The Dare

Rolling his eyes skyward, as though looking for strength, after he'd let out another frustrated groan, he knelt down on the bed. Then he covered me with the blanket, tucked it in around me, and put a pillow at my back, to keep me on my side.

But I could detect a little sweat on his forehead. So I had a feeling I wasn't the only one who really got into that kiss.

Still kneeling beside me, he picked his hat up off the bed, put it back on his head, and quietly asked, "What's your name?"

Staring up at him wide-eyed, I told him, "I'm Kristen, Kristen Anders."

Then he stood, and started backing out the door, gave me a little smile and said, "Well, goodnight then, Kristen."

Disappointed to see him leave, I called out, "But you never even broke out the cuffs!"

I thought I heard him laughing as I let my head drop onto the pillow, closed my eyes and heaved a sigh. As I curled onto my side, yawned and started to drift off, I half wondered if the whole thing had been nothing but a naughty little dream. Because I knew I'd never seen anyone quite as hot as that up close, and sadly, had a feeling, was never likely to again.

NICO

I stopped to take a few notes, while Angie, the lady of the house was giving the other officers an expletive laced earful about what she thought of the naked party-crashers from next door.

I imagined the minute they saw the lights on our squad car, they got in their cars and fled, since my partner Jeff just informed us that there didn't appear to be anyone home next door now.

Once Angie had finally stopped ranting long enough to take a breath, I nodded towards Kristen's room. "Be a good idea if you could look in on Kristen later, wouldn't want her to be sick in her sleep."

Angie nodded. "Sure, no problem, I'll keep an eye on her. And thanks for showing up so fast." Then flashing me a sly little grin, she slowly raked me over from top to toe.

Taking a longer look at her, I noticed she was quite pretty, with a slender body, nice breasts and long, dark hair. But for some reason, I didn't find myself attracted to her. Although, I already had a pretty strong feeling that her friend Kristen would be pretty hard to forget.

My partner Jeff and I were in our squad car, on the road heading back to the station, and I could feel his eyes on me as I drove.

I looked over at him and saw the way he was eyeing me, smiling his ass off. "What's that look for?"

"I just thought it was funny, that you felt you had to carry that pretty blonde into the cottage, when the rest of them seemed to manage just fine on their own."

I shrugged. "Well, she was drunk off her ass. And as soon as she got out of the water, she slipped and cut up her knees. So, I thought I'd better help her out, so she didn't fall again."

Jeff laughed. "Probably didn't hurt that she was the prettiest one of the lot."

Chuckling, I shot him a grin. "Well, whether you believe it or not, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it."

FOUR YEARS LATER

KRISTEN

I was hustling through the court house, clutching my brief case, scanning the crowd roaming the hallway, looking for my young client Jaden Walker and his mother Denise. When I looked up and nearly stopped in my tracks as I gazed into the most amazing pair of teasing brown eyes I'd ever seen.

As I looked him over, I realized that whoever he was, he was one good looking man.

He looked so handsome in his tailored black suit, crisp white shirt and silver tie, like something off the pages of a men's fashion magazine.

The way his lips curled up in a knowing smile, as he eyed me, it seemed like he knew me from somewhere. Come to think of it, he did look kind of familiar, though I couldn't remember from where. I knew that we'd never dated or I would have remembered him for sure, especially considering how hot he looked, with that sexy, sexy mouth.

Then I noticed just behind him off to the left, Denise frantically waving me over, and I had to stop staring, and get ready for Jaden's court date, and force hot stuff out of my head.

To help Jaden's case, I had his mother write a letter to the judge explaining how he was basically a good kid, who seemed to fall apart when his father walked out on his family last year. Along with providing a bit of his history, and explaining what a caring kid he normally was, she also swore that this was the first time he'd ever done anything against the law, and said he was actually doing his best to pick up his grades again.

Sometimes it helped for the judge to know that they were dealing with a fourteen year old with a loving family. And that he'd never been in any kind of trouble before he'd decided to take his aunt's car for a joy ride -- without a driver's license or her permission. I knew Jaden was probably just acting out, like so many other kids who felt like they'd been abandoned, especially by the man they'd looked up to from the time they were born.

After reading her letter, and hearing me plead his case, promising him that his mother would keep a close eye on him, thankfully the judge decided that he'd let him go home, with a strict curfew. "There will be no hanging out with your friends, young man, or arguing with your mother's rules. I hope you realize that you have her to thank for keeping you out of juvenile detention," the judge pointed out to him.

Once we were back out in the hallway, Denise couldn't thank me enough. When Jaden finally lifted his gaze from the floor, he awkwardly mumbled his thanks, too. Poor kid just looked so defeated. I wanted to give him a hug and tell him it would be okay. He had to be scared out of his mind, knowing that what he'd done could have gotten him locked up in a detention center.

I just hoped this would be the last time I'd ever see them. From the teary-eyed way she was looking at him, and stroking his back, I could tell he had a mother who really cared, unlike some of my young clients, who didn't seem to have anyone looking out for them.

After a few years of working with young offenders, noticing a pattern, my college friend Melissa and I had started a program with a few other lawyers dedicated to helping out kids like Jaden. Kids who were struggling to adapt to living in one parent household, whose fathers were no longer in the picture. I was looking forward to spreading the word at the police conference where I'd been invited to speak next week.

Hopefully, with the community's help, some of these kids could be steered on the right path to keep them out of the legal system.

Friday afternoon, dressed in my gray power suit, white silk blouse and black heels, standing at the podium in the massive banquet hall, staring out at a sea of police officials, I wasn't nervous. I'd done my research, and I really needed them to understand that they could do a lot to help out the kids in their community.

I tried to keep the statistics to a minimum, so their eyes wouldn't glaze over and they'd turn to their phones and tune me out. But the truth was households without a father figure were far more likely to produce kids, both male and female, who got into trouble with things like gangs or drugs that had them winding up in the legal system.

I looked across the crowded room and told them, "A lot of these kids are just crying out for someone to take an interest in them, and for someone to look up to. We've been fortunate to get government funding to help our program for things like sports equipment, and even meals. And all we need is some help from you.

"If any of you could spare even an hour or two a week to mentor some of the at risk kids in your community, playing a little pickup basketball, baseball, or even just taking them out for a burger, to ask how they're doing, it would mean the world to them. Having someone to look up to could make the difference between a kid winding up in the system or going on to get an education, hopefully with a bright future."

I got a nice round of applause at the end. As our phone number and email was put up on the overhead screen, I told them I also had hand-outs sitting on the table near the door, explaining the details of the program for anyone interested.

I could see Melissa sitting at a table off to my left, surrounded by police officials, some in suits, that I assumed were detectives, and some uniformed. After I'd thanked everyone for their time, I went to join her.

Taking the empty seat beside her, I was glad to see that lunch was being served. Busy fielding calls from distraught parents about their wayward kids all morning; I'd only had time for a quick drive-through coffee on the way to the conference, and my stomach starting to complain.

After I nodded and gave a smile to the men across the table, I turned to look at the man sitting beside me in a dark suit, about to say hello, and I couldn't believe that it was the same man I'd noticed at the courthouse last week. He just looked so familiar that I had to know how we'd met, so I asked him. "Do we know each other?"

His eyes glinting with amusement, he said, "No, not really." Which I thought was kind of an odd thing to say, because either we'd met or we hadn't.

Studying him for a moment, trying to think back, as the salads were being placed in front of us, I said, "We didn't go to school together, did we?"

He shook his head, with that little smile still playing at his lips. "No."

"Well, I'm sure we never dated, or I would have remembered." He was so good looking, even if we'd only gone out for coffee, there was no way I would have forgotten. I wasn't into one night stands, so I knew that never happened.

He leaned in and confirmed my suspicion as he whispered against my ear, "No. We've never dated."

I could actually feel a tingle run down my spine, just from the heat of his breath, and the fact that he smelled amazing up close, kind of musky with a nice hint of citrus. Though I knew for sure that we'd never dated, there was something about his scent, that had me thinking I must have been close to him at least once before, because I would never have forgotten such an intoxicating scent, even if I couldn't remember his name.

I picked up my fork, still looking him over. "I don't know why, but you look like someone I know I've met, but I just can't remember where."

I could tell from the glint in his eye that he sure as hell remembered me.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

His eyes full-on sparkling with amusement now, like he was about to give in and laugh, he just shrugged and passed along the bread basket, with that teasing grin still on his lips, obviously thinking it was funny that I couldn't place him.

Before I could say anything else, Melissa diverted my attention when she tapped me on the arm, and showed me an email on her phone, letting us know that the girls would be meeting us at the airport at eight the next morning. "Are you packed to go?" she leaned in and whispered.

I nodded. "Almost."

Georgia, our self-described bi-curious college friend, and her man Shawn were having a destination wedding in the Bahamas, and we were all invited.

And I was so looking forward to it. With Monday being a holiday, four days of nothing but sun and sand sounded like utter bliss right now, considering how heavy my case load had been lately.

All I had to pack was a few light things to wear, a dress for the wedding, a couple of bikinis and sunscreen, because I wasn't going to wear any more clothes than I had to. Especially since I had to wear a suit to the office every day, in case I had to go to court.

As we finished lunch, I kept my eye on the handsome man beside me, hoping before we left, he'd give in and tell me how we'd met. But after the lunch was over, all he did was shake my hand and ask for my card, so he could mention the program back at his station.

"It sounds like something I'd like to get involved in. And I think it could make a difference to a number of kids in our precinct," he said, as he accepted my card.

By the time we left to go home, I still had no idea who he was. Or why that teasing smile just looked so familiar.

*****

Our friend Georgia had met her man Shawn at her cousin's wedding, and they'd been inseparable ever since. We were all thrilled for her when he popped the question on New Year's Eve.

They looked so happy together, you could tell they were madly were love. We were all honored to be invited to their wedding, especially since it included a getaway to the Bahamas.

After a short uneventful flight, when we got to our hotel on Paradise Island, after we'd all checked in, we agreed to have dinner together in the main restaurant at seven that night.

Melissa and I had chosen to share a room with two queen size beds, mostly because she didn't travel much and was a little afraid to be on her own.

Turning around in a circle to take it all in, I thought the room was absolutely gorgeous. It had such a tropical feel; white with pastel accents, and a perfect view from the balcony of nothing but palm trees, miles of white sand beach, and crystal clear, turquoise water.

While I was going through my suitcase, Melissa was sitting on her bed looking at her phone, and she chuckled and said, "Hey, you'll never guess what today is."

As I pulled out my white thong bikini and sandals, more than ready for a swim, I shrugged. "No idea."

"It's International Nude Day! Remember when Angie had us all at her incredible lake front summer house, and we stripped off and dove in the lake? Well, believe it or not, that was exactly four years ago today, when those creeps jumped in and scared us. Angie ended up calling those hot cops, to come to our rescue. That whole weekend was crazy, but we sure had a lot of fun."

I'd had so much to drink that night, the next day when we finally rolled out of bed, I couldn't remember most of what had happened. Except that we'd played some games, drank a lot, stripped off and wound up in the lake. And I ended up with a mother of a hangover.

Then all of a sudden it hit me, when she mentioned the hot cops, and I dropped onto the bed, staring straight ahead. "Oh, shit. That was him," I muttered.

She looked up from her phone, looking confused. "Who was him?"

"That really good looking guy sitting next to me at lunch at the police conference was the same cop who carried me up to the cottage that night." Mortified, as some of what I'd said was starting to come back to me, I covered my face with my hand, feeling my cheeks begin to burn. No wonder I'd tried to forget him, after the way I'd acted. "Oh god, and the things I said to him. I'm pretty sure I dragged him onto the bed and kissed him, too. And I might have even asked to cuff me."

Melissa eyes went big and she broke out laughing. "Oh, wow. How embarrassing. So, did he remember you?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "he remembered all right. He just kept smirking at me and wouldn't tell me how we'd met. Though, he was probably doing me a favor by not embarrassing me in front of everyone at that conference. If he'd told me where we'd met, I would have remembered all the crazy things I'd done, and probably run out of the room screaming. Hopefully with any luck, I'll never have to face him again."

"But from what I remember, those cops were pretty hot."

"Oh, he was a hottie. I think I called him Officer Hot Stuff, because I didn't know his name."

Melissa's eyes went big. "You've got to be kidding. You called him that to his face?"

"Yeah, definitely not my finest moment." Hoping to let the whole thing drop, I got to my feet, and grabbed my bikini. "So, how about we head down to the pool for a swim and try soak up a little sun?"

She grinned, wiggling her eye brows. "Or, we could wander down to the nude beach that's right beside our hotel. Since it is nude day, why don't we just go for it, forget our bathing suits and go in for a skinny dip."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, because it worked out so well last time. I think I'll stick to wearing a bikini, but you go ahead and flash the whole island if you want to."

"But Kristen," Melissa pleaded, "this might be the only chance we ever get to let loose on a nude beach. No one will be wearing anything, so it's not like we'll stick out. And don't you think you'll look kind of silly in a bikini, if everyone else is walking around in the buff? Especially considering today is the day that we should be celebrating our bodies, and walking around wearing nothing but a smile." She flashed me a big goofy grin, to prove her point as she batted her eyelashes, making me laugh.

She just looked so hopeful, and was usually so shy, that I thought if she was willing to strut her stuff on a nude beach, then I didn't want to be a stick in the mud and say no. Finally, I nodded and said, "Sure, why not."

After a short walk down to the beach, once we'd kicked off our sandals and dropped our towels, the sand was so warm on our feet, and the sun felt even hotter without a cloud in the sky. As we strolled along the gorgeous white sand beach, the way the sun was beating down on our bare skin, I was glad we took a few minutes to coat each other in sunscreen; otherwise I'm pretty sure we'd be frying to a crisp.

At first it felt kind of funny to be walking along nodding and saying hello to people in our birthday suits. But no one seemed to care, probably since everyone we encountered wasn't wearing anything more than a hat and sunglasses.

Looking around, I noticed that some of the women looked amazing, mostly without tan lines unlike us, since we'd never done anything this wild before.

As we wandered along the water's edge, getting our feet wet, I picked up from a few words I overheard that a number of people were speaking French, German or Italian. I imagined Europeans were cooler about being naked in public, so I decided we might as well just roll with it, and try to blend in.

Although it was her idea to strip off to celebrate Nude Day, Melissa was all wide-eyed, looking everywhere at once, like we'd just landed on an alien planet. Her eyes grew even wider as a couple of gorgeous sun-bronzed studs, nodded hello to us as they strutted their naked asses along the beach. Not even a tiny bit embarrassed that we'd just got a good, long look at what was dangling between their legs.

"Holy smokes, this is amazing," Melissa muttered, turning her head to catch a glimpse of their tight, toned asses as they walked by.

Gradually, I began to get used to the idea of walking around with nothing on. Actually decided it felt kind of freeing as we strolled together past people stretched out on towels and deck chairs, completely at ease with the fact that we could see every last thing they owned.

Then I turned my head and could hardly believe that a few women even had their legs parted as they slept. Aside from the fact they didn't seem to care that they were giving us all quite the eyeful, I knew they'd probably regret it later, when they had to deal with the pain of a sunburned coochie. And I knew that had to sting like a bitch.

Looking back and forth between us, as we passed a lot of really toned looking bodies, I didn't think we looked too shabby. Melissa, with her curly red hair up in a loose bun, was tiny and kind of curvy, and I discovered today, completely shaved down below. While I was taller and thinner, and a little bustier, and kept a little blonde patch of curls over my sex.

As I was thinking about how we measured up to some of the sexier women on the beach, I looked up, and thought I'd die when I recognized Officer Hot Stuff of all people, ambling towards us with another stud muffin at his side.

"Oh, my god, Melissa, it's him," I gasped, frantically looking for a way to escape before he saw me, as I wondered what the hell he was doing here, as naked as we were.

But it was too late. As he approached us, he smiled and let his eyes do a little wandering, just like we were doing, as he said, "Hey, we meet again."