Page 3 of Caution

Once I had my drink in hand, I plucked the cherry out, ate the fruit, and held on to the stem. A few seconds later, I’d slid the stem past my parted lips and got to work. Jeremy’s eyes were focused on my mouth as I worked the stem using my teeth and tongue. It took a bit longer than I would have liked, but I eventually pulled the stem out of my mouth and displayed the result—a perfectly tied knot.

“Truth or dare?” I asked, unable to fight the smile.

His eyes remained fixed on the stem for a bit before he lifted his gaze to mine. “You’re something else. I’m going to go with truth this time.”

Nodding, I asked, “Is this how you approach all women in the pub? With a game of Truth or Dare?”

Something changed in his expression. “I’d like to think I was that smooth, but I’m not. Honestly, I saw you and didn’t know how else I could possibly get you to talk to me. I figured being friendly and doing something non-threatening was the way to go. Plus, you didn’t have a lot of people around you, which is a complete mystery, even if it made me more willing to approach you.”

“Why is that a mystery?”

Jeremy shrugged. “I took one look at you and thought you’d already be spoken for. And if not, I imagined you’d have a bunch of your girlfriends here, enjoying a night out with you.”

Interesting.

Also, it was a shame he hadn’t been wrong about me being alone.

I chose not to comment, and instead, I popped more peanuts in my mouth.

“Am I wrong to assume there’s no boyfriend?” he pressed as I chewed.

After I swallowed and took a sip of my drink, I returned, “I didn’t agree to a truth.”

There was no boyfriend, but I wasn’t going to come out and share that. It would only make me look more pitiful. Or, perhaps I wouldn’t necessarily look more pitiful, but I’d certainly feel that way.

Jeremy’s lips twitched. “Truth or dare, Daisy?”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Dare.”

It was becoming obvious to Jeremy by the second that I wasn’t going to be an easy nut to crack. But he truly seemed up to the challenge. We went back and forth for quite a few rounds of the game, Jeremy being far more forthcoming with information while I sought the adventure.

It was fun. I had a great time, and I enjoyed Jeremy’s persistence.

But just as I told myself I was going to do one more dare before answering a truth, it happened.

“I’m going to regret this, but I have to tell you a truth in order to give you the dare,” he revealed.

I was beyond curious. “What is it?”

There was a moment of hesitation before he shared, “I initially approached you because I wanted to do something nice for my buddy.”

“What?”

“Without making it obvious, he’s the guy at the end of the bar, wearing the dark blue tee.”

I nodded, lifted my drink to my lips, and looked down in that direction to see the guy he’d been referring to. Fortunately, Jeremy’s buddy wasn’t looking in our direction.

When I returned my attention to Jeremy, I started eating a couple more peanuts as he revealed, “His girlfriend just broke up with him, and he’s been really bummed out. This was the first time I managed to convince him to come out in three weeks. I was kind of hoping I could get you to make him want to drink a little less and see that there are still good women out there.”

I cocked a brow. “What exactly would you like me to do?”

He shrugged. “That’s entirely up to you, but I think a bit of attention and maybe a kiss from a beautiful woman like yourself would go a long way in cheering a man up.”

I felt for Jeremy’s friend. Breakups were tough. But while I thought I’d been forming a connection with Jeremy, he really wasn’t interested in me. It sucked, but at least I knew the truth now.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, recognizing that it was harmless and would help the guy feel better, I said, “What’s his name?”

“Mike.”

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