The Dare (Briar U Book 4)

Well, it took a few bruises and a hell of a lot of patience, but I finally got Taylor to stand up on a surfboard.

From just beyond the swells, I straddle my board and watch as she rides the end of a wave into the shallow foam. Her stance is still a bit awkward and uncertain, but I think she’s getting a feel for it. When she pops out of the water after her ride into shore, she’s got a big shiny grin on her face. She waves, ecstatic, making sure I saw her. Then she hops up and down a couple times and forms a victory sign with her arms.

Fuck, she’s adorable.

Having her here in Huntington Beach the last three weeks has been such a relief, for both of us. Zero stress. Just sleeping in, chilling at the beach, showing her the sights. It’s the perfect antidote for the headaches back on campus.

My mom and Max love her. So much so they’re already making plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. She’s my future now, and I’m hers.

Coach is totally going to kick my ass when he realizes he’s stuck with me at another family dinner with Iris.

I had hoped I could keep Taylor’s mind off anything that wasn’t the beach or us doing naked stuff, but a few times now I’ve caught her on the phone or with her laptop open, hard at work. Apparently, when she and Rebecca made the decision to file the police report, they hatched a plan first. With Abigail and Kappa’s help, they’re petitioning the Greek Council on campus to host a seminar on consent, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. They’re inviting several guest speakers to host talks and want to promote a month of outreach and awareness ahead of pledge week in the fall.

I’ve never seen Taylor so passionate and engaged on anything. Not gonna lie, at first I was worried the project might start to have a negative effect on her mood—dragging all of those feelings to the surface again—but it’s done just the opposite. She’s never looked happier since they got the ball rolling on this. It’s like having a mission is finally giving her some real peace of mind.

“Hey,” Taylor calls as she paddles up alongside me, a little out of breath but smiling wide.

“You’re getting better, babe. That was almost not atrocious.”

Laughing, she slaps a handful of water at me. “Dick.”

“Brat.”

She gets herself turned around so we’re both facing the shore. “Your phone was ringing when I went back to our stuff for a drink. Screen said Devin.”

“Oh, nice. That’s the guy from the non-profit I was telling you about.”

“Yeah? A call is a good sign, right?”

Taylor is returning to Boston in a few days, and I’m not heading back till mid-August, so we won’t see each other for a while. Figured I’d better find something to keep me out of trouble for the month and a half we’ll be apart.

“I think so,” I say. “Seems like if it was a no, they’d just send an email or something.”

After a bit of research, I found out there were some available summer internships with the local chapter of another environmental protection group. It’s mostly a community outreach kind of thing, working booths at farmers markets and festivals, signing up volunteers. They’re focused on clean oceans and beaches, and educating the public about sustainable ways to enjoy marine recreation. After giving it a lot of thought over the last month—and having a lot of long talks with my super-smart girlfriend—I’ve decided that’s where my passion lies. This internship seemed like as good a step as any to figuring out how to make a career out of it.

I know Taylor didn’t mean the things she said on the Kappa lawn when she dumped me, but she wasn’t wrong. For the last few years, I haven’t had a direction outside of hockey and just going along with the path Max had set out for me. I know he only wanted to help, but I’m not him. I can’t follow in his footsteps.

I needed to find my own path, and finally, I feel like I have a purpose. Like I can be a man Taylor would be proud of.

“I got an email from Abigail’s mom this morning,” she says, dragging her fingers through the water as we bob on the tide. “Jules is pleading down to a lesser charge. I guess the prosecutor scared the shit out of her with some threat about felony hacking charges. But it sounds like Kevin’s parents have hired some expensive bulldog lawyer to fight the case. So it might end up going to trial.”

“Think you’re up for that?”

She’s been so brave through this whole ordeal. I really hoped it could end quickly for her, but no, apparently that dickwad intends to make her suffer just so he can avoid taking responsibility. I keep telling myself bashing his face in would not help Taylor’s side of things. It’s a struggle.

“I’ll have to be,” she says. “Really, the more he pushes me, the more I want to get involved. Like this dude is going to wish he never fucked with me.”

A grin tugs on my lips. “That’s my girl.”

Man, I couldn’t be more impressed with how she’s handled the pressure. Taylor’s my fucking hero. With every new development in the case, she rises to the challenge, more committed now than ever to defy the people who wanted to bring her down.

Every day, I’m falling more in love with her. Which only makes the knot in my stomach that much tighter.

“So,” I say, pausing as a swell tumbles beneath us. “You know Alec, Matt, and Gavin graduated, right? So, since it was just going to be the two of us, Foster and I didn’t bother renewing our lease on the house.”

“Yeah, I still have a couple weeks before I need to decide if I’m keeping mine or looking for something else.”

“Well, I was talking to Hunter, and it looks like he and Demi are thinking about their arrangements, too. Brenna and Summer are both leaving to live with their boyfriends, and Mike Hollis is married now, so…yeah…”

She raises an eyebrow at me. Fuck, I didn’t think this would be so hard.

I gulp. “Anyway, I don’t remember how we got on the topic, but someone mentioned, you know, maybe the four of us, could, like, get a place.”

“A place,” she repeats.

“Together.”

“You’re asking me to move in with you.”

“I mean, no. But yeah, sorta.”

“Huh.” Taylor stares at me. Unmoving. Not even a lip twitch. It’s sort of scary how still she is. “But won’t that be awkward for you and Demi?”

My eyebrows fly up. “What? No. Not even a little. I mean, she kissed me once, but that was just to make Hunter jealous. There’s no thing there.”

“No,” Taylor corrects, deadpan, “I meant with all the super-obvious sexual tension between me and Hunter. We’ve kept it quiet all this time, but—”

“Fuck off,” I say, laughing and launching a splash at her. “You’re such an asshole.”

“I have to confess,” she continues, “I’ve got the mega hots for your best friend. I mean, he is the captain, after all.”

I narrow my eyes. “I’ll break his legs in his sleep.”

“You can watch, if you want.” She flashes this self-impressed grin at me, and I can’t help myself. I’m stupid for this girl.

“Come here.” I pull her board closer and kiss her. Deeply and with purpose. “You’re a pain in my ass.”

“Love you, too.”

If someone had asked me to describe my perfect match, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I probably would have spit out a bunch of clichés that would have amounted to every one-night stand I’ve ever had. Yet somehow, life put Taylor right in front of me anyway. She’s made me a better person. Taught me to be true to myself. Helped me see the value in me as a person. Hell, she put my family back together.

She and I found every possible way to try to sabotage our happiness, each of us falling back on old habits and insecurities. But what gives me faith in us is that we always managed to end up right back here. Together. I guess there’s hope for a couple of hopeless fuckups after all.

“So is that a yes?” I ask her.

Taylor looks over her shoulder at the incoming swell. She lines up her board and prepares to catch it. Then, with a mischievous grin, she starts paddling.

“Race you for it.”