“I don’t think you realize what you’re getting into,” Stephanie says, reaching for her glass of wine. Yes, she drinks wine out of a glass. Trust me: I think it’s crazy, too. I think a lot of things about Stephanie are crazy, but then, what do I know?
I’m just the computer geek.
I’m just the nerd with the glasses.
I’m just the girl who agreed to seduce the guy I’ve had a crush on for the last three years.
Oh, and I’m just the one drinking the wine straight from the bottle.
“You can back out if you want,” Stephanie repeats. Her voice is getting nasally. She’s drinking too much, or maybe she’s drinking too slowly. I can’t tell anymore.
She’d have to fucking shoot me before I’d back out of a dare and we both know it. I’ve been best friends with Stephanie since we were ten years old and both the new, awkward kids in town. She knows everything about me and if there’s one thing she knows for certain, it’s that I don’t back down. I don’t give up. I don’t quit.
It’s why I’m so good at my job and so good at being a friend and so fucking shitty at being a girlfriend.
I don’t like to end relationships because I don’t like to quit.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always a positive thing.
The idea that you should never surrender is great if you like to play sports or video games or you have serious goals for your life. It’s less okay if you like to date guys who live with their mothers or who don’t actually have jobs. It’s less okay if you date people who are jerks. It’s less okay if your idea of the perfect relationship is a boyfriend who actually wants to hang out with your friends.
I’m very much on the “less okay” end of the spectrum when it comes to not giving up, but then again, that’s the entire reason Stephanie came up with this dare.
Believe it or not, we weren’t just sitting around playing Truth or Dare like a couple of high school kids, even though we may as well have been. Nope. Steph and I were day drinking and I made the mistake of complaining about work. Then she said what she always says.
“What about Parker?”
The thing about Parker is that he’s not just a good looking guy. He’s not just some rich-boy with daddy issues who likes to drink and party. He’s not just some playboy with a mansion. He’s not any of those things. He’s not who people think he is.
He’s more than that.
As the resident do-everything girl at AeroKing, sometimes referred to as a “personal assistant,” I spend a lot of time working closely with the big-wig at the office, whether it be getting him coffee or working on contracts. You’d think that the CEO of one of the biggest engineering companies in the world would be able to get by without someone to fix his tie or remind him what someone’s name is, but the truth is that Parker King takes up a lot of my time.
And I don’t exactly mind.
He’s easy on the eyes, but he’s more than that. Parker has a tender heart and a deep soul. I get the feeling he puts on this playboy act to keep people from getting too close to him. Not that he’s much of a playboy, but he doesn’t do long-term relationships anymore and the media has a field day anytime they photograph him with a woman.
The truth is that he’s been hurt before. It’s obvious. Even if it wasn’t obvious from his behavior, he’s in the public spotlight constantly and there are some things you just can’t keep from the press.
His breakup from Janine was completely publicized and completely horrible, at least for him. He didn’t know she was two-timing him with his former golfing buddy and best friend, Mike. The two of them were like brothers and honestly, I don’t think he’s recovered the way he wants everyone to think he has.
I don’t think Parker has dealt with his issues.
Part of the reason I haven’t pursued anything with Parker is that I really like him as a person. He’s genuine. He’s nice. He’s strong and sweet and completely tender.
But he’s brash.
And he’s an asshole to people sometimes.
And he’s arrogant.
And he’s completely out of my damn league.
I was fine just being friends with him, just being work buddies, but that’s all changing now. That’s all changing right now. That’s all changing because my stupid friend had to go give me a dare I just couldn’t refuse.
“It’s the beard, isn’t it?” Stephanie grabs some popcorn before daintily sipping her wine again. “You can’t resist beards.”
“He does have a nice beard.” I’ll be the first to admit that Parker doesn’t look like your typical CEO. He doesn’t look boring or plain or dull. He doesn’t have a stupid haircut or a smile that looks like he’s thinking up ways to murder you.
He’s very collected, very controlled.
“It’s because he was in the military,” I say. I’m not sure why I’m divulging this. It’s not really a secret, but I rarely share anything Parker tells me with Stephanie. “He couldn’t have a beard for six years. Now he has a fancy one.”
“I didn’t know he was in the military,” she comments.
“Did you think he was always a CEO?”
“Well, yeah.”
“His dad wanted him to be.” Pressured him to be. Planned for him to be. “Parker wanted to serve first, though. He did six years, got his degree, and then took over the company. Ten years later and he’s made it greater than his father ever imagined.”
Parker is dedicated, driven. He’s strong. He’s so fucking fine that every time I masturbate, he’s all I can think of. I’m tired of him being the one I think of. I’m tired of him being the one I can’t get out of my head.
Me fucking Parker is a horrible, horrible idea.
I should move on to someone else, someone I don’t have to work with. I should move on to someone who won’t make my panties melt off my body with just a look, with just the right words. I should move on to someone who doesn’t make me question everything I know about myself, about the world.
I should move on.
But a dare is a dare.
“It’s a pretty good company,” Stephanie agrees. She doesn’t work for AeroKing. She’s a real estate agent and one of the best around. She makes a shitload of money and she’s not afraid to throw it around. It’s why she drinks $75 bottles of wine.
“But?”
“But a dare is a dare,” she says, echoing my own private thoughts. “How are you going to do it?”
“Do what?”
“Seduce Parker.”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ll have to make it good,” Stephanie says. “I have a feeling this one is worth putting effort into.”
I have a feeling she’s completely right.