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Carson’s plan was probably to kiss me just so he could spin some kind of lie about how awful a kisser I was. My reputation would never recover.
Well, I’ve got news for you, buddy, I might not have gobs of experience, but I’m a dang good kisser.
But his lips weren’t even worthy of touching mine, which is why I glanced to Ethan and let my expression do the talking. My eyes pleaded with him.
Ethan’s mouth was set in a half-grimace, half smile. “Guys, it’s not a dare, remember?” Ethan said. “It’s not happening.”
At that moment, I had never been more grateful. Ethan earned every bit of the label of my best friend.
“Ethan’s right. And this is my mouth. I’ll kiss who I want,” I said, staring Carson dead in the eyes in challenge.
There were a few boos from the peanut gallery before Carson grumbled at them to shut up and started, “Ethan, truth or dare?”
“Seriously, dude?”
Carson merely raised a brow at Ethan’s less than enthused response.
“Truth.”
I sensed Ethan didn’t want to risk playing kissing-buddies with anyone, hence his choice.
“Have you ever kissed Mia?” Carson asked.
I frowned. Clearly, this was a reaction from the question earlier, but why? Why did Carson care?
“No,” Ethan answered, his voice hard.
Relief flickered through Carson’s eyes as he sat back, looking satisfied.
Then, Ethan turned to me, and I wondered why he was looking
at me like that before he murmured, “I have to see something. Just trust me.”
My stomach tumbled, still processing his words because I sensed a weird kind of war brewing. One I wasn’t privy too. Like someone had a secret they weren’t telling me and here I was just stumbling in the dark.
“Mia, truth or dare?” Ethan asked.
It was a good thing we were already on the ground because I would’ve fallen off my chair. Why on earth was he asking me? He knew I didn’t even want to play this stupid game. In my head, I took back every nice, loving thing I had ever felt about him. Best friend? Pfft.
All the questions already asked drifted through my head. So far, Ethan had confessed to having a crush on me when he was eleven. Carson admitted he wanted to kiss me. Maddie had announced she skinny dipped. What deep-seated secrets of mine would be revealed?
I was probably one of the most boring girls on the planet, but I had no doubt if there was something embarrassing to be unearthed, it would be drudged up during a brutal high school game of truth or dare.
And though Ethan was my best friend, the way he was looking at me—with a poker face I had never seen before—for the first time since we became friends, I wasn’t sure I could trust him with my secrets. I don’t think I would’ve trusted anyone at that moment, so I said, “Dare.” Because there was no way my best friend would make me go streaking.
“Kiss me,” he said.
“What?” I blinked at him, sure I misheard.
Everyone around me froze. You could hear a pin drop.
“You heard me. Kiss me,” Ethan said, and though his playful expression was back—my Ethan, my best friend—his words were all wrong.
As I tried to process them, I glanced around at the familiar faces surrounding us.
“Um. . .” I hedged, weighing my options. I could run out of the room like a baby and solidify myself as a loser for the remainder of the year, or I could just do it.
But this was Ethan, my best friend in the whole wide world. He may as well be my brother. Why did he even ask me to do this? There was clearly something going on I was unaware of.
