Page 63 of Dared

Finn was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. I elbowed him, and he stopped laughing, taking both our empty glasses and placing them on an overflowing table to our left. “Sorry. Your face!”

“You know I don’t like aniseed.”

He couldn’t stop grinning, and I really didn’t know why I liked him. “I thought it was like the time you said you didn’t like Camembert, but then you tried it when my parents were having it, and you loved it.”

Folding my arms across my chest, I stared him down. “I’d never tried Camembert before, though, so it was a guess. IknowI hate aniseed.”

“Aww, little lion.” He slid around to my back, dipping his head to my ear. Curling his arm around my waist, he tugged me back against his body. “I’m sorry. I promise to never dare you to have anything aniseed-flavoured ever again.”

I shivered as his lips skimmed my ear. “You’d better keep that promise. I can still taste it in my mouth.”

He hummed against my skin. “How can I make it up to you? Want to dare me to do something?”

“You can get me a different drink to get rid of the taste.” Sliding my hand down his arm that was wrapped around me, I threaded my fingers through his. He kissed the spot just below my ear and then brought his free hand up to cup my jaw, turning my head towards his.

“Hi,” I said against his mouth.

“Hi.”

Our lips met, so fucking softly, and my stomach filled with butterflies. Twisting around in his grip to give me a better angle to kiss him properly, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pressing another kiss to his lips. I took him by surprise because he staggered backwards, laughing breathlessly against my mouth as he let me press him up against the wall in our dark little corner of the bar. Drawing me closer, he coaxed my mouth open with more soft kisses, and when our tongues finally met, I didn’t even mind the lingering taste of aniseed. I was so lost in Finn, and I never wanted to stop kissing him.

When we drew apart, he stared at me, his eyes huge and his pupils blown. “Fucking hell,” he muttered, and I had to kiss him again. It was a compulsion. I could feel the growing bulge in his jeans, and I was in a similar state—which was still mind-blowing because I’d never really had to worry about anything like this before Finn had started having this effect on my body.

“Okay. We need?—”

“To stop doing that before my situation becomes even more obvious?” Finn grimaced, discreetly adjusting himself, and I cleared my throat.

“In case you didn’t notice, you’re not the only one.”

He placed his mouth to my ear again. “I noticed. Don’t worry, I’ll do something about that later.”

“Finn. Stop teasing me.”

“Says the person kissing me and getting me into this state.”

My brows rose. “It’s my fault, is it?”

“Yeah.”He threaded his fingers through mine. “C’mon. Enough distractions in a public place. We’re here for your exposure therapy. I know we can’t get rid of the bad memories from last time, but I’m gonna make sure you leave here tonight with a smile on your face.”

“And no tears.”

His lips curved upwards. “Unless you cry with joy over my insane kissing skills.”

I punched him in the bicep, and he laughed, tugging me through the crowd in the direction of the room with the DJ. This was already so different from last time. I wasn’t alone and scared, for a start.

Finn led me right into the centre of the dance floor, and I had a sudden flashback to that night. Standing there, alone and on the verge of tears, watching Finn so at ease and happy with his friends, talking to that girl…

“What’s wrong?”

I blinked, realising I’d stopped dead, and Finn was eyeing me with concern.

“Nothing.”

He shook his head, pulling me closer so he didn’t have to speak so loudly over the music. “No, what is it?”

I knew he wouldn’t drop it. Thankful that the darkness camouflaged the heat in my face, I leaned into him. “It’s nothing, really. I was just remembering last time. I was standing at the side of the room watching you, and you looked really happy. You were talking to a girl?—”

Finn’s head shot up, his brows pulling together. His expression cleared after a few seconds, and he moved around me, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind, lazily moving us both to the music. I went with it, because, like pretty much everything else we did, it felt natural and effortless. Like it was a completely normal thing we did. Like there was no reason not to dance with him, right here, right now.

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