Page 37 of Dare To Break

And I know just what to do next. All I need is confirmation that she wants to play.

I take out the other item from the box, a thick pile of parchment paper—the same paper the dare was written on. I’ve been practicing my skills and can write in a way that’s similar enough to the original dare so that anyone who hasn’t studied the writing won’t notice the difference.

I smooth out a sheet, take out a fountain pen and start to write.

You’re being such a good girl. I like that. Your next dare is this. I want you to go outside after curfew tonight and hang a pair of panties on the entrance door to the gymnasium.

I wonder if she’ll do it. It ticks off two things she mentions in her diary. The desire to break the rules and the dream she had about being outside in just her underwear. This isn’t quite as risqué as doing that, but it should give her a similar thrill.

I wait for the ink to dry and then fold it up, ready for Kellan to take when everyone is busy, and we’ve seen what decision she makes.

***

I’m one of the last people to arrive in the cafeteria for dinner, Kellan a step behind me. We head directly to our table and take our seats. I’m sitting with my back to the room today, with Kellan facing everyone. His lips twitch and he leans forward across the table.

“Guess cheesecake was the only choice today.” He reaches out a hand and I place the folded parchment in it. “I’ll be back.”

I settle back on my seat and wait. He’s back after a few minutes, flashing me a grin as he walks to the counter and picks out food for us both. He avoids the cheesecake, choosing to go for fruit instead and comes back to our table.

“Pizza.” He places a plate in front of me.

“I can see that.”

“So, what did you write?”

“You’ll find out if she follows through.” I can’t stop a smile though, thinking about how she’ll react when she reads it.

Will she back out? Will she do it? Is she looking around the room wondering who is responsible? Will she suspect me?

The only answer I care about is whether she’ll do it. I hope she does. I really hope she does.

“Hey, Travers?” I meet Kellan’s eyes, silently asking him who’s speaking. He raises an eyebrow and looks past me.

“It’s Jace,” he murmurs around a slice of pizza. “He’s coming over.”

“I heard you tried to scare Bella today. Leave her the fuck alone.” He stops at the side of our table.

I ignore him and take a bite of pizza.

“Are you listening to me?” His hands slam down on the tabletop.

“Pretty sure the entire school can hear you.” I don’t look at him.

“Stay the fuck away from her.”

I swallow the pizza down, then slowly lift my head and look at him. His cheeks are flushed, sweat beading his brow, and his eyes are darting around the room. I wonder if he’s stoned. He must be, to be brave enough to stand so close to me. Something is obviously impairing his thought process because if he was thinking clearly, he would never put himself within my reach. I let my gaze move over him. His face, his throat, down his chest. I pause at his groin. The dirty bastard is hard. He’s excited by the idea of confronting me. Fucking idiot.

I reach out a hand, my fingers curl around the handle of the knife and in one quick move I lift it and slam it down between his spread fingers. He jumps back.

“What the actual fuck?”

“Next time I won’t miss. Fuck off.” I could have been telling him the time, my tone is that bland.

“You nearly fucking took my fingers off.”

I push my chair back, the scrape against tile loud in the now-silent cafeteria. I stand and turn to face him.

“Are you finally brave enough to take me on, Black?” My voice is soft. “Are you ready to face me? Right now? Right here? Do you really want to do this? Is it time?”

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