Page 26 of His Daring Girl

Okay, now he has my attention. If Cassie had showed up at his party tonight, Chase would’ve flipped his shit. “That totally sucks.”

“Yeah, and get this. He’s being forced to go on a double date with Hunter and that girl tomorrow night. And he can’t get out of it because it’s his final pledge dare.”

“Wow. That’s crazy.” If it were Chase, and someone was forcing him to spend time with Cassie, he’d back down. “I’m just glad you’re not being forced to go on a date. I would freak out if that were the case. I’d be worried sick that you’d end up liking the girl and want to break up with me.”

When a frown forms on his face, I regret saying anything. I shouldn’t have shared my insecurities, but I can’t help it. What Charity said really got to me.

“Baby, that would never happen. Even if I did have to go on some stupid date, I’d never fall for anyone else.”

“But you won’t, right?” My insecurities are totally in the driver’s seat. I hate him even thinking that I don’t trust him, which is probably why he sounds uneasy, but I need peace of mind. “You won’t go on dates?”

He breathes out on a sigh, and now I’m worried I’ve upset him. “No, baby. I’m not going to go on any dates. I may want to hang out with friends—girls and guys—from time to time, but you will never have to worry about me falling for someone else. It would be impossible.”

Finally, the knot that was all balled up in my stomach, rolling tighter by the second, unravels.

“I love you, Chase.”

“Love you, too, babe. Now, I better let you get to bed. It’s almost two in the morning.” Goodness, I hadn’t realized it was so late. Charity isn’t even back yet. That’s how distracted I was by my ridiculous worries. I should know by now that when it comes to Chase, I can trust him completely.

“Good night, babe.”

“Good night.”

CHAPTER 19

Chase

Frat Rules #2: Roommates know best.

The door opens and I look up from my phone. My hands have been wavering over the call button for hours. I click the screen off, thankful Matt’s back early from studying. I could use the distraction. My mind is bruised up. I’ve been a mental punching bag to my guilt all night.

“Hey, man.”

“Didn’t expect you to be here,” he says. “Did you call out sick tonight or cancel on your date?” He tosses his bag down and sits on his bed, taking off his shoes.

I should’ve. Honestly, I should have never asked the girl out in the first place. It didn’t mean anything, but I still have this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Even as just a friendly get-together with the girl, it still felt wrong.

“Stella and I went out to dinner, then I took her back to the sorority house.”

“You worried about Ruby flipping a switch on you?”

My girl doesn’t even know about tonight, because my chickenshit ass didn’t have the heart to tell her. Every time I got the balls to say something, I couldn’t get the words past my lips. After what she said about me not dating, I already knew how she was going to feel about it. And I didn’t want her worrying about me falling for someone else.

“You didn’t tell her, did you?”

“Fuck, man.” I run my hands down my face. “I chickened out. I didn’t want to make her nervous, Matt. You know how girls can get. I didn’t want her worrying that I’m interested in someone else or looking. It’s not worth losing her trust over a stupid dare when the date meant nothing. It was just two people grabbing some food together.”

I could hear it in her voice the other night. She was so nervous. If I’d told her I was being forced to go on a stupid date, she would’ve begged me not to go. And that didn’t feel like an option. Hunter’s been breathing down my neck about it, so I went, not wanting to back down from his stupid dare. But with the way Matt’s looking at me, I know it was a huge mistake.

“The date with Stella literally was us eating and talking about Greek life. After dinner, I took her home, and that was that. But now I feel like shit for going behind Ruby’s back. I don’t know whether to tell her or let it go and pretend it never happened.”

I already know the answer to the question. I need to tell her. I need to beg for her forgiveness and reassure her that she has nothing to worry about.

“I think you should tell her.”

“I know. I just need to figure out how and when.” I need a few days for the dust from my nerves to settle and then I’ll figureout how to slip it into our conversation. Make sure I don’t make some dumb jock comment and fuck things up.

“If it makes you feel any better…” He sighs. “I royally fucked up tonight, too.”

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