Page 39

“Great. Want to go first?” Ryan asks.

I shrug. “Sure.”

Maggie mouths me a thank you.

“Truth or dare?” Kitty asks.

“Truth.”

She mulls over her words for a moment, then asks, “What’s a quality that makes you fall in love with someone?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I say. “I’m really not good at these kinds of questions.”

Maggie pouts. “Come on, brother. You’ve got to give us something.”

“Yeah,” Kevin chimes in. “Don’t leave us hanging.”

I flick my gaze to Elle, just for a nanosecond, and the way she smiles changes something in me, as if I’m finally seeing the sun for the first time and it’s awesome.

I clear my throat and speak. “I’d say someone’s smile. And laugh.”

“Care to elaborate?” Kitty asks.

Silence fills the air while I think about how to explain this to them. I don’t know if I have the words to do so, but I give it a shot anyway. “Have you ever realized how a person’s laugh can make you fall in love? As if the frequency of their laugh and the way their eyes light up set your insides on fire, and then that feeling spreads like a hot flame through your body every time they laugh, and every time you so much as think about their laugh. They don’t even have to be near you for your heart to explode with longing and love. I’m telling you, laughter is magic. It’s a person’s secret spell. And all you want to do is make them laugh even more, so you try your best to sprinkle joy into their lives. The way their smile brightens their face makes you want to be near them, all the time. So yeah, I’d say a girl needs to have a smile that shatters my world in order for me to fall in love with her.”

No one says a word. Kitty’s jaw drops to the floor, and Maggie looks as if she’s seen a ghost. I don’t even dare to look at Elle. Those words that just tumbled out of my mouth were for her, and if I catch her eye, I won’t be able to stop myself from kissing her.

“Wow, Colton, I never knew you had such deep feelings,” Maggie says. “Not that I think you’re shallow, but if someone said those words to me, well… I’d be a puddle on the floor.”

“I like your smile,” Kevin tells her, a hopeful look in his eyes. “It reminds me of a blossoming rose garden.”

I chuckle, then pretend it was a sneeze.

“Who’s next?” I ask, glad my part in this silly game is over.

“I know one,” Kevin says, his eyes zooming in on Elle. “Want to go?”

“Okay,” she replies, hesitation lingering in her words.

“Truth or dare?”

She thinks for a moment. “Dare,” she says, her answer more of a question than a confident reply.

“I dare you to look into Ryan’s eyes as long as possible without laughing,” Kevin says. “Oh, and your noses have to be touching.”

Oh my goodness, what is this, kindergarten?

Elle looks at me briefly, concern written all over her face. I can’t let this happen to her. I’ve got to help her.

I get up from the table, and the loud bang of my chair falling to the floor makes everyone jump in their seats.

“What are you doing?” Maggie asks with an incredulous edge to her voice.

“I just remembered that Elle and I have to go.”

She frowns. “Now?”

I extend my hand to Elle. “Yeah, we have a work thing. Isn’t that right, Elle?”