The Dare (10 page)

"It's not that."

Beth shook her head and stared down at the
damn cup in her hands. Irritated, I grabbed the cup, forcing her to
look up.

"It sounds ridiculous when I say it out
loud."

"What does?"

Beth rolled her eyes. "I don't even know you.
I'm not going to get all emotional on you."

"Lies," I smirked. "I've danced with you for
at least three minutes and shared a few hours in bed with you. And
if Grandma has her say about anything, we're most likely engaging
in some sort of Hawaiian wedding tradition where sharing rum punch
means we're married."

"Valid point."

"Tell you what. This is a free pass. Besides,
we're on the ocean. Nobody can hear us, no cell phones are going
off, and there's no media. It's just you and me. You want to howl
at the damn moon, just say the word. I've officially made the ocean
Switzerland."

Her mouth curved into a smile. "Neutral? Hmm,
can senators do that?"

I paused then snapped my fingers. "Just
did."

Beth laughed.

I held my breath. It was that beautiful. I
didn't want to ruin it by making any noise at all.

"Fine." She chewed her lower lip, tilting her
head to the side. "I think it's jealousy."

"Jealousy?" I leaned forward so our knees
were touching. "How so?"

"Travis was in love with Kacey since he was
little. Char was in love with Jake. Each of them had their past,
their own story, and a Cinderella ending with a fairy godmother in
the form of a lipstick-wielding grandmother."

I chuckled. "And?"

"And," Beth leaned forward and sighed, "I
have science."

"Rock on." I nodded encouragingly.

She smacked me in the arm. "I'm serious!"

"I thought you liked your job."

"I do! I just…" She started twirling a piece
of her hair. "I just… sometimes, I just wish for the Cinderella
story. I want the happy ending, I just want… more."

"More isn't always better, Beth. Remember
that. It's easy to watch from the outside. Especially when you're
lonely. Hell, it's easy to assume people have the perfect life. You
make up a fantasy about how lucky they are and how perfect they
are. But truth? Life sucks. It's freaking difficult. Most couples
bleed and fight and burn to stay together. That's what it takes. It
isn't a fairytale. And I don't think that's what girls want in the
first place. They may say they do. You may say you want easy, but
believe me when I say you want hard. You want a guy to fight. You
want him to be willing to go to battle for you. Don't for one
second envy a situation you know nothing about. Instead, be at
peace with where you're at in life and know that when the right
time comes, it will happen. And when it happens, it's going to be
hard, and you're going to have to ask yourself if it's worth
it."

"Do you think it is?" she asked in a small
voice. "Worth it?"

Sometimes I hated my own honesty. "Most of
the time." I swallowed and looked away, feeling guilty about what I
was hiding from her. "No. I don't think it's worth it. And even if
it were, I can say with absolute certainty that I wouldn't stick
around to find out."

"Whoa," Beth said. "Brutal. But honest."

"Who says politicians can't be honest?" I
joked aloud even though my heart thumped in betrayal. "I hope I
didn't let you down. I just don't think I'm made that way." Lies.
All lies. I had been made that way, at one point, but people
change. Things happen.

"What way?"

"Like Prince Charming." I elbowed her.
"Walking straight into love just seems like a bad gamble to me. It
doesn't make sense. Why willingly walk into a situation where the
odds aren't in your favor? Why take the chance that things won't
end up happily ever after? Why not just do what you're good at and
be successful? To me, success makes me happy, I don't need another
person in my life to know that I'm a good person. And I don't need
approval from the opposite sex to feel like more of a man."

"So..." Beth smirked, "you're okay with dying
alone?"

"If I don't get assassinated first," I
teased.

The boat approached a dock. That was quick.
Someone walked toward the boat and helped tie it up. A line of Tiki
huts lit up the front of the shore. Things didn't look abandoned,
but it wasn't as if there were tons of tourists.

"She sure took us a long way just for
dinner," Beth said.

"That's because you aren't here for just
dinner," the captain answered. "Your bags will follow in the next
boat with your grandmother. Everything has been taken care of.
Enjoy your stay."

"Stay?" we repeated in unison.

"For six days." The captain scratched his
head and checked his clipboard. "Yup, says here you have Romeo and
Juliet Honeymoon Suite. And wedding be, oh yes, Saturday. Now is
there anything else you needed?"

"Wedding!" Jace yelled.

"Chill, hang loose, man." The captain
laughed. "I love pulling that trick on tourists. Gets 'em every
time. No wedding. But you do have the suite. It was the only hut
available."

"Hut?" Beth annunciated the T with
vengeance.

"Sure." The captain smiled. "Though here on
the island we just call them fertility huts."

"Holy shit. Grandma's trying to get you
knocked up." I chuckled. "Not gonna happen."

Beth's gaze snapped to mine; her eyes
narrowed.

"Not because I wouldn't want to sleep with
you. I mean, I think we can both say it was… fantastic." If only I
could remember just how fantastic. Kill me now.

"Up you go!" The captain grabbed Beth and
hoisted her onto the dock. "Just keep walking straight until you
reach the main lobby."

The minute I followed suit and stepped onto
the deck, the captain grabbed me and whispered, "Keiki, keiki,
keiki."

Was he saying kinky or keiki?

"What the hell are you doing?" I pushed him
away.

"Cursed." The captain slapped my back a few
times then tugged my ear.

Swear, I almost kneed him in the nuts.

"Keiki, you have keiki, and you'll be happy
for all eternity. Six days." He smiled. "For six days you will be
cursed with her scent, her laugh, her walk, her smile. If, at the
end of the six days you decide to walk away, the curse be broken,
and you not feel pain from her parting. If you choose her as your
mate, you be blessed."

My mouth dropped open. "Are you high?"

"Keiki." The captain nodded and slapped my
back again. "Good luck, my friend. Aloha." He put a large necklace
over my neck and kissed my cheek.

I reared back, ready to push him into the
ocean when Beth yelled my name. The breeze picked up as I turned to
face her.

And my heart froze in my chest.

Her green eyes were glowing in the moonlight.
My body reacted like she was my universe, it was as if everything
around me faded and all I saw was green.

Green eyes.

Beautiful eyes.

The wind picked up again as the smell of
coconut floated through the air. I could taste it on my tongue.
Hell, I could taste her. Damn, I wanted her. I wanted her so bad
that my body was having trouble functioning.

Shit! The man, the beads, the curse. I turned
to yell at him for putting his voodoo crap on me, but the boat was
already gone.

When I turned back around, Beth was
smiling.

And I knew.

She would pull.

I would fall.

And in the end I
would
walk away.

Because she deserved better, and I didn't
believe in second chances, even when it came to the one who got
away.

"We don't have alcohol on the premises." The
agent rubbed his forehead again and groaned. "And even if we did,
I'd use it before I'd give it to you."

"Well, that's rude." Grandma sniffed.

"Can you help me at all? Can you give me
anything? Any information?"

"Yes." Grandma sighed. "I suppose I can, but
it will cost you."

"Bribery? Of a government agent?"

"I kidnapped a US senator. You said so
yourself. Do you think the law applies to me? Furthermore, do you
think I care?"

"Ma'am, I can say with absolute certainty,
that you are under the illusion that no law or rule applies to
you."

"Why, thank you! How sweet." Grandma leaned
back in her chair. "Where shall I start?"

"The beginning."

"It began with a curse."

"Shit."

"Don't worry, it was a good curse. And it
wasn't real, but he didn't know that. You see, sometimes we just
need to be given permission to do things. We need to be told
something is okay."

Beth

Jace looked like he'd just seen a ghost. I
waved in front of his face; he sucked in some air and began choking
wildly and tugging at the beaded necklace around his neck.

"When did you go shopping?" I fingered the
necklace.

"Don't touch it. I'm cursed!" he shouted.

I'd never witnessed a nervous breakdown. But
I was almost one-hundred percent sure that's what was taking place.
Jace pulled at his neck, nearly choking himself in the process and
kept holding his breath.

"Get it off!" he yelled again.

"Jace. Breathe," I demanded.

His wild eyes looked everywhere but my face.
Finally I grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "It will be okay.
It's just six days."

"You can't touch me. I'm serious, Beth. This
is serious!"

"Right. You and your necklace are cursed." I
patted his back in a motherly fashion. "You're under a lot of
pressure right now. It's okay to freak out every once in a while.
Just take some deep breaths, and we'll get some food in you."

"I'm not…" He started hyperventilating. "What
the hell kind of perfume do you have on anyway?" He pulled back,
eyes wild.

"I'm not wearing perfume."

"Aw, shit!" Jace finally pulled free from the
necklace and threw it into the ocean, nearly popping his arm out of
the socket in the process.

"Better?" I crossed my arms.

"Immensely." His chest was still heaving from
exertion. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, it's fine. I've always wondered what it
would be like to watch someone completely lose their mind." I
smiled.

And was rewarded with a middle finger.

"Whoa there, Senator, manners."

His eyes narrowed. "The damn captain cursed
me. He cursed me with you!"

Mad as hell, I smacked him on the arm. "Then
why don't you just go back to your perfect life with your
ridiculous amount of money and leave me the heck alone! I need this
vacation, and I don't need you here being all
—
" I pushed him again, "
—
angry!"

"Fine!" Jace shouted, and then he pinched the
bridge of his nose. "I mean, you're right. I'll leave. I just. He
just
—
"

"Aloha!" A lady approached us on the dock. "I
don't mean to interrupt what I'm sure was a very healthy and
emotional conversation where you're both searching for your
feelings deep down inside and
—
"

"Who are you?" Jace interrupted.

The lady was wearing all black and had a name
tag that said
Dr. Z.

"I'm the manager of this fine establishment,
and I've been expecting you." She couldn't have been more than five
foot two, was of Asian descent, and had black-rimmed spectacles
that covered half her face. "Now if you'll just follow me to the
center."

"Center?" I repeated. "I thought it was a
hotel?"

"Oh, it's so much more! Here at Ocean Breezes
Couples' Retreat, we pride ourselves on being up-to-date on the
latest couples' therapy, relaxation treatments and
—
"

"Back up." Jace held up his hand. "Couples'
therapy?"

"Of course." Dr. Z nodded. "That is why
you're here, is it not?"

"Not," I answered for both of us. "Not, not,
not, not."

"Strange." She folded her arms. "I've had
your reservation for over a month."

"A month!" I yelled. This time Jace braced me
as I lunged for the innocent doctor.

"Come along." She ignored my violent
outburst. "Dinner starts in about ten minutes, and we need to get
you in your clothes first."

"You have our suitcases?" That was the best
news I'd heard all day.

"Oh no." Dr. Z snapped her fingers. Two men
came running; one handed her a packet, and the other handed her a
key. "Here at Ocean Breezes Couples' Retreat, oh my, that is a
mouthful. Here at OBCR, we value equality over style. Both men and
women wear the same white outfits every day to show their
commitment for a clean slate."

"Clean slate?" Jace gave me a nervous
look.

"Ah, here we are." Dr. Z led us down a
pathway to a large hut. "You'll find a change of clothes inside.
Please hurry. As you were dropped off later than expected, we do
not want your dinner to get cold."

With that she closed the door, leaving Jace
and me alone in the hut.

After a few moments of silence I said, "I
think we were played."

"You think?" Jace snapped.

"Don't try to pin this on me!" I stomped over
to him. "Besides, it's not like we could have made an escape, what
with you grabbing at your chest like you had fleas or something.
My necklace, a curse, a curse, a curse!
"

"Not funny. I was cursed!" he argued.

"Yeah, with a nervous breakdown, and now
we're at some mental institute for unhappy couples! Screw you and
your advice on the boat. I want the fairytale, you hear me!" I
pointed up at the ceiling. "I want the fairytale, damn it!"

"Who are you talking to?"

"God."

"Why?"

"So he can tell Grandma I want a
do-over."

"Nice." Jace smirked. "And I'm the one with
the nervous breakdown."

"Don't push me." I pointed at his chest and
held up my fingers. "I'm this close, this close to snapping."