Do You Dare? by Lylah James

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Lila

The crowd cheered so loudly that I wondered if my eardrums were ever going to be the same. Excitement bubbled in my chest, and I felt giddy as the players strode out of the tunnel, leading to the football field. Maddox liked to have me accompany him to his practices but this was my first actual game. I knew absolutely nothing about football but I had to be here for Maddox. This was important to him, hence it was important to me.

“MC! MC! Go Berkshire!” the girls screamed from behind me.

Holy shit, this was huge and it was exhilarating.

The cheerleaders were doing their own thing as the game started. All eyes were on the Berkshire players. I held my breath, and I couldn’t tear my eyes off the field. Riley grasped my hand in hers, and she was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Maddox probably just scored a point because the crowd went wild, batshit crazy wild. I knew it was him because of the swagger as he trotted around the field, soaking up all the attention. He banged his fist against his chest, and our cheerleaders cheered even louder. I was too far away to see his face, but I could imagine the cocky grin. Yeah, this was definitely MC–Maddox Coulter, all macho and arrogant.

Tonight was the last football game of the season. Due to the snow in January, the game got pushed back a few weeks. It was still cold as fuck, but our Berkshire boys were crushing the other team. I didn’t understand much about football or any sports for that matter, but when Riley and our people cheered, I did too.

I tried to keep an eye on Maddox, but everything was happening too fast, so I had no idea what was going on.

The audience hollered once more, “MC! MC! MC!”

They were calling out to Maddox. He was the star football player, after all.

There was one last touchdown before the field and crowd erupted. We… won?

Holy shit, we won! Not that I was surprised or anything, but WE WON!

I was never much of a sports fan; I didn’t much care about football, but this was Maddox’s passion–his whole fucking life. He was happy, which made me happy.

Riley jumped, and I danced in my spot, laughing. “We won!” she shrieked.

My heart thumped so loudly that I could hear the beats in my ears. What a night.

Maddox paused at the edge of the field, and I was standing in the front row, courtesy of being the quarterback’s friend. He took off his helmet, smirking. His breathing was ragged, but the expression on his face was one of pleasure and bliss.

Maddox wiggled his eyebrows at me as the girls surrounded him. A cheerleader rubbed herself against him, grabbed his face and landed a big kiss on his lips.

Okaaayy then.

More girls joined the group, all of them trying to cop a feel of Maddox. I sincerely worried for his ego. This couldn’t be healthy for a seventeen year old boy. So much arrogance and cockiness.

He spared me a glance, challenging me with his gaze. I remembered the words he spoke to me before the game.

Riley stood beside me, completely oblivious of what was about to happen. Maddox waited, giving me an infuriating look, as if he expected me to lose this stupid dare.

Sincerely, fuck you, Maddox Coulter.

As another girl wrapped her arms around him, I lunged into action.

Do you dare?

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Riley let out a shocked gasp as I grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her forward. My mouth landed on hers, and her eyes flared in surprise. I pressed my lips harder against hers before pulling away.

She wiped her mouth, sputtering and glaring. “What the fuck, Lila?”

Shrugging, I gave her a sheepish look. “Maddox dared me, sorry.”

“If I win the game, I dare you to kiss Riley,” he said, amusement flashing in his eyes. This was probably some woman on woman fantasy for him.

“You can’t be serious!”

His lips quirked up. “Do you dare?”

I turned to face Maddox again, and he was chuckling. I flashed him the middle finger, and he laughed even harder. Maddox pulled away from all the girls as they tried to grab him, vying for his attention, but he shook his head.

He said something to them and pointed at me. Everyone turned to stare at the same time.

Suspicious, I squinted at him as he made his way to me.

“What did you say to them?” I asked with my hands on my hips. My eyes narrowed on him.

He smirked. “Told them my girlfriend was getting jealous.”

Huh? Wait… what?

I was in too much shock from his words that I didn’t see it coming until I was flung upside down and over his shoulder.

“Maddox!” I screeched.

He swatted my ass. “Be nice. These girls are driving me crazy, and you’re my escape plan.”

“Let me down. Now!” I banged my fists into his back, feeling his muscles clench under my attack.

“How about you be docile for five minutes?” He rumbled with a chuckle.

Docile? Excuse me, DOCILE?

I hit him with my fist again, although I was pretty sure he didn’t feel anything. “What am I? Your pet?” I snapped.

Maddox hummed, thoughtfully. What a douchebag.

“You’re such a wild chihuahua,” he said.

“Careful, or you’ll end up with a nasty bite, Coulter.”

His shoulders shook with silent laughter. “Bite me then, Garcia.”

I rolled my eyes as he stalked away from the crowd with me over his shoulder, caveman style.

Once we reached the boys’ locker room, he let me down, and I blew my hair out of my face. “Why are we here?”

“I need a shower and then we’ll be on our way to the bonfire. Berkshire is celebrating tonight. I need my favorite person there.”

I crossed my arms over my chest as he sauntered toward his locker. “You do realize if you keep grabbing me and throwing me over your shoulder like this, they will never believe that we’re just friends.”

We were already getting weird looks. No one believed we were just friends.Maybe that was partially our fault.

Maddox and I spent way too much time together. He’d hold my hands, kiss my cheek or throw an arm over my shoulders while we walked down the halls. He stole bites of my lunch, and we continued to play silly pranks on each other. At first, I hated the public displays of affection, but they grew on me, just like the rest of Maddox’s quirks. He still made inappropriate jokes, but he never tried to do anything… more.

Maddox gave me a nonchalant half shrug. He removed his shoulder pads and stripped off his jersey before throwing it my way. “A souvenir, Sweet Cheeks.”

“You really don’t care?” I asked.

He didn’t bother to hide his amusement at my question. “Lila, people’s opinions don’t matter to me. You shouldn’t care either. They live to gossip while we’re living our lives to the fullest. So, who the fuck cares if they think we’re friends or we’re fucking?”

Okay, true. Point taken.

Two hours later, we were celebrating with the rest of the Berkshire students around bonfire. There was a lot of us here but the open field was big enough so it didn’t seem crowded. Bottles and cans of beer littered around us. A few guys were already a tad drunk, and they were laughing about something, pushing each other around.

Maddox walked over with a beer in his hand and a paper plate in the other. “Got you some Hawaiian Teriyaki Chicken skewers.”

I smiled, taking the plate from him. “Thanks.” I looked around, seeing all the smiles. “They sure love celebrating.”

He took a long pull of his beer before wiping the corner of his mouth. His legs were lazily spread apart, and he was wearing black ripped jeans, expensive leather boots and a hat that probably cost more than my bra. Maddox looked like he owned the world–a god amongst us mere mortals.

He licked his lips, grinning. “This is nothing. The real celebration is at Colton’s house next weekend.”

My brows furrowed at that. “I don’t want to know.”

I munched on my grilled skewers while slowly nursing my own beer. A moment later, Maddox tsked. “I’m bored. Let’s cause a little trouble.”

He stood up and went to the middle of the field. He spread his arms out, smirking. “Let’s play a game,” he announced.

The others hollered in agreement.

Oh, no.

His gaze found mine, mischief flashing in his eyes. I glared, trying to look severe, but my own lips twitched with a smile.

Here comes trouble.