Free The Dare by Rachel van Dyken

happened.
    Crap. I had no charge. I so wanted to
charge. I needed a charge.
    "You okay?" Jace asked, once we fell into
step behind Grandma.
    "Do I have a charge?"
    "Huh?"
    "A charge," I repeated.
    "Like a card?"
    "Like a bond."
    "I think I'm confused."
    I sighed heavily. "Ionic bonds. They're
formed when charged particles stick together. I think I'm
chargeless."
    Jace's face lit up with humor. "Chargeless,
huh? Is that your professional opinion?"
    "I'm going to the ladies' room! Damn wine!"
Grandma yelled and stomped off, leaving Jace and in the very
romantic spot people like to call the wall between the ladies' and
men's restrooms. Toilet flushing was our romantic music, and the
smell of Mexican food floated through the air.
    Again. Clearly I was chargeless.
    "So…" Jace leaned against the wall.
    "So?"
    "Your professional opinion. Is that it? That
you have no charge?"
    "Yup." Another toilet flushed. Awesome. I
almost wanted to cheer for that person. I mean if you can't cheer
for someone having a successful bowel movement, really, what can
you cheer for?
    "Great." He grabbed my arms, pulling me into
his embrace. Toilets continued to flush, but I focused my attention
on his lips as they moved. "Now, here's mine."
    His kiss was tender, elusive. I leaned into
him, and I was rewarded for my efforts as his hot mouth pushed
harder against mine. Without warning, he pulled back.
    "Beth," his hoarse voice washed over my body,
giving me chills, "you're looking at it wrong. The problem isn't
your damn charge. It's that you don't even realize you had it in
the first place. If you don't know what you have, how can you use
it? So you want to form an ionic bond? I call bullshit. Why would
you want to bond with another person's energy when you have your
own? Why bond when you're a continuous spectrum?"
    "You used big science words." Right, that's
all I had after his speech.
    Jace's eyes flashed with amusement.
"Sometimes. It happens. I did go to school, you know."
    "It was like dirty talk, only hotter." I
leaned in closer as his smile grew.
    He leaned forward, touching his forehead to
mine. "There's more where that came from."
    "You called me a continuous spectrum." I
grinned, feeling all warm and fuzzy all the way down to my
toes.
    "It was a compliment."
    His lips were so close I could almost taste
his peppermint gum.
    "I know."
    "Beth," he gently pushed me away, "stop
worrying about attracting things you don't want to attract." He
cleared his throat and ran his hand through his overly long blond
hair. Was he referring to himself? Was I attracting him? "Trust me,
the right guy will come along, and when he does, it will be
amazing. Until then, just keep shining. You're beautiful, you're
smart, and you have a lot going for you. Don't let yourself become
your worst enemy."
    Stunned, I could only stare at him and wish…
that's what I was doing. I was willing or wishing him to say screw it and kiss me again. I wanted him to want me, and I
hated that I was so weak that I felt like I needed a person of the
opposite sex to affirm that I was attractive.
    "Well!" Grandma strolled out of the bathroom
and swore. "Some people just can't handle dairy products, and
that's that!" Her eyes narrowed. "What's going on here?"
    "Science lesson." Jace put his arm around me.
"A little ionic-bond lesson."
    "Damn bonds." Grandma hauled her giant
leopard purse over her shoulder and winced. "I'll tell you about
bonds. The government makes you buy them, and then you wait years — years, I tell you!"
    "And an economics lesson," I added. "What a
day."
    "I'm a starved lion. And I about croaked in
that god-forsaken hellhole they call a bathroom. Let's go." Grandma
pointed to the doors and scurried away.
    Jace chuckled and followed after her, leaving
me trailing behind the two of them. Why did he keep kissing me if
he wanted to keep me away? And why did I care? Thor was kissing me.
This was cause for celebration not contemplation. But, of course,
in true spinster