Chapter 6
Daria
“Read it,” I chided as Cade continued to hold the dare card and not say anything.
What the hell is wrong with him? All of a sudden, he’s timid about this game?
“I…” He swallowed.
“What?”
He shook his head. “I can’t do this one.”
“I thought we were supposed to be playing by the rules!”
His face reddened. “Yeah, but—”
“Let me see.” I whipped the card out of his grasp before he could react.
Text your ex that you miss them. Hmm… “Okay…” I looked up at him.
“So, this one is definitely awkward, but I didn’t take you for the embarrassed-easily type.
” I examined his face. “Unless you fucked up so badly with your ex that you’re too ashamed to text her? Exactly what did you do?”
“Nothing, and I don’t have an ex,” he muttered.
“Well, now I’m really confused. You don’t have an ex.” I crossed my arms. “So then what’s the problem? Incidentally, I’m not buying that. Everyone has an ex.”
“I’ve only had one serious relationship.”
“She’s not your current girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Then she’s your ex.”
“Can we please drop it?” His expression was sincere, his eyes pleading.
Whatever had happened between Cade and his ex, it was apparently tearing him up inside right now. Though I was quite tempted to prod some more, something told me not to push.
“You know what?” I slammed the card on the table. “I’m about to prove once and for all that I have bigger balls than you.”
“How?”
I leaned in and said, “Steal.”
His eyes widened. “You’re gonna steal this dare from me?”
“Well, you made that stupid rule. This is my first of two steal allowances.” I smiled. “And believe me, texting my ex is just about the most mortifying thing I could be doing right now.”
Cade arched a brow. “Why is that?”
“Because he’s getting married to my friend.”
“What?”
“It gets worse.” I sighed, feeling my cheeks burn. “The wedding…is on Christmas Eve.”
“That’s in a few days,” he pointed out.
“Yep.” I chuckled. “It gets even worse.”
“Damn. How?”
“I was invited to the wedding.”
“They had the nerve to invite you?”
“Yeah, and I had the nerve to accept!”
His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “You’re going?”
“They’re both under the delusion that I’m fine with it. Truth be told, he and I were broken up when he started seeing her. But I was still in love with him. And it still fucking hurts.”
“Damn.” Cade frowned. “I’m sorry, Daria. I don’t know who to despise more—him or this woman who was supposed to be your friend.”
“It is what it is.”
“Don’t text that asshole on my account.”
I hiccupped. “I think it might be fun, actually. Ruffle his feathers a little before the wedding.”
“Well, I’m not gonna stop you.” He laughed. “Heck, I’ll go pop the fucking popcorn.”
“No time for popcorn.” I grinned as I took out my phone. “This is happening.”
Cade leaned over my shoulder. The nearness of his body and his musky scent were not lost on me as I typed.
I miss you.
The little dots started moving.
Derek: Are you drunk?
Our shoulders shook with laughter.
“Touché, dickwad,” Cade said.
Daria: Maybe.
Derek: Then I’m gonna assume you don’t mean what you just said.
“Let’s mess with him.” Cade spoke into my ear.
Daria: What if I do mean it?
Derek: Then that would be pretty inappropriate.
Cade took the phone before I could stop him and started to type.
Daria: Inappropriate is you getting married to my supposed friend. But what do I know?
Shit! I turned to him. “Good one.”
Derek: Are you serious? I thought you were over that.
I took the phone from Cade and typed.
Daria: Actually, this whole message was a dare. I have balls bigger than Cade, so I stole it. Have a good day.
Derek: Huh? Balls? You’re not making sense. Who’s Cade?
“Can I?” Cade pleaded as he held his hand out.
I passed him the phone. “Go for it.”
Cade typed.
Daria: Cade is someone with balls bigger than YOU and a WAY bigger dick.
I covered my mouth in laughter, which was interrupted by another hiccup, as one final text came in from Derek.
Derek: Take care of yourself. Don’t drive.
“Take care of yourself?” Cade tossed the phone. “What a douche.”
“He’s so out of touch, even if he thinks I’m drunk off my ass right now. He doesn’t realize the magnitude of what he did to me. He believes it was okay because we were broken up.”
“He could’ve dated literally any other woman in the world. But instead, he decided to date your friend? Marry her? That takes a special kind of asshole.” He turned to me. “What’s her name?”
“Sharon.”
“Sharon. Another asshole.”
“Thank you!” I smiled. “That felt good.”
“But okay…we need to discuss this.” He placed his hand on my shoulder, causing my body to buzz. “Why the hell are you going to the wedding?”
That was the question. I had a few answers, and I hoped he understood where I was coming from. Cade’s opinion suddenly mattered to me, either because of my drunkenness or something more. Perhaps I’d learned to trust him in the course of this fucked-up afternoon.
“A few reasons…” I hiccupped. “One, declining the invitation would’ve made it look like I still have feelings for him.
And while I have hard feelings toward him, I could never love someone who would do what he did.
So any love I had for him is in the past. This is more about me showing them I’ve moved on.
Two, they’re getting married at The Ritz, and it’s an open bar.
The food should be good, too. So why the hell not?
Three, I have a killer dress that’s cut all the way down to my navel in the front.
Derek’s brother is a boob man and single. ”
Cade snapped his fingers. “Ah…revenge!”
“I’m sort of joking about that. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
“Fuck that! You’d be totally in the right to date his brother.”
“His brother’s a tool, though,” I noted.
“Okay, so maybe not.” Cade winked. “But yeah, the killer dress sounds nice.”
“It is.” I grinned mischievously. “Can I ask you a question outside of this game?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened with your ex? What had you all worked up about that dare?”
He looked up at the ceiling before meeting my eyes again. “She died.”
And just like that, my hiccups were gone.