Page 98 of If You Dare

She shoves my shoulder. “Obviously! How awesome would that be? You could marry him, and we’d be real sisters! Plus, I wouldn’t have to deal with Wes’s mopey ass anymore.”

“He’s never seemed mopey to me.” Wes has only ever been charming, smart, funny, dangerous, sexy—

“Because you were lucky enough not to grow up with him. He puts on this act like he’s some tough guy who just wants to play hockey and hoe around, but getting cheated on really broke him. He’s been so scared of getting hurt like that again, he hasn’t let anyone else in. But I could tell the day he met you that you were the only girl who stood a chance at changing that.”

My heart aches and warms at the same time. Aching for the pain and hurt Wes has gone through. Warming with hope that Chloe’s right—that Wes is letting me in. Breaking down those walls he built to keep his heart safe so he can finally trust someone with it. Trustmewith it.

“What if we break up?” I ask. “You said you didn’t want to be caught in the middle.”

She scoffs. “Like I give a shit about that. I’ll still be your best friend, and he’ll still be my brother. Your relationship doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

I laugh, even as I give her arm a playful smack. “Then why did you tell Wes you didn’t want us dating?”

“Because it’d make you forbidden fruit.” She takes a long gulp from her drink. “If he knew he couldn’t have you, he’d want you that much more. If he sensed I was conspiring to get you two together, he’d run for the hills. He needed to realize he was ready for a relationship again on his own, not because I pressured him into it.”

“I knew you were up to something.” I shake my head. Looking back, Chloe’s scheming was obvious, but at the time, I let myself ignore all the signs, not wanting to get my hopes up that Wes could ever be interested in me if it meant I’d get my heart broken.

Though her lying and scheming might be questionable, her motives were pure. Chloe just wanted the best for Wes. And for me.

She finishes her cup before grabbing my arm. “Let’s go s-swimming.”

I laugh. “Are you already slurring? You’re such a lightweight.”

“You’resuch a lightweight.” She elbows me before hiccuping.

“Did you pregame without me?” I gasp in mock horror as Chloe leads the way out to the patio.

“I would never.” She trips on her way out the sliding glass door, but I manage to catch her before she goes down.

“Are you sure you want to go swimming?” I giggle. “Maybe you need to sit down for a minute. I’m pretty sure you’re a danger to yourself right now. Possibly others.”

“Swimming will help me sober up.”

I’m pretty sure I’ve heard a shower helps sober someone up, so maybe she’s right.

She leads me across the grass like she’s ice-skating, sending me into another fit of giggles until we reach the pool’s edge. Mr. Novak only opened the pool last week, and it’s probably still cold this early in the season, especially now that night has fallen. But if Chloe’s in, I’m in.

“We have to jump,” she declares.

“With our clothes on?”

“No way, these are my best clothes.”

I laugh. She’s in denim shorts and a pink T-shirt with a hole in the hem.

We strip, giggling the entire time. “Are you sure you want to do this? The water’s probably freezing still.”

“Don’t be a b-baby,” she slurs.

But she continues hovering at the pool’s edge, not jumping into the water or grabbing my hand to pull me with her.

I lean over and tell her, “I dare you.”

For the first time, she hesitates, her face almost blank as she stares into the inky depths.

But we never back down from a dare.

I take a step away from the edge before shoving her with both hands into the pool.

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