Page 24 of Rogue's Path

Completely impossible.

Delicious Stranger

Dylan

We need to get some coffee and water into Cordelia fast. I help her to the table. What was Dahlia thinking picking this place?

A dive bar must have sounded mysterious and dangerous to her. But this place gives off cheap drinks and serial killer vibes. My shoes stick to the floor. What are the seats going to be like? At least this is the last stop. I can shower and toss…and probably toss this dress in the trash.

“I think this has been one of the best nights of my life.” Cordelia leans heavily on me.

It has been fun.

Scary. But fun!

“Do you think I’ll remember it? I’ve only gotten this drunk a few times in my life.”

Same. I’ve only been drunk three times. Two of those were in high school. “Did you remember those nights?” Because I didn’t want to remember the day my parents told me they were getting divorced. Drinking what was left of their bottle of tequila in my tree house did nothing to stop the pain.

“Mostly.”

“Then tonight will be no different.” Probably.

It doesn’t take long for the waitress—I thought they couldn’t hire minors to serve alcohol—to drop off our drinks. The cups look to be questionably clean. Hopefully, the coffee is hot enough to kill whatever germs might have been missed. Though the sludge from before was a step up from this stuff. They didn’t even attempt to get rid of the grounds.

Dahlia stands up. “So, there’s one final challenge left on our list. I put this one on it as a silly dare. Only do it if you want to.”

Uh oh. That one was scary enough that I put it out of my mind.

“The last dare is to ‘kiss a stranger’.

Even more than halfway to stupid drunk, Cordelia’s eyes go wide as she draws in a harsh breath.

My thoughts exactly.

Out of anyone in the group, Winnie would be my first pick to be bold enough to do this.

Would there be anyone I’d even consider kissing here?

Definitely not the guy with the puffed-out cheek that’s probably filled with chewing tobacco. EWWW!

Nope to the guy who doesn’t look like he’s showered in three decades. How did they even let him inside?

Yeah no, to the table of teenage boys that are probably trying out their fake IDs for the first time.

No.

No.

Gross.

Ewww.

A farmer. He’s probably in his thirties and appears to have bathed recently. There’s something about his eyes that feels off. Could the farmer be the serial killer in the room? He goes from bar to bar finding victims that are too drunk to fight himoff. When they wake up, they find themselves in his barn or tied down in the pigpen.

Where do I come up with these things?

Moving on…