Chapter 57: The Simplest Dare

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: The Simplest Dare

I was still staring at Nicole, who was looking back at me with the most innocent, adorable expression I’d ever seen. It was annoyingly impressive how easily she could look that cute after asking me a question like that.

She tilted her head slightly. "You can tell me the truth. I won’t judge." She smiled. "Much."

I looked away from her for a moment, trying to figure out how to answer that without making the situation even more embarrassing than it already was. We were sitting in her bedroom, for crying out loud. There were probably a dozen better places to have this conversation, and somehow, none of them had been chosen.

Nicole waited patiently, still wearing that innocent expression that I was beginning to suspect was a weapon.

"...Yes," I admitted eventually, keeping my eyes on the canned drink in her hands. "There. Happy?"

When I looked back at her, she was wearing a thoroughly satisfied smile. It was subtle enough that she could probably deny smirking if I called her out on it, but I knew what I’d seen.

"Very," she said, taking another sip of her drink. Then she settled back against the pillows and looked at me expectantly. "Your turn. Ask."

I exhaled through my nose. "Truth or—"

"Dare."

I stopped and stared at her. "You didn’t even let me finish."

"You were going to ask anyway."

She smiled into her cup, apparently unconcerned with the legal technicalities of the game. I considered my options for a moment before deciding that there was only one reasonable course of action.

"I dare you to go to sleep."

Nicole giggled. "No fair. You’re basically ending the game."

"That was the idea."

"But we’re having fun."

I looked at her properly then. She was sitting with her legs tucked comfortably beneath her, her eyes bright and her smile so genuine that it was difficult to argue with her, even when she was being deliberately unreasonable. She looked happy. She looked like she could spend the entire night sitting here, asking me increasingly embarrassing questions and watching me struggle to answer them.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with that information.

"Why are you enjoying this so much?" I asked.

"Because it’s you." She batted her eyes at me sweetly, as though that explained everything.

I stared at her for a moment, then let out another long breath. "Fine. Fine. I dare you to tell me the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done."

Nicole’s smile faded into a thoughtful expression as she looked toward the ceiling. She tapped a finger against her cup, apparently searching through her memories for something sufficiently humiliating.

"I once walked into a glass door because I was trying to look cool in front of someone."

I kept staring at her.

"Hard enough to leave a mark," she added thoughtfully. "And the person I was trying to impress was standing right behind me."

I pressed my lips together, but it was already too late. A laugh escaped, and I had to look away from her.

Nicole smirked. "Laugh while you still can."

My laughter gradually died down, and I turned to look at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

She merely shrugged before lifting her can to her mouth for another sip. Except, nothing came out. She tipped it a little farther, gave it a final shake, then turned it upside down and showed me the empty can with a small, disappointed gesture.

I watched her toss it into the bin beside her desk before getting to her feet and walking over to the mini fridge tucked into the corner of her room. She opened it, grabbed two cans of something, and returned to the bed. One went on the desk beside me while she popped open the other and settled back into her spot.

"You still wanna pick truth, or have you had enough?" she finally said.

I looked at her, then at the can she’d placed beside me, and suddenly, a few things started making sense: the embarrassing questions, her suspicious enthusiasm, and now this.

She was trying to make me pick dare.

And just like that, her earlier promise came back to me.

I promise not to touch you unless you want me to or you touch me first.

I looked back at Nicole, who was watching me with an unbearably pleased smile.

She seemed to notice the change in my expression because her smile widened as she leaned back against the pillows, looking altogether too comfortable with herself.

"Looks like you finally caught on," she said.

I made some sort of face in response. I wasn’t entirely sure what it looked like, but judging by the way she tried to suppress another smile, it probably wasn’t flattering.

"Truth or dare, Nate?"

I held her gaze. "I’m not picking dare."

Nicole nodded approvingly. "Honorable."

Then, without missing a beat, she asked, "How long do you think you’d last if I gave you a blowjob?"

I blinked.

She tilted her head, smiling sweetly as if she’d just asked me what I wanted for breakfast.

"I genuinely never knew you were this naughty," I said.

"Really? You’re only figuring that out now?" She took another sip from her can, looking thoroughly amused. "I mean, look at how I act around you. What exactly did you expect?"

True. I’d seen enough glimpses of that side of Nicole to know better than to take her innocent expressions at face value. I just hadn’t expected her to be this comfortable asking me questions that would make a priest reconsider his career.

"Anyway," she continued, leaning a little closer, "how long? Two minutes? Five?"

I looked at her without answering.

Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh, my man has stamina."

I took a slow breath. If I gave her the reaction she wanted, we’d be here all night.

"How long I’d last? That depends on how you do it. Different techniques get different results."

Nicole’s eyes widened. For a moment, she looked genuinely caught off guard. Then her lips pulled into a pout that made me regret giving her a straight answer.

"Can’t you just remain naughty for five more minutes?"

"Truth or dare?" I replied instead.

She giggled lightly, bringing her can to her lips as she considered it. "Hmm... Truth."

I paused, looking at her. Her eyes were practically shining, and she was watching me with the kind of eager anticipation usually reserved for Christmas morning.

I still couldn’t understand how someone could look this happy while actively trying to ruin my peace of mind.

Then a question occurred to me.

"Why are you this in love with me?"

Nicole paused, and for the first time in a while, her smile changed. It was still there, but the playful mischief in her eyes gave way to something a little more thoughtful. She lowered her can and looked at me for a moment before speaking.

"The full story?"

I nodded. "You can give me the short version."

She huffed a quiet laugh, shaking her head. "Fine. But first, you know I’m, like, extremely hot, right?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Go on."

She smiled as though I’d just confirmed something very important. "Now, when a girl is as hot as I am, almost every guy she meets wants to sleep with her. And I’m also extremely smart, so I can usually tell what they’re after before they even get the chance to make a move."

I kept looking at her, waiting for the part where any of this was supposed to explain her feelings for me.

"Every guy I’ve known before you has tried something eventually," she continued. "Some were obvious about it, some tried to be subtle, and others thought they were being clever by dropping hints and waiting for me to figure them out. Different approaches, same intentions."

I frowned. "What makes you think I don’t want to sleep with you?"

Nicole’s eyebrows lifted, and a delighted little smile spread across her face. She looked at me as though I’d just handed her a gift she hadn’t even known she wanted.

"You know what I mean," I added quickly.

She laughed, clearly enjoying herself.

"Anyway, I’m still confused," I continued. "What does any of that have to do with you falling in love with me?"

Nicole nodded, as though she’d been expecting the question. "Do you remember what you did the first time we met?"

I thought about it for a moment. "You mean in the rain?"

She nodded.

I shrugged. "I didn’t do anything."

"Exactly!" she said, pointing at me with her can. "You didn’t even ask for my number. I had to ask for your name."

"Oh." I paused, considering that. "But that doesn’t exactly make someone fall in love with you."

"No, it doesn’t." She took a sip from her can before continuing. "But it did make me really curious about you. I mean, here I was, standing in the rain, looking like this, and you were just being nice to me without trying to get anything out of it. You didn’t even seem interested in finding out who I was."

I gave her a look. "I gave you a ride because you were getting soaked."

"I know." Her smile softened a little. "That’s what made it interesting. You helped me because I needed help, not because you thought it would get you somewhere with me. I wanted to know who you were, so I asked for your name. Then I got your number, and I thought we could talk a little."

She paused, looking down at her can.

"Then you ignored my texts and calls."

I winced. "I didn’t ignore you."

"You didn’t answer them either." She looked back up at me, wearing a small, wounded smile. "Ouch, Nate. That hurt my feelings."

I couldn’t tell whether she was being serious, teasing me, or doing that annoying thing where she mixed both together until I couldn’t tell the difference.

"But it also made me realize that I really wanted you to answer," she continued. "I wanted to talk to you again, spend more time with you, and see where things could go. And the more I got to know you, the more I liked you."

I watched her for a moment, trying to fit everything she’d said together. "So... it wasn’t love at first sight?"

"Nope." She shook her head, smiling. "But I already knew I really, really liked you, and I wasn’t about to let the opportunity to get closer to you pass me by."

I continued staring at her.

Nicole stared back, looking increasingly amused by my expression. "I’m saying I could already tell I was going to fall for you."

I blinked. "You could tell."

"Well, I had a pretty good feeling."

"And you just decided to go for it."

"Pretty much."

I sat there for a moment, taking that in. It was strange hearing her talk about something so personal with the same casual confidence she used when telling me I looked good in an outfit. Somehow, that made it feel more genuine rather than less.

"Then when exactly did you fall for me?" I asked.

Nicole opened her mouth, but no answer came out. She looked up at the ceiling, apparently searching for the right moment in her memories, before her gaze returned to mine.

"My turn to ask." She smiled sweetly. "Truth or dare?"

I stared at her in disbelief. "Oh, come on!"

Nicole burst out laughing, looking far too pleased with herself for someone who had just dodged a perfectly reasonable question.

I kept staring at her, but my disbelief gradually gave way to a smile. I couldn’t even pretend to be annoyed with her when she looked that pleased with herself.

I exhaled through my mouth. "Dare."

Nicole stopped laughing. Her eyes widened, and the sheer delight that spread across her face was immediate enough to make me regret my decision before she’d even opened her mouth.

"Oh. This is wonderful." She set her can aside and pressed a finger to her lips, pretending to think. "Should I dare you to squeeze my boobs? Give me head? What should I dare you to do?"

She tapped her finger against her chin, then suddenly brightened. "Oh, I’ve got it."

She turned toward me and leaned closer until her face was only inches from mine. I held her gaze, mentally preparing myself for whatever ridiculous thing she was about to ask me to do. Whatever it was, I’d already decided I wasn’t going to back out.

"I dare you to..." She paused, smiling as she watched me brace myself. "Cuddle me."

I blinked. "Huh?"

Nicole leaned across me to place her can on the desk beside the bed, bringing her face close enough that I caught the faint scent of her shampoo.

Once she’d set it down, she settled back and looked at me with a sweet smile. "I feel sleepy, and I want cuddles."

I stared into her eyes, and the more I looked at her, the harder it became to take my eyes away. There was so much affection in them that I was starting to wonder if she’d ever looked at me without it.

And here I’d been preparing myself for some outrageous dare when all she wanted was to cuddle.

She’d deliberately made me think she was going to ask for something crazy, only to turn around and ask for the simplest thing in the world. Well, simple for her, perhaps. I wasn’t sure my heart agreed.

"Cuddles it is," I said.

Nicole’s smile widened as she lay down and made herself comfortable against the pillows. I reached over to switch off the lights, then settled beside her in the darkness. She immediately scooted closer, resting against me as though she’d been waiting all evening for this particular moment.

I wrapped an arm around her, drawing her gently against my side. She seemed perfectly content with the arrangement, and I couldn’t say I had any complaints either.

"Goodnight, Nathan." she murmured.

I looked down at her, barely able to make out her face in the dim light coming from the window.

"Goodnight, Nicole."