Dare You to Hate Me by B. Celeste (classic fiction .txt) 📕

I set down my pizza and try not to let the heat spread from where it prickles the back of my neck. “There is no deal.”

Even Caleb chuckles at that, but I refrain from glaring in his direction.

Raine passes me a napkin before grabbing one for herself. “Ignore DJ. He’s just being nosey. He’s like a puppy. Totally innocent.”

“Until he starts chewing the drywall and pissing on the rug,” Caleb remarks, flashing his teammate an amused smile.

The boy beside me grumbles, “I’ve done neither of those things.”

“But the stray you took in did,” Raine reminds him. I watch the three of them go back and forth on the matter in amusement. By the time I’m done with my first slice of pizza, I’ve learned that DJ is a big softy—especially when it comes to animals.

“…scratches everywhere. Gran always told me I was more of a dog person and I guess that thing knew when I tried smuggling it in from the cold. I was trying to do the right thing, but maybe it had a family somewhere in Boston it wanted to get back to.”

I snort over his troubled feline story. It’s sweet he wants to help animals, but it sounds like he’s batting zero for any of the attempts being successful. “Maybe you should flash them that pretty boy smile of yours and they’ll retract their claws.”

A sly half-smirk stretches across his face as he leans toward me. “But the claws are the best part, Ives. Haven’t you figured out by now that I like a little sass?”

“Oh, brother,” Caleb groans, throwing a balled-up napkin at him.

Raine picks up her water, her eyes widening from over the plastic Coke cup at something behind me. Before I can figure out what, a hand comes down on my shoulder and squeezes once, the faintest scent of cinnamon wafts around me, bringing me back to a lot of happier times.

“Just got your text, man,” Aiden says, hand still on my shoulder as he towers over me. He must be close because I can feel his body heat radiating into my back.

Caleb gives me a sheepish smile when I eye him knowingly. He quickly looks away and gestures toward the empty chair at the end. “We just finished eating but take what’s left. I don’t think we were planning to leave anytime soon.”

“Actually, I—” My voice gets cut off with a yelp when Aiden drags my chair with his foot closer to the empty one and drops down beside me. I glare at him while Caleb fails at hiding an amused snort. “Was that necessary?”

Aiden simply shrugs and reaches for one of the few remaining slices on the tray.

I make a face. “You hate meat lovers.”

“No, I don’t.” To prove it, he takes a hearty bite while I watch with surprised eyes. “I only used to say that because you always liked the boring shit.”

“No, I didn’t!”

He deadpans. “Yes, you did.”

“No.”

Skepticism cements his hard features as he lowers his slice. “The shitty ass Hawaiian pizza doesn’t count. You only ate two bites before you threw it away when you thought nobody was looking.”

I feel other sets of eyes on us and try ignoring them. “Well…” I have nothing to say to that, so I sink down slightly in my seat. One of my few birthday parties growing up was tropical themed, so I begged my mother to order a Hawaiian pizza. She told me I wouldn’t like it and that I’d waste money when she’d have to throw it away. When I realized it tasted like shit, I had to hide what I did with the rest of it so she wouldn’t get mad.

Aiden grins and takes another bite of his pizza, victory evident in his eyes. I glance at Caleb. “Thanks again for the food. It saved me from heating up leftovers.”

His smile comes easy. “No problem. When Raine suggested inviting you along I was more than happy. Could have done without DJ hitting on you every two seconds though.”

From the corner of my eye, I see my old childhood friend tense in his seat. He doesn’t say anything though as silence takes over the table. Instead of drowning in it, I shift again and smile at Raine. “Thank you for thinking of me.”

There’s sadness in her eyes. “I know the girls aren’t very welcoming, and that’s because of Sydney, but if you ever want to hang out I’m usually free. You don’t need to stay in the basement.”

“Speaking of,” Aiden cuts in, voice gruff as he turns to me. “What’s this shit I hear about it not being finished? You could get sick down there from what Caleb told me.”

Once again, I shoot my narrowed eyes on the man in question across the table. He chooses not to look at me. “Caleb was just exaggerating. It’s not that bad.”

“I call bull,” Aiden retorts. “When you get sick I’m saying, ‘I told you so’.”

My nostrils twitch. “It’s a place to sleep. I’ve stayed at worse.”

The tick in his slightly scruffy jaw tells me it wasn’t the right thing to say. “You’re not helping your case right now, Chaos.”

“Chaos?” DJ repeats, eyes bouncing between his teammate and me in interest. His eyes land on me as his head cocks. “I thought you said you two didn’t have a deal?”

“Oh, we have a deal,” Aiden informs him.

I cross my arms. “Oh, do we?”

He forgets his food and leans on the edge of the table with his arms, bending toward me so we’re unapologetically close. “What did we tell each other in the fort we made our own in the woods all those years ago?”

His stare penetrates me, and I refuse to blink first. I level his gaze, lean forward to match his stance and say, “What we told each other doesn’t matter because we were kids. Kids always fail at the things they promise.”

“You never fail until you stop trying,” he counters immediately.

I think back to the summer we met. It was