Maximum Dare - Vanessa Fewings Page 0,53

wished wasn’t happening.

Dare Club members had been invited to a large warehouse in Soho, in the arts and fashion district. It was all very exciting right up until I was sitting in a flimsy chair in front of a round mirror with a makeup artist going to town on my face.

This was humiliating. “What am I meant to be, exactly?”

Ted rolled his eyes in that condescending way I’d come to love. “Take a wild guess, Daisy.”

Wiggling my nose, I tried to lose the red bauble. “You’re lucky I don’t have a clown phobia.”

“Get over yourself. This is a charity event for sick children,” he said. “It’s about making them laugh.”

“They’ll laugh, all right.”

“It’s a theme. Your job is to walk down the runway like a model showing off your pretty dress and make those kids scream with delight.”

“This isn’t a dare, it’s a punishment.”

“Why so serious?” He pulled his mouth wider.

I glared at him. “You’ll miss me when I’m gone.”

“Correction, you’ll miss me.” Ted held out his hand for my phone, a twinkle of amusement lighting up his eyes.

“No need. Thank you, though.” In fact, if I saw anyone taking a photo of me, I’d take a running dive and land on top of them.

I stared at my ridiculous reflection in the mirror and muttered, “I’ve never done anything like this!”

Ted folded his arms across his chest. “That’s the point. We have you doing something completely out of the ordinary. Something you’d not normally do. It’ll be daring for you to walk out on that stage and have people staring at you.”

I’d always hated being the center of attention—even when I wasn’t dressed up like this.

“You’re on in fifteen minutes. The others are practicing their walk. Go join them.”

With my nose scrunched up I said, “It’s basically putting one foot in front of the other.”

“Daisy, it’s not as easy as it looks.”

“Were you a model once?” I spun round to get a better look at him.

He grinned at me. “There’s more to me than just my pretty face.”

“I totally agree, Ted.” I widened my eyes at him. “Even though I will never forgive you for this, you’ve changed my life. I’d never have done any of these daring things if it hadn’t been for you.”

“Oh, stop. You know I love the lot of you.” He ambled off.

At least I wasn’t the only one being humiliated within an inch of my life—the others were all dressed up like me.

After a few minutes, I was also provided with a large purple wig and clumpy clown shoes. The wig was itchy and the shoes were so large I was dangerously close to tripping.

Around ten very tall, very slim models wandered behind my seat. Watching them in the mirror’s reflection, I felt a pinch of betrayal.

Wait a minute…

They’d clearly had a more talented makeup artist because they all looked sexy as hell in their clown get-ups. I looked like the kind of clown you’d see in horror films. I’d end up scaring the children, for heaven’s sake.

But at least no one would recognize me.

The blue satin gown I’d been given to wear was elegant, though, and fit my curves perfectly, so there was that.

The student fashion designer showing off her new collection knew how to complement a figure. If I hadn’t looked like Joaquin Phoenix in The Joker, I might actually have been able to have some fun.

This was for charity after all, and focusing on that fact helped a bit. No one would see me anyway. We were tucked away in a warehouse in the middle of the day.

Slipping off the chair, I tried to walk elegantly and not stand out, but I wobbled instead. The others made it look easy. I looked like I had a stick up my bum.

And I needed to pee.

Halfway down a long hallway, I peeked behind a thick curtain.

The auditorium was filled with guests who were finding their seats. The stage led to a long runway—the one I’d be stumbling down.

These dares were meant to challenge us, but this one was torture—I’d be putting myself out there and making myself vulnerable in the worst kind of way.

I inhaled sharply.

Oh, no.

Morgan Hawtry sat in the front row, surrounded by women I assumed were her girlfriends. They looked as pristine and pretty as was humanly possible, all dressed in designer jeans, flowing shirts and a copious amount of jewelry, with bags that cost a fortune, no doubt.

My eyes locked with hers.

I pulled back and let the curtain fall closed