Truth or Dare Read online

  When their cab pulled up in front of their destination, Sophie’s heart fluttered madly in her chest. The exterior was sleek, black, and discreet, other than the silhouettes of females in the windows. A large bouncer dressed in black with a fierce expression on his face stood at the door eyeing everyone that approached. Mel jumped out of the car and skipped toward the front door. The bouncer’s scowl melted into a smile as he watched Mel approach.

  “Hey, beautiful.” He laughed, velvety and deep, from his large chest.

  “Hey, Dustin.” Mel stretched up on her toes to kiss his beautiful dark skin. “This is my favorite girl in the whole world.” Mel motioned toward Sophie as she introduced her to the bouncer. “Sophie, this is Dustin.”

  “I can see why she’s your favorite girl.” He said genuinely. His manners were refreshing as he shook Sophie’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Sophie.”

  “You too, Dustin.” Sophie offered politely.

  “This must be your first time. You seem really nervous.” Dustin chuckled. Sophie didn’t even notice she was shaking until she looked down at her hands.

  “She’s gonna be one of the crowd minglers tonight.” Mel threaded her arm through Sophie’s.

  “Don’t worry, Sophie. We’ll keep an eye on you,” he said reassuringly.

  The music pulsed through the interior of the club. It was dark with low seductive lighting. Small platforms with lights running along the edges were sporadically placed throughout the bar, each displaying a girl twisting her naked body around the dance poles. Only thongs stood in the way of displaying all their secrets to the thin crowd that was dispersed through the establishment. “It will be packed later. It’s still early,” Mel yelled beside her over the raging music. The bartenders were stacking up endless rows of glasses behind the bar, readying for the evening guests. “Come with me. I want you to meet Kate. She’s going to be on the floor with you. You guys can hang out.” Mel’s words were music to her ears. Having someone to talk to would be wonderful, a distraction from focusing on where she was. The girls on stage greeted Mel as she passed, each of them seemingly as comfortable naked as someone who was completely clothed.

  “Mel!” a stout man shouted as he walked toward them. His hair was wiry with unkempt curls. His large dark eyes were the only good feature upon his face. “Hello, who’s this?” He held his hand out toward Sophie.

  “Joe, this is my friend Sophie. She’s helping us out tonight.” Mel introduced Sophie to her boss.

  “Very nice to meet you, Sophie.” He smiled widely, showing his crooked teeth.

  “You too.” Sophie shook his hand as he looked her over like an object.

  Mel gave her an apologetic look. “You were looking for me?” She pulled Joe’s attention away from Sophie.

  “Yeah, Cindy didn’t show up again. Can you cover her?”

  “Yeah sure. I have to show Sophie around. I’ll come see you in a bit.” Mel grabbed Sophie’s arm and pulled her along.

  Mel gave Sophie a brief tour, showing her the main stage where Mel would be performing later, and the area that Sophie was supposed to mingle around. The décor was just as eye catching as the entertainment; everything was sparkles and lights.

  Mel introduced Sophie to Kate, another girl that would be working around the crowd, enticing the customers to open their wallets. Kate was short with voluptuous curves. She loved when men looked at her. Her hair was curled into tight bouncy ringlets and her lipstick was a bright pink like the dress that squeezed her to the point it looked likely it would pop off. Sophie couldn’t help but smile at Kate’s enthusiastic mood. She was ready to take on any man brave enough to approach her big personality.

  It didn’t take long for customers to start filling the bar. Sophie sipped the sweet drink that the bartender had poured for them. Kate had greedily sipped through four glasses in the past hour as they chatted. Sophie was too wary of what was happening around her to let go and enjoy herself. She hadn’t seen Mel since she left to go backstage to get ready. The acts had begun on the main stage, and Sophie was amazed with how the girls danced so confidently with so many male eyes greedily watching their every move. The room filled to capacity as people poured in from the streets. Sophie soon found it hard to move around without pushing through the bodies.

  Kate flirted with countless men, chatting easily like it was the most natural thing in the world to be surrounded by horny men. Sophie was grateful that Kate took the attention from her nervous disposition.

  “Excuse me?” Sophie turned around and looked into the deep brown eyes of a tall, well-dressed man not that much older than herself. “It looks like you’re not enjoying that drink. Can I offer you something else?” He was handsome in an unconventional way. His features were sharp but worked together to create a memorable face.

  “Um…sure. Thank you,” Sophie accepted gratefully.

  “What would you like?” He smiled to reveal straight white teeth.

  “Not sure, but something less sweet would be great.”

  “Sure thing.” He leaned against the bar and ordered Sophie and himself a drink. He was tall and his athletic narrow form indicated that he knew how to move his body. With two drinks in his hand, he turned around and held hers out for her.

  “Thank you.”

  “I hope you don’t think that I’m being to forward, but I think you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.” He seemed so much more confident now. “Are you a model or something?”

  “Me? No, definitely not. How many drinks have you had?” Sophie laughed off his comment. She never really knew how to respond when people gave her a compliment. Her cheeks heated with embarrassment.

  “Just starting.” He held up his drink and took a generous sip.

  “This is so much better,” Sophie said appreciatively after trying her drink. It didn’t take her breath away like the last one that tasted more like a dessert.

  “Do you come here often?” he asked cautiously.

  “No. It’s actually my first time. I’m here with my friend.” Sophie turned around to see Kate doing shots at the bar with a couple of rowdy men. They began chanting her name as she plowed through the row lined up on the bar for her.

  “She seems to be having a good time. I’m Cale, by the way.” He held out his hand.

  “Sophie.” Sophie slipped her small hand in his and he brought it to his lips.

  “Excuse me, miss?” Sophie turned to see one of the waitresses standing beside her. “The guy at the end of the bar told me to give you this.”

  Sophie looked over in the direction the waitress indicated and noticed Ashton. He was leaning casually against the bar. He stared back at her as he sipped his drink.

  “It’s water.” The waitress shrugged with an awkward look upon her face.

  “No, thank you,” Sophie declined. She turned her attention back toward Cale, who was looking back and forth between Sophie and Ashton.

  “Please don’t tell me he’s your boyfriend,” Cale asked with a tilt of his head toward Ashton.

  “No, he’s not.” She pulled the straw out of her glass and discarded it on the bar before she tipped her drink up to her lips and drained the entire glass. “This is really good.”

  A smile curled the edges of Cale’s lips. “Let me get you another.”

  “Sure. I feel like having fun tonight.” Sophie refused to look at Ashton at the bar, but every once and a while she would find herself subject to his dangerous, dark glare from the other side. He was impossibly attractive, like the devil promoting how pleasurable sin could be. Why the hell can’t you leave me alone?

  After a few drinks Sophie’s guardedness slipped away and she let herself enjoy the evening, no thought to the future or what lay outside of here and now. The waitress made a few more attempts at offering her water from Ashton but she declined every time. “Suit yourself. He keeps paying me a shit load of money to keep offering it.” The waitress strutted away to serve other customers. She shot Ashton an evil glare as she downed her d
rink and then turned back to Cale. He was now flanked by a couple of his friends. She didn’t even know their names, nor did she care to ask. She was past the point of caring about formalities. A new drink would always appear in her hand after she finished one. She lost track of who was giving them to her.

  When Mel finally came out on stage, Sophie screamed her name. Mel winked back at Sophie. Mel was as comfortable as the other girls upon the stage, moving her body in the language of sex. It was really quite beautiful if it wasn’t cheapened by the men hollering and whistling to her.

  “A friend of yours?” one of the guys asked. Sophie couldn’t even keep track of who was speaking anymore. Her senses had suddenly become clouded together.

  Sophie found herself at the edge of the stage. Mel crawled over to her seductively before leaning in to speak to her. “You are going to get yourself in trouble, girl in the red dress.” She leaned back and continued her dance.

  “I’m having fun.” Sophie washed away Mel’s concern. Their exchange seemed to get the crowd worked up, the commotion grew louder.

  “It was a bad idea bringing your naïve butt in here,” Mel said, artfully dipping down to speak before standing back up to continue her dance. Sophie watched Mel signal someone across the room. Sophie turned away from the stage to see who it was, but dizziness was pulling at her, causing her to stumble.

  “Here.” Cale wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his body. His need for her pressed against her side, causing her to suddenly realize she may be in over her head. He grabbed her breast, fondling her. “Why don’t we go somewhere more private?” he whispered in her ear.

  Sophie put her hand against his chest and tried to push him away but he was too strong. “No,” she slurred. He reached with his other hand and cupped her behind. “Hey!” Sophie objected.

  Ashton was suddenly there in a blur, his hand on the collar of Cale’s shirt. “Don’t fucking touch her,” Ashton demanded. She had never seen him so enraged.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Cale tried to remove Ashton’s grip on his shirt. He immediately stopped his resistance when two bouncers approached the scene. Sophie felt relief as she watched Cale and his friends retreat.

  The guy from the door leaned in to talk to Sophie. “This guy says he knows you. Said he’s taking you home. Is that true?” Sophie looked up at the bouncer, trying to remember his name.

  “Dustin?” she asked for confirmation.

  “Yeah. Should I get Mel? Or is this guy okay?” Concern lined his face as he pointed behind him.

  She looked over his shoulder. Ashton stood there with a scowl on his face, looking back at her. Sophie took in his large, seething form. He personified everything appealing in the male body, powerful, handsome, strong, and incredibly sexy. Unfortunately he was a huge jerk. Oh my god I drank way too much. This is becoming a bad habit.

  “No…don’t get Mel…I know him,” Sophie managed, surprised she managed to get her heavy tongue to cooperate.

  Sophie walked toward him, swaying her hips exaggeratedly. She smiled when his eyes slid down the length of her dress. When she was close enough she grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer. He smelled delicious. “You said you wanted me.” She looked directly into his eyes. “I won this sick little game.”

  “Yes,” he admitted as his eyes dropped to her lips. “You did.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sophie tried to resist the rousing of her body. She was tired and the morning light was too bright as it pulled her from sleep. She brushed her hair from her face before stretching. Her hand ran up a warm hard body, it felt marvelous under her fingers. A delighted moan escaped her lips before reality cleared her mind. Sophie sat up abruptly, looking down at Ashton sprawled out asleep in her bed. She untangled her legs from his, trying to retreat from her bed as quickly as possible. She couldn’t even appreciate how perfect he looked in only his underwear laying on her colorful, girly sheets. He looked too large for her double bed with his feet hanging off the end.

  Ashton began to stir when she bolted ungracefully from bed. He lifted his head and raked his hands down over his face. “What’s wrong?” His voice was deep from sleep.

  Sophie looked down and noticed she didn’t have any clothes on. “I’m naked,” Sophie gasped.

  “I know. It’s fucking awesome.” He smiled lazily. Sophie grabbed a blanket off her bed and tried to cover herself. “Don’t get shy now.” He groaned when his eyes could not ravage her bare flesh.

  “Did we…?” Sophie motioned between them. “Did we have sex?”

  “You don’t remember?” He leaned up on his elbows.

  “Oh my god.” Sophie began to panic. She grabbed her duffle bag and started throwing clothes in from her closet and dresser. “Oh my god,” she repeated as if a broken record, each one building in her panic.

  “What are you doing?” Ashton sat up and watched her dart around the room.

  “I have to go to my mother’s. I told her I was going to stay with her this weekend…I gotta go. Oh my god.” Sophie rushed into the bathroom, locking the door behind her and leaning against the counter, taking a deep breath. She couldn’t remember how she got home last night or anything else that apparently happened once they got there. She was so confused she didn’t know how she should feel—disappointment, fear, anger? They all swirled in her stomach, causing her to feel uneasy. This is a nightmare! She closed her eyes and took deep calming breaths. A knock on her door caused her to yelp in surprise. “Sophie? Are you okay?” Ashton’s voice was hesitant. She could feel him standing close on the other side of the door.

  “Yeah. Be out in a minute.” Her voice sounded pathetically small and terrified. Gathering all her courage, she opened the bathroom door.

  Ashton was pulling his shirt down over his sculpted torso when Sophie stepped out of the washroom. Suddenly more than anything she wanted to remember what it was like when they were together. She spent so many hours fantasizing about being with him and when she finally did she didn’t even remember it. He looked back at her with an unreadable expression. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say in this situation. She didn’t know what she said to him last night and the thought terrified her.

  “It’s probably best for you to go,” Sophie confessed. The look in his eyes immediately made her regret it, but the truth was she needed time to think. She felt like she was losing control, struggling to stay above water.

  He clenched his jaw, staring back at her with his dark eyes. “You asked me to stay last night.” He let his anger slip into his voice. The pain in his expression chipped away at her anger. He got what he wanted, he should have been relieved to have an excuse to leave, but instead Sophie was left feeling like the bad guy. She held onto the tears that threatened to fall.

  Ashton turned on his heel and walked out of her apartment without even glancing back at her. He took all the air from the room when he left. She wrapped he arms around herself and released the tears that were waiting to fall. It was the perfect ending to her tragic obsession with a boy that was destined to break her. She couldn’t have written a better ending if she tried. Never knowing what it was like to have him take her in the most intimate way possible, she would always be left wondering.

  ***

  Her mother’s face was a welcome sight after surviving the bus ride torturing herself with thoughts of Ashton. Her head felt heavy from the night before. She had checked her phone constantly the entire drive with the ridiculous hope that he would send her a message, anything just to know that he thought of her for even just a moment since he left her apartment.

  “Sophie, love. Come in.” Her mother wrapped her arms around her tight, forcing the tears to resurface. “I’ll make us some tea and we can talk about it.” Her mother wiped a tear away from Sophie’s cheek. She could see her own eyes in her mother’s, the same light green, though her mother’s always seemed more soulful and welcoming. Even lined with years of laughter, worry, and days lying in the sun, they were always so cap
tivatingly beautiful.

  Sophie sat at her mother’s small round kitchen table covered with wedding brochures and magazines. It looked like everything had been attacked by sticky notes. Her mother sat a large steaming mug in front of her before grabbing a tub of ice cream out of the freezer, pulling the cover off, and sticking two spoons in.

  “You are the best mom ever.”

  “It’s because I splurge for the good stuff.” She smiled brightly, scooping a big spoonful of the rich, flavorful ice cream. “Tell me why you’re upset.”

  Sophie grabbed the other spoon and scraped the ice cream along the surface, making it curl in on the spoon. She let it melt on her tongue. “Yummy. It seems like forever ago we had ice cream like this. I applaud your choice in flavor, by the way.” Cookies and cream was always their favorite.

  “I picked it up when you said you were coming home this weekend. I didn’t realize then how much we would actually need it.” She smiled her concerned mom smile Sophie had seen so many times growing up. It was familiar and comforting, a reminder that her mother was always there for her. “I’m gonna guess that it’s a boy causing these tears.”

  “Yes…A very frustrating, irritating…”Sophie trailed off.

  Her mom reached over and squeezed her hand. “Well, this conversation sounds familiar. I think you used those same words before. Don’t tell me we’re discussing Ashton King again?”

  Sophie sighed. “The one and only. He’s up to his old tricks again. He’s Margaret Darcy’s grandson. I unknowingly walked right into having him in my life again. I can’t escape him.”

  “I don’t know your history other than the few things that I have weaseled out of you over the years, but a boy who invests that much time in anything is interested, trust me. One day you’ll find out what is truly in his heart.”

  “I don’t know what scares me more, finding out you’re right or finding out you aren’t.” Sophie collapsed on the table. “I know it’s not good to want to be with him, but I do anyway. One moment he’s the same mean guy he was in high school, the next…I want to be with him so much it hurts sometimes. I don’t know which way is up anymore.”