Page 12 of Dared

“You can. It was on sale anyway, and I can’t return it.” Technically, Icould, but I wasn’t going to.

“I-I don’t know what to say.” Stroking his hand over the top of the chair, he spun it around, staring at it with huge green eyes.

I gently gripped his shoulders, manoeuvring him so I could push him down onto the chair. My smile was so wide it made my face ache. “Don’t say anything. Let’s play.”

6

“Let me get this straight. Finn, aka the shoe ruiner, has been daring you to do things for months now, and it’s helping you to gain confidence? And I’m only just finding out about it now?” JJ arched a brow at me.

“Well…kind of? Not exactly. He knows about my, y’know, shyness, and…yeah, he dares me to do something about it. Okay, here’s an example. The dance showcase a few weeks ago. He dared me to go out there and just dance like no one was watching me. It sounds weird, but it worked. I kept his words in mind, and I just…danced.”

“Hey, if it works.” JJ smiled briefly, but then his brows pulled together. “What’s in it for him?”

Good question. I genuinely believed Finn had no ulterior motives, though. What would he have to gain?

“Nothing. I mean, I told him I’d help him out if he needed anything to do with computing, or dance help, or whatever, but he’s doing it because he’s nice?” It wasn’t supposed to come out like a question, but it had the unintended effect of chasing away JJ’s suspicion.

He gave an exaggerated sigh as we approached the training pitch. “I suppose that means I’ll have to forgive him for ruining my shoes. The sacrifices I make.” Shaking his head, he continued before I could say anything. “Don’t give me that look. I’m joking, I promise. Seriously, babe, if this is working for you, keep it up. You know I’m here for you, whatever happens. Even if I’m not with you in person, you know you can text or call me anytime.”

“I know. Thank you.” I glanced over at my friend, feeling a rush of warmth. “I never said thank you. Before. That day we first met at the uni open day, when you told me there was nothing stopping me from adding a dance module to my degree course.”

A wide smile spread across his face. “All you needed was a little push. You had it in you. You just had to believe in yourself.” Surprising me, he slung his arm around my shoulders. “Do that today, and you’ll be fine. I’ll be here.”

“I can do this.” I nodded decisively and then repeated my words in an attempt to convince myself. I’d danced in front of a packed auditorium, so why was the thought of potentially meeting some of Finn’s teammates so nerve-racking? Fucking hell, I was a mess.

We took seats on the benches at the side of the training pitch, sliding in next to Niccolò, who I guessed was there to watch his boyfriend, Bennett, who was on Finn’s engineering degree course. Finn had coached me on all the team members and any significant others who might be hanging around the pitch, so I had a general idea of who everyone was. Finn thought it would help me to feel more at ease if I at least knew them by sight, andI’d met Niccolò several times in passing, thanks to the fact he was JJ’s best friend.

JJ himself wasn’t involved with anyone on the team, other than having two footballers as housemates, but he’d come with me for moral support. I secretly hoped his boyfriend wouldn’t show up today. That man was scary. Not to mention, he was one of the LSU lecturers. But JJ had heart eyes every time Dr. Wilder was around him, and it was clear how much they loved each other, so I didn’t begrudge him his happiness. If anyone deserved it, it was JJ. My usual strategy was to find something urgent to do far away whenever Dr. Wilder appeared in my vicinity.

“Hi, JJ. Hi…JJ’s friend. I don’t think we’ve met.”

My eyes widened at the soft, curious voice coming from the formerly empty space to my right. I turned in slow motion, as if I could delay the inevitable. I could already feel my face heating, and I cursed internally.

“H-h-hi,” I managed, taking in golden-brown hair in a long, swinging ponytail and a bright smile before I lowered my gaze to my hands.

My hands…which were shaking.

I breathed out, sliding them under my thighs so they wouldn’t betray me. The girl who’d taken a seat next to me didn’t seem to notice anything wrong because she kept talking.

“I haven’t seen you here before. Who are you here to watch? I’m Sophie. First-year photography student. My older brother Nate’s on the team, but between you and me, I’m here to watch Charlie. Do you know him? He’s not on the team, but he’s training with them for one of his uni modules, isn’t that interesting?” she rushed out. “Oh, these are my friends and course mates, Daisy and Millie. Daisy’s brother Pete’s also on the team, and Millie’s here to watch cute footballers.” She laughed, and I swallowed hard. On my left, JJ pressed his thigh againstmine in a deliberate movement, reminding me he was here, and I gathered my courage. Or whatever passed for courage.

“I-I’m Leo. Um. I’m in my second year. Com—computing. I’m here for Finn. It—it’s my first time here.”

“Oh, Finn! Friend or boyfriend?”

My gaze flew to hers, finding only a friendly curiosity there. Boyfriend? Where would she get that idea from? Then again, this teamdidseem to have an unusually high proportion of players with boyfriends, so I guessed it was a probable conclusion. Probable, but completely incorrect.

“Friend. W-we play games online.” As soon as I said the words, the colour drained from my face. Panicked thoughts whirled through my mind. Why had I said that? Was I supposed to come across as cool? Was Finn keeping his gaming a secret? Fuck, had I messed things up for him?

“You do? What do you play?” Millie leaned around Sophie. “I playLesath Legendssometimes, and so does Daisy. Sophie even joins us occasionally, although she prefersThe Sims.”

“You playLesath Legends?” For once in my life, my shock pushed aside my shyness. These girls were gamers?

“Don’t get her started on the hot vampire character.” Sophie rolled her eyes, although she was smiling. “Tell you what. I’ll just switch seats with Millie, and she can tell you all about it.”

Oh, fuck. No. I wasn’t ready to have an actual conversation. Before I could, I dunno, run away and hide behind the nearest building, Sophie was rising to her feet, and Millie was sliding along the bench into her vacated space. I could feel my heart rate picking up, and I was struggling for breath.

Why am I like this? Please, please don’t freeze up, I begged myself.

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