Page 23 of The Step Dare

I glance around, wondering if anyone’s overheard us, but he didn’t really say anything, and no one seems to give a fuck about the guy with his head in my lap.

“I’m not uncomfortable,” I tell him, which seems to please him.

As I take another hit, I notice this intense look in his eyes—determined, even—and it picks at something in me. Not just how horny Brenner’s made me, but that he’s hanging out with this Mila fucker. If he’s running around hooking up, then I’m free to do whatever I want too.

And no, this isn’t about petty vengeance. But if Gorgeous Smile Guy wants to do some of the things Brenner did with me, maybe that would help me get my mind off my future stepbro, which would be great for both of us. And really, this guy too.

Besides, he’s hot. And I’ve been chatting with him for less than five minutes, and he seems fun too.

“Your name is Taylor, right?”

“Christ, you seem to know a lot about me for a guy whose name I don’t even know.”

“Well, that’s something I can help you with. I’m Dax.”

Holy fucking hell.

I burst into a laugh. “No fucking way.”

Wild to think Brenner mentioned the guy before I came here. Too much of a coincidence.

His head shifts against my crotch. “What is it?”

“I know who you are.”

“We’ve definitely never met, so I’m assuming my reputation precedes me.”

“You know Brenner Dean?”

It takes him a moment, which tells me the guy’s likely got a list as long as Bren’s. I see the wheels spinning and the aha moment before he says, “Yeah, I know the guy. We hooked up last spring after chatting on Grindr. He leave me a glowing review?”

Now he’s got me smiling. “Oh yeah. You made the top five, for sure.”

“Top five? That mean I gotta kill four other fuckers?”

“It means I’m not telling you where you fall on the list, but you’re up there. He had fun. I thought you went to another school.”

“I was at Georgia State, but my brother goes here, and every time I’d come to visit, I’d get so fucking jealous, and the guys are so good to me, so I applied here. Then I was at a party—that Task Frat Challenge thing—and at an after-party, and oh my fuck, I had the best time. It was like the universe was telling me this is where I belong.”

“A lot of great sex?”

“It was more than that.” His eyes are all lit up, practically sparkling. “Let’s just say I had a ton of fun and learned this is where my kind of people are at.” I wait for him to explain, but he says, “So you and Brenner are good friends?”

“That’s an understatement. He’s my best friend.”

“Oh, wait, wait,” he says, readjusting his position, rolling toward me and resting his elbow next to my hip as he props himself up. “You the guy he had to text to tell you he wasn’t coming over to play…?”

“Remnant. Yes, that was me. I’m his best friend, and now his roommate too.”

“So how’s that work? Like when you bring people back to the apartment?”

I tense up. It’s something we talked about, but that was before we couldn’t stop getting each other off. “It hasn’t come up yet, but we figured we’d give each other a heads-up and a chance to beat it.”

“Like, you listen to each other and jerk off?”

“Not that kind of beat it!” I say, laughing again, and I can tell by his pleased expression he enjoyed making the pun. “It’s all good, though. I found someone else to playRemnantwith, and he told me all about you guys afterward. Well, notallabout it.”

I’m trying to backtrack, since maybe Bren shouldn’t share as much as he does about his sex life, but Dax says, “It’s cool. I don’t mind, and I’m sure I even said something to that effect to Brenner afterward. We’re similar. Chill about stuff like that.”

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