Page 29 of Dared

“Oh. Well, I guess he found out somehow. I guess…I don’t mind him knowing about that. I know the two of you like to rile each other up, but you don’t mean it, do you? I trust him. He’s a good guy.”

“Yeah, he is,” I said softly. “He knows when to back off, and believe it or not, he can actually be discreet when it matters. He’d never knowingly do anything to upset you, either.”

“Okay, then it’s not a problem.”

I shook my head. How was Leo taking this so well? Fuck, he’d changed so much in the time I’d known him. Around my family, especially. It really did feel like he was part of the family.

“If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.” Leo patted the bed. “Can we pretend to watch the rest of the movie?”

I took the hint, moving back into my original reclined position, and Leo smiled, curling back into my body again as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

It wasn’t long before his breathing slowed and his body went lax against me. It took me a while longer to fall asleep with so many thoughts running through my mind, but eventually, I succumbed, too.

13

“Leo?”

“Hmmm?” He was staring at the TV screen, not really paying me any attention, but I’djust received a text from Travis, the LSU football captain…

“I dare you to come to a team night with me.”

Leo’s eyes widened, and he turned to face me. “Why? I-I’m not part of the team, or?—”

“I dare you to come with me.”

He looked torn. “How many people will be there? What happens at a team night? Where is it?”

I tapped out a reply to Travis, asking who else was going. When my phone buzzed again, I scanned the text.

“Travis doesn’t know exact numbers because he said it depends on who brings friends or partners, but it won’t be the whole team. He says it’s gonna be a quiet one at his house, justgaming and chilling. I thought it could be a good thing. There’ll be enough people there that you won’t feel obligated to make conversation, and it’ll be relaxed, not like a party or anything. What do you think? Are you gonna accept my dare?”

“C-can we leave if it gets too much?”

Pulling him into me, I kissed the side of his head. It was getting far too easy to act like this around him. Half the time, I did it without even thinking—it was like a natural action that just happened. “We can leave whenever you want. You don’t even have to give a reason. Just say the word, and we’ll go.”

His arms came around my waist. He sighed. “Okay. I’ll come.”

So much for it being a quiet one. It seemed like most of the team had shown up at Travis’ house, and nearly everyone had brought someone with them. All the sofas and chairs were occupied, so I lowered myself to the floor in front of the TV, stretching out my legs in front of me. I nodded to Bennett, sprawled out next to me with Niccolò curled up in his lap.

“Alright, Ben?”

“Yeah. Tired. Did you finish the sustainability coursework?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. I think I’m about halfway through. You?”

“I’m almost done with mine, but I could do with another set of eyes on it. Want to read through each other’s work when we’re finished?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” I meant to continue speaking, but my attention was diverted by Travis calling my best friend’s name.

“Leo! You’re up next!”

My head swung to where Leo was leaning against the wall with JJ, who had apparently been dragged here by Niccolò. They’d been talking in a quiet corner ever since we’d arrived, and I’d been happy to leave Leo to it, knowing he’d message or come and find me if he needed me.

“M-me?” Leo stammered, his cheeks flushing, and I had to fight back the physical urge to go to him and wrap him up and hide him away from the world.

“Yeah, you’re up. It’s you, Niccolò, Liam, and Preston. Winner goes into the next round.” Travis tapped the whiteboard he’d been using to plot out theMario Kartrounds. We’d been randomly divided into groups of four and were taking turns to play a round. The overall winner would go into the second round, and so on, until everyone was eliminated. There was a crate of beer up for grabs for the winner, although for a group of footballers, it was the thrill of the competition we liked. And the winning, naturally.

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