Dare Me (Dare Me Series Book 1)

Dare Me (Part 32 - Alexis)

Drinks flow, and the music is bumping. The place is lit blue, and people walk around with paint all over them. I dance and try with everything in me to get Colby out of my mind. Shawn has his hands on me, but he has no idea whose hands I wish were there instead. Claire cuts in, and we jump up and down when an awesome song comes on. My shoes are hooked to my fingers, and if I wasn't drunk, I'd be worried about how nasty this cement floor is. We're in an abandoned building outside of town. Far from Red and far from what's his name. Oh, the alcohol is working! Where's my date? I look around Claire and see him talking with Brennen. He's actually very cute, and I love that lip ring, especially when he places it in his mouth. Maybe I want it in my mouth? I want to kiss someone. I haven't in so long. A real kiss, I mean. Mark and I didn't kiss anymore. "I'll be back," I say to Claire. She narrows her eyes. "Don't walk off." "I'm not, overprotective. I'm gonna get my date." She smiles. "Oh." I wink back at her, which I feel cool doing, but I'm sure I look like a drunk idiot. Shawn and Brennen turn to me when I walk up. "Hey," I say, pointing my finger at the poor guy who has to deal with me tonight. "Let's dance." He smiles. "Okay." I grab his hand, and it's amazing to not feel a damn thing when I do it. No crazy sensations, no weirdo letting go quickly because he's afraid he may feel something for me if he does. Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Just a girl holding a guy's hand so they can dance together. I wrap my arms around his neck and we move back and forth to the slowest song of the night, which really isn't that slow, but my date goes with it. "You okay?" he asks me. "Never better." I smile and he sucks his lip ring into his mouth. Man, that's sexy. I like Shawn. I like Shawn's lips and his fluffy hair. I reach up and run my hand through it, which makes him grin. I feel absolutely nothing for him, and that makes him gold. No worries, no stress. I see Claire and Brennen behind us laughing and carrying on. Those two are the best. My family. I should really open up to them more. What's the point in keeping all this stuff inside of me, anyway? My childhood was scary. My mother ran off and my stepfather ma—. My thoughts are shut off when I see Colby at the bar. What the fuck is he doing here? Shit, shit, shit. I was just starting to have carefree fun. I exhale and look around Shawn trying to get Claire's attention. "What are you doing?" Shawn asks me. "Trying to get Claire," I reply, like duh. He laughs. "Why not just walk over to her then?" I laugh, too. "That's not a bad idea." With my shoes in one hand and his in my other, we make our way over to my best friends. "Claire we've got company." Everyone looks at me. Damn, I thought I whispered that to only her. Whew, no more drinks for me. This birthday girl is toasted. I look to the bar, and when I do my eyes connect with his. Drunk and lazy meets fierce cool blues. They dart down to where Shawn and my hands are linked, and I see his jaw twitch. I hope he is jealous, the jackass. Serves him right walking in that restaurant with another woman. Leaving me the other night pissed off because he spilled his deepest secrets. I didn't ask for that shit. He told it willingly. I hold on to Shawn's hand tighter. "How in the world did he find us here?" Claire asks. "Who's he?" Shawn cuts in. I wave a dismissive hand toward the bar. "Just a friend." "He isn't looking at you like he's just your friend." Shawn removes his hand from mine. I look at him in shock. The traitor. Is he scared of Colby? He's a grown man for heaven's sake. I sneak another look at the bar, but Colby isn't there and Claire clears her throat just as Brennen says, "What's up, man?" I turn behind me, and there he is. I look around a little too obviously. "Where's your date?" "With Gage," he says, his eyes darting to Shawn. "Who's your date?" I ask. His attention turns to me. "A friend of Gage's." I cross my arms and lift a brow. "So, you don't know her?" "I know her enough." What the hell does that mean? Blue eyes like sapphire diamonds look towards my date again. "I'm Shawn," my traitor says. "Colby." Cool and easy brings his drink to his lips. His presence is both welcome and unwelcome, and honestly the welcome is winning. Dammit. My heart stomps it's foot in frustration. "Why are you here?" I ask. "I heard it was your birthday. Didn't wanna miss my friend's birthday." He says it with a hint of sarcasm. "So, where's Gage then?" I ask. He lifts a brow. "You wanna hang out with my brother? I'll take you to him." He shrugs like this is no issue, but I'm no dummy. He wouldn't be here if he never saw my date. He would still be with his own. "I'm not leaving my friends." "They can come, too." I look back at Claire and Brennen. "This place is kinda crazy anyway," Claire says as a guy walks by her with glitter covering his chest. He throws up his hands and yells to the top of his lungs, sticks his tongue out, and starts dancing. I look at Colby. He makes a face, like that was interesting, and I laugh before my eyes go to Shawn. "I think I might call it a night." I frown. "Don't do that." He looks from me to Colby. "No. I think I will. Happy birthday, Lexi. It was good to meet you. Brennen, I'll see you Monday." Brennen nods as he walks off. I scoff. "What the hell?" My eyes go to Colby. "You ran off my date." "Some date," he says in return. "Come on. Let's go to Red." I don't know why I just threw away my night because Colby showed up. I'm a little disappointed in myself that I didn't tell him to kick rocks. I know he only came to find me because I was with another man. Part of me loves that he cares enough to do that, but the other part wishes he had been my date in the first place. But what we have isn't normal. Neither of our childhoods was normal, and that's affected our adulthood in a way that's messing up our whole relationship. He doesn't try to hold my hand as we walk into Gage;s club. He doesn't act like we're anything more than what we are. Two fucked-up adults who don't know how to commit to a relationship even though it's clear we both want more. Colby was on his phone on the way over here, texting someone and looking worried. The corners of his eyes creased as he looked out the window. Drunk me wanted to climb onto his lap and run my finger down his forehead over the wrinkle between his brows and down the smooth slope of his slightly crooked nose. I'd never really paid it much mind before, but I wondered if his nose had been broken in the past. He surprises us all when we head for the stairs leading up to the mystery room. I look back at Claire, and she smiles at me. Colby holds her hand, and I smile at both of them, because they've had a few too many and they'd never do that sober. We pass by the bouncer, and once at the top Colby opens the door and we follow in behind him. My hands go to my mouth as I take in the sight before me, and I can't help the grin behind them as thirty or more strangers sing "Happy Birthday" to me. Normally, I'd find a place to hide, but my buzz makes me brave. My eyes wander over the room. It's covered in streamers, and there's a small cake on a pool table. Champagne glasses are everywhere, and I laugh when Gage comes out of nowhere and swoops me up. "Happy birthday, Harrison!" he says, clearly buzzed, and I'm not sure what else. He kisses my cheek, and I blush. "Thank you." "Happy birthday," a tall blonde says as she hands me a glass of bubbly. More than half of the people leave the room, and I notice they're Gage's staff. Of course. He doesn't have friends. I also notice the boy's dates from earlier are no longer here. I turn to look at him. His expression isn't hard to read this time, but it's a look I've never seen before. Unsureness and a little bit shy. This is what he was planning on the way over here, and from what I've learned about this complicated man, he was overthinking it. He takes a glass of bourbon when it's handed to him by another supermodel staff member. Beautiful women surround him, and he chooses to hang out with me. I look around and see Claire and Brennen have walked over to the cake, and Colby and I are pretty much alone near the door. Our eyes connect, and I do the opposite of what he would do. I don't overthink; I walk up and hug him. Because he just made me feel special, and that's not something I take lightly. "Thank you for this," I say into his ear. I pull back a little, my face close to his, my eyes bouncing up to ocean blues. Lost, I find myself floating mindlessly. I'm scared—there's no doubt about that—but that doesn't change anything at this moment. Is this what falling in love feels like? Terrifying and thrilling at the same time?  I want to kiss him so badly. How amazing if when I did it, everyone in here disappeared and we didn't stop? There's a strong energy between us. One that can't be denied no matter how hard we try. Millions of things pass through my mind, but all I can do is smile. I feel his hand on my hip, and he gently pushes me back. I'm disappointed, but what else did I expect? "You're welcome," he says before downing his drink, and I feel like that's his way of putting out the fire between us. The night passes with more drinks, cake, and laughs. It's the best birthday I can ever remember having. Claire dances with me, and Brennen spins me around a few times. Gage cracks jokes on Colby, and Colby does what he does best. He watches and observes everything. He smiles at his brother's wisecracks and touches me just enough for it to burn. The man who has no idea how fast he makes my heart beat leaves me wanting more and reminds me constantly that he's near. Three a.m. comes and the club closes downstairs. Claire and Brennen left about an hour ago, and after telling me stories of the boys growing up on the ranch and riding dirt bikes through the mountain trails, Gage passes out on the couch with a lit cigarette between his fingers. I see the cleanup crew downstairs through the glass wall, and I look over at Colby. "It's late," I say. He nods slowly and takes his bottom lip between his teeth. "So that guy earlier. Who's he to you?" "No one." He searches my eyes for a moment, slipping through uncertainty and guardedness. And suddenly I long to be the most important person to him. "What are we doing?" I ask as fear shows itself in my voice. If he hurts me, he will be my deepest scar. He smirks. "I don't know."