Page 36 of Dared

Fuck. Resigned, I climbed off my bed and pulled on the hoodie that was draped over the back of my gaming chair.

Steeling myself, I entered the student union, immediately accosted by a wall of noise and the smell of stale alcohol and too much perfume and aftershave in the air.

I sucked in a shaky breath as I hugged the wall, moving in the direction of the bar.No one’s looking at you, Leo.If I kept repeating it to myself, I might believe it.

Rationally, I knew no one was actually paying me any attention, too focused on themselves or whoever they were here with, but my brain was anything but rational. I could swear I felt hundreds of eyes on me, but every time I looked around, no one was watching me.

Eventually, though, I made it to the bar without incident. A tiny smile tugged at my lips as I leaned against the counter. I’d done it. I was here, at the student union, all on my own, and—oh, now I had to speak to someone so I could order a drink.

Gripping the pitted wooden counter, slightly sticky beneath my fingers, I swallowed hard.

“Leo!”

My head shot up, and I was confronted by the sight of Charlie grinning at me from behind the bar. I frowned, my nerves momentarily forgotten.

“What are you doing here?”

He laughed. “Working, obviously.”

“Yeah, but I mean, aren’t you supposed to be meeting Finn and the—the girls?”

“After my shift. I wasn’t supposed to be working at all tonight, but they asked me to cover the first hour of someone else’s shift because they couldn’t make it in time, and I couldn’t turn down the extra money. I’ve only got another fifteen minutes left, then I’ll join them.”

Oh. That made sense. “I didn’t know you worked here,” I said.

“I guess it never came up.” He shrugged. “Want a drink? I’ll give you mates’ rates.”

“Please. Uhh.” I stared at the taps and then at the rows of bottles behind Charlie.

“Vodka and Coke? A little caffeine buzz for energy and a hit of alcohol to give it a punch?”

“Okay. Yeah. Thanks.”

Shooting me a grin, he grabbed a glass and added the vodka and Coke along with a generous helping of ice. Sliding it across the bar, he nodded towards the card machine.

I unlocked my phone and held it to the reader. When the payment confirmation showed up, I realised he’d only charged me a pound. My gaze flew to his, but before I could say anything, he held a finger to his lips.

“Mates’ rates, remember? It’s good to see you here. Go and find your boy and let him know I’m on my way.”

“M-my boy?”

Charlie laughed at whatever my face was doing. “Yeah. Finn. You know him? Plays football. So high.” He held his hand in the air. “Normally seen joined at the hip with a certain redhead.”

My face was on fire. A sound came out of my mouth that was definitely not a squeak, and I escaped the bar as fast as I could. Whether Charlie had meant something innocent with that comment or not, it brought all my insecurities flooding back. Fuck. What was I even doing here?

You’re here to prove a point to yourself. And to see Finn.

This talking to myself in my head was getting old, fast.

I sipped my drink as I made my way through the student union, scanning the faces I passed to see if I could spot Finn anywhere. Even though I was second-guessing myself, I was determined to see this through. After about five minutes of circling, my nerves were a little more settled. I still hadn’t seen Finn, but I’d managed to convince myself that people really weren’t looking at me.

Smiling down at my drink, I ran straight into a wall.

“Watch it, dickhead!”

Two things registered instantly. I hadn’t run into a wall but a person—a huge man, to be precise—who was now glaring at me. And my entire front was now soaked with beer.

“I-I-I’m sorry,” I burst out.

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