Do You Dare? by Lylah James

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Lila

Later that day, Riley and I were lying in my bed, going through her Advanced Calculus homework. Riley had planned to major in business and after go to law school, that was her parents’ expectations, which wouldn’t be difficult for her since she loved Law and Politics.

Her weakness, though, was math. Absolutely everything that had to do with math. It was sucky for her since if she had to major in business, she had to pass her calculus courses with flying colors.

Enter me: Her best friend, her tutor and a genius in math. Lucky her.

“I don’t understand shit,” she whined, flopping on her back. Riley closed her eyes and threw an arm over her face, hiding from me.

I gave her a gentle nudge with my toes. “Let’s try the question one more time.”

“That’s the third time. I’m a hopeless case. There’s no way I’m getting into Harvard if I flunk Calculus.”

She was exaggerating. Riley was in no way flunking Calculus. She was currently in the mid-eighties, since she had been busting her ass night and day to practice all her equations and solving extra math problems. Riley Jenson was dedicated to a fault.

“Practice makes perfect, right?” I cajoled, gently. “One more time, babe.”

She lowered her arm a bit and peeked at me. “Then we can watch Riverdale?”

“One episode,” I reluctantly agreed.

“Binge watch the whole season?” Riley gave me the puppy eyes, the ones she had mastered, which almost won me over.

I pinched her shin. “Now you’re pushing it, Missy.”

She hissed, pulling her feet away, and her bottom lip jutted out in a pout.

“Let’s go back to the question.”

Riley nodded and sat up, focusing back on her notebook. I explained the steps to her again, she nodded along and gave it one more try.

Twenty minutes later, she let out a shout of victory. “I did it!”

Yes, she did. Just like I knew she would.

The happiness on her face was infectious, and I found myself laughing with her as she did half a twerk on my bed.

We spent the next two hours working on our homework. Once we were done and had put all our stuff away, I went down to get us snacks while Riley loaded Riverdale on Netflix. She wanted to binge watch while I was settling for only two episodes. It was going to be a battle for sure.

Halfway through the first episode, Riley started to get edgier. She was sneaking glances at me, and I noticed the way she was practically poking a hole through her blouse.

I knew Riley long enough to know this was a sign of nervousness and it had nothing to do with Riverdale. I waited for her to speak instead of pushing for information. If something was wrong, she’d tell me on her own without me having to force it out of her. It was a silent understanding between us. Riley has never pushed me about my past. I told her bits and pieces, and she accepted them without demanding more. I did the same with her. She only gave me what she wanted; we established this understanding early in our friendship.

Her silence didn’t last for more than fifteen minutes. “I have to confess something.”

I paused the episode and faced her. We were both sitting cross legged on the bed. “What is it?”

Riley swallowed hard and chewed on her lip, her brows pulled together in nervousness. Her body was strung tight with tension, and I didn’t like the dreadful look on her face.

She licked her lips, took a deep breath and started. “On Friday, after Maddox pulled you away and Colton grabbed me…”

The night of the haunted house? Confused, I nodded and waited for her to continue.“Yeah?”

“He pulled me behind the dumpster…” Riley trailed off, her eyes wide and glassy.

“Yeah. You told me. Fucking assholes. Both of them. If I could, I’d report them–”

Riley shook her head and cut me off, sharply. “No, listen. I didn’t tell you everything that happened.”

And then she… blushed. She averted her gaze for a second, and she went back to poking holes in her shirt.

“Riley…?” I slowly questioned.

She let out a loud, frustrated sigh.Her cheeks were tinted pink, but there was a guilty look in her eyes. “I messed up. I don’t know how it happened but it just… happened. One minute, I was screaming at him and I even punched him; he was laughing like a stupid, madman and then he pulled me close and… it just happened. I didn’t think. I wasn’t thinking.”

She was babbling, talking too fast, but I caught the gist of it. For her sake, I carefully concealed my shock.But… oh my fucking SHIT!

“Riley, did you… I mean, you two…?”

“No! We didn’t have sex,” she sputtered and blushed even harder. “We made out. Oh God, I can’t believe I’m saying this. But he pulled me into him and just slammed his lips on mine. I think it was the adrenaline. I was so scared, and then I was excited and like, my heart was beating so fast, I felt dizzy and then I just kissed him back.”

Don’t freak out, Lila. Don’t freak out.

“What happened?” I calmly asked, even though I was anything but calm.

“Colton pulled us down, so I could sit on his lap. And we just… um, kissed.”

“And?”

Riley buried her face in her hands, letting out a choked scream. “I’m horrible. Jasper was right. I’m a whore.”

“What? Riley!” I scooted closer to her and pulled her hands away from her face, so she would have no choice but to look at me. “Don’t say that!”

“We kissed. I don’t know when it happened, but he unbuttoned my jeans and put his hand inside and… he touched me, and it felt good, Lila. I know this sounds stupid, but it felt really good. It was crazy and everything was happening so fast.”

She broke off, looking at me like I could save her from whatever she was going through in her head. My poor Riley. I was shocked, speechless, so I could only pat her arm.

“Ifhame,” she muttered too fast for me to catch.

“You what?”

“I came! He was just touching me and… I orgasmed on his lap while we were sitting beside a fucking disgusting, smelly dumpster.”

My jaw went slack, and I stared at her. Riley let out a cry, looking so conflicted and heartbroken. “I don’t even like him! God, I like Grayson, and I let Colton touch me like that and I’m horrible. Just like Jasper said.”

I snapped out of my shock at her words and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. “Riley, you are not. Stop that.”

Her chin wobbled, and she bit harshly on her lip. She was so red now, her cheeks, her ears and her neck were all flushed. “Colton is the first guy… I mean after Jasper. I haven’t been with anyone else. I haven’t even kissed anyone since Jasper. I couldn’t bear it and then with Colton, it just happened.”

“Oh honey. Come here.” I hugged her close, and she hiccupped back a sob. Now that she had finally confessed what was eating her on the inside, her mixed emotions had bubbled over, and there was no stopping them.

“He probably thinks I’m stupid and a slut.”

“Hush.” I soothed a hand down her back, comforting Riley in the only way I knew how. I sucked at comforting people, but I hoped my presence was enough for her.

“He’s going to spread rumors like Jasper did. I’m so scared to go to school tomorrow. What if I walk in and everyone stares at me like… before… when Jasper… the whispers, the snickers, the laughs behind my back.”

I pressed a firm hand on her back. “Not all boys are like Jasper, sweetie.”

“I know…”

“It’s okay.”

She lifted her face and pulled out of my arms. “He hugged me.”

“Colton?” That was… shocking.

“Yeah. After, my… um, orgasm. I think I was in shock. And I teared up. I wasn’t crying, but I mean, there were tears. He noticed and broke the kiss. Then, he just hugged me. We didn’t speak. That’s when you found us. I heard you calling out my name, and we broke apart.”

Oh wow.

“He apologized,” Riley confessed gently. “Before I left, he whispered he was sorry.”

I didn’t know what to say. Colton and Maddox were cut from the same cloth. Both were fuckboys, and both were assholes. It was almost impossible to imagine Colton doing something as sweet as to hug and apologize to Riley.

“Not all boys are Jasper,” I said again.

She nodded, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. Riley was always so cheerful, so full of life. The conflicted look on her face tore my heart apart. “Does that make me a bad person? I don’t like him. I want Grayson.”

“No, it doesn’t make you a bad person. Like you said, it was the adrenaline and in the spur of the moment. It happens, and no one has the right to judge you. If Colton hugged you and apologized, then I don’t think he’s going to spread rumors about you. I guess, he’s not like that.”

As I said the words, I came to a shocking realization.

Maddox and his buddies were one big package of douchebaggery. They were jerks, they constantly played with girls’ hearts and all they cared about was sex, sex and more sex. But I’d never seen them spreading any stupid rumors about other students. Sure, they were irritating – but they had never done anything to ruin someone’s reputation. Not like Jasper had done to Riley.

I guess… that was one good thing about Maddox and his friends.

***

Monday morning, Riley’s fear was put to rest when we walked through the gates of Berkshire, and everything was normal, like any other day. It appeared that Colton hadn’t spread any rumors, and I could tell Riley was finally able to breathe better. She was back to her smiling self in two seconds flat.

We went to our respective classes, and the day continued without any more drama.

Except… with Maddox being a constant presence in my life, I only had three hours of peace and quiet until it was time for lunch.

The hallways were empty as I walked out of Mrs. Callaway’s office, my Chemistry teacher. Our meeting ran longer than expected, and everyone was already in the cafeteria, since it was halfway through lunch now.

I made my way to my locker to deposit my textbooks, only to stop dead when I noticed who was standing there. Maddox leaned against my locker, looking like he owned it. He was everywhere I went, everywhere I wanted to go – he was there. A constant thorn in my ass.

I was starting to believe there was no escaping Maddox Coulter once he checkmated you. And that was exactly what he did to me. He put me on his radar, and then checkmate, I became his unwilling prize. No matter how much I fought and pushed back, he was there, pulling me just as hard and pushing back harder. It was a never-ending cycle, and it was starting to get tiring.

Letting out a sigh, I walked forward. As I grew closer, I noticed he had a toothpick between his lips, his dirty blond locks were rumpled and let down, instead of the man bun, and his Berkshire coat was missing. His white shirt was untucked and his tie hung loosely around his neck.

He looked like an imperfect canvas, flawed and wild. But like every piece of art, you couldn’t take your eyes off him.

It was my first time seeing him like this. His godly appearance had been replaced with something imperfect and… humane.

“What do you want?” I asked, stopping next to him.

He chewed on his toothpick, thoughtfully. “You hurt me,” he said, simply, as if he was announcing the weather.

“When? How? Oh right, probably in your nightmare.” I punched in the code to my locker, opened it, and slammed my textbooks inside.

He finally stared down at me, his lips crooked and his eyes lit with mischief. “So, you agree, you’re a pain in my ass?”

Me, a pain in his ass? This was the joke of the century.

“I’m not roses, Maddox. If you’re going to make my life difficult, I’m going to be the thorn that pricks you. Don’t expect me to be all smiles, hearts and googly eyes. I’m not that girl.”

He kept the toothpick in the corner of his mouth as he spoke. “I know you’re not.”

When I didn’t answer, he slowly rolled the sleeves of his white shirt up to his elbow. The same arm I bit yesterday. He shoved his arm into my face and a huge, red bite mark stared back at me.

My eyes widened at the angry looking mark. I grabbed his forearm for a closer inspection. That couldn’t be from when… I bit him, right?

"You hurt me,” he said again.

I… did.

“Look at it. It hurts so bad; my arm has been aching the whole time.”

My gaze flew up to his, and I would have thought he was serious if I didn’t notice the twinkle in his eyes.

“I don’t remember biting you that hard, and it was yesterday morning. It’s been a whole twenty-four hours. It’s impossible that the bite mark would still look like this, except if…”

I let my words trail off, and I squinted at him, now suspicious.

“You think I bit myself? Damn, Garcia, you really are cruel. Why would I cause such pain to myself when I have you to do it?”

He shoved his arm in my face again. “Now kiss it better,” Maddox demanded, “or, I'll tell the principal you bit me.”

Sweet Jesus, he really was impossible.

“Go ahead," I hissed under my breath. “I'll tell him how you’ve been harassing me!”

Maddox had the audacity to look innocent. He let out a mock gasp before his bottom lip jutted out in a small pout. “Me? You’re the one who got physical with me, Sweet Cheeks. Every. Single. Time. If I didn’t know better, I would say you’re trying to get me to touch you.”

My stomach dipped, and my frustration bubbled to the point where I thought I’d do something worse than bite him. That’s it. I couldn’t deal with him anymore.

I threw my hands up in defeat. It took everything in me to accept it, but I was done. “You know what? Truce. We’re even with each other. Let's stop here.”

Maddox looked at me for a second longer. His gaze seared into mine, burning through my walls and forcing itself to peek into my soul. I clamped up and met his gaze with a hard look.

He lifted a shoulder, a lazy shrug. “Fine. Truce. But you need to kiss my boo boo better first.”

Is he fucking serious?

So, this was his game? He really wanted my lips on him, somehow. Jerk. But fine, I’d play. “Fine. I’ll kiss your boo boo better before you go running back to your mommy crying.”

I brought his arm closer and slowly bent my head down to the bite mark. It did look ugly and painful. For the briefest moment, I felt bad and guilt gnawed at me before I pushed it away.

Before my lips could touch him, Maddox crowded into my space. I sucked in a harsh breath when his arm curled around my waist and he pulled me into him. Our bodies collided together softly and time came to a halt. Tick…tock…

His heat seeped through his clothes and mine, and I could feel the flush on my skin. My heart skittered, and I could feel the beat of his own heart against my chest.

Something pulsed between us, electrifying and powerful… a brief moment in time… something that lasted for only a nanosecond.

His other hand came up and his fingers slipped behind my head, curling around my nape.

My brain screamed at me, angry and confused.

His breath feathered over my mouth; I blinked, and his lips crashed against mine.

I gasped into his hungry lips. My hands landed on his chest, and I tried to push him back, but he clutched the back of my neck as he deepened the kiss. With his arm still locked firmly around my waist, he swiveled us around, and my back slammed into the locker. My heart dipped into my stomach when he pushed against me, and he lifted me up, only allowing my toes to touch the ground.

I didn’t know if I should kiss him back… push him away…

My mind went blank as he licked the seams of my lips. His chest rumbled with a small groan when his teeth grazed my bottom lip before he bit down. I hissed into his mouth, even though I was trembling in his arms. The gentle bite stung, and I could feel the blood rushing through my ears. Slowly, he pulled his mouth away. The taste of him, mint and tobacco were heavy on my swollen lips.

“Now we’re even. Truce, baby,” he whispered in my ear, his voice deeper and darker.

My breath caught in my throat as he untangled himself from my body, and I slumped against the locker. I couldn’t… breathe.

Shock and rage coursed through me, a sea of mixed emotions, too deep while the tides were too violent, I was drowning into the bottomless ocean.

Maddox gazed down at me, and he lazily swiped his tongue over his red, swollen lips as if to taste the remnant of our kiss. “You taste sweeter than I thought.”

His lips twitched, and with a ghost of a smile, he strutted backward and away from me. I let out a choked gasp… finally able to breathe.

I inhaled sharply, sucking in desperate breaths as he winked at me, and then rounded the corner out of my sight. My hand slowly crept up to my chest, and I left it there, over my rapidly beating heart.

His lips had tasted like… sin.

And I hated myself for reacting the way I did to his kiss.