Free Dare to Dream (Truth or Dare #2) by Sloan Johnson Page A

I’ve done this and as nice as it was, it’s not something I see myself looking forward to doing on a regular basis. It’s all just so…excessive.
    “So, are you going to keep stewing over whatever’s bothering you or do you want to talk about it?” Rebecca asks, peering over the rim of an absolutely decadent caramel apple martini. I’m used to bars where everything is served in pint glasses and they look at you like you’ve grown an extra head if you order complex drinks. Here, every glass looks like a delicate work of art. A bit stuffy for me, but after one sip, I’m convinced this is one aspect of the high life I could definitely become comfortable with.
    We begin a staring contest; she waits for me to answer while I decide if I’m ready to talk about it. It’s been hours since I’ve wondered if she thinks I’m immature or incapable of what Colby’s life entails and I would prefer to keep it that way. Then again, she might be able to understand me in a way that no one back home can. The only people I talk to are used to Colby and I as a unit, even before we were officially a couple, so they are already pushing me to put my life on hold for him. Whatever I do decide, it’s not going to be for his sake—it has to be for mine alone.
    “Have you ever had a moment when you look around and you have no idea how you got to where you are?” I ask, my eyes wandering anywhere but her face as the words begin to flow. She places a hand over her mouth, letting out an unladylike snort.
    “Honey, as wonderful as my life is now that I have Aaron, there are still days I barely recognize myself when I look in the mirror.” Her fingers tap nervously on the hardwood tabletop and it appears that she’s wrestling with her own demons. Leave it to me to touch on a raw subject for her.
    “But you have it all, what’s not to love?”
    She swirls the little bit of liquid around in her glass before running her finger around the inside to collect as much caramel sauce as possible. I really want to laugh as she waves her sticky finger in my face as she speaks. “Even when you love your life, it doesn’t mean it’s what you imagined it would be like.” She sticks her finger in her mouth, sucking off every last bit of sauce. I’m not sure why I had put her on a pedestal, placing her just out of reach in my mind, but watching her do something so mundane makes me realize that we’re both just normal women, trying to get by in life.
    “Do you think that being a widow before I was even twenty-six was something I dreamed of as a little girl?” My jaw goes slack at the revelation. While I knew the kids’ dad wasn’t in the picture, I guess I assumed that he was a deadbeat and they were better off without him. The reality of her life is depressing. And here I am, worried about whether or not I want to finish college or move away to be with Colby. I wish it were possible to take back my petty concerns.
    “When I walked down th at aisle, younger than you are now, I thought Mike and I would be together forever. And maybe we would have been, but God apparently had other plans,” she says in that matter-of-fact way that I’m learning is her standard way of being. “Some days, I wake up and I’m so angry that he’s not here. That has nothing to do with Aaron and everything to do with me not having the life I planned out. So yes, I know how that feels.”
    I tip back my glass, emptying the contents because I can’t think of a single thing to say in response. She reaches across the table for my free hand. “Honey, whatever you have going on in that head of yours, it’s okay to talk about it.”
    I was ready to do just that, but now I feel silly. She’s right though, I do need to talk about it, and it’d be nice to get some outside perspective before I have to sit down with Colby. “I think part of my problem is that I never thought about what I wanted in my life. My family made their expectations clear when I was very young