First love. First betrayal. One dare away from unraveling everything.
TRUEN "TRU" JAMESON:
I was twelve when I realized I loved him.
Thirteen when I kissed him.
And the next day, he made me hate myself for it.
Darien turned our friendship into a weapon.
Now he calls me his stepbrother and looks right through me like I'm nothing.
He pretends he doesn't remember that night in the closet.
But I do.
I still taste him like blood in my mouth.
I remember how he kissed me back-and how he made sure I paid for it.
If Darien taught me anything, it's that love isn't a game. The first dare broke us. The second dare might set us free.
DARIEN "DARE" CARTER:
I kissed him back.
Because I wanted to.
Because it felt like falling and I wanted to crash.
But wanting him meant admitting too much, so I crushed it.
I burned the bridge and left him on the other side, holding the match I lit.
He thinks I forgot. I didn't.
I remember everything-his mouth, his breath, the sound he made when our lips touched.
I've hated him ever since for making it matter.
But I hate myself more for wanting it again.
And God help me, I do.
This isn't a love story.
It's a reckoning.
