Meagan (I Dare You Book 3)

E
VERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2016 Jennifer Labelle

ISBN: 978-1-77233-909-3

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Amanda Jean

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.  No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

MEAGAN

I Dare You, 3

Jennifer Labelle

Copyright © 2016

Prologue

Past

“Hah! What did he do now?” Meagan asked as Zoey passed around the drinks. She just knew somehow Heidi’s current misery was caused by her clueless cousin.

“Why do you always assume it’s something Nathan did?” Heidi looked a little more relaxed now that they were finally together for her much-needed night out. 

They frequented this cozy bar often because the drinks were cheap and it was a middle ground from where they all lived—walking distance, really—and Heidi had said she was in need of some girl time. It was early yet for the bar scene, so it wasn’t packed, which was good. It meant they could talk. 

Meagan lifted her eyebrow and gave her a look that said
you’re kidding, right?
before she answered.
“Because I know my family, and he’s also a man, so that makes him clueless, especially when it comes to you.” Meagan took a sip of her beer and then leaned back into her chair to get more comfortable while she waited for Heidi to explain.

Heidi looked uncomfortable again, so Meagan assumed that was why Zoey spoke for her. “Our girl here is embarrassed because she jilled off while watching Mr. Clueless get it on with some dude in their living room last night.”

“
Zoey
!” Heidi nearly spit out her Heineken and coughed after she finally managed to swallow it. Zoey looked at her innocently and then laughed while she watched Meagan gag.

“Okay, without going into much detail about my cousin’s part in this, because let’s face it—um, gross…” Meagan shuddered. “I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not like you got caught, right?”

“Actually…” Heidi cringed and took a big gulp from the bottle she was drinking from.

“Are you serious?” Meagan masked her shock and reached forward to squeeze her friend’s hand. “Oh, honey, I think you need to start from the beginning here, but please spare me when you can on the dirty details.”

Heidi’s eyes widened and then she hid her face behind her hands. “Long story short, I woke up hot and thirsty. Went to do my business in the bathroom, and I heard a noise coming from the living room. Nathan was there, of course, with his guy for the night, and, well … it was hot and I haven’t had any action in six months. So I stood in the shadows to watch, and I couldn’t stop myself. Did I mention it was scorching, and I’m not only talking about the humid weather here?” She peeked through her fingers, and Zoey rubbed her back as she went on. “Nobody noticed me, or at least I thought that until the moment I got off and Nathan looked directly at me.”

“And then what?” Meagan asked, and scooted forward with interest.
Could he possibly have woken up to see what’s been in front of him this whole time?
Heidi was perfect for him in every way, and Meagan had always hoped Nathan would end up with her best friend.

Heidi struggled to continue. Zoey stepped in to save the day once again. “The big part here is that when our boy Nathan looked at Heidi, he was just about to reach his own ecstasy and called out her name when he finally did. Our girl ran to her room, and the rest is history,” she explained.

“Have you seen him since?” Meagan asked.

“No.” Heidi finally put her hands down. She was blushing so badly, her face was now as red as a tomato. “I got up really early and left for work before he woke up. I brought some extra clothes with me and my makeup bag so I could change there before coming here so I wouldn’t have to face him until later. And who knows? Maybe he’ll be out again and I won’t have to worry about anything until tomorrow.”

“And if he’s not?” Zoey asked, while picking at the label on her bottle.

“Well, then I’ll at least have a little liquid courage to help me get through it. I was kind of hoping you all could boost my confidence a little bit too. I always feel better when we get together.”

“Likewise, honey, and if I know my cousin as well as I think I do, he’ll want to talk about it because you’re important to him. You ran off, so he’ll know something’s wrong and want to make it right. Nathan can be a lot of things, but he’s loyal to those he loves. It might not be in the romantic way you’d like it to be, but he does cherish you and the friendship you’ve built over the years living together.”

“Not to mention, he may be curious,” Zoey said.

Oh no, she did not just go there.
The thought made Meagan shudder, and she kicked her longtime friend under the table to distract her from continuing on that train of thought.

“What? Ouch!” Zoey rubbed the leg Meagan had kicked, and Heidi laughed so hard she had to wipe away a tear.

“We all know how curious he can be. No need to go there, please.” Meagan downed the rest of her beer, and this time Zoey chuckled. “And on that note, I need another drink.”

“Point made,” Heidi agreed as Meagan got up to get another round for their table. “And I guess I’ll have to take whatever comes, but until then I need to forget for a while and have some fun.”

“Here, here,” Zoey toasted.

A few hours went by, and they were all having a great time. They were tipsy, happy, and carefree for the moment. Heidi was even smiling again, so that was good. The place was packed, the bass was pumping, and they’d all decided to take a break from dancing the night away when Heidi said, “Three girls walk into a bar…”

“What?” Meagan asked.

“I said, three girls walk into a bar!” She spoke louder to be heard over the music. “In this case it’s not a punch line. This is how our story begins.”

“O-okay.” Zoey looked at her like she was out of her mind.

“Shhh.” Heidi put her fingers to her lips. “I think we should make a pact right here, now.”

“What are you talking about?” Zoey asked and Meagan quietly watched the exchange.

“I’m getting there.” Heidi shushed her again. “Have you ever wished you’d done something you’d never normally have the courage to do? A fantasy, anything like that? We’re all single, so I propose an ‘I dare you’ challenge. What do you say?”

“I say it depends on the terms here,” Meagan said, feeling curious, yet skeptical. She wasn’t really the daring type.

“Hell, I’m in,” Zoey replied. “How about we hash out the details?”

“Okay, here goes. We each think of a dare for each other, and we have to follow through within a timeline.”

“It sounds reasonable.” Zoey rubbed her hands together. “Okay, Heidi, we’ll do you first because yours is the easiest, and I think Meagan will agree.”

Oh yeah!

“Nathan,” Zoey and Meagan said at the same time.

“I dare you to pull up those lady panties we were talking about earlier and finally own up to your feelings for him. We dare you to make a move, seduce him, and see if you can finally make him yours,” Zoey said.

“Easier said than done.” Heidi grumbled but then took a deep breath. “Okay, it was my idea, so I’m game, but now it’s your turn, my friend.” She pointed toward Zoey, and Meagan couldn’t help but laugh as Zoey bit her lip and whispered a curse. “We’ve all hit a dry spell in the love department, which is the reason for all of this, but it’s been especially hard for you. Time and time again, Meagan and I have heard you complain about all of those vanilla Joes you’ve dated. The men you’ve slept with who were either two-pump chumps or didn’t know how to work it. I propose you move out of your comfort zone. Sexually. Zoey Appleby, I want you to get off.” She giggled. “I dare you to have a threesome, or join an orgy. Go explore and have fun.”

Oh, this is too good.
“You go, girl!” Meagan snickered.

Zoey gasped before taking a large sip of her drink. She seemed to hesitate before nodding and turning toward Meagan. Heidi did the same.

Meagan’s smirk faded away. “A-are you guys serious about this?” she asked in a squeak. “What happens if one of us doesn’t follow through?” Her heart beat faster, and she rubbed her sweaty palms against the top of her legs. It wasn’t so amusing anymore. She was way too inexperienced for dares like these, and she had no idea what they’d come up with for her.

Heidi grinned. “Why the hell not? It sounds like a ton of fun. Look, Meg, there’s just something missing in our lives. Don’t you think? And I’m tired of sitting on the sidelines. If one of us doesn’t follow through, then they have to buy us all drinks for a month.” They met up at least once a week, so it wouldn’t be cheap.

Zoey snickered. “Make it three months, and we have a deal.” She held up her drink to salute the two women.

Meagan’s jaw dropped, while Heidi’s eyes sparkled with glee.
Holy shit, this is actually happening!

“I’m not sure.” Meagan sighed because she knew she’d give in. “I can’t believe I’m actually going along with this.”

“Good.” Heidi smiled. “Zoey what do you think we should come up with for dear old Meagan here?”

Zoey thought about it for a minute, but then Heidi nearly bounced out of her seat when she answered her own question. “There’s that guy. You know the one. Mr. Hot in a sort of older-guy way. I know, totally clichéd, right? Anyway, it’s the professor she works with.”

“No way.” Meagan squirmed in her seat again.
Shit!

“Come on, Meg,” Heidi said. “He’s perfect for this, and you know you’d like to jump his bones!”

“I-I don’t know.” Meagan flushed as she stuttered and then chugged the rest of her beer for courage. She’d been crushing on David for months. He did seem kind of sweet, so why not use this opportunity to her advantage? “But what the hell? I guess.”

“Then it’s settled!” Heidi exclaimed. “I get to seduce Nathan into having wild and crazy monkey sex with me, and confess my feelings for him…”

“I go exploring with multiple partners…”

“And my plans are to have my way with the sexy older professor I assist at work,” Meagan concluded.

“And since the bet was three months of buying everyone’s drinks, then I propose we have three months to carry all of this out.” Heidi put her hand palm down on the middle of the table, and Zoey and Meagan followed suit, one on top of the other.

“Here’s to spicing things up!” Zoey cheered, and soon they were all cracking up. Deep down, though, Meagan was terrified.  This challenge would not be an easy one. If all went as plan, she was about to finally lose her virginity after hanging on to it for so long.

Life could become a hell of a lot more interesting.