Truth or Dare

(An Embry Call One Shot)

How did I get into this mess? Oh yeah, Seth gave me the puppy dog eyes. Damn, I really need to stop giving in so easily when people do that. Maybe then I wouldn't be squeezed in between Seth and Kim on the floor in front of the couch.

Everyone settled into a circle on the carpet in Emily and Sam's living room. Leaning my head against the couch cushion, I pressed my back into the piece of furniture in an attempt to keep myself grounded here so I could play this stupid game. Seriously though, who plays truth or dare anymore? I thought I'd suffered through my last round of this in fifth grade. Apparently I thought wrong.

I glanced across the circle only to lock gazes with an equally annoyed Leah. With arms crossed over her chest and a set frown, she rolled her eyes to tell me that she wasn't at all happy with the choice of entertainment. I shrugged and shook my head in a way to tell her that I agreed but we didn't have a choice.

"Alright!" Quil exclaimed once he was in a comfortable position. He clapped once, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Let's get this show on the road! I'll go first."

As his eyes scouted the group for his victim, I looked down at my hands. I didn't want to look at him since he may take that as a challenge and pick me. Yeah, it might be a coward move but I don't really care. If it prevents me from having to embarrass myself, then I'm all for it.

"Paul," Quil finally called out. Paul smirked over at his friend; not at all scared of anything he could be dealt. "Truth or dare?"

His smirk deepened. "Dare."

I swear those two could put the Cheshire cat out of business at the moment. Their grins sent a slight ripple of worry down my spine. This isn't going to end well.

"I dare you to cover your chest in peanut butter." What? My eyebrows furrowed a little before a grin pulled at the edge of my lips. I could hear Kim chuckle under her breath in my ear. Everyone looked to Paul with smiles on their faces, waiting to see if he'd actually pull it off.

Said shape-shifter just shrugged a little and responded with a simple, "Okay." The next thing I knew, he was on his feet and headed to the kitchen. After he rummaged through the pantry, Paul came back and sat down in his spot with a jar of peanut butter in his hand.

All around the circle, the boys held wolfish grins. Oh yes, tonight was going to get interesting if it's starting out like this. There will no doubt be horrible actions and payback and, if they're smart enough to take out their phones and record it, blackmail.

"Well go on then," Jared spoke up on the other side of Kim. "Do it!"

"He's gotta take off his shirt first," Jacob reminded everyone. There were nods of encouragement all around. I just crossed my arms over my chest.

Doing as he was told, Paul pulled the thin tee shirt off to reveal his toned torso. Then he proceeded to screw the top off the jar, dip a few fingers in, pull them out, and rub the peanut butter onto his chest. As he repeated the process again and again, yells of encouragement and laughter filled the room.

I shook my head and looked to the other side of the circle. To my right sat Kim, Jared, Quil, and Embry. I stopped on Embry for a moment to admire his defined cheekbones and nice jaw. His lips were parted in a dazzling smile as he watched his pack member lather himself up and his eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement.

It was like he could sense someone staring at him because his eyes were suddenly gazing back into mine. The sparkle brightened, if that was even possible. Embry sent me a smile that made my abdomen warm and ticklish before he turned his attention back to Paul.

I could feel heat flood through my cheeks. A small smile etched its way onto my face. Looking down, I continued to smile before I reprimanded myself. No, I can't do that. I can't feel that way about him. I won't. Just no. Love or anything even remotely close to it only leads to hurt, especially if the guy you direct those feelings toward is a wolf. Besides, he deserves better than me. He deserves his… imprint.

A silent sigh escaped my mouth but when I looked up, no one seemed to have noticed. They were all focused on Paul who, finally, finished his dare and was asking Emily to pick truth or dare. She chose truth which was obviously not what Paul was hoping for, so he sat there for a bit thinking.

When his face contorted into an "I've got it!" expression, he turned to her and asked, "When was the last time you and Sam had sex?" Everyone's eyes widened. Some jaws even dropped.

Jacob was the first to get over the initial shock and sputter out a laugh. The rest of the boys and Leah began to laugh and cut up. Sam glared at Paul, his lips pressed into a thin line. I'm sure the only thing that kept him from phasing and going one round with his friend was Emily holding his hand, her thumb tracing patterns onto his skin. Kim shifted uncomfortably at my side.

Leaning down, Seth whispered into my ear, his breath warm on my ear, "You think Sam's going to get Paul back later?" He pulled away and raised his eyebrows, a smile plastered onto his face.

Smirking, I leaned up and whispered, "Definitely," in his ear. I drew back before we shared a smile and turned back to Emily.

Said woman had composed herself and shot Paul a not-so-nice look. She must have realized that she had to answer, since that's the rule of the game, because she sighed and lowered her eyes to the floor.

Taking a quick breath, she muttered, "A-about a week and a half ago." Paul nodded slowly, absorbing the information. From what I saw, it looked like he approved.

It took a few moments and Sam draping his arm around her shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze before Emily lifted her head up. Her brown eyes were alight in embarrassment and the desire to get even.

"Jared, truth or dare?"

"Dare," he sent her a confident smirk, believing that he'd gotten off easy. Boy was he wrong.

"Lick the peanut butter off Paul's chest." Her response was immediate; no hesitation. "All of it."

Jared's smirk instantly dropped. The room busted out in laughter. Laughing, I rested my head against Seth's shoulder and held my stomach. I could feel Seth vibrating with giggles and chuckles.

Slowly and hesitantly, Jared crawled over to his friend. Paul looked just as reluctant as the other wolf as he leaned back onto his palms, exposing his chest. Once Jared reached his destination, he bowed his head and slowly, oh so slowly, brought his tongue down. Taking a lick of the peanut butter, he swallowed and took another. The boys were hollering and laughing, having fun with the situation.

I tore my eyes away from the sight. It was not something I really wanted to continue watching. Instead I found my eyes wandering back over to Embry. He was chuckling at his friends' misfortune. Oh and what a pleasant sound it was. A small smile formed on my face.

This is kind of sad. I'm smiling because I like the way he laughs. Seriously? How much of a love drunk teenager can I be? Well, I am I teenage girl but still. I should be able to control my hormones. After all, I've witnessed how hormones can royally screw you over when my older sister started puberty. Yeah, it wasn't very enjoyable to watch. Quite painful, actually.

Seth snapped me out of my stupor by accidentally nudging me when he threw his arms in the air to celebrate Jared's victory. I looked over at the young wolf in mild surprise. He didn't seem to notice. Giving him an annoyed look, which he still didn't notice, I raised my hand and Gibbs slapped* him. Now that caught his attention.

His head bobbed before his puppy-like eyes met my hazel hues. The look he gave me was so cute. He was worried that he did something wrong. It made me smile a little.

"You hit me," I told him. His eyes widened in shock and remorse. It sent a ripple of guilt down my spine. The little puppy. I can't stay mad at him.

He opened his mouth to say something, apologize no doubt, but I cut him off, "It's okay Seth. I know you didn't mean it."

His eyebrows furrowed in concern. "You sure?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

He still seemed unsure, so I poked him in the nose and gave him a goofy smile. That spread a goofy smile of his own across his lips. He ruffled up my hair and laughed as I attempted to fix it. I stuck my tongue out at him, which made him laugh harder. We made a few more faces at each other before turning back to the game.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Embry. He wasn't smiling anymore. It made me pout a little. Why isn't he smiling? What made him stop? I hope whatever it was discontinues whatever it's doing.

Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I whispered over to Kim, "So what's happened? I haven't been paying much attention after Jared did his dare."

Turning to me, she answered with an undertone of laughter in her voice, "Jared dared Quil to pick his nose and eat the snot off his finger." My nose turned up at that. "Yeah, I know. Gross right?" I nodded. "Then Quil told Sam to go put on one of Emily's dresses. He hasn't come back yet." Wow. I never realized how weird some people in this pack are.

Nodding, I whispered, "Thanks," and faced forward. Just then, Sam clambered back into the living room sporting a nice red cocktail dress with his sneakers. We all busted out laughing. My head fell back against the couch, my laughter rocking my body. I felt fresh hot tears build up along my waterlines.

"Oh yes!" I managed to get out in between laughs. Seth curved in on himself laughing. Kim collapsed into Jared's arms. Everyone else was in some form of a laughing stance.

"Alright," Sam tried to calm everyone down. It took about 5 minutes for people to quiet down. Once everyone was reduced to smiles, Sam began to look for his victim. I, for one, felt like my smile was going to split my face in half because it was so wide.

I glanced over at Quil, only to regret it a second later when I burst into a new fit of giggles. His face was priceless! My laughs sent him into laughter.

I buried my face into the side of the couch and held up a hand. "I'm sorry," I breathed out. "I-I just c-can't!" I continued to laugh.

When I settled down only to a giggle or two every other five seconds, Sam spoke again, "Casey." Oh shit. "Truth or dare?" I just had to laugh, didn't I?

Feeling everyone's eyes on me, burning holes into my skin, I looked at my hands and said, "Um, truth." There was no way I was going to pick dare with how things have been so far in this game.

I looked at Sam though my eyelashes. He was considering me, contemplating my doom and perhaps what color coffin to get me. Okay, so I may be over exaggerating. Sue me.

Staring right into my eyes, he asked, "How many people have you kissed before? On the lips." I felt my heart drop slightly in embarrassment. Oh god. I have to answer that. Oh gosh.

I looked down at my hands that were faintly shaking so I could count them on my fingers. Taking a deep breath, I tried to stay calm.

Alright. Think Casey, think. Let's see… there was Chris, Eric, and Toby. Did I kiss Will? No, that was on the cheek. Um… oh yeah! Hank, Hannah, and Amber.

I shuddered as I put up those three fingers. That was not a good memory. I'm never going to play spin the bottle ever again.

After another moment to check and make sure I didn't skip anyone, I held up my six fingers for everyone to see. Seth whistled low and long at seeing how many digits I held up. Sam raised his eyebrows, surprised. Leah nodded her head in pride. I put my hands down and started picking at the carpet, my eyes trained on the action. My cheeks and ears burned. They're probably as red as cherries.

"Damn woman", Jared said. "Who knew you were such a player."

"Eh", Paul spoke up. "I've kissed more."

"Of course you have", I could just hear Leah roll her eyes as she said that.

"I didn't ask you Leah", Paul snapped.

Before Leah could retort, I exclaimed, "Kim! Truth or dare?"

"Truth," she answered me softly. I looked up at her and bit my lip in thought. I shouldn't ask her something totally humiliating. That wouldn't be nice of me.

So instead, I asked, "Coke or Pepsi?" Immediately groans and mumblings of disappointment filled my ears. I kept my eyes trained on my friend. She gave me a grateful smile before telling me that she preferred Coke.

While Kim dared Jacob to lick Seth's foot, I kept my head down. My fingers played with the sleeve; smoothing the cuff and pulling it past my knuckles. You see, this is why I don't play truth or dare. I always embarrass myself. Gosh, Embry probably thinks I'm a whore. No, I shouldn't care what he thinks. We're just… friends. Yeah, we're just friends. No more, no less.

Letting out another small sigh, I opened my ears to what was happening in the game. Mentally, I was willing my cheeks to return to their normal temperature.

After Jacob gagged and asked Seth if he ever washed his feet, he sat back down in his spot and asked Embry truth or dare. His tone held excitement. It was as if whatever Embry chose, he'd be screwed.

"Dare," Embry's response was quiet and timid.

"I dare you to kiss Casey for a whole minute." My head snapped up so fast that there was a dull ache at the base of my neck. That's the least of my worries though.

With wide eyes, I stared at Jacob. He just smirked back in a smug fashion. What the hell. He just… what?

A movement out of the corner of my eye stole my attention away from the tall guy that I'd have to hit later on. Embry crawled over quietly and sat down in front of me. My eyes bounced from person to person around the circle, all of whom were grinning in anticipation, until they landed on Embry's face.

His countenance held gentleness and kindness like it always did. Those eyes of his were smoldering with something that I couldn't quite place but it never failed to warm me from the inside, out.

He began to lean in. I sat there frozen. My heart was pounding in my ears. All of the wolves in the room no doubt could hear it, even Embry. When his lips were just an inch away from mine though, he paused. His gaze locked with mine.

Oh god. He was giving me time to pull away if I wasn't comfortable doing this. Even though he was dared to do this, he's giving me an opportunity to back out. The realization set a tickling sensation through my stomach.

Embry saw that I wasn't pulling away so he closed the gap between us. My eyes fluttered close just as his lips grazed mine softly. It was a feather light touch, but it was nice nevertheless. His hand reached up and gently caressed the back of my neck, his lips planting themselves more firmly against mine.

Heat radiated wherever he touched me. I suddenly found myself wanting more of his warmth. Placing my hands on his knees to balance myself, I responded to his lips. Moving with him, we fell into a nice rhythm.

My mind was suddenly empty. I didn't feel the pack's stares. I could only focus on Embry. His fingers rubbing the nape of my neck ever so slightly. His lips, oh his lips, pressed against my own, firm, soft yet a little rough at the same time, warm, and right. His body heat that always warmed me from the cold climate around us seeped through my fingers and up my arms.

God, I wanted to kiss him forever or at least a very long time. I was never one for kissing before. Maybe those people just didn't know how to kiss. Maybe Embry is just an amazing kisser. Whatever it is, I figured out that I like kissing… or at least kissing Embry. Yeah, I like kissing Embry.

When Embry slowly disconnected our lips, I felt a rush of cold air wash over me. I wanted to reach forward and connect our mouths again; to feel his warmth again. But I restrained myself. I had already embarrassed myself today. I didn't need to do it again.

Opening my eyes, I looked right into a pair of warm brown ones. Embry. That emotion that I still can't place burned like a white hot flame in the pools of deep chocolate. It made the butterflies in my abdomen flap their wings harder and bang against each other. The hand that was holding my neck moved upwards and tucked a strand of brown hair behind my ear. His touch sent waves of warmth throughout my body.

Paul's loud voice knocked me out of my trance. "Get some Call!" I blinked once, twice, thrice before I moved away from Embry's touch. Settling back down into my seat, I ran my fingers through my wavy hair. Embry shot Paul a look before going back to his seat. He cleared his throat before asking Seth truth or dare.

As Seth confessed to not ever having a girlfriend before and Quil did his best imitation of a cow, I stared at the far wall. My fingers absentmindedly reached up and rubbed my bottom lip. Embry… Embry kissed me. It was just a dare though. Jake dared him to do it. That's all. But damn, he's a good kisser. No Casey. Stop it. Stop thinking about it, about him. Just drop it.

Letting out air through my nose, I watched as Sam tried to strut down an imaginary runway. When he was finished, he told everyone that it was getting late and the guys should really start patrolling. Quil and Seth whined about wanting to keep playing but ultimately the Alpha's decision was made.

Standing up, I reached my arms over my head and stretched out my spine. Twisting my torso left, then right, a yawn escaped my lips. Wow. It must be late if I'm yawning. Leah walked up to me, preparing to walk with me home.

"Time for bed," I told her as we began leaving. She gave me a half-amused look.

"You're tired?"

"Yeah," I yawned again. "Not everyone has as much stamina as you Leah."

Paul had decided that he would walk by us right as I said that. Smirking, he leaned down to my ear and whispered, "I'll remember that for later babe." He shot me a wink and continued on his way. Leah and I looked at each other. She rolled her eyes. I just shrugged.

"That's Paul for ya." She simply rolled her eyes once more. We continued our walk to my house. Along the way, I found my fingers unconsciously resting on my bottom lip. The faint taste of Embry's lips still lingered. Well, I can now say that I've kissed seven people.

~Fine~

*Gibbs slap: a slap upside the head