I Dare You (Waylon University, #1)

by Ilsa Madden-Mills

being passed around. Yet… We’re connected. Two stars in the black velvet sky. Two ships passing in the night. Oh, fuck, stop the nonsense, I tell myself. “What was that?” I ask, my voice breathless.

“That’s your first kiss of the bonfire. Now you’ll never forget me.” And then, before I can think of a reply, he’s gone.

Why are you turning them down? I ask. I’ve been waiting on you. WHAT?

“Maybe I’ve been waiting two years for you to be free so I could ask you out.” What?!

only now He-Man has a face and it’s Maverick.

“You’re a good person, Delaney. You’re always kind and sweet and…” He stops talking and shakes his head. “Never mind. I’m talking too much.”

I recall the words Martha-Muffin just spoke to me: Athletes screw around—it’s what they do.

My heart drops at the thought of hurting

Maverick. Of course I wouldn’t.

“I’d do anything for some people—you’ll figure that out about me,”

What am I going to do about Maverick Monroe and how he makes me feel?

“You’re the one that got away, Delaney, the opportunity I missed.”

He-Man: I may not be texting you as much. I’ve got some personal things going on, but that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about you. Me: What’s going on? He-Man: Just…wait for me.

His chin goes up as his eyes lower to half-mast. “Damn, Buttercup, I’ve been waiting weeks for you to ask me that.”

In between kisses he whispers, “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”

God, yes. I do love him. Maybe I have since the moment he admitted he was He-Man. Maverick is in my blood, my skin, my bones. He’s the light, the sun I want to orbit.

“We aren’t over, Delaney, not by a long shot. I’m going to make you proud of me.”

Watching her walk away from me nearly makes my knees buckle. It feels like she isn’t coming back. She loves me. She loves me, even though I lied to her. I’ve wanted her to say it so many times, yet I’m the one who can’t admit what’s going on inside me.

“I love you, Delaney. I love you so damn much, and watching you walk away from me and not being able to do the right thing for you…I never want to go through that again.”

“Will you still love me if I don’t play in the NFL?” “Hell yes,” I say. “That’s the answer I was looking for.” He gives me a lingering kiss, making me grab his shoulders and pull him down until he’s on top of me.

up. She’s everything, mine, and maybe she has been since the night of the bonfire. We just had to figure it out.

but there’s something about his expression that’s different. It’s intense, as if he’s about to head out to the most important football game of his life.

“More than okay. It’s the best day of my life,” he says as he sets the light saber on a chair and kneels down in front of me. From the coffee table, he picks up a black velvet box that I hadn’t noticed yet and pops it open. Inside is a ring with the biggest square cut solitaire diamond I’ve ever seen.

“Yes. Always. You are everything.” “You’re everything, Buttercup, and I couldn’t have made it without you by my side.”