Free Dare to Love (Young Adult Romance) by Rosemarie Naramore Page B

we
spotted Keith and Jennifer by the refreshment table.  When we reached them,
Dare asked, “You guys wanna go out?”
    Keith glanced at Jennifer.  She
nodded eagerly. 
    “Where to?” Keith asked.
    “Courtney told me there’s a carnival
at the mall,” Dare said.  “What do you think?”
    “Okay,” we all agreed.
    “Let’s go,” Courtney said from behind
us.
    I grimaced.  I glanced at Jennifer
and she rolled her eyes. 
    “What time are we leaving?” Courtney
asked.  She smiled coyly and fluttered her thick lashes.  I wanted to gag.
    “Uh, Keith and I have to change
clothes first,” Dare said. 
    The two boys walked away.  Jennifer,
Courtney, and I stood, unspeaking.  The silence was unnerving.  I hoped the
boys wouldn’t take too long changing out of their uniforms. 
    I noted that Courtney had already
changed, and I had to admit she looked great.  She wore a floral print sundress
that gathered at the waist and billowed out into a full, but short skirt. 
Suddenly, I felt short!—more so than usual, and unattractive, by comparison.
    Jennifer must have been similarly
affected since she whispered in my ear, “Bye, bye, Keith.”
    Furrowing my brow, I shook my head. 
“Don’t worry about it,” I softly assured her, “Keith has her number.”
    “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Jennifer
groaned.
    “You know what I mean,” I said,
unsuccessfully stifling a giggle.
    Although I was pretty sure of Keith
since he seemed genuinely unaffected by Courtney, I still wasn’t so sure about
Dare.  He and Courtney had been together at the station after all, and Courtney
had probably known about tonight’s plans—certainly before I did.  I’d already
decided that Dare and Courtney would make a beautiful couple.
    In my mind’s eye, I pictured them
together and I felt a stabbing pain in my heart.  And then it hit me.  I liked
Dare.  A lot.
    As if on cue, Dare and Keith walked
back into the conference room in civilian clothing.  Dare, in jeans and a t-shirt,
looked great as usual.  Courtney must have noticed just how great since she
moved to stand beside him.  Looking up into his eyes, her well-glossed lips
were set in a dazzling smile that exposed her perfectly white teeth.  How could
I ever compete with her? I wondered.
    Then I remembered something Mom
always told me.  Just be yourself.  I made a quick decision to take my mother’s
advice.  There was little else I could do, since I was certain I wouldn’t be
growing six inches in the next few minutes.
    I was lost in my thoughts so I jumped
when Dare playfully nudged me with his elbow.  “Ready to go?”
    “Uh, yeah,” I said, and followed the
group outside to the parking lot.
    “Who’s driving?” Courtney asked, her
leadership qualities shining through as usual.
    “I’m driving my truck,” Keith said. 
“Wanna ride with me, Jennifer?”
    Beaming, Jennifer said, “Sure,” and
moved to stand beside Keith.
    “My mom dropped me off,” Courtney
informed us.
    “I have my car, and Laura has her
car,” Dare noted, “but there’s really no need to take both.”  Turning toward
me, he asked, “Why don’t we take mine.  I can drop you off here later.”
    “Okay,” I agreed.
    “Sounds good to me,” Courtney chirped
as she sauntered over to Dare’s car.
    “We’ll follow you, Keith,” Dare said.
    “Okay,” Keith replied, and he and
Jennifer climbed into his truck.
    I walked with Dare to his car.  He
unlocked the passenger side door.  Courtney hastily climbed in.  Dare reached
around and unlocked the back door for me.   When he climbed into the driver’s
seat, he turned around and winked at me.  I wasn’t sure what meaning he wished
to convey, but I hoped he was as disappointed as I was that I wasn’t sitting up
front with him.

Chapter Eight
     
    “No way!” Jennifer declared.  “I will not ride on that thing.”
    “Okay, okay,” Keith said with a
laugh.  “Let’s head for the