Page 82 of Dare You To (Pushing the Limits 2)
Withdrawn into my own head, I hadn’t noticed that we’d entered her uncle’s woods.
“Sorry. ”
I place Beth on her feet, snatch both six-packs from her hands, and stalk in the direction of her house. Scott all but bought billboard signs announcing that alcohol was off-limits for Beth.
Lucky for her, I drove along the creek toward Scott’s property. Otherwise, it could have been one hell of a walk—for her.
Something tells me she’s not the outdoorsy type.
She stays a few steps behind and I appreciate the silence. Fall crickets chirp and a slight breeze rustles through the leaves on the trees. Right over the next hill is Scott’s pasture and his back barn. A twig snaps behind me as Beth rushes to my side. “Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you home. ”
A light grip pulls on my biceps. “The hell you are. ”
I stop, not because Beth’s touch halts me, but because I find her attempt to physically stop me amusing. “You’ve fulfilled your obligation. You came to the party, now I’m taking you home. We’re done. I don’t have to look at you. You don’t have to look at me. ”
Beth bites her lower lip. “I thought we were starting over. ”
What the hell? Isn’t this what she wanted— to be left alone? “You hate me. ”
Beth says nothing, neither confirming nor denying what I said, and the thought that my words are true causes my heart to clench.
Screw it. I don’t have to understand her. I don’t need her. I turn my back to her and push forward—through the tall grass of the pasture, toward the red barn.
“Have you ever drunk alone?” she asks.
I freeze. When I don’t answer, she continues, “It sucks. I did it once—when I was fourteen.
It makes you feel worse. Alone. My friend…”
She falters. “My best friend and I agreed that we’d never drink alone again. We promised we’d have each other’s backs. ”
It’s weird to hear Beth talk so openly and part of me wishes she’d go back to being foulmouthed and rude. She seems less human then. “Is there a reason why you’re telling me this?”
The grass rustles as she fidgets. “Six of those beers are mine and I have a little more than four hours to curfew. I guess I’m saying we could call a truce for tonight and neither one of us have to be alone. ”
“Your uncle Scott would crucify me. ”
“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. ”
I glance over my shoulder and watch as she weaves through the flowing grains to reach me.
“I swear I have more to lose than you do.
He won’t know. ”
Mud spots her face, cakes in her hair, and stains her clothes. Half of that mud Beth gained on our trip in. I should have told her what she looked like before we went to the party, but Beth was laug
hing. Smiling. I selfishly held on to the moment.
On top of that, Isaiah said I made her cry. I assess the small beauty in front of me. There’s more to her, I know there is. I saw it in her eyes when she laughed with me in the Jeep.
Felt it in her touch as we danced.
I must be losing my mind. “One beer. ”
Beth
