Curvy Girls Can't Date Quarterbacks - Kelsie Stelting Page 0,25
standing with Callie, and he said, “Let’s go sit over there.” He nodded toward where Beckett sat on a large piece of driftwood.
I followed them, trying not to breathe too heavily. Trudging through the sand was hard, and I kept kicking sand up on my calves.
Carson and Callie sat on the ground, and the rest of us sat on another drift log someone had brought over to the fire.
I glanced across the flames to see the orange reflecting on Beckett’s face. He was still talking to Merritt, but his heart wasn’t in it. I could tell.
The second he caught sight of Carson, he disengaged from Merritt and walked over.
Carson patted the ground on his side. “Pull up some sand, man.”
For whatever reason, the sandman song started playing in my head. I gazed toward the dark, cloudy sky. Why was my mind so weird?
Beckett glanced our way, then spoke again to Carson. “What are you up to?”
“Hanging out,” Carson said. “Thinking about playing Truth or Dare.”
Beckett’s eyes lit. “Yeah?”
My thoughts on Truth or Dare immediately changed from it being a game for bored twelve-year-olds to something I had to do.
“Truth or Dare?” Merritt shrilled. “I want to play!”
Carson and Beckett shared an unmistakably annoyed look.
“Sure,” Carson finally said. “Truth or dare, Merritt?”
“Dare.” She flashed her teeth in a smile, and they glinted in the firelight. I wondered if she was done sinking those teeth into Beckett—if he was really done letting her.
Could Carson just dare here to go away? I wouldn’t complain.
I was on the edge of my—log?—waiting for his dare.
“I dare you to dance around the fire,” he said, taking a sip from his drink.
Her eyebrows quirked; she was clearly disappointed in the dare, but then she shrugged and sent Beckett a wink. Her hips dropped low, swaying suggestively. As she bent to wave her butt in Beckett’s direction, her shirt fell low enough to reveal her barely-there lacy bra.
I didn’t know whether to gag or be jealous. My idea of a dance move was the sprinkler. Seriously. This was off-the-charts stupid. Beckett couldn’t be into this. Could he?
She eventually dropped her hips in Beckett’s lap, going full-blown lap dance.
Beckett’s shoulders held more tension than I’d ever seen there. Not like in the bakery when he was in charge, in his element.
He took her hips and shifted her to the side, and Carson said, “That’s good enough.”
With a flirty smile Beckett’s way, she crooned, “Truth or dare?”
“Truth,” he muttered. I barely heard him over the guitar playing in the background and the roar of the waves. But I could hear Merritt perfectly as she spoke.
“Tell me what you like about me.” She looked up at him, her plump lips parting slightly. “What turns you on?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and I looked away.
“Could she be any more obvious?” Ginger muttered under her breath. “Give me a break.”
“Your hair,” Beckett said.
“That’s it?” Merritt asked.
I turned back just in time to see her flip her hair and twirl a piece between her manicured fingers.
“Yep,” Beckett said, his eyes searching the rest of us. “Rory, truth or dare?”
His voice shot through me, calling my heart to attention. Would I ever get used to hearing him say my name or the jolt of excitement and flurry of butterflies that always followed?
Ginger nudged my side, and I realized he was still waiting for my answer. After a moment of pondering between the two evils, I finally said, “Truth.”
He ignored Merritt rubbing his knee and said, “What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you on a date?”
Now it was my turn to gulp. Did I lie and make up a story, or did I tell the truth? That I’d never been on a real date. No one had ever asked me.
Merritt used her special talent and sensed my distress. “Aurora’s never been on a date.” She chuckled.
“I’m sure she has,” Beckett said. “We’re seniors.”
“Why?” Merritt asked. “Who would ask her out?”
I waited for him to say he would, but no such fantasy came true. Beckett just said, “Go ahead, Rory.”
My eyes were stinging now for reasons I didn’t completely understand.
“Here,” Tinsley said, “I’ll ask her a truth.”
“No, I’ve got this,” Merritt said, locking her eyes on me. “What made you think you belong at a party like this and not at home, elbow deep in a bag of chips?”
“What did you—” Jordan began, but I shook my head at her. She didn’t need a reason to lose her scholarship or get kicked out of school.