Page 18 of Fall Hard

CHAPTERFIVE

Cocoa& Rumhad placed little tables outside, complete with chic gray umbrellas and chairs so its patrons could sit out in the sun without dying of heatstroke—something I knew Bryn appreciated slightly more than me. With her fair skin, it was a wonder she hadn’t already burnt. Though that probably had something to do with the twenty-minutes she’d spent slathering on sunscreen before we’d left. I kind of missed the AC inside actually, my thighs were sticking to my chair and I wondered whether Kit would give me staff discount if I went back inside to order a muffin. Anything for a moment of chilled air. The humidity was thick today, like breathing in soup, and I’d found my hand straying toward my inhaler more than once.

I looked longingly through the big glass window that made upCocoa & Rum’sfront-facing wall and sighed. Bryn had insisted on sitting outside because it was ‘such a nice day’, and she wasn’t wrong but I could feel several beads of sweat dripping uncomfortably between my breasts.

I’d made her the list, as requested, but she’d refused to look at it straight away, insisting I sleep on it to see if I could think of more to add. Truth be told, I had jotted down a couple of more adventurous things at about two in the morning after tossing and turning. But now I had to show her and I couldn’t help feeling strangely nervous as I sucked down my iced coffee. I really hadn’t had all that much to put down, my mind had gone blank the longer I spent trying to come up with things—I was kind of hoping Bryn would have suggestions.

“Let’s have it then.” Bryn didn’t wait for me to protest, just grabbed the small piece of paper from my hands and scanned it quickly before nodding as if satisfied. She looked up at me, her serious blue eyes in strange contrast to the cheery white sundress decorated with cute cherries she had chosen to wear out. The neckline was a sweetheart scoop and I had to work surprisingly hard to keep my focus from dropping too low. Anyone likely would have had the same problem, Bryn was stunning and that was just a fact. I probably looked like a slob in comparison—it was too hot today for me to care about make-up or pretty dresses, so I had thrown on my most lightweight pair of shorts and a strappy cotton cropped top with sneakers when Bryn had told me we were going out. It didn’t help that she’d given me approximately ten minutes notice.

I sniffed and nearly sneezed as I caught the scent of pollen, at least there hadn’t been any bugs trying to jump inside my coffee. That was another reason why I typically avoided sitting outside when I had food or drink to hand.

“So? What do you think?”

“All do-able,” Bryn said, watching me over the rim of her red sunglasses.

I bit my lip. “All of them?”

Was that a hint of a smirk on her mouth? “Yep.”

I tried not to think about item number four on the list and failed.Skinny dipping. All do-able.“Well, we don’t have to do all of them—”

Bryn shook her head at me and I cut my words short. Right. Pushing boundaries, loving life, yada yada.

“Fine,” I muttered and she grinned. “Why did we have to do this here?”

“Because I’m trying to build up a tan and,” she looked over my shoulder and interest lit her eyes as she pushed her sunglasses up into her hair, “you need practice.”

Practice? I had a bad feeling about where this was headed. “Bryn—”

“Not in charge,” she reminded me and I sighed but relented. “There’s a blonde girl two tables behind you sitting by herself. Go and get her number.”

“What? No.”

“Scared?”

“No.”

“Then do it. She’s cute and you need to remember that other girls exist beyond Jamie.”

“I know that.” I tried to keep the defensiveness out of my voice and did a poor job as Bryn cocked a brow.

“Oh? When was the last time you went on a date? Or sexted?”

“Sexted?”

I’d known it was a mistake to say the last aloud when Bryn leaned forward excitedly. “Add it to the list.”

“No.”

“Adding it,” she mouthed as she snagged a pen from somewhere inside her purse—why she carried one around was beyond me. The only thing I kept in my purse was an inhaler for emergencies, my phone, my ID, and some cash.

“If you’re that desperate for me to date, why haven’tyouasked me out?” I mused and wished I hadn’t asked when most of Bryn’s cheer evaporated, her hand pausing above the paper before she set it down without writing anything.

“Generally I kind of prefer the girls I like to like me back.” She shot me a dry look and I tried not to cringe. “So as a rule, I don't date girls who are in love with someone else. Bad for my ego. Plus, I don’t want to be anyone’s second choice.”

I looked at her, alarmed. “I didn’t mean—”

“I know. Now stop stalling and go and ask your girl out.”

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