Rachel Dyken: The Dare

May as well put the name Jake Titus across my forehead and do the walk of shame.

I wasn't some billionaire playboy like Jake was. I was responsible. In control. Hell, I was the youngest damn senator Oregon had ever seen.

And that's when reality hit.

In a force so strong my eyes frantically searched for a paper bag.

Holy shit.

It was going to be in the newspapers.

If I couldn't remember being drunk or getting to the damn hotel, that meant I was sloppy about every single thing that happened.

I checked my watch. Six a.m. With a curse, I reached for my cell and winced. Fifteen missed calls.

I never put my phone on vibrate.

Then again, I'd never had a one night stand, kissed a girl whose last name I can't even spell, or done a walk of shame Jake-style. So maybe I was turning over a new leaf. Or maybe Jake's whorishness had left him the minute he said his vows and floated into my consciousness.

Shit. Now I was freaked about being possessed? By what? The need to screw every female within a ten-mile radius?

A throat cleared. I looked up. Beth stood wrapped in a fluffy white towel, her dark wet hair clinging to her neck and shoulders.

Scratch that. Not every girl within a ten-mile radius. Her. Just her.

"What's your last name?" I asked, needing the distraction as she shifted from one toned leg to the next.

"You're kidding, right?" Beth's eyes narrowed.

"Yes?"

Yeah. It was definitely a day of firsts. For example, not only was I the first person in my family to make it into politics, but I was going to be the first male of the family to die before the age of thirty.

How would she do It, I wondered? Suffocation? Push me out the window?

"Why are you so pale?" Beth slowly walked toward me.

"I, uh…" Damn. I had nothing. My entire career was spent talking, and I had absolutely nothing. Words escaped me. My focus was on her lips as they moved. Fantastic. First I want to actually be the cookie she bites into, and now I'm obsessing over her lips.

But they had this naturally pink tint to them.

Which reminded me of bubblegum.

I had a thing for gum. It kept me from getting nervous during speeches.

I had a feeling Beth would do the same thing, if only I was given the chance for one, small taste.

One night stand. One night stand. Maybe if I kept repeating it to myself, my body would catch up. Getting lost in those gorgeous green eyes or looking at that amazing ass was going to get me nowhere in life. I needed a solid, committed relationship where both parties equally benefited from said partnership. Not a fiery green-eyed temptress who ate cookies at 3:00 a.m. and cried into a box of them when she discovered they were peanut butter instead of chocolate.

"Jace?" Beth reached out and cupped my chin with her hand, peering into my eyes.

"What are you doing?" I stepped back.

"I'm a doctor." Beth rolled her eyes.

Doctor my ass. I distinctly remember hearing she played with diseases for a living; no way did I want her hands anywhere near my face. Then again, they'd probably been on other parts all night.

Mental note: Scrub harder in shower.

"You're a chemist. Big difference." I swatted her hand away.

"So you know I'm a chemist, but you don't know my last name?"

"You were doing the periodic table of elements in your sleep and were talking about curing cancer? Remember? Doesn't take much math to add that one together, sunshine."

Besides, part of my homework given by the lovely Grandma Nadine was to do a background check on Char and her family. That woman was insane; she wanted no stone unturned. In the end, I'd broken at least four laws to get the information she'd needed. But I owed her. She'd pulled me out of my slump. I remembered Char from high school since we were closer in age, and Beth? I remembered her for entirely different reasons…

"Are you okay?" I asked, approaching the pretty girl in the white dress. Normally I wasn't so brave at another school's functions. After all, I played for their rival team, and I was quarterback. I kept a low profile. My cousin, however, had needed a date for prom, and I couldn't say no.

"Yeah," she sniffed and then looked down at her hands, "thanks."

That moment defined me, not because of anything special happening like fireworks lighting up the sky or romantic music floating through the air. It defined me because it was the first time in my life that a girl's tears had actually cut me to the core. I wanted to fix it, and I didn't even know her. It pissed me off that she was crying, and it pissed me off that I cared so much.

"Want to dance?" I held out my hand.

She looked at my hand like I'd just offered her pot.

"Just one dance," I urged. Why did I care?

"Sure," she stood, "just one dance."

I hadn't known that my one good deed would come back to bite me in the ass. How could I know that, even then? Grandma's watchful eyes were on me like the damn Lord of the Rings Eye of Sauron.

"Damn Grandma," I said aloud. I'd done my good deed for the year; I was ready to be finished with the entire Titus family and their insane shenanigans. The sooner I left, the easier it will be to walk away. Sound logic, I was aware.

"If you keep talking to me like I'm a child, you'll have a reason to call me sunshine because I'll be putting my foot where the sun don't shine, got it?"

"Are you always this pleasant in the mornings?" I stepped away from the beast. Yes, we were back to name calling. "Or is that reserved especially for me?"

"Just you," she stomped over to her discarded bridesmaid dress and snatched it off the chair, "and politicians I don't vote for."

"You didn't vote for me?" It was out of my mouth before I could stop it. Deflated, I waited for her answer.

"Nope." Beth grinned, seemingly enjoying my shock. "Then again, I don't live in Oregon."

Idiot. Last words said. Gauntlet fallen. Game set. I watched her disappear yet again into the bathroom.

"Ma'am, with all due respect. You've committed a federal crime. I don't believe a breath mint is going to solve that problem, and for the last time, no. Your dog may not serve as a character witness."

"It's because he's French, isn't it?" Grandma nodded knowingly.

Beth

I needed a paper bag and a do-over Back-to-the-Future -style. I leaned against the door and took a few deep breaths before opening my eyes.

Jace.

It had to be Jace. Out of every damn single man at the wedding, my ovaries had decided to jump into his pants? Really? Was I that desperate? It didn't make sense! I spent the better part of my shower trying to figure out the equation with logic.

Was it because he saved me before? Was I still holding onto the one that got away? To be fair, had he not run away like a scared child, I probably would have run myself. It terrified me, made me feel things that an eighteen year old shouldn't. I spent the better part of my freshman year of college thinking about that kiss. Thinking about the way his lips felt against mine and wondering what would have happened had he stayed instead of run.

But he'd left, and I never saw him again.

It wasn't until a year later that I realized he hadn't even gone to my school.

I self-consciously tucked my hair behind my ear. Did he even recognize me?

Know who I was?

Why couldn't I have done something normal? Any other guy I could have forgotten — not him.

My eyes burned, my body hurt, I was starving my ass off, and I looked like I'd just gotten run over by a chicken truck. Taking a deep soothing breath, I focused on the previous night.