Page 7 of Cowboy Crush
“Dare,” Summer says, smiling. She never turns down a dare.
“I dare you to jump into the pool.”
“Fine,” she says, standing up in the hot tub.
“From the roof,” Chloe adds on.
I gasp. “No!”
Chloe smiles wickedly while Summer seriously considers it.
“Guys, no! This is supposed to be a friendly game. I don’t want anyone hurt.” I grab ahold of Summer and force her to sit back down. I look over at Chloe. “No more tequila for you. You always get mean and stupid.”
Chloe sticks her tongue out. “So what, now we can only play truth or truth?”
“Yes. No more dares…unless they’re not dangerous,” I add on, rolling my eyes.
“Fine,” she agrees. “Jump in the pool, Summer. It’ll feel ice cold after being in the hot tub anyway.”
Summer gets up and jumps into the pool with a squeal. The cold water splashes our way and her head pops up out of the water. “I hate you. This water is freezing,” she says, swimming to the edge and pulling herself out. She’s back in the hot tub seconds later.
“Your turn, Chloe,” Summer says. “Truth or dare?”
She shrugs. “Truth.”
Summer looks at me with a grin before looking back her way. “Who really broke up with who? You or Travis?”
She doesn’t look amused by the question. In fact, she looks downright pissed off.
“Guys, why do you insist on playing this game. You two always get mad at one another,” I say, moving my head from side to side to crack my neck.
“Travis broke up with me, all right?”
“Why?” Summer asks.
Chloe lets out a long-drawn-out breath. “Because he found out about me and Sam the night of the football game.”
Summer laughs and claps. “I knew it. Told ya,” she says to me.
Chloe gasps. “You two were talking about it behind my back?”
“No,” I tell her. “Summer just asked me what had happened and I told her what you told me.” I shrug.
“And then I told her what I thought had happened. Turns out, I was right.” Summer beams.
“Fuck you both,” Chloe says, splashing us but seemingly not caring one way or another.
“Hey,” I say, splashing her back. And then everything gets dropped when a full on splash war ensues.
The night flies by with the margaritas in hand. We don’t call it a night until after midnight but when we finally do, we all make sure we make it to our beds. I take a shower before retiring to my room. I pull the blankets back and turn off the lights. I climb beneath the blankets and pull them up to my chin. Then I turn my head so I can look out the window. The moon is high in the sky and it’s big and bright, lighting up the night. I can see the tree line and the shadows. I can see the dark spot that is the pond. The sky is a midnight blue with a million brightly lit stars. It’s beautiful out here. I guess I better enjoy it while I can. Soon enough, the sky will be gone for me, drowned out by city lights and smog.
I take a deep breath and force my eyes to close. The moment it does, he fills my thoughts. Somehow, my thoughts run away from me and I re-envision the way our time at the bar could’ve gone. Instead of him blowing me off, we could’ve hit it off. The food I ordered would’ve gone cold as it sat on the bar, the two of us on the dance floor in one another’s arms. I remember his smell as he sat next to me and imagine the way it would settle over me as he held me against him. I can feel his callused hands scratching against my soft skin and it makes a chill run up my spine. I see myself putting my arms around his neck as we dance, and I can feel his raised scar. He looks into my eyes and I look into his. Slowly, he leans forward. I wet my lips and a moment later, he presses his lips to mine. It’s a long, slow, deep kiss that has the hair on the back of my neck standing on end.
He kisses me breathless and when he pulls away, the only thing I have to say is, take me to your place. The dream takes on a life of its own from there and the next thing I know, I’m waking from my dream, my body tingling in ways it shouldn’t be. My heart is racing and my lungs are doubling their pace. Everything about me is excited right now and there’s no way to let off the pressure. Annoyed with myself for letting the dream go so far, I roll onto my side and force my eyes to close. From there, I think about New York, my new job, apartment, and the epic life I’ll be living in three short months.
6
JAMESON
