Stupid Boy

“Brax, stop it,” Olivia crooned. “Harper, he’s just jealous because he’d asked Kane earlier,” she grinned a wicked grin. “He’d said he was too busy. Didn’t you, Kane?”

When my gaze found Kane’s, he wasn’t embarrassed by Olivia’s words. He wasn’t looking away from me. It was dead on me, that mysterious, somber, sexy smolder only he possessed. “Something like that.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Brax said, and pushed his brother. He began bouncing from foot to foot as though preparing for a boxing match. Brax glanced over his shoulder at me. “Half-pint, you stay away from this guy, you hear?” He punched Kane in the shoulder, then his eyes found me again. He cocked his head. “Dorchester boys are bad news.”

I gave him a hesitant smile, and nodded. My gaze caught Olivia’s, and although Brax didn’t seem aware, she did. I could tell. I had to wonder to what extent Brax really did know Kane. And did he know how his brother had pursued me? Followed me to the lake? The cafeteria? Brax seemed to be joking, but was he really?

Soon, we were all lined up awaiting the announcer’s horn, and true to his words, Kane stood right beside me.

“You’d asked before if you could place a bet,” he said, leaning close to my ear. “You still up for it?”

I stiffened, unsure how to answer. I didn’t want to take part in his illegal dealings. Part of his reformation was to get him to quit it altogether. Only now was too early to let him know that. Luckily, though, I didn’t have to answer.

“If I beat you, you go out with me,” he said in that charming accent. When my eyes widened, his smile did also. “My choice where.”

Once again I watched his warm breath blend with the cold air and turn white and puffy, his skin so clear save for the shadow of dark stubble. And eyes so endless that I had a difficult time saying no.

“And if I beat you?” I asked instead.

His wide, full mouth tilted. “You won’t.”

The horn sounded then, and as my heart leapt, so did the other runners around me. Including Kane. He ran beside me for some time; I sped up, so would he. Occasionally, I’d slip a glance at him. Sometimes, he’d already be looking at me, and a victorious grin would be present. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go out with him; that was the purpose of the Dare, after all. To get the subject to fall for the Darer. In order for the reformation to take place, of course. It almost sounded silly, when said aloud in my head. What was I doing?

I settled into my run, allowed the air to ease in, out of my lungs at my own controlled rate. I reveled in the feel of my muscles burning beneath my black Nike leggings and matching long sleeved black fitted nylon top, and my skin. Then, something dawned on me. I didn’t mind going out with Kane, not because of the Dare, but because…I wanted to. He intrigued me. He made my skin tingle, my heart race. I found it hard to breathe around him. All things I’d never experienced before. Not even once.

It’d never been allowed. It was forbidden. Not with Corinne Belle keeping an eye on me. I had attended an all-girls school and was never allowed to attend the dances that would sometimes pop up. I’d been too scared to notice boys before, even when I first came to Winston. But Kane was different, somehow. He bothered me. Lingered in my head. Wouldn’t go away.

What would Corinne think of that?

The one thing I knew for sure: She absolutely couldn’t find out. I’d do what I had to do to keep it a total and complete secret.

Soon, the pack of runners began to thin. I stretched my gait, but so did Kane. He did so with complete ease, as though running came second nature to him. He wasn’t winded; quite the opposite. He’d pulled a beanie over his head and seemed to be…simply loping along, those long legs eating up the pavement as if it took no effort whatsoever. Who was he, really? Not a potential student. Didn’t have a regular job. Halfway across the country from his home, running illegal bets out of a fraternity house.

He baffled me as much as he terrified me. Without having told him a single secret, he suspected. Saw through me. Knew. I could feel it.

I’d have to be very cautious with Kane McCarthy. No matter how much he piqued my interest.

Time flew by as the Turkey Run wound down. Murphy and Josh had greeted us at a checkpoint with a bottle of water, and neither of us had slowed much to grab it from her as we passed by. Josh was beside her, wearing a Turkey Run T-shirt, and he’d given Kane a slight nod. Murphy wiggled her brows in a comical way as she’d looked at me, and a smile twisted my mouth. I pushed it back and continued on. I had to wonder, though, what might be running through Josh’s mind. Seeing his numbers man running the race beside me.

The moment the sign for Killian’s fairgrounds came into view, Kane threw an easy smile my way and took off. Ahead, Brax and Olivia ran side by side, but as soon as Kane flew by them, Brax took off. I eased up closer to Olivia, her long messy braid bouncing off her backside with each step. She looked at me and rolled her eyes.

“They both seem to think there’s some sort of prize if they win,” she said, slightly breathy.

She wore a pair of black tights, similar to mine, but paired with a long sleeved Star Wars themed T-shirt. I nodded. “Well, I suppose there is.”

“What do you mean?” She quirked a brow.

I almost internally slapped myself for telling Olivia anything. Not that she wasn’t nice, or trustworthy. It was just…I didn’t tell people things. But since she was Brax’s girlfriend, she’d find out soon enough. So better to hear from me first.