by L. A. Sable
“Start what?” I murmur too Charlie.
Before she can answer, Jayden strides in with a wireless speaker balanced on his shoulder.
“The party is here,” he declares as he sets the speaker down in the center of the room.
As soon as the music blares, the room comes alive. The bored faces that had surrounded me when I walked in become something else. People start getting up and moving around the room in a way that feels choreographed while Charlie and I stand awkwardly on the sidelines.
“So what’s it going to be?” Chloe asks as she stands up from Lukas’s lap, who I hadn’t even noticed was behind her until she’s standing at the center of the room striking a pose. “Strip poker?”
“Too many people,” Maisie says from the drink’s table. She’s the quietest of Chloe’s crew, but she looks at me like I’m a bug stuck to the bottom of her shoe. Her father is some old-school gangsta rapper from the 80s that I’ve never listened to and her mom is a Dutch super-model. She’s hard to pin down.
Chloe levels a glower in my direction. “For now.”
“Let’s all play nice.” Jayden sidles between us, which just happens to be in the brightest circle of light at the center of the room. It’s obvious that he’s a natural showman. I might be star-struck under literally any other circumstances. “Goldie, since this is your inaugural visit to the boathouse, perhaps you’d like to choose our game.”
I’m getting a little sick of this talk of games. “You mean like Pictionary?”
“Do you see a stack of board games anywhere, idiot?” Chloe’s voice is cutting. “He means a party game. If she’s going to play dumb, can you please let me pick? How about Never Have I Ever?”
There’s a clamor of voices that shout suggestions. Jayden tries to talk over them but it’s no use. Then Asher stands up and forces himself into the center of the room, not seeming to care that he knocks someone’s drink out of their hands and steps on more than a few toes. When he shoves Jayden aside, the room goes silent. But he only has eyes for me. We stare at each other for a brief and tense moment of silence.
“Let her pick.” Asher takes a swig from the cup in his hand, glaring at me over the rim. “Go ahead, Goldie. What’s it going to be?”
All eyes in the room are on me. I feel like I’m in a tense standoff with a wild animal. Any sudden moves and I’ll be trampled.
Be fearless, I remind myself. Don’t let them see you sweat. My fear is precisely what they want.
“Truth or Dare.” The pronouncement hits like a stone.
Asher barely reacts, save for the strange light that shifts across his eyes. “Perfect.”
“She doesn’t even have a drink,” Chloe scoffs.
I raise an eyebrow at her. “Truth or Dare isn’t a drinking game.”
“Everything is a drinking game at the boathouse,” Asher says, his voice dark. “I’ll make you one.”
“Not so fast.” Like I can trust anything he pours into a cup for me. I’d end up with a chaser made out of drain cleaner. “If I have to drink, then I’m mixing it myself. In fact, I’ll make one for you too.”
I go to the table, trying to ignore the multiple sets of eyes that follow me across the room. If I spent the rest of my life here, I’d never get used to the attention that I seem to draw. Life was much easier back when I was invisible, but something tells me that will never be an option at Black Lake again.
Just because I choose not to drink, doesn’t mean I don’t know how. I’ve been Trish’s mixologist since I was old enough to pour. I always liked mixing flavors and combinations together, even if I don’t imbibe.
When I turn back, two cups in my hand, everyone has gathered in a rough circle around the light at the center of the room. Not for the first time, I’m hit by the strangeness of how they act here, as if there’s some unspoken communication that flows from one to another. Or maybe not so unspoken. I happen to catch Chloe checking her phone and remember that there are dozens of groups on the Inner Circle that I don’t have access to, and likely never will.
Making a point of sauntering back to Asher as if my nerves aren’t jangling like an out of tune violin, I hold up the cup, daring him with my gaze to take it. “Bottoms up.”
To my surprise, he grabs onto the cup but does not immediately pull it away. Our fingers brush for the briefest moment and even that small touch burns like fire. The hatred between us is like a physical sensation and I have to remind myself that there’s nothing more to it than that.
He backs away slowly, holding the cup to his full lips without taking a sip. Those eyes burn as he stares me down. “Goldie named the game. She has to start.”
“Let’s do a quick rundown of the rules, since we have some fresh blood among us.” Jayden sidles between us and places an arm around my shoulders, fingers teasing at the skin of my upper arm. I have to remind myself that even though he’s my childhood idol in the real world, here he’s just another Diamond that I can trust about as far as I can throw a grand piano. “The rules of Truth or Dare are simple. Since she chose the game, Goldie will select our first victim who picks their poison. Refuse to answer or perform your dare and face the consequences, which will be both immediate and something we will all remember when it comes time for the Inner Circle vote. As a little bit of extra fun, if you’re enough of a chickenshit to pick truth, you have to take a drink before answering. And no clapbacks. You can’t choose the person who just chose you, target someone different. Now, on with the show.”
Jayden lifts up my hand and places a tea light in my palm, its metal holder hot against my skin. Clearly, it’s meant to mark whose turn it is and holding it will keep me from prolonging how long I think about my question. Then he bows low, his arm pushing me slightly so that I take a stumbling step further into the small circle of light. Multiple pairs of eyes watch me as I survey the room, turning in a small circle to take stock of precisely who I’m dealing with.
Everyone in this room is in the running for a top spot on the social hierarchy, except for me and Charlie. It’s clear that we don’t belong here, even if we’d been personally invited by Kai. And I’m sure his olive branch was more about stirring the pot so he can watch it boil over, as opposed to a selfless public service.
But I plan to take what I can get.
Asher watches me the most closely as I consider who to choose. I’m certain he thinks that he’ll be my target, seeing as he’s the most obvious one. But it’s better to bide my time and make the unexpected move. And I know that things will come back around to me eventually, too many people see me as a target. I’ll get my chance at Asher eventually.
“Lukas,” I say, turning to face the darkened corner where his face is nearly sunk into the shadows. Approaching him slowly, each step that I take audible even over the pulse of the music, I hold out the tealight. “Truth or dare?”
Copper eyebrows come together as Lukas eyes me, expression indiscernible in the darkness. He takes a huge gulp from the cup in his hand and snatches the tealight away with the other. “Truth.”
And here I was hoping he’d choose a dare, so I could have the ice prince of Black Lake do something embarrassing enough to crack that facade. Then, I think of something better. “What do you love most about Chloe?”
Surprise flits across his face, obviously he expected me to ask something basic like if he’s ever worn women’s clothing or masturbated in public. The question is an apparent soft ball, unless it’s not.
“Lame,” Chloe says with a sharp laugh. “Go ahead, babe.” But Lukas hesitates for longer than is really appropriate, enough that Chloe turns on him with an expectant look on her face. “Well?”
“I love your hair,” he says finally. “It always smells like strawberries.”
Chloe makes a point of preening, pulling the long cascade of black hair over her shoulder so it shines in the light. But there’s something cold in her eyes and I wonder if she heard the same thing the rest of us did, that her boyfriend can’t think of anything he likes
more about her than her hair.
“Your turn, Lukas,” Jayden says. “Who’s our next victim?”
Lukas eyes me with a gaze that isn’t exactly friendly as he holds the light out on his palm. I’m already happy about the rule preventing return fire so he can’t choose me. It makes sense, with a game that has the potential to get vicious.
“Asher.” Lukas turns his head, keeping the rest of his body so utterly still that it’s a little eerie. “Truth or dare.”
Asher doesn’t respond immediately, just staring down at the cup in his hands as if he’s mesmerized or about to fall asleep. Just how drunk is he? I’m almost a little worried about him. The drink I’d made him was strong, but I hadn’t spiked it with anything. A dark boathouse on the edge of campus isn’t the best place to get alcohol poisoning.
“You okay there, my man?” Jayden leans over and gives Asher a little shake. “Better get with the program. You know what happens if you take a mulligan and it’s not pretty.”
“I’m good.” Asher glares around the room for a moment before his bleary gaze settles on Lukas. “Dare.”
The smile that spreads across Lukas’s face is completely devoid of any warmth. “I dare you to spend ten minutes outside in the dark with Lily.”
My first thought is that it’s nice at least one person besides Charlie in this school knows my name and then I realize what he’s said. “I’m sorry what? No way.”
“It’s not your dare.” Lukas stares at me with cold eyes. “What’s it going to be, man?”
Asher stands, swaying only slightly. “Whatever. Let’s get this done, Goldie.”
“Wait,” I protest, turning to Jayden. “Lukas can’t dare me. There are no clapbacks allowed.”
“Technically he’s not daring you, he’s daring Lukas,” Ocean pipes up, picking the worst moment to finally come up with a decent argument for anything. “You’re just like collateral damage.”
“Regardless, it’s not fair.”
Jayden seems to consider it for a moment. He makes a show of plucking the tea light from Lukas’s hand and sets it down on the floor. “It flirts with the edge a bit, but I’m going to allow it. The ten minutes start once you get outside.”
I glare at him, promising myself that I will never see a Jayden Heart movie again. Standing up, I set my still full cup down on the floor.
Charlie shoots me a worried glance but doesn’t say anything. Somehow in the shuffling as people gathered in a circle to start the game, she’d ended up on the opposite side of the room near Chloe and her ilk. But at the same moment that I notice it, there are other problems to contend with the fact that I’m heading outside alone with Asher Bellamy, so I’m forced to put it from my mind.
Ignoring the frantic beat of my heart, I follow Asher outside and let the boathouse door slam shut behind me. The sound of the music becomes practically inaudible, save for a beat that thrums through my skin. I wonder if the building has been soundproofed. It makes sense that the students here would take steps to keep their activities hidden from the faculty, even if none of the adults put that much effort into figuring things out.
The shore of the lake butts right up to a thick copse of trees, so tall that their branches obscure the sky and the dim moon that should be hanging overhead. We are plunged into a darkness so complete that I can barely see the ground beneath my feet as I blindly put one foot in front of the other.
I fish for my phone, intending to use it as a flashlight so I don’t fall and break my neck. The screen flashes for a moment before a hand closes on my wrist and shoves it down.
“What are you doing?” Asher snaps. “The dare is to stay out here in the dark.”
“It’s your dare, not mine.”
“Doesn’t matter. If you help me mess it up, then we’ll both be in trouble.”
He doesn’t seem as drunk in the darkness when I can’t see him swaying on his feet, I notice. And he’s definitely with it enough to still treat me like shit. “What are we even supposed to be doing out here?”
“Hanging out in the dark. Do you have anything else to drink? That one you made wasn’t terrible.”
“No.” I wish he could see my eyes rolling in the dark. “And you don’t exactly need another one.”
“You have no idea what I need, Goldie.”
Maybe it’s the nature of the darkness, where things are meant to stay hidden, but I have a sudden need to take advantage of the fact that we’re alone together for the first time since school started. “Why don’t you tell me, then? In fact, don’t stop there. Tell me why you have such a problem with me. Why do you hate me so much?”
“You want to keep the game going out here, Goldie? Well, it’s my turn. Truth or dare.”
I don’t want to play any games with him, especially this one. But this might be my only chance to finally get the truth out of him. “Dare.”
“Kiss me.”
And now I know he’s wasted. It’s a good thing he can’t see my face because it has to be the bright red of a cherry tomato. “I thought you hated me.”
“I hate you being here.”
“Then why the hell would you want me to kiss you?”
“Doesn’t matter.” I hear more than see his shrug as Asher keeps his voice deceptively neutral. It’s impossible to tell if he’s serious or just trying to screw with me. “You want truth? The dare comes first.”
I console myself with the thought that there’s a good chance he won’t remember any of this come the morning. Before I can talk myself out of it, I lunge forward with aim that’s pretty good considering I can barely see him. Our lips meet in a crashing force that can barely be called a kiss.
And I assume that he plans to shove me away, maybe mock me for ever thinking he’d want me touching him, then use this as just another way to terrorize me. But flaming hot hands come up to grip my bare arms and yank me against the hard lines of his body. Then he’s kissing me back and I forget that there’s anything else in the world aside from the two of us.
The kiss is electric, like a buzzing feeling that starts in the pit of my belly and travels to curl up my spine. For a brief and shining moment, this isn’t the guy who has spent the last month making my life a living hell, or that seems to hate me more than he does anything else.
Wanting him is a compulsion I can’t fight, even though I know it’s the worst impulse to give into.
My arms come up to wrap around his neck of their own volition, because I’m no longer capable of conscious thought. The entirety of my awareness has narrowed to the tang of alcohol on his tongue as it tangles with mine and the scent of expensive cologne filtering over my senses.
We’re supposed to be enemies and I do hate him for all the things that he’s done to me.
But I love the way it feels to be in his arms.
His hands coast up the sensitive skin of my legs to play at the short hem my dress that hadn’t seemed scandalously short until this moment. His fingers slide over my thighs and up to play at the scrap of lacy fabric at the juncture of hip.
Sanity returns in an unwelcome rush. I shove him away, but only succeed in stumbling back when my hands meet the unyielding mass of his chest. “What the hell?”
The moon comes out from behind the shadows of a heavy cloud, illuminating the almost manic gleam in his eyes. Everything is colorless in the darkness but I can almost see the impossible green of his irises, the memory of them so strong that it takes the place of reality.
I don’t even have the haze of alcohol to blame for this because I’m sober as a church mouse. “What the hell, Asher?”
“Ask me.”
“What?”
“Truth or dare. Ask me.”
And I wonder if he’s been imbibing on something more mind-altering than alcohol, because this is not the same Asher I’ve been dealing with all this time. Apparently, we’re throwing the clapback rule out the window. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Why do you hate me so much?”
&
nbsp; “Because I—”
Asher is cut off by the sound of someone yelling our names. I look up at the boathouse to see Jayden illuminated in the open doorway.
“Time’s up,” Jayden yells, waving his arms back and forth. “And we’re all heading back. Dean Felton is checking rooms to see who’s out after curfew.”
People start streaming out of the boathouse and into the forest, heading in the general direction of the dorm building. I back quickly away from Asher before anybody notices how closely we were standing together. Although, I’m not the one who should be embarrassed.
And Asher doesn’t seem all that interested in fleeing the dean’s wrath. He leans back against a tree and tips his head up to the sky, breathing in and out so slowly that it’s possible he’s fallen asleep while still standing up.
Kai appears at my elbow. “C’mon, I’ll walk you back. You get caught out here and they’ll give you Saturday detention for a month.”
“What about him?”
“Asher can take care of himself, let’s go.”
I allow Kai to propel through me through the woods and back toward campus, more out of shock than anything else. He keeps his hand at the small of my back as we navigate through the thick underbrush and I can’t help but think about the fact another hand was there only minutes ago.
“It’s good you came out,” Kai murmurs as we reach the end of the dirt trail and the very edge of the paved walkways that circle the school grounds. “I’ll think this will help you when it’s time for the vote.”
“Since when do you care?”
“I played one dirty trick, but I’m not the bad guy you’re making me out to be.”
And giving him the chance to prove it is the same as giving him enough rope to hang me. “If you say so.”
He doesn’t say anything else as we make our way past dark and silent buildings toward the courtyard. Pavilion rooms are the furthest from the lake and it seems like most of the partygoers have already made it back.
