Page 23 of Dared

“You’re the only friend I’ve kissed,” he told me, his face going even redder, and I just wanted to comfort him, to make him feel better. Was this how he felt with me?

“That’s because I’m your best friend. Special privileges.” Fuck. Did he consider me his best friend? I definitely considered him as mine.

His gaze shot to mine, and a tiny, reluctant smile tugged at his lips. “Yeah. You are my best friend,” he said seriously.

“I’ve never had a best friend before.”

“Leo.” He lunged forwards, hugging me again, but it was over as quickly as it had started. He cleared his throat again. “Okay. Enough of that. Let’s get on with this dance. I’ve got a lecture in fifty minutes, and it’s probably gonna take you that long to teach me the first move.”

“Yeah.” Straightening up, I restarted the music. “Let’s do this.”

10

Sanctuary was unlike any club I’d ever been in. Everything about it was high-end, from the rich midnight blues and deep blacks to the burnished gold accents. As I pushed through the crowds towards the bar, my fingers wrapped around Leo’s wrist so we didn’t lose each other, I reminded myself of why I was here. For Leo. And to a lesser extent, for my dare, to perform my dance in front of people.

And the girls. Speaking of…

There they were, drinks in hand, standing around a high table with Charlie and my teammates Freddie and Levi, as well as Levi’s boyfriend, Asher. Charlie noticed me first, and I lifted my hand in acknowledgement before pointing to the bar and miming myself drinking. He gave me a thumbs up, and I continued to weave through the crowds, tugging Leo with me until we reached the bar.

Releasing Leo’s wrist, I placed my hand on his back, leaning in to be heard over the thumping music.

“What do you want to drink?”

He stared around us, wide-eyed, before shaking his head. “I have no clue. This is my first time in a club. I-I don’t?—”

Fuck, his whole body had completely stiffened, and was that panic in his eyes? I slid my hand from his back to the side of his waist so my arm was curled around him, and he immediately leaned into me.

“I’ll choose,” I assured him, and he nodded, some of the tension leaving him. Keeping it simple, I ordered us two beers, which were ridiculously expensive compared to the prices in my usual student haunts, and I was glad I hadn’t gone with anything more complex.

Turning his head so his lips brushed over my ear, he murmured a soft “Thanks,” accepting the drink, and I suppressed a weird shiver.

Get a fucking grip, Finn. Drawing back from him, I gripped his wrist again, leading him over to the table where the others were waiting for us.

“You made it!” Daisy threw her arms around me, and after a second where I stood there frozen, completely unprepared for her level of friendliness, I patted her back with my free hand. Over her shoulder, I saw Millieblatantlyeye-fucking Leo, who was giving her a shy smile.

I gritted my teeth.

Okay, my friend looked good tonight. I’d helped him pick out the outfit. He’d kept it simple, with dark jeans and a plain black sleeveless T-shirt. He’d wrapped a leather band studded with silver around his wrist, and he’d done something with his hair to make it look, in his words, “less of an overgrown mess.” I liked his hair as it was anyway, but whatever product he’d used was making the red and gold tones seem like they were almostglowing. With his huge green eyes, all that pale skin, those freckles scattered across the bridge of his nose and cheeks, his defined cheekbones and plush lips… He was fucking hot. I could admit that. Not that I’d say it aloud because that would be a whole other awkward mess, and I didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.

Anyway, the point was, yes, he looked good, but did Millie have to eye-fuck him that obviously? Didn’t she know she was making him feel uncomfortable?

Or was she? Absentmindedly releasing Daisy, I studied them. No, Leo was actually leaning into Millie, his smile widening as she said something in his ear.

My jaw tightened. Spinning away, I greeted the boys, diving into a conversation about our upcoming match against Greenwich Uni. Daisy happily joined in, and she had several surprisingly good insights for someone who didn’t play. It turned out that as well as having a football-playing brother, she and Sophie had both played on a girls’ football team when they were younger. They’d gone to the same school, along with Millie, who hadn’t played football but who had religiously attended every one of their games to support them.

So, to recap. Daisy. Very pretty. Knew a lot about the sport I played. A nice, supportive friend. Athletic—which was my type, according to Ander. All the boxes were being ticked, and I couldn’t work out why I wasn’t more intrigued by her.

I was a lost fucking cause tonight, too in my head, worrying about Leo. Daisy deserved better, and with that in mind, I decided to be a good wingman. I’d seen the way Charlie’s friend Freddie had been looking at her—the same way Millie was looking at Leo—and so I turned to him.

“Hey, Freddie. Have you told Daisy about the initiation thing you did for her brother Pete when he joined the first team?”

They smiled at each other, and I stepped back.

“Bar,” I said, holding up my beer bottle, which was still mostly full. Without waiting for anyone to answer me, I pushed into the crowds, losing myself in a sea of anonymous bodies while I tried to get my head together. I drank as I walked, making a circuit around the large dance floor. Reaching a roped-off set of glass stairs leading upwards, I paused. Charlie had mentioned something about a VIP area, so I guessed I’d found the entrance. The bouncer standing at the bottom of the stairs shot me a look that clearly communicated “don’t even think about it,” so I continued my circuit, coming back up to the table. Leo was still deep in conversation with Millie, and I was honestly so fucking relieved and proud of him. I knew he’d be okay, but something inside me settled, seeing the visual proof in front of me.

Millie noticed me approach, and she said something to Leo, who looked up. When our eyes met, he smiled, wide and bright and happy, and I got weirdly emotional. This was how he should always be. Happy.

“Anyone wanna dance?” Charlie suggested when I reached the others. I glanced over at Leo, who was nodding, and so I ditched my beer bottle and followed everyone onto the dance floor. We found a relatively empty space and shuffled around to the music until Levi muttered something and disappeared. He came back with a tray of shots, the tiny glasses brimming with something green and lethal-looking, and instructed us all to drink them. He’d got us two each, and they burned as they went down. My eyes watered after the first one, and after the second, I was coughing, but I could feel the alcohol taking effect almost straight away.

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