Dare To Love Series: Dreaming Up a Dare (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Catherine Gayle

guys did when you were in college, trying to trick you into something when you’re distracted by something else, whether it’s booze or being horny, or whatever.”
    “Oh…” Pepper reached for the beer again and drained the last of it.
    Was she nervous about the implications of my words? Or was she trying to be sure she stayed good and drunk, so I wouldn’t do anything to make her come? I couldn’t be sure.
    I took the empty bottle from her, along with the others from earlier, and carried them into the kitchen. “Maybe this is enough for tonight,” I said, rinsing the bottles in the sink.
    “I’m f—”
    “I’m not saying you’re too drunk,” I cut in. “I just think this has been a lot for both of us to process for now. Maybe you should go to bed. Sleep it off. See what tomorrow brings.”
    “Jackson,” she said, not even attempting to hide the plea in her tone.
    “Go to bed, Pepper.” I shut off the faucet and tossed the bottles in the recycling bin under my sink. “Before I change my mind and take you to mine.”

Six
     
     
     
    Pepper
     
    Jackson was already up and eating a bowl of oatmeal with berries and turkey sausage patties by the time I forced myself out of bed the next morning. I’d been tempted to crawl to the kitchen after trying, unsuccessfully, to puke up my guts in the toilet, but somehow I forced myself to walk upright, like a normal human being.
    “Hungry?” he asked when I joined him.
    I shook my head, wished I hadn’t moved that much, and filled a glass with water from the tap. Even the smell of his food was almost too much.
    “Tylenol’s in the cabinet,” he said. “I don’t know how much it’ll help, but it’s worth a try.”
    The only thing that would help right now was finding a way to rehydrate my body. I hadn’t had that much to drink in one sitting in years—probably not since I was going to frat parties in college.
    Oh. Yeah. Frat parties. I’d told him about what had happened at one of those, hadn’t I? God only knew what else I’d told him, too. I chugged the water and refilled my glass before taking a seat on the stool next to him at the bar.
    “Remind me never to play Truth or Dare with you again,” I croaked out. My voice sounded like it had been through the blender. Probably about right, considering the way I felt.
    Jackson chuckled. “How about I remind you never to drink that much in one night again? Something tells me the game wasn’t your problem.”
    In lieu of nodding, I raised a hand slightly in acknowledgment. That seemed like a much better course of action than anything that would require movement of my head, at least if I intended to remain upright and not puke everywhere. “If you say one word about this to my mother…”
    “My lips are sealed.”
    Except for when he’d kissed me, unless you counted them being sealed against mine.
    Not at all what I needed to be thinking about right now. It would only make me hurt worse than I already did, because there wasn’t a chance in hell that he meant anything he’d done or said last night.
    “I’ve got to head out for morning skate soon,” he said, nattering on like there wasn’t anything he’d rather be doing.
    I glared at him for being so chipper and cheerful while I wanted to find a hole to bury myself in.
    “Think you’ll come to the game tonight?” he asked.
    Thousands of people. Lots of noise. Goal horns. Sounded like hell, even on a good day. And today was definitely not a good day. “I might just crawl under a rock and die,” I forced out.
    Jackson laughed and got up. He rinsed his dishes in the sink before loading them into the dishwasher. “Maybe it’ll be better in time. And if not, it’s okay. You can watch here on the big screen with the sound off.”
    I expected him to head off to his bedroom to finish getting himself ready, but he didn’t. He walked up behind me and kissed the top of my head, rubbing his hands up and down my biceps.
    I stiffened. Couldn’t help