Kiss Me Quick! (Larkspur #3.5)

1. One

One

W il grimaced as he swallowed the mandatory entry shot of tequila before elbowing his way through the doorway into the crowded frat house, narrowly missing bumping into a couple making out just inside the foyer. With a muttered apology that was ignored, he squeezed past, aiming for the kitchen where he knew there would be a keg. Of course, the party was well underway, so the beer wouldn’t be that cold, but he’d picked up an extra shift at the bar where he worked part-time. He didn’t mind being late, as all the best parties didn’t start until after ten.

“Dude, you made it,” one of the frat brothers, Chris, said, offering a fist, which Wil promptly bumped.

“Yeah, picked up an extra shift, but I’m here now,” Wil said, grabbing a solo cup from the stack on the end of the counter.

“Fresh keg has just been tapped,” Chris told him, and Wil gave him a grateful smile before filling his cup.

Settling back against the counter, Wil nodded to the front of the house. “Got a good crowd in tonight.”

“Last party before midterms kick our butts.”

“Tell me about it,” Will agreed. He was up-to-date with his course work, but cramming for midterms wasn’t his favorite thing.

“You going anywhere for Spring Break?” Chris asked him.

“Just heading home to LA.”

“Thought you were from San Francisco?”

“North of there, but yeah. Got some family stuff to do in LA, though, so heading there this time round.”

“You flying or driving?”

“Driving. Dad offered to pay for flights, but it’s only six hours, and I enjoy the drive. It gives me time to decompress a little.”

Chris nodded, his attention straying as a cheer went up from the front room. “Wanna go see what’s happening in there?”

Wil gestured with his cup to lead the way. Entering the room, Wil couldn’t immediately see what people were cheering about, but then a chant went up from a small nook in the far corner.

“Dare! Dare! Dare!”

Chris threw him a grin. “Ah, ye old classic Truth or Dare.”

Wil followed Chris over to where roughly a dozen people were gathered on comfortable cushions and bean bags with a box of truth or dare playing cards in the center.

“I dare you to do a headstand and hold it for thirty seconds,” a petite blonde was saying to a muscle-bound jock, waving a card in her hand.

The jock in question rolled on to his knees before slowly staggering to his feet. “I accept,” he said, staring her in the eye. The blonde clapped her hands in glee.

“Give him some space,” someone said, and everyone shuffled back, not wanting to be in the firing line if—more like when—the guy failed.

The jock, who Wil recognized as one of the football team, hitched his jeans up before rolling his shoulders. He sank into a crouch, placing his hands on the floor. With a deep breath, he lowered his head and cautiously lifted one foot. Encouraging shouts filled the air, and the group gasped as he swayed before regaining his balance. A second deep breath, and then he pushed up with his other foot and got himself into an upright position.

“Go, Cody!” one of his teammates encouraged.

“Timer has started,” Cody’s challenger called. Cody wobbled again, but held his position. A countdown began, and Wil joined in, impressed with the guy’s core strength.

“Time!” With a loud cheer, Cody carefully lowered his legs, stood, and took a bow before pointing to the now-laughing girl.

“Drink up, Jenni.”

She raised her cup in salute and downed the contents.

“Who’s next?” Cody asked.

“You guys gonna join us?” Jenni asked, looking at Wil and Chris.

“I am,” Chris said, dropping onto a cushion beside her. “Come on, Wil,” he encouraged.

“I’ve had half a beer. I don’t think I’m drunk enough,” Wil said.

“Nah. Come on. You’ll catch up soon.”

With a shrug, Wil found a seat in the circle, settling back into one of the beanbags.

Thirty minutes later, he was cheering with the others as another dare was completed.

“Wil, you’re up next. Truth or dare?”

Wil thought for a moment. He didn’t know these guys well enough to risk a truth. “Dare,” he replied, leaning forward in anticipation.

A junior Wil recognized from one of his classes plucked a card from the box. Her eyes widened as she read the dare, and a trickle of apprehension ran through Wil. Most of the dares had been pretty tame, but he knew some were not.

“Okay, Wil, I dare you to kiss the next person who walks through the door.”

Hmm, not too bad, and Wil nodded.

“Wait, there’s more,” Chris said, reading over her shoulder.

Wil froze. “More?”

“Yep. The full dare is to kiss the next person who walks through the door, for thirty seconds… with tongue.”

“Does it really say that?” Wil asked, not trusting his friend.

With a grin that was entirely too evil, Chris flipped the card around so Wil and everyone else could read it. There, in bright yellow writing on a dark blue background, were the words that Chris had read out.

“Okay then. If that’s the dare, then that’s the dare.” Wil pushed to his feet. “However, I do add one caveat.”

“I don’t think you can change the terms of a dare, bro,” Cody protested.

“I’m not changing the terms, but adding to it.”

“What do you want to add?”

“The person I’m kissing has to consent. I’ll forfeit if the person I’m meant to kiss doesn’t consent.”

There were murmurs of agreement around the circle. “Good point. Addition granted.”

“Wait, what if it’s a guy?” the junior asked.

“I’m an equal opportunity kisser,” he told her with a wink.

As cheers rose from the crowd gathered, Wil noticed a small moue of distaste cross the features of the girl who’d read out his dare. Wil turned away, not giving a shit. He didn’t publicize his bi-sexuality, but he didn’t hide it either. If she didn’t like the idea of two guys kissing, then that was her issue, not his.

He surveyed the room before turning back to the group. “Okay, which door am I using?” he asked, pointing first to the entrance into the room from the foyer and then to the door leading from the kitchen he and Chris had used.

There was some hearty discussion before Jenni suggested they toss a coin.

“Who the fuck’s got a coin on them?” Cody asked. The question made everyone pause before someone piped up that they had a heads or tails app on their phone. After much scrabbling, they brought the app up, and a few moments later, heads decided that the door from the foyer was the one to be used.

Wil rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath. “Right. Let’s do this. The next person to walk in from the foyer, I will kiss for thirty seconds—”

“With tongue,” Chris reminded him.

Wil gave a nod. “With tongue.”

Wil turned back towards the door, which, of course, now he needed someone to walk through it, was completely empty. The group behind him shuffled around so they could see better.

“Seriously? Where the hell is everyone?” someone grumbled.

Wil turned back to them. “How long have I got to complete the dare?”

“What about if no one comes through the foyer door in the next two minutes, then we switch to the kitchen door?” Jenni suggested. “Otherwise, we could be here all night.”

“Agreed.”

***

Ben nursed his solo cup, hoping nobody noticed he was drinking water and not vodka. He wasn’t averse to alcohol, but he’d already knocked back a couple of shots before coming to the party, and then there’d been the shot of tequila at the door. He’d surreptitiously filled his cup with water to wash the taste away, not being a huge fan of the spirit.

Scanning the room, he spied his missing roommate, Emory, leaning against the opposite wall, chatting with a cute blonde girl. Ben gave an internal sigh. Emory had dragged him out to the party, telling him he needed to do more than study and work. That college life was about living. Ben agreed with him, and he did go out and socialize, but rarely at frat parties and not usually so close to exam time.

As he wasn’t going to see much of Emory tonight, he decided to wander around and see if there was anyone else here he knew. He’d been to this frat house before and knew the general layout of the place. Music was pumping from the front room, and he recognized the song being played as one of his current favorites. Whoever was on music duty tonight had good taste. Eclipse was an indie band that’d been around for a couple of years was just getting noticed. Their latest single was gaining traction after it was used as a sample on a popular video-based social media app.

Dodging out of the way of two guys chasing each other through the house, he moved towards the music, hoping to find a kindred spirit to talk to. As he stepped through the doorway, a huge cheer went up from a group of people in the corner.

“Woohoo!”

“He’s cute!”

“Go, Wil!”

Ben frowned, not understanding the commotion. Movement drew his attention to a tall guy walking towards him wearing a faded band tee and equally faded jeans. Ben’s stomach dipped as the guy smiled at him, a dimple popping on his cheek as he pushed a soft, dark curl back off his forehead.

The guy stopped a few feet away.

“Um, hey. My name’s Wil.”

“Umm. Hi?” Ben replied warily, not really sure why people were cheering and why this guy Wil was introducing himself.

“I know this is going to sound really weird, but we’re playing truth or dare, and I’ve been dared to kiss the next person to walk into the room.”

Ben glanced back to where he’d just come from, then at Wil, and finally over Wil’s shoulder to the group of grinning people watching intently.

“Y… y… you want to kiss me?” Ben stammered out, wondering what alternate reality he’d fallen into where a gorgeous guy wanted to kiss him. And Wil was gorgeous. He was a few inches taller than Ben’s five foot ten, with a swimmer’s build and long, rangy muscles. Soft brown curls fell around his ears, and bright blue eyes shone with kindness.

“Only if you don’t mind,” Wil reassured him. “If you don’t consent, then no harm, no foul.”

Ben blinked at the man standing in front of him. He vaguely recognized him from around campus, but they ran in different circles. With a student body of over five thousand people, it wasn’t unusual that Ben didn’t know him.

“Come on, Wil! What are you waiting for?” someone called out. “Kiss the man!”

He stuck out his hand. “Hi. My name’s Ben.”

“Hi, Ben.” A warm, slightly calloused hand engulfed his. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same. So, your dare is to kiss me?”

A slight flush colored Wil’s cheeks. “I have to kiss the next person who enters the room for thirty seconds, with… ah… tongue.”

Ben faltered for a second as he heard the full terms of the dare. He stared at Wil, seeing nothing but kindness. A small frown furrowed his brow as he waited for Ben’s response. Ben didn’t not like the idea of kissing Wil with tongue, but it was rather intimate for a first kiss. First kiss? It would likely be his only kiss. Making his mind up, he nodded.

“And you’re okay with the fact I’m a guy?” he asked. Nothing about Wil’s demeanor showed that he was put off by the fact a male rather than a female had walked through the door. Still, Ben wanted to be sure before he let anyone kiss him.

Wil’s eyes never left his as he responded. “No. Definitely don’t have a problem with that at all.”

Okay then. What did he have to lose? Being kissed by a gorgeous guy may not have been on his bingo card for tonight, but hey, who was he to turn down an opportunity he wasn’t ever likely to get again.

“In that case, then yes, Wil, I’ll kiss you so you can complete your dare.”

A bright smile lit up Wil’s face. “Great. Ah. I mean, thanks.” He turned towards the group, watching intently from behind him. “Guys, this is Ben, and he has agreed to the dare.”

A cheer went up. “I’ve got the timer ready,” one of them said.

“Are you okay, to… um… do this here?” Wil asked.

“Ah. Yeah. I s’pose so,” Ben said with a shrug. “I mean, I’m not one for making out with an audience, but I guess they need to witness the dare?”

“Well, technically, they don’t, as it’s not in the wording, but knowing them, they’re not going to let us get away with not watching.” Wil scanned the room before reaching out and offering his hand. “How about we head to the corner? It’ll give us a little privacy.”

Ben looked to where Wil was looking and nodded his agreement. The corner of the room was cast in shadow and perfect to give them a modicum of privacy. He allowed Wil to lead him away from the doorway he was standing in.

“Where are you going?” one guy called out.

“Just to the corner. You can still see us, but we’d like a little privacy,” Wil told him.

“That’s not in the rules,” a short blonde girl protested.

“Neither is being on full public display,” Wil retorted with a raised eyebrow. His delivery was so self-assured that Ben wondered if Wil was pre-law. He definitely had an air about him that would command any courtroom.

“Don’t try to argue with him, Bonnie. His mom is a lawyer,” someone said.

Wil turned his back on his friends with an eye roll. “Ignore them,” he said as he maneuvered Ben so his back was to the wall and his view of the room obscured by Wil’s rangy frame.

Ben’s heart rate ticked up as Wil’s hand came to rest against the side of his neck. A calloused thumb stroked along Ben’s jaw, and he swallowed noisily.

“You can still say no,” Wil said quietly.

“N… no, you’re good,” Ben stammered out.

“You don’t know that yet,” Wil said with a wink and a smirk.

Ben relaxed a little at the teasing. He reached to put his hands on Wil’s trim waist, belatedly realizing he was still holding his cup.

“Here,” Wil said, taking the cup from him and placing it on the nearby bookstand.

“Thanks,” Ben said, his voice husky with nerves.

“Ready?”

Ben nodded and lifted his chin as Wil leaned in to meet his mouth with his own. Warm lips brushed against his, tenderly teasing. Ben was faintly aware of a cheer from across the room, but that faded as the tip of Wil’s tongue whispered against his bottom lip.

Ben reflexively opened to the silent prompt, and heat rushed through him as Wil slowly and gently deepened the kiss. Ben’s arms wrapped around Wil’s waist, his hands sliding up Wil’s muscular back to draw him closer.

He thought he heard a soft moan from Wil as the other man tightened his grip on Ben’s nape, holding him in place as his mouth was plundered. Ben returned the kiss, his own tongue darting out to meet Wil’s. He could taste the slight tang of the beer Wil had obviously been drinking, and he was surrounded by a warm, masculine scent that made him want to bury his nose into Wil’s curls. Desire bloomed through him as Wil’s hips met his.

Before he could embarrass himself by climbing Wil like a tree, Wil slowed the kiss, pulling away with a final soft peck. Ben hoped he didn’t look as flushed as he felt as he gazed up at Wil, noticing that the other man’s eyes were dark with desire.

“You okay?” Wil asked, his voice rough.

Not trusting his voice, Ben nodded, only then realizing that Wil still had his hand against his neck. Unable to tear his eyes away from Wil’s, his hands involuntarily clutched at Wil’s waist. He wanted to explore the taut body under the worn t-shirt.

Wil’s tongue swept along his full lower lip as if he was trying to savor the taste of Ben’s mouth.

“Dare completed!” A loud voice behind Wil pulled them both from the bubble they had created. “Well done, Wil, and thanks, Ben, for being such a good sport.”

“Thanks,” Wil said quietly, his hand falling away, and Ben immediately missed his touch.

“Anytime,” Ben replied, loosening his grip on Wil so he could step away.