stars, and lake held their own form of intoxication. I felt incredibly comfortable in this moment. So free. Dakota dished,

"You know, my brother Fox has a major crush on your cousin Amber. It's so funny. Amber is such a nice girl. Have you gotten to see her since moving here?"

I smiled at the thought of grown-up newly 18 year old Amber being a nice girl. I answered,

"No, I haven't gotten to see Amber yet. I honestly hope she'll give me a chance. I ran into Ivy and she just doesn't like me-- at all."

Dakota chuckled, shaking his head, and responded, half-joking

"Well, Ivy doesn't like anybody."
We lied in peaceful silence once more, watching a gray owl fly overhead. Dakota reflected,

"The summer when I was ten, I met you, once. You and Amber and Ivy were getting sno-cones at the General Store. I was there with my mom and brother, also getting sno-cones, and you were just covered-- absolutely covered-- in paint."

I laughed, unable to recall that specific memory

"Really? Well, that definitely sounds like me."

He leaned on his hand, turning toward me. I asked, mirroring his position by turning on my side, too

"Well, what did you think of me?"

He smirked,

"I was 10, and about to get a sno-cone. No offense, but I didn't think much! But now..."

He trailed off, and leaned in toward me. I immediately thought of how soft Dakota's lips would be on mine, how perfectly his hand would fit on the small of my back if he were to draw me closer... but he only leaned in to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. I mentally sighed in anguish. Finishing his statement, he said

"I think you're a very determined, passionate person, and you remind me a lot of your Grandpa Ezekiel."

The words touched me, especially since I wasn't able to have a relationship with my grandpa outside of the birthday phone call; But probably no girl wants their crush to think of them like a grandpa, I concluded.

We continued lying on the dock, chatting about town and our favorite things in life. I sat up now, and Dakota asked

"Want to play truth or dare?"

I playfully replied,

"If we do, at least one of us is gonna end up in the lake."

He grinned

"Good. I don't know about you, but I could always use a swim."

I nodded

"I'm game, you start us off. Ask me something."

He turned on the flashlight we'd brought and held it under his chin, casting ghastly shadows on his face. He said in an intentionally spooky voice

"Summer, truth or dare?"

I laughed at his attempt to scare me, then paused, weighing my options

"Truth."
He bit into another wild-berry, a little of the purple-red juice lingering for a moment on his full lips

"Okay, how much do you know about Morgan, Vermont?"

I scrunched my brows

"Are you asking me history questions?"