Page 5 of The Dating Dare

“When your brother had the nerve to show his face here after writing that horrible review about Aubrey’s bakery, I told him he should drink Witch’s Brew, which gave heartless jerks permanent impotence.”

“You did not.” Seth laughed, incredulous. She was so awesome.

“Oh, yes, I did.” She cocked her hip to one side and planted a hand on her waist in an unmistakable badass pose.

“Well done. Landon definitely deserved that dig. As for me, I’ll stay far away from Witch’s Brew. I’m not a heartless jerk, but better safe than sorry,” he said with an exaggerated shiver. “So which brew would you recommend for me?”

“Let me think about that one.” Tara pinched her chin between her thumb and index finger, seeming to give it some serious thought. “Back at the wedding, I would’ve recommended Buzz Off for sure. But you’ve grown on me over the course of the evening. Don’t get smug. It just means I’m not quite ready to kick you to the curb.”

“Very kind of you,” Seth murmured wryly. “On the bright side, that means you’re not immune to my charms.”

“You know what? I’ll create a special brew for you, and call it Inflated Ego.”

“Ouch. Even if I did have an inflated ego, spending time with you is sure to bring it down a few notches.”

“It’ll be good for you. You know, it builds character,” she smirked. “But I’ll give you a break. Why don’t you have Buckle Down, our barrel-aged stout. I’m pretty proud of that one. It’s not perfect, yet, but it’s getting there.”

“I can’t wait to try some,” he said with genuine enthusiasm.

She filled a heavy snifter with dark, rich stout, finishing it with a thick, creamy head. It was the perfect pour. As she handed him the beer, his fingers skimmed across hers, and desire enflamed his entirebody. Her quick, indrawn breath told him she’d felt it, too. They stared at each other, unnerved by their reaction to each other. Their breathing became shallow as sexual tension wrapped around them.

Tara broke eye contact first, and poured herself a light golden brew in a chalice. She cleared her throat and held her cup toward him with a too-bright smile that belied what just happened between them. “Gun bae.”

The moment had passed, but his blood still pumped loudly in his ears. But following her cue to dismiss the flare of attraction, Seth clinked his glass against hers with an answering smile. “Cheers.”

His eyes widened after the first sip, then he took a slower sip with his eyes closed. It was full-bodied, rich, and just the right amount of bitter. One of the best damn beers he’d ever had.

“This is amazing. How is this not perfect?” His face scrunched up in confusion.

“The judges don’t think so. Weldon Brewery came in silver to Mountain Brewery’s gold in the wood-aged stout category for the last three competitions. I think I know why. Their finish is a smidgeon smoother,” she admitted grudgingly. “But I don’t want to sacrifice the bite of bitter coffee in my stout for the smoother finish. I’m getting there, though. I just need to fine-tune the malt and caramel ratio with the hops.”

“I hope you’re planning on beating them.”

“Hell, yeah. The next competition is at the San Diego Beer Festival, which is a good-sized event. That’ll be a good start,” she said. Seth leaned forward with his elbows on the counter and waited for her to continue. “But what I really want is to brew the best beers out there and have Weldon Brewery sweep gold medals for the top beer categories at the World Beer Cup. It’s the biggest beer competition out there, and we’re entering in the next couple years. If we establisha name for ourselves, we can start bottling our beer for retail sales. I want to put Weldon Brewery firmly on the map.”

“That’s fantastic.” Her talent, her strength, and her spirit blew him away. “You certainly have the drive to make it happen.”

“Maybe I overshot it a bit, but I definitely want to win the gold medal for the barrel-aged stout at this year’s San Diego Beer Festival. My IPAs have been doing great, so it’s time to let my stout shine.”

Seth raised his glass in salute and downed half of the beer. Tara lifted her own beer and finished it to the last drop.

“Whoa. What’s the rush? We’re not having a drinking contest.” He thought she was in a better mood, but her melancholy seemed to have stayed with her.

“Hmm.” She tapped her finger on her lips. “I like that idea.”

“What idea?” he asked, distracted by the soft give of her lips under her finger.

“Why, having a drinking contest, of course,” she said with a cheeky grin. “Why don’t we bet a hundred bucks to keep it interesting?”

“A hundred bucks? You’re not messing around.” Seth chuckled, enjoying her boldness. Then a brilliant idea lit up his mind.Dude, you’re a fucking genius. If it worked, he might get his spring fling with Tara after all. Reining in his excitement, he said casually, “Why don’t I suggest the game? Do you think you can handle some truth or dare?”

“Bring. It. On.”

CHAPTER TWO

“Here, let me switch out the glasses to something more civilized,” Tara said, reaching for his snifter. They were going to pass out before the game got interesting if they chugged from their full-sized glasses. “And we’ll both drink the white ale to keep the alcohol level even.”

“Sounds like a plan. Should I start?” He rubbed his hands together like he was relishing the thought of annihilating her.How precious. “Truth or dare?”

---