Heidi (I Dare You Book 1) (2 page)

“Here, here,” Zoey toasted.

A few hours later and four drinks down, she was feeling pretty damn good about herself. The place was packed, the bass was pumping, and she’d just decided to take a break from dancing the night away. “Three girls walk into a bar…”

“What?” Meagan asked.

“I said three girls walk into a bar!” She spoke louder to be heard over the music. “In this case it’s not a punch line. This is how our story begins.”

“O-okay.” Zoey looked at her like she was out of her mind.

“Shhh.” Heidi put her fingers to her lips. “I think we should make a pact right here, now.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m getting there.” Heidi shushed them again. “Have you ever wished you’d done something you’d never normally have the courage to do? A fantasy, anything like that? We’re all single, so I propose an ‘I dare you’ challenge. What do you say?”

“I say it depends on the terms here,” Meagan said.

“Hell, I’m in,” Zoey replied. “How about we hash out the details?”

“Okay, here goes. We each think of a dare for each other, and we have to follow through within a timeline.”

“It sounds reasonable.” Zoey rubbed her hands together. “Okay, Heidi, we’ll do you first because yours is the easiest and I think Meagan will agree.”

“Nathan,” Zoey and Meagan said at the same time.

“I dare you to pull up those lady panties we were talking about earlier, and finally own up to your feelings for him. We dare you to make a move, seduce him, and see if you can finally make him yours,” Zoey said.

“Easier said than done.” Heidi grumbled but then took a deep breath. “Okay, it was my idea, so I’m game, but now it’s your turn, my friend.” She pointed towards Zoey, and Meagan laughed. “We’ve all hit a dry spell in the love department, which is the reason for all of this, but it’s been especially hard for you. Time and time again, Meagan and I have heard you complain about all of those vanilla Joes you’ve dated. The men you’ve slept with who were either two-pump chumps, or didn’t know how to work it. So, I propose you move out of your comfort zone. Sexually. Zoey Appleby, I want you to get off.” She giggled. “I dare you to have a threesome, or join an orgy. Go explore and have fun.”

“You go, girl!” Meagan snickered.

Zoey gasped in shock before she took a large sip of her drink as if it would give her the strength to follow through, and hesitated for a moment before she nodded. Then both women turned to Meagan, and her smirk faded away.

“A-are you guys are serious about this?” Meagan squeaked. “What happens if one of us doesn’t follow through?”

Maybe it was the liquid courage, but suddenly Heidi was tired of her boring, predictable life, so she grinned. “Why the hell not? It sounds like a ton of fun. Look, Meg, there’s just something missing in our lives. Don’t you think? And I’m tired of sitting on the sidelines.” She might regret this come morning, but it sounded right in the moment. “If one of us doesn’t follow through, then they have to buy us all drinks for a month.” They met at least once a week, so it wouldn’t be cheap.

“Make it three months, and we have a deal,” Zoey exclaimed. Meagan’s jaw dropped, and Heidi’s eyes sparkled with glee because,
Holy shit, this was actually happening!

“I’m not sure.” Meagan hesitated and then sighed. “I can’t believe I’m actually going along with this.”

“Good.” Heidi smiled. “Zoey what do you think we should come up with for dear old Meagan here?”

She thought about it for a moment, and then nearly bounced out of her seat when she answered. “There’s that guy. You know the one, Mr. Hot in a sort of older-guy way. I know, totally clichéd, right? Anyway, it’s the professor she works with.”

“No way.” Meagan squirmed in her seat.

“Come on, Meg,” Heidi said. “He’s perfect for this, and you know you’d like to jump his bones!”

“I-I don’t know.” Meagan flushed as she stuttered and then chugged the rest of her beer. “But what the hell. I guess.”

“Then it’s settled!” Heidi exclaimed. “I get to seduce Nathan into having wild and crazy monkey sex with me, and confess my feelings for him…”

“I go exploring with multiple partners…” Zoey interrupted.

“And my plans are to have my way with the sexy older professor I assist at work,” Meagan said.

“And since the bet was three months of buying everyone’s drinks, then I propose we have three months to carry all of this out.” Heidi put her hand palm down on the middle of the table, and Zoey and Meagan followed suit one on top of the other.

“Here’s to spicing things up!” Zoey cheered, and soon they were all cracking up. Deep down, though, Heidi was shaking in her boots and prayed she’d have the courage to go for it, seeing as she’d started it all.

Chapter One

I’m going to kill him,
she thought as she watched her long-time best friend approach. Nathan De Costa oozed sex appeal, tall with thick black hair, gorgeous green eyes that sparkled, and a confidence that told everyone in the room he knew how attractive he was. He sauntered towards her with a cocky sway and a smile on his sinfully gorgeous face. That smile, though—
gah,
she loved it, but she wanted to smack it off of his smug face right then. Her gaze travelled down his lickable torso to his muscular thighs encased in the jeans he seemed to fill out in all the right places. She resisted the urge to lick her lips.

It had been an awkward two weeks at home since the girls had discussed their dares, and she hadn’t made her move yet. It really sucked being in love with a man you knew would never return your feelings, at least not in the same way, but she’d hoped he would change his mind eventually. Tonight, on the other hand, wasn’t looking up, because she was pissed.

Heidi had moved from Maryland to the small town of Port Jervis three years ago with barely a penny to her name. She’d replied to an ad looking for a roommate, and that was how she’d met Nathan. At first sight, she had fallen in instant lust with the man. He was confident, respectful, and sexy as hell. What was there not to like? They’d hit it off instantly, and eventually her lustful crush turned into something so much more.

She sighed as she thought about it. Her love life sucked; in fact, that was why she was stuck in a club she knew nothing about. Nathan had recommended the place and then teased her about getting laid, so she’d gone along with it to gauge his reaction.

Dateless, for the last six months her battery supply had been depleted, and his advice was that she needed something to spice it up a little. Great minds thought alike, of course, because she’d just been saying the same to Zoey and Meagan. Luckily for her, Nathan hadn’t brought up her masturbation session that night by the living room too much, but she’d sensed he’d wanted to on more than one occasion.

****

A week earlier

The grey clouds, smog, and drizzling rain hadn’t deterred her from going for a morning run. There was a lot on her plate at the moment. She’d managed to avoid Nathan for the most part, so that meant they hadn’t spoken of her voyeurism that night in their living room. She moaned just thinking about it and turned up the volume on her headset for the last stretch home. It was still early yet; the man in question should still be sleeping.
Thank God!

Her legs pumped and her lungs burned as she made it up the steps. Once inside the apartment, she sagged against the door to catch her breath for a minute. Music still blasted through her iPod, she was drenched with sweat, and she fantasized about how good the shower would feel to wash away the stench of her exercise. She hummed the entire way to her room.

Heidi ripped off her shirt and threw it into the hamper on the way to her closet to get a clean set of clothes. Just as she’d bent over to grab her skirt for work, strong hands wrapped around her from behind and she startled.

“Holy shit, Nathan!” she screeched the moment she turned around to face him, clutching her chest. “You scared the crap out of me.”

Nathan chuckled, and her face turned pink when he stepped back to check her out. His gaze started from the top of her matted ponytail right down to her toes and back up again. “I like that look,” he teased.

“Oh, please…” She threw a pair of socks at him while he smirked at her. Leave it to her to be caught in nothing but her sports bra and a tight pair of running shorts. Her pale skin was still probably blotchy red and wet with sweat and rain water, her hair was a mess, and she didn’t have a stitch of make-up on. So in other words, she looked like shit, plain and simple. “Very funny.”

“I’m not kidding. I like the wet look. It’s kind of sexy.” He winked, and she grimaced.

“Right, so what can I do for you?” There needed to be a subject change, and quickly, before she made more of an ass out of herself—like by maybe throwing herself at him. Hey, she was already dirty so why not get dirtier…

Fucking Hell!
That stupid dare was still at the back of her mind, and she had no idea if she’d have enough guts to follow through. This was Nathan. She loved him, counted on their friendship, and she needed him in her life; there was a huge fear of screwing it all up if they went further. What the hell had she been thinking, starting all of this dare business?

“Hey.” Nathan stepped closer to her, and his fingers brushed against the lip she’d been biting to free it. “There, now,” he cooed. “I can see those pouty lips again.”

Um, ‘kay!
Heidi swooned and decided to take a seat before she fell on her face. It was like a zap of current had flown through her every time they touched, and she wondered if he’d felt it too. It had been that way for her from the start. She shook her head and stepped around him to sit on her bed.

Nathan sighed and leaned against the wall across from her. “You’ve been avoiding me. I don’t like it.”

“I don’t know what you’re…”

“Bullshit!” he interrupted, and stood to stand next to her. Nathan knelt down in front of where she sat and spread her legs wider so he could get closer. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held on. “We live together, and I miss you. How fucking pathetic is that?”

“I-I…” she stuttered, and a full-on body blush happened the moment her nipples hardened.

Nathan noticed, of course, and still held on as he leaned his head back to look at her breasts again. Fuck, she was wet now, like pussy-drooling drenched at having him so close to her. Damn, she wanted this man, had a need for him to fill her with his fat cock. Heidi cleared her throat, and Nathan’s gaze finally left her chest to look at her face again.

There was a hunger in his gaze that matched her own, and her breath hitched. The sexual tension was thick, and their chemistry sizzled in the room around them. His hands moved from her waist and travelled slowly up her torso, past her breasts, and they caressed the sides of her neck. His fingers tangled in her hair, and her heart raced faster. They were nose-to-nose now, and she closed her eyes the moment his breath met her own, their lips just an inch apart. “Nathan?”

“Heidi,” he whispered. “Look at me.”

She nodded. “But what are we…”

And, just like that, it was like he snapped out of the haze of lust. Her and her big fat mouth.
Damn it!
Nathan straightened up a bit, massaged her with his hands at the back of her neck, and turned his head to kiss her quickly on the cheek.

She took a deep breath, and like the cringe-worthy screech of a record or being dowsed with cold water, his next words had her back to being mortified in an instant. “Is this about the other night in the living room?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Heidi said, and she pushed him away so she could get up again.

“Yes, you do. We should talk about it?” He followed her to the closet again were she hoped to gain composure, and her embarrassment turned into anger.

“Okay, I do, but I don’t want to talk about it right now. Can we just forget it happened and move on, please?” She huffed, and he smirked again.

“Whatever you say, as long as you promise to stop avoiding me. I mean it, Heidi.”

“Fine,” she promised, and her shoulders sagged in relief that he didn’t push it. She missed him too and was glad to know that things would be getting back to normal between the two. They were okay again—as friends, anyway.

“Let’s hug it out. Come on.” He met her halfway and stretched out his arms. Nathan was a contact-heavy guy, with her, at least, and he hugged her every opportunity he could get. The moment she was in his arms again, he chuckled and was back in a teasing mood. “I do have to say one thing about it, though.” When she tried to move, he held on a little tighter. “Feel free to touch yourself anytime, sweetheart. There is no shame in it, and it was fucking hot! Those images are in the highlight reel for my next spank bank. Just sayin’.” He chuckled when she groaned and then apologized. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She laughed because it was way better than crying. “Anyway…” Heidi left the sentence hanging and waited for him to get out so she could get ready for work. “Was there anything else?”

He nodded. “I wanted to know if you’re free next Friday afternoon.”

“For?”

“I’m taking the day off.” He shrugged and took a step back. “And since you need to get laid, I’m taking you out.”

“Uh—what?” she asked, feeling completely confused yet intrigued. “What does one have to do with the other?” If she’d been braver at the moment she would have blurted out ‘why, are you offering?’ instead she bit her tongue.

“Spice it up, Heidi. Come on, first we’ll get you looking sexy and later we could check out this new club. I’ll even help you pick someone out. When’s the last time you fucked anything besides yourself, huh?”

“Nathan!” she said warningly, and he held up his hands. “What’s in it for you?”

“Time spent together.” He shrugged. “Like I said, I miss you. This way, we get to have a whole day and night of fun.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” She said and then ushered him out of her room so she could take that much needed shower or she’d be late for work.

****

The night had finally arrived, and she needed sex. Heidi’s nights were lonely, and the battery-operated boyfriend in her night stand just wasn’t as good as he used to be. The truth was she missed the real thing, but she was pretty selective about whom she allowed into her bed.

Nathan had had a mischievous look about him while he’d talked her into going to the club, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. As promised, he dragged her shopping for something sexy to wear and said he’d meet her there for a couple of drinks to loosen her up.

So there she was sitting on a bar stool, completely out of place in her short skirt, four-inch fuck-me heels, and low-cut slim-fitting shirt that left little to the imagination, while everyone else seemed to be comfortable in jeans, sneakers, and t-shirts.

He was an hour late, and she felt like a hooker. Heidi huffed the moment he finally arrived by her side. She narrowed her eyes.

“Hey, beautiful.” He leaned on the bar beside her and looked around the club like nothing was the matter.

“Don’t you ‘hey, beautiful’ me. Where the hell were you? And why did you make me wear this stuff when you clearly knew I’d stand out like a sore thumb?”

“Hardly sore, honey. Believe me—” His penetrating look gave her goose bumps, and she cursed under her breath as she looked away. “You’re wearing that tonight because you’re damn sexy and you never show off your assets. Not to mention your personal life has been pretty sad lately. So have there been any takers yet?”

She groaned. She’d been checked out several times, but nobody had actually approached her. She was in a bad mood and wouldn’t have been much for company anyway. For all she knew, she was sending out ‘stay away or else’ vibes, and it was all because one of her best friends didn’t know how to keep a promise. She thought he’d stood her up.

“Nope, none.” She hopped off of her stool and smoothed out her skirt. “‘Come on, Heidi, there’s a new club in town called Moonlight. You’ll love it. Go on, live a little, and pick someone for a night or two of carnal fun would you. Your life is beginning to depress me. It’ll be fun, and I’ll be right there with you to help you pick out someone delicious’.” She mocked Nathan’s earlier speech to get her there. “You’re an hour late, Nathan, what the hell? Screw ‘spicing it up’. I’m going home.”

“Heidi, wait!” Nathan reached for her.

He took her arm, pulled her tight against his body, and her eyes went wide with shock. He looked like he was fighting something as he bit his lip and groaned. “I’ve been fighting this for almost three fucking years,” he whispered, and moved his face lower to meet with hers.

Not even giving her a chance to react, he probed the slit of her mouth with his tongue and moaned again the moment he got his first taste. Her knuckles turned white as she grabbed for his shirt to get as close to him as possible. She was swept up in the moment, and everything else around them seemed to disappear. Her previous anger immediately disappeared because,
Holy fucking hell, Nathan is actually kissing me.
She slowed it down as her senses came back to her.
What the...?

“Holy shit!” Heidi’s fingers went to her mouth. In the three years they’d been living together, he never ever once kissed her the way he just had, and she couldn’t understand why now all of a sudden. Not that she was complaining.

She could still feel him on her lips, and damn, she wanted to feel so much more right then. It hadn’t helped she hadn’t had the real thing in months, but she’d also been fantasizing about him for years. He was the epitome of her fantasies while she played with herself on most nights.

“Come back to the bar for a drink, and I’ll explain.” His fingers stroked and caressed the sides of her face, and his hands travelled down her neck to her arms before taking her hands into his to bring her back with him.

“But—but...” Heidi was tongue-tied for the first time in her life. Her heart beat fast, and the butterflies in her stomach went haywire.