Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2)(91)

Awesome. “I get to use the front door?”

“Yeah. If you want. Don’t get me wrong, I want you to come…I mean I want you to sleep with me…I mean.” Ryan swears under his breath. “I want you at my house if you want to be there.”

If it was anyone else stumbling through that awkwardness, I’d laugh, but it’s Ryan, so I choke on the chuckles. “Are you asking me to have sex?”

His eyes widen. “No. I would never ask that.

I mean, I would. Someday. Now if I could. But no. No. We’ll wait. Ah hell, Beth, can I screw this up any more than I already have?”

I smile at the word screw and Ryan catches it. He says a word I thought only pops out of my mouth. Ryan’s cheeks turn red and the blush on his face makes me blush. God, we’re standing here acting like two virgins.

In fact, this whole week we’ve acted like virgins. We do this uncomfortable dance when I slip into his room and climb into his bed. He waits forever to kiss me, no matter how many signals I give. And when we do kiss—the fire between us is hotter than flames in hell. Then we reach certain points where neither one of us seem to want to cross the line. I’m used to guys pushing forward. I guess I could cross the lines, but the thought frightens me. Such a squeamish-little-girl feeling makes me want to slap myself. It’s not like I’ve never seen a guy’s penis before.

Ryan readjusts his hat and I tilt my head as I understand the agony marring his beautiful face. “You’re a virgin,” I say.

I curse internally when Ryan flips his hat back and yanks the bill hard over his face. Go ahead, Beth, embarrass the boy a little more.

Why don’t you ask him if he has a small dick, too? Talk about screwing things up. This is not the memory I want Ryan to have of me, but the knowledge he’s supplied will ensure I can give him something he’ll never forget: his first time.

I close the distance between us. He’s stiff when I wrap my arms around him and press my cheek against his chest. “I don’t care. In fact, it makes you more perfect.”

Ryan sighs loudly, but his body relaxes under my touch. His strong hands caress my back and weave through my hair. “I’m not perfect, Beth.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Ryan!” Chris yells close to the tree line.

“Get your sorry ass over here. Logan took on a dare.”

“Of course he did,” mumbles Ryan. He keeps his arm around my shoulder and leads me back into the pasture.

Logan stands beside Chris and wears a crazy grin on his face. “Do you still have those bungee cords in your Jeep?”

“Yes,” Ryan answers hesitantly.

An excited gleam that frightens even me sparkles in Logan’s eyes. “Great. Let’s go.”

Chris and Logan head toward the parked cars. I nudge Ryan when he stays still. “Go.”

He traces circles on my arm. “It’ll only be a few minutes.”

“It doesn’t bother me if you want to hang with your friends.”

The sincerity swims in his eyes. “But I’m leaving you alone.”

“Not sure if you noticed, but sometimes I prefer to be alone.”

Ryan flips his hat back around, leans down, and his kiss warms areas that sweatshirts can’t touch. The second his lips leave mine, he pulls his baseball cap off and places it on top of my head. He laughs as the bill falls forward and covers my face. Not wanting him to take it back, I spin it and wear it backward. “You have a big head.”

“Naw,” he says. “You’re just small.”

With pride, I watch Ryan stride across the pasture. He’s a natural athlete with his broad shoulders and strong arms. My heart dances.

For the next ten days—he’s mine.

“I can’t believe you let Ryan put that hat on your head. He sweats in it.” Gwen emerges from the darkness and I immediately think of my fear of demons waiting in the shadows, ready to grab me in the dead of night.

“It doesn’t bother me.”

“If I was you I’d want to hide my hair too,” she says, standing unusually close to me.

I’m going soft if she thinks she’s safe speaking to me that way. Allison would love this chick. They share the same awful taste in clothes. “I remember pushing you to the ground and making you cry in elementary school for f**king with Lacy.”

“I remember you wearing the same damn dress with holes and those pathetic ribbons.”

She stares at my wrist, then at my jeans. “I see your tastes haven’t changed.”

“No,” I say. “But Ryan’s have.”

Her face reddens and I smile. Damn, I really enjoy being me. I give her credit—Gwen quickly rejoins the game. “Look, I’m trying to be helpful. Rumor at school says Ryan is only with you over a dare. Ryan and his friends take dares very seriously and he’d string you along in order to win. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good guy, but he’s a guy, you know? I would hate to see you take a fall once the dare’s complete.”

My entire body tenses. It’s the truth. He did ask me out on a dare, but I’m not a dare anymore. I’m not. “Wow, Gwen. Thanks for your concern. Is this where you ask me to braid your hair and then we’ll giggle about getting to first base with a boy?”

Gwen twines her golden hair around a finger. I should bring her over to Scott as Exhibit B for why I hate blondes. “I’m trying to be your friend, Beth.”