SE Double Dared

First love. First betrayal. One dare away from unraveling everything.

TRUEN "TRU" JAMESON:

I was twelve when I realized I loved him.

Thirteen when I kissed him.

And the next day, he made me hate myself for it.

Darien turned our friendship into a weapon.

Now he calls me his stepbrother and looks right through me like I'm nothing.

He pretends he doesn't remember that night in the closet.

But I do.

I still taste him like blood in my mouth.

I remember how he kissed me back-and how he made sure I paid for it.

If Darien taught me anything, it's that love isn't a game. The first dare broke us. The second dare might set us free.

DARIEN "DARE" CARTER:

I kissed him back.

Because I wanted to.

Because it felt like falling and I wanted to crash.

But wanting him meant admitting too much, so I crushed it.

I burned the bridge and left him on the other side, holding the match I lit.

He thinks I forgot. I didn't.

I remember everything-his mouth, his breath, the sound he made when our lips touched.

I've hated him ever since for making it matter.

But I hate myself more for wanting it again.

And God help me, I do.

This isn't a love story.

It's a reckoning.