I dropped the bottle and shook my head. “I plead the fifth.”
“BOO!” Lexi said.
“Fine, if you don’t want to answer the question then you have to do a dare,” Molly said, exchanging an evil glance with Lexi.
My stomach clenched. “What is it?”
“You have to kiss him,” Lexi said with an evil smirk. “Y’know, since you aren’t sure if you think he’s cute or not, you should test the waters.”
Molly bounced up and down on her seat, clapping her hands at the possibility that I’d actually say yes to the dare.
I shook my head adamantly. “Hell no.”
They were on crack if they thought that was an option.
“Seriously!?” Molly groaned. “Come on.”
I shook my head again, staring out at the TV above the bar with a flat smile. I knew they could sense I was reaching my limit. Why were they pushing this on me? I hardly knew the guy, and I definitely didn’t want to kiss him. Punch, maybe, especially after the meeting earlier.
“Okay, fine,” Molly relented. “Then I think you should have to wear something embarrassing to practice tomorrow.”
I inhaled a deep breath, relieved. Finally, they were off the Erik subject.
“Like what? I didn’t pack any costumes.”
Lexi leaned forward with a wide grin. “I packed a cheetah print leotard that has a cat tail on the butt.”
Of course she did.
Rosie lost it in a fit of giggles, but I didn’t even hesitate before holding out my hand for her to shake.
“Bring it on.”
A cheetah print leotard was light, easy, fun—nothing compared to my first dare. I knew they were just being playful, trying to get a reaction out of me, but I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to think of Erik outside of practice. I didn’t want to discuss him here, giggling over how cute he was. I didn’t want everyone to go to practice the next day and whisper about the fact that I was harboring a crush for our coach. I wasn’t. He’d been nothing but an asshole all day and the last thing I wanted to think about was whether or not I might or might not find him attractive.
I didn’t.
Like he’d said earlier that day: he was the coach, I was the gymnast.
End of story.
Chapter Six
Brie
I had a dream about Erik that night. A sexy dream. I’d gone to sleep a bit drunk and a little annoyed by how the truth or dare game had gone. With these facts in place, my brain had (mistakenly) assumed I wanted to dream about Erik. Specifically, it thought I should dream about being a secret agent on a mission to seduce and question him. Makes total sense, considering I’m 5’2” with absolutely no interrogation skills. Regardless of its unrealistic nature, the dream progressed until I got to the good part. Erik was sitting in a leather chair in a corner of a hazily lit bedroom. His left foot was resting on his right knee and he was watching me, mesmerized by me as I danced for him. I was supposed to strip or something, and in between articles of clothing I was supposed to be gleaning state secrets for the FBI. (Seriously, I need to stop watching reruns of Alias.) I rolled my hips and spun around slowly, letting my silk shift dress fall to the ground. I think I was getting pretty close to completing the mission—shall we say—when the dream was cut off.
“Wake up, little cheetah!” Lexi said, barging into our room.
I bolted up off my pillow like I’d just been shot. “Eri… What’s going on?”
Something soft sling-shotted across the room and hit me square in the chest.
Lexi laughed. “It’s time to put your money where your mouth is.”
I blinked my eyes open and saw the leotard sitting limp on my chest, sparkly and oh-so-cheetah printed. Molly leaned over the edge of the top bunk and wiped the sleep out of her eyes. “Oh wow. It really does have a tail.”
I turned it over and felt the long furry thing between my fingers.
“I can’t wear this,” I said, shaking my head.
Lexi tapped the doorframe. “Fine, then swap spit with Erik. Your choice.”
She left before I could argue, but I still shouted at her down the hall. “That’s not how the game works!”
“Sorry! Can’t hear you!”
It really wasn’t fair. Lexi’s dare had been to dance on the table. Molly had to hit on a biker bro, and Rosie picked truth and was too shy to answer any of the questions we shot at her. Yet somehow, for me the game had extended into the next day. I should have fought harder against the leotard, but I’d been relieved at the time, happy to get off the subject of Erik.
I pushed out of bed, much to the dismay of my head.
“I feel like shit.”
“I feel like shit that has come to life, eaten some other shit, then shat out more shit,” Molly answered, rubbing her temples before crawling off the top bunk and hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
I groaned. “That’s disgusting.”
“It’s the truth.”
I put on a sports bra and then pulled on the leotard over it. The thing was tight, like skintight, and on top of that, it looked like a costume a showgirl would wear. I tried to put running shorts on over it, but the tail got in the way. I forced them on anyway.
“This is the worst thing I’ve ever put on my body,” I said.
Molly laughed from the doorway of the bathroom. “I like it. The tail is extra cute, and it might help with balance.”
“GUYS!” Rosie shouted up the stairs. “Come on! We have to be at the gym in fifteen minutes!”