Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2)(31)

Others require teamwork. You have two opportunities to impress me, so I suggest that you use your time wisely and do not come to me for credit unless you have practiced the item to perfection.”

We stare at him in silence. Mr. Knox jerks his thumb behind him. “Get to work.”

I lag behind the others, praying that most of the exercises can be done on my own. My insides twist as I watch people pair off into twos and threes to complete their assignments.

Left alone, I sidle up to the board and sigh so heavily that the posted paper moves. Surely I can convince Mr. Knox that I am, within myself, a four-layered pyramid.

“You can work with me.”

My heart stutters at the sound of Ryan’s voice. Damn, why do I have to find everything about this boy attractive? His voice, his face, his biceps, his abs… stop it! I cross my arms over my chest and turn to face him. “I thought we had an agreement.”

“No. You threw a hissy fit on the first day of school. That doesn’t constitute an agreement.”

Ryan isn’t wearing his baseball cap and I love it. His sandy-blond hair has a golden tone.

It’s styled-yet-not-styled into the disarray of not quite curls that kick out in various directions. Get a grip, Beth. Hot guys don’t go for loser girls. “Leave me alone.”

I walk away from Ryan because he shows no sign of leaving me. Stacks of equipment line the wall on the other side of the gym. One of the four items that can be completed on my own is jumping rope. I can do that. I think. I used to jump rope when I was a kid.

I grasp one of the ropes and twenty others tumble out of the box along with it. All of them knotted and intertwined. Gwen and a group of girls giggle as they gawk at me. I wonder if they’ll still be giggling when I turn and beat them with the jump-rope knot from hell.

“Trust fall.” Lacy magically teleports in front of me.

Still holding the train of ropes, I glance up at her. “What?”

“Trust fall. Me and the boys are doing it and you’re going to do it with us.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. Requirements say that we have to have at least two girls in the group.”

I blink twice. “Go ask one of the girls grooming each other like monkeys.”

“Those aren’t girls. They’re vultures.”

Ryan and Chris watch us. The other one studies the five-foot platform we’re supposed to “fall” from. I ask, “What’s the guy with black hair doing in this class?” He wasn’t last week, but he is in my English class and had the balls to tease me on my first day. Platform guy is lucky to be alive.

Lacy waves him off. “That’s Logan. He tested out of his math and they switched his schedule and the rest is totally not important.

Let’s go.” She snatches my hand and the rope drags with me until I remember to drop it.

She releases me when we reach the platform. Ryan gives me a condescending smile. “Changed your mind? Don’t worry, most girls do when it comes to me.”

I wish I had a jacket that I could pull around myself and hide in. I don’t, so I do the next best thing. “Did you have to bribe those girls with tacos or was that reserved for me?”

Chris and Logan chuckle and Ryan angles his shoulders away from me. On the other side of the gym, Lacy kicks at a huge foam mat.

The boys rescue her by lifting the gigantic mat into the air like it weighs nothing, then tossing it in front of the platform. A spark of panic hurts my lungs. “What’s that for?”

“In case we drop you,” says Logan.

“In case you what?” Frantically, I eyeball the wooden platform that reminds me of a diving board at a public pool. I can’t swim and I don’t jump.

“Drop you,” he repeats.

Lacy smacks the back of Logan’s head.

“Stop it. We won’t drop you.”

Of course they won’t, because I’m not jumping. I step backward.

“What’s the plan, Boss Man?” asks Logan as he looks at Ryan. I snort and Ryan glances at me. Of course, they see perfect Ryan as their fearless leader.

Ryan rearranges the mat to center it with the platform. “Each of us takes one practice run.

We perfect our technique and then we show Coach. Logan, you’re first. That way if we have the wrong technique, we drop a guy, not a girl.”

Chris, Ryan, and Lacy gather around the mat. I stay planted in my spot. “If you’re the boss, then why don’t you go first?”

“Because Logan’s crazy and would go first even if I didn’t ask. At least now someone’s here to catch him.”

“It’s true,” adds Lacy. “Logan’s too smart for common sense.”

“Fear.” Logan sits on the platform. His legs dangle over the side. “Too smart for fear.”

Lacy shrugs. “Potayto, potahto. Same thing.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Shut it down,” says Ryan. “Come on, Beth.

You and Lacy take the area toward his feet.

Chris and I will handle his back.”

“Why, so we can get kicked in the head?

That’s real gallant.”

“No,” says Ryan with forced patience.

“Logan’s all upper body. Chris and I are going to take the heavier part.”