Wallflower by Cookie O'Gorman (best romance ebooks .TXT) 📕

caught.  His face came so close to mine I could've counted his eyelashes if I'd wanted to.  They were long and framed blue eyes that sparkled as they met mine.  A moment that felt like forever later, he retracted his arm, pulled the seatbelt across my body, and locked it in place.  His hand hovered so close to my hip.  He didn't touch me in any way.  But it sure felt like he did.

I was still staring as Dare gave me a slow grin.

"Couldn't resist," he said.

"You—did you just…" I stuttered.

Dare shrugged.  "Safety first, right?"

"Right," I said then coughed.  "Okay.  Let's go."

To say the drive was strange would've been an understatement.  We hadn't gotten off to the best start, but the actual ride was a lesson in patience.  First off, Dare had to adjust his seat as far back as it could go so his long legs could fit inside—and he did it as noisily as he could.  Second, he turned on the radio, which I immediately switched off.

Dared frowned.

But before he could say anything, I said, "I like to meditate on my way to school."

"You've got to be joking," he scoffed.

"Nope.  I'm big into yoga, a life-long practitioner actually.  They say silence cleanses the spirit."

It was a bald-faced lie.  But it was also my way of getting back at him for the little seatbelt stunt he'd pulled earlier.  Take that, Mr. Frost.

"So, no music?"

Dare's face was priceless.

"No, sorry," I said, turning my eyes back to the road, biting my lip hard to hold back a laugh.  I could feel him staring at me for a long moment, but then he shrugged.

"No problem," he said, drawing his phone out of his pocket and putting in some earbuds.  Dare's head started nodding to the beat, and not seconds later, he began drumming on his legs.  Again, loudly.  Did this guy ever do anything quietly? I wondered.

Accepting the fact that my plan had backfired, I pulled out my crackers and opened them, putting one in my mouth.  The crunch and peanut buttery goodness was a welcome distraction from the guy next to me.

But as I lifted a second one, I felt that stare again.

Flipping my gaze to Dare, I watched his eyes as they watched me put the cracker to my lips and bite down.  He licked his own lips.

"Is that…peanut butter?" he asked.

"Sure is," I said, taking the last bite into my mouth and swallowing.

"I didn't have much for breakfast this morning."  Dare's eyes moved to the packet open on the console between us.  He gazed at them longingly.  "Those look good."

"They are," I agreed.

Dare sighed, his hand ticking toward the pack before he quickly brought it back to his lap.

"Do you want some?" I asked, holding the pack out to him.

"Nah, I shouldn't," he said.  "There's only like eight in there.  You go ahead.  I'll get something at school."

His eyes never strayed from my hand as I brought another cracker to my mouth.

"Are you sure?" I said.  "You can have one if you want."

"No…you're already doing me a solid by giving me a ride," he said.  "I wouldn't want to take them from you.  Even if they do look delicious."

Dare's stomach gave a deep grumble then, and I caved.

"Oh, this is just pitiful," I said, shoving the crackers toward him.  "Take one already.  It's just a cracker, no big deal."

"Okay, but only if you really don't want it," he said.

"For goodness sakes Dare, take it."

And boy, oh boy, did he.  Dare ate those peanut butter crackers like they were the best things on Earth.  I was glad I'd already gotten three because between one blink and the next the other five were gone.  Just like that.  Dare had eaten them all in less than a minute.

"Hmm," he said in contentment.  "Thanks for sharing, Vi.  That was good."

"No problem," I mumbled.  "You were hungry, huh?"

Dare winked, patting his stomach.  "I'm a growing boy."

I nodded.

"Now, if we only had something to wash it down with," he said.

"Well, there's milk in my thermos if you want some."

"Really?" he said, sounding like a kid in the candy store over some freaking crackers and milk.  "Can I get a sip of that?  I won't put my mouth on it or anything."  Dare grinned.  "Not unless you want me to."

"You just can't help it.  Can you?" I said.  He shrugged, and I rolled my eyes but gave him the go ahead.  "Have at it, Frost.  I wouldn't want you passing out from hunger.  My dad might never forgive me."

We shared the milk, and true to his word, Dare didn't put his mouth on the cup.  The banana I'd grabbed also got split in two, and before I knew it we were pulling into the Durham High parking lot.  After we got out, Dare met me at the front of my car.

"Well, Buttercup didn't seem to have any problems today," he said.  "We got here in plenty of time, and for an older model, she handles like a dream."

I lifted my chin.  "This car is my pride and joy, took me two years to save enough to afford her.  I just made up that stuff about her being difficult because I didn't want you driving."

Dare winked.  "I already knew that."

"Hey, can you blame me?" I said.  "You don't have the best track record."

"My cars do tend to get damaged," he said thoughtfully.

That was an understatement.

"But I'd take care of your car, Vi.  Don't doubt it.  So, Buttercup," he said.  "Is that because she's yellow?"

"That's part of it," I said.  "But she's really named after a character from one of my favorite movies.  It's a quirky romantic comedy about a girl who falls in love with a farm