The Dare

by Kendall Ryan

  I reached into the crisper drawer and modeled the large vegetable in front of my crotch. “This looks about right.”

  MacKenzie rested her hands on my shoulders, turning me from side to side so I could model it at various angles. “Damn. That boy is hung.”

  Tyson retreated to the bathroom, mumbling something about needing to take a piss while MacKenzie and I made our way back into the living room. She hoisted the cucumber proudly over her head, waving it in time with the music, and led the way back to my computer. And this time, I didn’t stop her when she reached over and grabbed my laptop.

  MacKenzie settled onto the sofa, the laptop balanced on her knees and I scooted in beside her to…supervise.

  “Click here,” I told her, pointing to the tab labeled Models. The title had seemed a little strange to me, but I guess it sounded classier than calling them porn stars. The pictures were mostly of topless girls posing seductively for the camera and I of course inspected each image thoroughly, wondering if Cade had slept with them, and which he preferred best. All of the girls were thin and tan with large, fake breasts. I didn’t want to, but my mind had inevitably made comparisons to my own body.

  I was of average height, average weight. My breasts were decidedly real, they fell several inches when I removed my bra, and I had far too many freckles to be considered sexy. Pretty, maybe, but certainly not on par with the type of women he usually slept with.

  MacKenzie scrolled past the photos of the girls without hesitation only slowing down when she reached the men.

  “That’s him.” I pointed at the screen with a trembling finger when Cade appeared.

  It said his name was Sebastian, but it was definitely Cade. He was standing near a weight bench, gym shorts loose on his narrow hips to show his cut abs and he was smirking like he knew a secret the rest of us didn’t.

  “Damn. He’s fucking hot.”

  I giggled. “I know.”

  MacKenzie clicked on his photo. Though I had spent time last night obsessing over each one, I couldn’t help but lean forward to join in her inspection. He had a full page of photos. In many of them he was wearing only a pair of black boxer briefs, and then a few where the boxers had been removed and every glorious inch of him was proudly on display. The tattoo I’d wondered about was a tribal design that covered his left shoulder and crawled up his chest, ending at his neck.

  I blushed at the sight of his fully erect cock and heat crept up my chest until I was rosy and warm. I couldn’t help but reminisce about being near Cade in the semi-private hospital room, where I’d been close enough to feel the heat of his skin and the scent of his musky arousal. He was huge all over—broad muscular chest, nicely defined abs. He’d practically taken over the entire small hospital room until it was filled with his presence and I could hardly breathe.

  MacKenzie scrolled down to the bio beneath the photos. I’d read it last night too, but couldn’t resist reading it again over her shoulder. It said he was their newest model, and worked exclusively for their site. The bio claimed he was extremely professional to work with and always focused on making sure the girls felt comfortable. Outside of work he enjoyed working out and listening to rock music. It sounded like a clichéd line of bull, but that didn’t keep me from grasping at every bit of information I could get.

  Tyson appeared from the kitchen, this time with a bottle of beer, and sank down on the chair across the room. “Please tell me you’re done.”

  “There’s no need to be jealous Ty. Here, how about you see what a real man looks like?” MacKenzie teased and started turning the laptop in Ty’s direction.

  I elbowed her side. Tyson was only a few inches taller than me, and had a slight build, but he was cute and I didn’t like her tearing him down. Especially since he regularly caught flack for being one of only a few male nursing students.

  “I get to see that every day when I look into the mirror, so I’m good.” He smirked before polishing off the rest of his beer.

  MacKenzie closed the laptop. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s go out, just the three of us. We’ll hit up a bar, have some drinks, celebrate your birthday and your first experience searching porn and having Jell-O shots.”

  I chuckled while considering my options. I was definitely starting to feel tipsy, I felt frisky from looking at Cade’s photos and I was twenty-one and finally old enough to go out. How could I say no to going out?

  “Let’s do it!”

  By the time we arrived at the bar, the Jell-O shots and the drinks MacKenzie had made had caught up with me and I was ready to let loose. Tyson slipped his arm around my waist and helped me inside. After refusing MacKenzie’s request for more shots, Ty got us a round of beers and waters, before we made our way to a vacant corner booth.

  I slumped back against the seat, resting my head against Ty’s shoulder. “What was in these Jell-O thingies? I feel funny.”

  MacKenzie laughed. “Vodka. I thought you knew Jell-O shots had booze in them.”

  Ty grasped my chin, turning my face to his. “How many of those did you have, Lex?”

  I tried to count and lost track. “Um, six? Eight? I don’t know.”

  “Shit,” he said, and took the bottle of beer from my hand, replacing it with the water before turning his glare at MacKenzie. “Damn it, Kenzie. You said you’d watch out for her tonight.”

  She waved him off. “She’s drunk, not dead, Tyson. Calm down. It’s her twenty-first birthday, and P.S.—you’re not her dad.” She knocked back a healthy swig of her own drink.

  “Don’t fight, you guys. I’m fine.” I reached out to pat each of them reassuringly but fumbled. “See? I’m totally fine.”

  They both laughed at my lack of coordination.

  “Sometimes I forget how sheltered and innocent you are, Alexa. I swear you act like you were raised by the Cleavers, with your day-of-the-week cotton underpants and everything.” she winked, teasing me jokingly.

  I sat up straighter in my seat and glared at her. “Just because I’m a virgin to Jell-O shots doesn’t mean anything. Hell, I’m a virgin in every sense—” I slapped a hand over my mouth. Oh crap! Crap! Crap! I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Damn you, alcohol!

  MacKenzie leaned across the table in my direction. “Are you serious right now?”

  I nodded, reluctantly. Kenzie’s and Tyson’s faces were both filled with surprise at my revelation. “What? It’s not like I’m proud of it. Believe me, I don’t want to be this way anymore.”

  MacKenzie took my hand. “Babe, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. But if you do want to lose your virginity—it’s not that difficult to do.”

  I grabbed my beer away from Ty and took a fortifying sip. “I’m not like you though, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. I just don’t think I’m a one-night-stand kind of girl.”

  “Well, don’t come crying to me when you find yourself old and living alone with a bunch of cats.”

  I took another pull from my bottle, not about to tell her I’d been thinking about getting a cat lately.

  “Leave her alone, Kenzie,” Tyson said, removing the beer from my grasp yet again. He leaned over to me. “If you want me to help you, just let me know.”

  MacKenzie swatted Tyson’s hand away. “Absolutely not Ty. I get to help pick out a guy for Alexa. Sort of like a birthday present. To be used however she wishes.” She smiled, mischievously.

  I rolled my eyes, blowing off their suggestions. I had absolutely no intentions of picking out a random guy to lose my virginity to on my twenty-first birthday. And I sure as hell wasn’t sleeping with Tyson. Gah! Could you imagine? He’s like a brother to me.

  “Oh my God! Alexa, look.” MacKenzie shrieked and pointed across the bar. “Isn’t that the guy from the website?”

  CHAPTER 3

  * * *

  Cade

  I sat at the bar nursing a beer, lost in my thoughts.

  “You want a nipple on that bottle, man? Stop being a little bitch and drink up,” Ian said, knocking back
his own beer in a few swallows.

  I shot him a warning look. “Don’t fuck with me tonight, I’m not in the mood.” I’d been hell-bent on getting drunk tonight, needing a few hours’ peace from the worry that constantly followed me around, but somehow I was failing even at that. “Lily’s latest surgery bill came.”

  “Sorry, man.” Ian tipped his beer, clinking the bottle against mine. “Let me know what I can do to help.”

  I nodded. I’d never ask him for help, and we both knew it, but still, just that he offered meant a lot. Ian and I had been friends since the eighth grade when I moved to the area to live with my grandparents. He knew all about my sister Lily, and the condition that left her poor little spine and legs tangled and twisted. After my parents’ three-strikes-you’re-out meth bust that landed them both in prison when she was three, and my grandparents each passing within a year after that, I’d gotten sole custody of her and became the care-giver to a four-year-old.

  She was six now and a sassy little thing that didn’t know the meaning of the word disabled. It was one of the many things I loved about her. But her care wasn’t cheap, which left me constantly worrying about money and how I’d be able to provide the support she needed and deserved.

  Ian, a lifelong martial-arts enthusiast, had introduced me to cage fighting a couple of years ago. It was a perfect fit. The opportunity to earn fast money and take out my pent-up aggression all at once. But it wasn’t enough to cover the bills. And then my latest dumbass venture came along. Rick had approached both Ian and I about starring in his adult movie productions, but I was the only one hard up enough for cash to consider it. Or the only one dumb enough, take your pick. Ian knew I was working for Rick, but didn’t want any of the details, so of course I hadn’t mentioned my late-night visit to the ER. Plus I was pretty sure if I did, he’d hold it over my head for years to come and I wanted nothing more than to forget all about last night. After getting the bill for Lily’s latest surgery, I realized it wasn’t just a well-paying job I needed, I needed a job that came with health insurance, too. But if I could stick it out and film even a couple of movies, I’d have more than enough to pay the current bill and then I could focus on cleaning up my act and getting a real job, for Lily’s sake.

  Realizing I was lost in my thoughts again, Ian cleared his throat. “Stop stressing, bro, it’ll work out. We haven’t been out in God knows how long, and since you have a babysitter for Lil tonight, we need to make good use of this time and you need to let off some steam.”

  “Yeah? And how do we do that?” To be honest hitting the gym for a late workout session, followed by a hot shower and crashing into bed sounded like a perfectly good use of my time. I didn’t even think I was capable of catching a buzz at the moment. I was too high-strung, too stressed out.

  “For starters, we need to make getting some pussy priority number one.”

  I shook my head, not about to explain to him that I’d be getting plenty of that on set later this week. I’d let Rick schedule another shoot for me. And with that bill hanging over my head, I sure as shit needed to perform this time.

  Ian tipped his head toward a booth across the room. “And I think you’re in luck, bro. Those girls over there are staring at you.”

  I turned from the bar, drawing my beer up to my lips as I scanned the room. With a jolt of surprise, I spotted the pretty little nurse from the other night, seated in a booth with a couple of friends and her eyes were locked on me.

  What the hell?

  The other woman at the table waved me over.

  “Do you know them?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Sorta.” I threw a few bills on the counter and told Ian I’d be back in a bit. I strolled over to where they sat, my attention locked firmly on Alexa’s.

  “Hey there,” Alexa’s friend greeted when I reached their booth, “Saw your website. That shit was hot.”

  My eyes flew back to Alexa’s. She’d told her friends about what I did? And what… Googled me? “Alexa?”

  She blushed and bit her bottom lip. “Uh, hi Cade.”

  She wasn’t even going to deny it? I supposed I had to get used to the fact that pictures of my cock were splashed all over the Internet, and that videos would soon follow. I had a film shoot tomorrow that I had to get through. I’d given Rick a piece of my mind about hiring girls that looked so young, and he promised he’d pair me with Mollie, an experienced pro I was sure to love, if I gave it another shot.

  “Have a seat, Cade. Or is it Sebastian?” Alexa’s friend asked. “I’m MacKenzie by the way, and this is Tyson.” She motioned to the guy seated with them. He gave me a weak smile, looking just as uncomfortable as I was. Fuck, this is awkward.

  I remained standing. “Call me Cade.”

  Alexa’s gaze travelled down the length of my chest and stomach, stopping just below my belt buckle. I couldn’t help the smirk that tugged at my mouth, and she knew she had just been caught. She let out a huff of breath, folded her arms on the table and lay her head down to rest.

  “Is she drunk?” I asked MacKenzie before sliding in next to Alexa.

  MacKenzie nodded, proudly. “Yep. It’s her twenty-first birthday.”

  I tapped Alexa’s arm. “Happy birthday.”

  Alexa peeked one eye open and looked up at me. “Thanks,” she grumbled before letting her eyes fall closed again.

  “Your arrival is perfect timing actually,” MacKenzie said, leaning forward on her elbows. “We were just discussing Lex’s birthday present.”

  Alexa roused from her sleepy state and slapped a hand over MacKenzie’s mouth. “No, Kenz, absolutely freaking not.”

  MacKenzie dutifully removed Alexa’s hand and squeezed it, before placing it on the table. “Hush. You should be thanking me right now. You see, Alexa here is a virgin, and what better birthday present than to lose her virginity to someone skilled at giving female pleasure? I mean, you do this for a living.” She kicked up an eyebrow. “Right?”

  I pulled back a swig of my beer. Was she fucking kidding me? Who the hell just blurts that out? “Well, yeah, I might know a thing or two about that...” I took another mouthful from my bottle to shut myself up. I mean, sure, nobody had ever complained before, but that didn’t mean I was the hotshot porn star they saw on the website. Except they all thought I was. Hell.

  Alexa looked up and met my gaze, her eyes wide with curiosity. Christ. She couldn’t look at me like that, or I wasn’t going to be able to hold it together.

  Even though I believed it, I had a hard time understanding how she could still be a virgin on her twenty-first birthday. She was beautiful, pure and innocent. Her hair flowed in soft curls over her shoulders, and rested just at the top of her breasts. She had full tits—they kind that made you want to bury your face between them and lick and suck for hours. She was fucking perfection, and she didn’t even know it. Her skin looked so soft, I wanted to reach across the table and stroke my thumb along her cheek just to prove to myself that it couldn’t possibly be as soft as it looked. I settled instead for taking another drink. At this rate, I was going to need another beer really soon.

  MacKenzie raised her glass in the air, as if to toast herself. “Best idea ever!” She signaled the waitress and asked for a round of shots for the table. “Patron okay?”

  I nodded my indifference. Mostly I just wanted to know what Alexa was thinking right at that moment and what exactly she had told her friends about me.

  The shots arrived and I took the glass from Alexa’s fumbling fingertips. “No more for you, cupcake.” I downed both my shot and hers, one after the other, the liquor burning on its way down.

  She pouted, and took a sip of the water I pushed in front of her. But as we watched each other, her lips parted and her breaths grew faster. She leaned forward in interest, a shaky smile on her lips that grew bolder with each passing second. A bark of laughter from her friend Tyson surprised us all.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? You’re considering giving this guy your virginity? No. Alexa,
if you’re really going to do this, it should be me, someone that actually gives a fuck about you. Not some guy you don’t even know, who probably has God-knows-what kind of diseases, and will leave in the morning and probably not even remember your name.”

  Alexa swallowed visibly. As insane as this idea was, it was her decision who she slept with. And even though I was sure it wouldn’t be me, I also knew I wouldn’t let this guy speak for her. I forced my mouth shut, and kept my face composed. A low wave of nerves rolling through my stomach told me I wanted this—I wanted her—more than I had any right to.

  “Okay,” she squeaked. “Just let me think.” She pressed her fingers to her temples.

  An unexpected surge of protectiveness sprung up inside me, and I found myself holding my breath.

  MacKenzie shook her head. “Lex, please, please, I beg of you, on behalf of women everywhere. Have hot, kinky sex with the porn star. Tyson will always be around.” She waved in his direction and he narrowed his eyes at her.

  One thing was clear as day to me. Tyson had feelings for her. Real feelings. I should probably stop cock-blocking the poor bastard, but the look in Alexa’s eyes told me she didn’t return his feelings. Not one bit. Her eyes wandered down my chest again and she bit her lip. Her cheeks flushed pink. She was growing turned on by just the thought of being with me. Fuck, I was going to get hard right here if she didn’t stop looking at me like that.

  Tyson set his drink down. “Come on, Lex, this isn’t you. You play things safe. You’re not going to do…him,” he tipped his head toward me “and we all know it.”

  She frowned and pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, considering his words. “I’m sick of everyone thinking I’m Miss Goody Two-shoes, with my perfect grades, and days of the week panties. You know what? I have my Wednesdays on today—it’s Saturday—and that’s a pretty sad way of rebelling, huh?”