From Chapter Two…
“Here, let me switch out the glasses to something more civilized,” Tara said, reaching for his snifter. They were going to pass out before the game got interesting if they chugged from their full-sized glasses. “And we’ll both drink the white ale to keep the alcohol level even.”
“Sounds like a plan. Should I start?” He rubbed his hands together like he was relishing the thought of annihilating her. How precious. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth.” She crossed her arms in the universal bring-it-on gesture.
“When was your first kiss and with whom?” he asked with a friendly smile.
“Seriously? You just went there?” Her arms dropped limply to her sides.
Tara felt warmth seeping up from her neck and spreading to her cheeks. She was a late bloomer, and her first kiss hadn’t been until college with her first boyfriend. She never spoke about Jason. He had been her first everything, including her first heartbreak. He’d done such a thorough job of it that she’d buried her heart deep inside so no one could touch it again. It took her a year of friendship and a lot of beer before she’d even told Aubrey about the abusive bastard. Tara shook her head. Despite her notorious competitiveness, she picked up her cup and drained it.
“Really?” Seth’s eyebrows rose. “That was a question you couldn’t answer? I thought I was going easy on you.”
“Shove it.” She resisted the urge to pout. She couldn’t believe she had to admit defeat in the first round. “Your turn. Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” he shot back.
“Ooh, fun.” She looked around for the perfect feat, and smiled. “I dare you to carry six full steins to that corner table, and walk back without spilling.”
“Come on. I bet even you can’t carry that many at once, and you’re a professional.”
“I can carry eight at a time, kiddo. Do you accept the dare, or are you drinking more free beer?”
“Hang on. Kiddo?” Outrage deepened the groove between his eyebrows. “I’m only a year younger than Aubrey.”
“And I’m a year older than her. So that means I’m two whole years older than you. In fact, you should be calling me noona.”
“Older sister? No way. Not happening.”
“We’ll discuss that later,” she said, laughing at his stormy expression. Annoying him was far safer than fawning over him. “For now, are you accepting the dare or not?”
In response, he unbuttoned his shirtsleeves and rolled them past his elbows.
Her jaws went slack at the sight of his manly forearms, and lust flared in her stomach. She tore her eyes away before she reached out and trailed her finger down his arm. Chaos and annihilation lie that way. Taking a fortifying breath, she proceeded to fill six steins with water. She refused to waste a drop of one of her beers.
“Here you go,” she said, placing them on the counter. “Three in each hand.”
Seth confidently picked up the steins and promptly sloshed water onto the counter. “Shit.”
“Be careful.” The veins and muscles in his forearms strained against the weight of the steins and she bit her cheek not to moan out loud. “If you bring back half-empty steins, you lose.”
With intense concentration, he walked toward the corner table, cursing every so often. But he soon returned with a decent amount of water left in the steins. He carefully placed the six steins on the counter and flexed both his hands repeatedly. They probably felt pretty cramped up. In truth, Tara could only carry four at a time herself. Maybe she should massage his strong, masculine hands for him.
“Dare accomplished.” She clapped her hands loudly enough to make herself snap out of her lust-filled thoughts. “Impressive for a first try. Let me know if you need a part-time job.”
“Don’t try to distract me with your pretty words.” Seth jerked his chin at her. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare.” After the last round, dare seemed to be the safer choice. She’d had her reservations about her rash decision to invite Seth to the brewery, but it was turning out to be a good decision, despite her brief lapses into hornyville. She didn’t want to risk making things awkward again.
“Okay. Give me a sec.” Seth thought for a moment with his mouth scrunched to the side. She reveled in all his different expressions—all much too attractive—and this one was just adorkable. Then he snapped his fingers, and said, “Mirror me.”
“Let’s go.”
The first one was easy. With his arms outstretched, he touched the tip of his nose with one hand then the other, like the sobriety test. She had to concentrate a bit to land her fingertip on her nose. She must be getting tipsy. All the more reason she had to succeed in this dare. Chugging one more glass might tip her right over to drunk.
“Is that all you’ve got?” she said.
Crap. Why did she goad him? It seemed trash talking was second nature to her. Last year at a beer competition, she yelled out to a competitor that their beer looked a bit flat and offered to lend them some of her carbonation. They were worthy opponents and good friends, so she didn’t get beaten up or anything, but she really needed to mouth off a little less.
“Oh, no. I have loads of fun up my sleeves.” Keeping his arms outstretched, Seth slowly drew his knee up and assumed the Karate Kid pose.
Tara snorted and mirrored his move. “You’re such a dork.”
“That I am.” With a roguish tilt of his lips, he put his foot and arms down and stood tall. Then he proceeded to do the weirdest, most fascinating thing. With his tongue.
His red, wet tongue slid up his upper lip as though he was about to lick it, but his tongue kept moving upward. Up and up until his tongue hit the tip of his nose.
Holy Mother Teresa. How was he doing that?
She stuck her tongue out. Maybe it wasn’t that hard. She’d just never tried it. Tara valiantly contorted her face and craned her neck, trying to copy the maneuver. It wasn’t easy. It was impossible. Her tongue just wasn’t long enough. Wait a minute. That meant Seth’s tongue was long, and . . . full of potential.
From The Dating Dare by Jayci Lee. Copyright © 2021 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
THE DATING DARE by Jayci Lee
If you love Jasmine Guillory, Lauren Layne and Helen Hoang, you’ll devour Jayci Lee’s delicious new romantic comedies!
Tara Park doesn’t do serious relationships. Neither does she hop into bed with virtual strangers. Especially when that particular stranger is her best friend’s new brother-in-law. It isn’t an easy decision, though. Seth Kim is temptation personified. His unreasonably handsome looks and charming personality makes him easy on the eyes and good for her ego.
When a friendly game of Truth or Dare leads to an uncomplicated four-date arrangement with Seth, Tara can’t say she minds. But their dates, while sweet and sexy, have a tendency to hit roadblocks. Thankfully, their non-dates and chance meetings get frequent and heated.
Seth is leaving for a new job in Paris in a month and a no-strings attached fling seemed like a nice little distraction for both… But soon Seth realizes that Tara Park doesn’t come in a ‘nice & little’ package – she’s funny and bold, sweet and sexy, and everything he ever wanted and never expected to find. Neither of them are ready for something serious and both have past relationship baggage they’ve been ignoring, but with a shot at forever on the line will they follow their hearts and take a chance on happily-ever-after?
Raves for Jayci’s A Sweet Mess!
‘A perfect balance of impeccable wit, laugh out loud hilarity, and off the charts chemistry. A Sweet Mess is a sinfully decadent romantic comedy! Helena Hunting, New York Times bestselling author
‘A rich, vibrant romance that’s a feast for all the senses!’ Lauren Blakely, New York Times bestselling author
Romance Comedy [St. Martin’s Griffin, On Sale: August 3, 2021, Trade Size / e-Book, ISBN: 9781250621122 / eISBN: 9781250621139]
Buy THE DATING DARE: Amazon.com | Kindle
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About Jayci Lee
Jayci Lee writes poignant, sexy, and laugh-out-loud romance every free second she can scavenge. She lives in sunny California with her tall-dark-and-handsome husband, two amazing boys with boundless energy, and a fluffy rescue whose cuteness is a major distraction. At times, she cannot accommodate real life because her brain is full of drool worthy heroes and badass heroines clamoring to come to life.
Because of all the books demanding to be written, Jayci writes full-time now, and is semi-retired from her fifteen-year career as a defense litigator. She loves food, wine, and travelling, and incidentally so do her characters. Books have always helped her grow, dream, and heal, and she hopes her books will do the same for you.
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