Truth or Dare Read online

  “Why would she be jealous of me? And she’s the one who insisted that I go out last night.” Sophie was confused about the whole situation.

  “Just remember that Megan can get very dramatic.” Lori sighed with an apologetic smile before she disappeared through the doors of the kitchen.

  Sophie ran the conversation through her mind. She didn’t want Megan to feel threatened by her, and she definitely was not going to pursue Ashton.

  Sophie was relieved to find out that Sam was not working tonight either. She wasn’t sure how she should act around him now that she knew what his intentions were. He seemed to be making his feelings more obvious, or at least they seemed so now that she knew the truth.

  The rest of the evening passed quickly and before long they were closing up. Sophie was thrilled with her tips. She had a couple of generous spenders, improving her mood. It was nights like these that made up for the more frugal customers that didn’t understand that waiters survived on tips.

  On her walk home, she pulled out her phone to see she had a missed call from her mother and a text from Jack. Sophie called her mother to let her know about her new job. Her mother congratulated her and then insisted on getting all the details on Margaret because she wanted Peter to do a background check. Sophie relinquished the information because she knew her persistent mother would attain it one way or another.

  Jack: Was that unfortunate condom incident the worst of it?

  Sophie: Hardly. The first of many. I got locked in the girls’ bathroom until a janitor found me. Had my clothes stolen from me while I was in the shower. NIGHTMARE. I still have bad dreams about that one. Got my homework stolen many times, had food dumped on me…all the rumors they spread around about me made everyone always stare.

  Jack: Are you sure people didn’t stare at you because you are beautiful?

  Sophie: Haha. No definitely not.

  Jack: What did you do when they did all that stuff?

  Sophie: Tried to talk to Lucinda many times. That got me nowhere. I tried the whole revenge is sweet path for a while. Not really my thing ’cause I felt too bad about it. Then after that I just hoped they would eventually get bored. Never happened. Didn’t even get to my prom.

  Jack: Did you want to go to prom?

  Sophie: What girl doesn’t? I was actually excited about going because someone had asked me, but when he picked me up he tried to take me “parking” instead. I ended up walking home when he kicked me out of the car. Took me 2 hours. Never told my mom I never made it. You are actually the first person I told that pathetic info to. Don’t tell anyone!

  Jack: Who asked you?

  Sophie: One of Ashton’s friends. Don’t even ask me why I didn’t see it coming. He had been nice to me for a couple weeks before. He made me feel special and I fell for it. It turned out to be their best prank of all.

  Jack: I might know him. Who was it?

  Sophie: You wouldn’t know him, but his name was Collin. I was so grateful when I graduated and could move on!

  Jack: Yes, I can see why. It seemed like Ashton was a complete jerk. Though, it doesn’t seem like the Ashton he is now. Maybe he has changed. Maybe you should give him a second chance.

  Sophie: Never! Let’s not talk about Ashton anymore. He is your friend and I don’t want to come between you.

  Jack: I told you we aren’t that close. Besides, I like you more. I’m curious about your history.

  Sophie: Okay but only because you shared your secret with me. Ashton was the first boy that I had feelings for. I thought he was the most beautiful boy in the world and he hated me from the first moment he saw me. I was pathetic!

  Jack: No you weren’t.

  Sophie: That was the only time that I will ever admit I have feelings for Ashton BTW.

  Jack: Have? Is Sophie in love with Ashton?

  Sophie: HAD! I HAD feelings for Ashton on some tiny miniscule level when I initially met him and it lasted like 5 seconds. I found a quote one time that sums up my personal take on love: “Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.”

  Jack: Sounds like the words of a scorned lover.

  Sophie: Love is just not for me. It’s a fairytale. I am crawling into bed now. Tired from work. Next time we talk about you.

  Jack: But I like talking about you more. You are far more interesting.

  Sophie: Trust me I’m not and I don’t like talking about me. You’re lucky you got this much.

  Jack: I like talking about you and I appreciate you opening up.

  Sophie: Did Ashton tell you he is a nude model for my art class?

  Jack: No. How does he look naked?

  Sophie: No comment.

  Jack: No comment? How disappointing.

  Sophie: Fine…he is not disappointing. Happy?

  Jack: Not disappointing…you can do better than that. Give me something else.

  Sophie: No and no more talking about Ashton. Goodnight.

  Jack: Night. xox

  Sophie: xox

  Chapter Six

  Sophie woke with a start the next morning. She had slept in and was going to be late. “Oh no,” she whimpered as she scrambled out of bed and stumbled to the washroom. She couldn’t afford to be late for her art sitting this morning. It was the last session, and the painting was worth a substantial portion of her final mark. She flew through her morning routine and settled for running a brush through her hair before twisting it up in a messy bun. She pulled on her favorite oversized T-shirt and jeans before grabbing her supplies and running for the door. She had only a few minutes to make it to the bus stop.

  As she rounded the corner, she saw the bus pull away. She cursed the punctual driver and herself for staying up late. She’d given up on the prospect of sleep and did some late night painting of a particular image she could not erase from her mind—Ashton.

  Sophie turned when she heard her name called down the street. Mel was leaning out of the upper window of her apartment with a cigarette in one hand and the other waving at Sophie frantically. Sophie sighed as she made her way back toward their apartment.

  “I have my boyfriend’s car. I’ll drive you!” Mel hollered down. “Just give me a sec.” She took a long pull on her cigarette before she snuffed it out and disappeared back into her apartment.

  Mel shuffled out the front door a few minutes later with oversized sunglasses and an ensemble that was unusually modest for her.

  “You’re up early,” Sophie commented as she watched Mel descend the stairs. Sophie could tell that Mel was tired by the way she carried herself. “Did you even go to sleep?”

  “No, I’m too angry to sleep.” She huffed. Sophie followed Mel down to where an old black sedan was parked at an odd angle against the curb.

  Sophie opened the passenger door and slid into the front seat. The smell of cigarettes assaulted her senses as she sat down in the disturbingly messy interior of the car. Mel reached over and grabbed some garbage by Sophie’s feet and threw it into the backseat. “He’s a fucking slob, if you haven’t already come to that conclusion,” Mel complained. Sophie noticed a dark shadow on her cheek.

  “What happened to your face, Mel?” Sophie asked with concern.

  Mel leaned back in the chair and took a deep breath. She reached up and pulled off her glasses, revealing a dark bruise that darkened the skin beneath her eye. “Corbin,” she confirmed.

  “Don’t do this again, Mel.” Sophie’s tone was more demanding than she intended, but she couldn’t help her own anger at the sight of Mel’s injury.

  “Why do they always turn into shitheads after a few months? It’s like they use up all their ability to be nice and all that’s left is the ability to use their fists to communicate,” Mel uttered in frustration. No matter how upset Mel got she never cried. Sophie took Mel’s hand in hers and squeezed affectionately. Mel was never one for displays of affection but Sophie knew the odd time when Mel needed it. Mel squeezed back tightly.

  “You have to break up with hi
m. You know what’s going to happen. You’ve been here before…you’ll see him again and he’ll tell you how sorry he is and want to kiss and make up but then it will happen again, and it will be more than just your eye next time.” Sophie laid it out for her. She didn’t dance around the subject. She had tried that the first time Mel was going through a bad relationship. It was shortly after they had met. Mel ended up in the hospital with broken ribs.

  “I know, but—” Mel began but Sophie cut her off.

  “What would you do if Mr. Cleary took a swing at you?” Sophie cut in.

  “What?” Mel looked confused as she looked back at Sophie.

  “What would you do?”

  “I would kick him in the fucking balls before beating the living shit out of him.” Mel’s mouth turned up into a satisfied grin.

  “Exactly. You are the toughest girl I know. You don’t let anyone else push you around, so don’t let the men you date do it. You deserve better than what Corbin can offer you.” Sophie smoothed Mel’s hair back to get a better look at her eye.

  “I’m a fucking stripper, Sophie. What if this is all that I’m ever gonna have?” Mel said sadly.

  “You are not just a stripper, Mel. You are a strong woman, a daughter, a sister, and my best friend. You deserve as much love as anyone else in this whole entire world. If you don’t want to be a stripper, don’t. If you do, then don’t let it define you. Just do me a favor and don’t date customers anymore. Find someone that doesn’t see you naked on the first encounter and stay away from the ones that seem to have an addiction problem. Someone good is going to fall in love with you, treat you right, and sweep you off your feet. You just have to stop putting obstacles in your way. Corbin, Billy, and what’s his name are no good for you. Start listening to that tiny voice in your head, Mel.” Sophie smiled with a warm heart. “I know that warning bells go off when one of those idiots walks up to you.”

  “You don’t sound like someone who doesn’t believe in love, Sophie.” Mel’s small smile brought Sophie relief.

  “I don’t believe in the whole fall in love and live happily after ever for me…but you believe in it and I want you to be happy.”

  “What is wrong with us? I can’t find a man with any good qualities, a drawback to my line of work, and you…when are you going to tell me why you are so against believing in happily ever after?” Mel looked up at her with the question in her eyes.

  Sophie shrugged. “I have never witnessed happily ever after. My father left my mother before I was born. We struggled through life, trying to survive. I have seen lots of heartache and had my share. I just don’t want to risk the pain. It’s more trouble than it’s worth.”

  “Wow…we are pathetic and damaged, Sophie.”

  “True that, Mel.” Sophie laughed.

  “Tell me though, ’cause I’m curious why don’t you take advantage of the fact that you look like a freaking supermodel and hook up with some hotties?” Mel asked in disbelief. “Seriously, the walls in our building are thin and I would have known if you brought someone home with you. I know it’s not for lack of intent on the male side, either. They practically drool when you walk by.”

  “What? No way!”

  “You are so naïve, Sophie.” Mel rolled her eyes as they pulled up in front of Sophie’s school.

  “I’m not naïve and I really have to go, I’m late. Thanks for the ride, we’re going to talk about this Corbin situation later and stop smoking, already.” Sophie ran up to the front door of the building.

  When Sophie walked into the classroom she intentionally kept her eyes from traveling toward the center of the room where Ashton and the other model were posed. “Sorry, sir,” Sophie called to her professor, Mr. Walters, as she took her seat.

  “You don’t need to apologize to me. You are only cheating yourself of time spent on your painting,” he responded as he watched her settle in her seat.

  “Yes, sir,” Sophie replied politely as she readied her supplies to begin. She gave herself a moment to greedily take in Ashton’s gorgeous hard body that looked as if he was carved of stone. Every part of his body looked powerful and delicious. What am I thinking? Sophie squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus on her painting.

  A strange heat settled in her core, making her mouth water and her attention waver to sensual thoughts. The canvas in front of her blurred as her mind was solely fixated on Ashton’s body. She remembered how his hands felt upon her when they were on the dance floor. The heat of him pressed against her.

  Sophie raked her hands over her face. She needed to pull herself together—she was losing her self-control. Sophie forced her attention to the painting in front of her, reminding herself how important this was for her final mark. Taking a deep breath, she began working with the paint until she finished the girl’s likeness to her satisfaction. Instead of painting Ashton, she decided to make a bold move. The painting became an image of the woman embracing an identical image of herself. One of the reasons she loved art was the creativity to step outside of rules and structure. She was pleased with the final product and could only hope that Mr. Walters would appreciate the angle she chose.

  “I hope that everyone has had enough time to view the models. They will not be joining us again, but should you need more time, next class is open to finish the paintings,” Mr. Walters announced at the end of the sitting. Sophie hadn’t realized how much time had passed. She was startled when Ashton leaned around her canvas to view her painting.

  “I’m disappointed…you stared at me long enough and you didn’t even paint me. Though, I must say I do like where your mind is.” He smiled wickedly at her.

  “Actually I had to improvise because every time I tried to paint you I would feel nauseous,” Sophie replied, dismissing him by busying herself with packing up her supplies.

  “You’re meaner than I remember,” he stated with a humorous tone.

  “Well, you are just as mean as I remember,” Sophie spat out.

  “And you still want me so bad you can taste it,” Ashton declared arrogantly with a raised eyebrow.

  “Don’t fool yourself. Not every girl that sees you wants you, Ashton.” Sophie couldn’t hide the color in her face.

  He shrugged his shoulders in the same careless way she had seen him do so many times before. “But you do.”

  Sophie huffed. “Why are you even doing this?” She waved to her painting. “Don’t you have something better to be doing with your time?

  “And miss this wonderful exchange between us?”

  “Was it the model girl?” Sophie’s question was met with a bored look. “It was, wasn’t it? You were trying to get laid.” Sophie rolled her eyes when he didn’t try to deny it. “Well, the rest of us live in a world where we have to work toward our future, not waste it away doing pointless things for a thrill. Please don’t let me get in the way of your fabulous time you have planned between the two of you.” Sophie waved him away toward the other model, who was still lingering around the room.

  “Are you jealous?” The humor in his voice was too much.

  “Bite me,” Sophie snapped.

  Ashton raised his eyebrow. “I can do that.” His words pulled at an invisible cord that tied to her inner heat. The way his lip curved up made her want to taste them. “It explains the kiss the other night.”

  Heat raked across her face. “In your dreams, Ashton.” Sophie grabbed her things and headed out of the classroom, not looking back. I am a confident, grounded woman and I will not let that pompous ass get to me!

  As soon as she was a safe distance away, she found a place to sit and pull herself together before heading to her next class. Pulling out her phone, she sent a message to Jack. It was the first time in her life she’d opened up to a guy and right now she needed him.

  Sophie: Ashton is such an ass.

  Sophie smiled when he responded almost immediately.

  Jack: What happened?

  Sophie: Just because he’s hot, he thinks that every girl wants to
do him, and he is a big fat jerk.

  Jack: Do you want him?

  Sophie: Not the point. The point is that he is an arrogant jerk ball.

  Jack: Point taken but…

  Sophie: But nothing…so when are we going to hang out or are we just going to have a textual relationship?

  Jack: Haha. I like that. I’m away on business. This is all you have for now, but I do miss your beautiful face.

  Sophie: Okay fine. Strictly textual for now.

  Jack: Let’s devise a plan to get back at him for being a jerk ball, as you call it.

  Sophie: Where have you been all my life? I think I just fell in love with you.

  Jack: Gross…girl cooties.

  Sophie: Best kind. Any ideas for revenge?

  Jack: Sleep with him.

  Sophie: Remember that comment I made about falling in love with you? I take it back! That is the most ridiculous plan ever.

  Jack: Let him think you are into him. Sleep with him and then give him the cold shoulder. It will drive him crazy.

  Sophie: Don’t like that plan. Something else.

  Jack: Let me think…

  Sophie: You do that. Gotta go to class. Talk later.