26. Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Six
Drew
Seven Years Ago
Drew kicked a stray pebble off the wooded path where he was walking with Bri.
“We should play a game,” she suggested.
“Wanna play truth or dare? I’m always down for a childhood classic.”
Bri snorted. “Remember when you dared me to stick Phillip’s hand in warm water while he was sleeping? I can’t believe we convinced him he peed his bed.”
“Good times. Do you want to go first?”
“Sure. Truth or dare?” she asked.
“Let’s start it off with a dare.”
She looked at the wooded landscape around them. “I dare you to climb that tree.” Bri pointed to one nearby, just off the path.
“I could do that in my sleep,” he said easily, trying to impress her. He jogged over and tested out his weight on a lower branch, making sure it was stable enough to hold him before he started to climb. With little effort, he ascended the tree until he was about six feet off the ground. Drew looked back at her with a pleased grin.
She clapped for him as he made his way back to solid ground. He wiped his hands on his basketball shorts as he approached her.
“All right, your turn.”
“Dare, of course.”
He should’ve known that’s what she’d pick. Bri was the most adventurous person he knew.
Drew didn’t want today’s game to be all about adventure, though. He’d had a purpose for today’s game…to learn if his best friend returned the more-than-friendly feelings he had for her. If she gave him the smallest hint of evidence that she might have a crush on him too, maybe it would give him the courage to take the final step and ask her out on a proper date.
“I dare you to make up a rap about me, discussing my best features.”
Bri turned to face him, raising one of her perfectly sculpted brows. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “Or you could take the punishment.” Drew knew she would never say no to a dare, but she would definitely never admit defeat and take the punishment.
“Oh, that’s low.”
Drew smirked. “I’m not the one who broke a priceless antique vase gifted by the Queen of England.”
She shoved his shoulder. “You were the one chasing me around the corner of the hallway.”
“Then I guess neither of us can ever take the punishment and admit the truth to your parents.”
“Fine, let me think about this rap.” After a few quiet minutes, she ran a few steps ahead and turned around, walking backward as she started to rap.
“Let me tell you some things about my best friend, Drew. He’s always there for people when they’re blue. I have to admit, he’s the hardest worker I know. No, he’s not your average teenage Joe Schmo. He’s as steady and constant as the Northern Star. With him by my side, I know I can go far.”
Drew applauded as she said the final line, even though his shoulders drooped.
Supportive. Hardworking. A reliable friend. Those were all great compliments but not what he wanted to hear from the person with whom he wanted so much more.
Where were the comments about how attractive he was or how he had kissable lips? The kind of stuff all the great romance authors wrote about.
“Bri Bear regrets to announce her retirement as a rap star. Thank you and goodnight.” She curtsied to her audience of one.
“Aw, man, already? You were just getting started.”
Bri rolled her eyes. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“What was your first impression of me?”
“I thought you had more energy than anyone I’d ever met.”
She laughed lightly. “My parents called me the Energizer Bunny for a reason. I never stopped moving.” Her expression grew more curious. “What’s your impression of me now?”
You’re the most beautiful person, inside and out.
“You’re the most fun and kind person, and I’m lucky to know you.”
Bri held her hand to her heart. “Aw, thanks. See, I don’t need to write a rap in the future to share the kind of person you are.”
His lips tilted in a crooked grin. “I much prefer hearing it in rap form though.” He waved his hand in front of him. “All right, truth or dare?”
“Let’s go with truth this time.”
His eyebrows raised. “I think that might be the first time you’ve ever picked truth.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
He cocked his head to the side as he thought about what question he could ask. If he was brave, he would ask her if she had a crush on anyone, but he wasn’t—not after she’d said he was a supportive friend, firmly placing him in the friend zone. He could still ask a question more in the realm of dating—something he wouldn’t normally dare ask her.
“Who was your first kiss?”
“Lord Sutherland.”
He pressed his lips together as he looked at her, biting back nausea at the thought of her kissing someone else.
She stared at him intently. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Drew shrugged. “I didn’t know you’d kissed anyone.”
“We’ve never really shared dating info with each other. But I’m sixteen… I feel like that’s a normal age for a first kiss. I don’t plan on it happening again with him, though.” She grimaced.
He smirked. “That bad, huh?”
“It felt like I was kissing a fish. I’m no expert, but I don’t think it’s supposed to be like that.” She shook her head as she continued walking. “Your turn. Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
Bri’s lips morphed into a wry grin. “Who was your first kiss?”
Drew blanched. He hadn’t expected her to ask the same question back. “I really don’t want to talk about that.”
“You brought it up first,” she scoffed. “It’s not a hard question. I told you mine.” Her eyes gleamed with mischief. “Unless you want to do the punishment.”
“Fine, it was Lady Bridgette.”
She turned quickly on her white platform tennis shoes to face him. “Bridgette from Bristol? She’s, like, two years older than us.”
He shrugged. “It was last year, so I was fifteen and she was seventeen. We were at a ball, and she danced with me so I wouldn’t have to dance with Clarissa again. As a thank you, I gave her a quick kiss on the balcony. It wasn’t much, but it was pleasant.”
“Huh. So you’ve got a thing for blondes?”
You have no idea.
“I wouldn’t say I have a type exactly.”
I just have one person who makes my heart beat out of my chest.
“Your turn—” he started saying.
“Dare,” she said before he could finish.
“I dare you to a foot race.”
“We’re not kids anymore.”
He shot her a smirk. “Last one to the tree is a rotten egg!” he shouted as he took off at a steady jog. Drew pushed himself to a sprint as he heard her gaining close behind.
He kept his pace as they ran, always staying a few feet in the lead. But at the last second, he slowed his sprint, allowing her to pass him and cross the finish line before he did.
“Ha! I beat you.” She threw him a victorious smile over her shoulder.
He would let her win a hundred times over just to be the reason that beautiful smile was on her face.