Page 94 of Begin Again

Theo, however, wasn’t buying it. He tilted his head, glancing between us with narrowed eyes before lifting his hand for emphasis. “I have seventeen cards.”

Bennett made an exasperated noise and spread his own hand like he was displaying evidence at a crime scene. “I have fifteen.”

Orion gritted his teeth. “I have nineteen. Nineteen, Selene.”

I shrugged, feigning innocence. “Maybe you guys just have bad luck.”

“Oh, is that right?” Theo leaned forward, his voice deceptively calm. “Then explain why the three of you combined have, what, less than ten cards?”

Morgan, ever the quick thinker, jumped in. “It’s strategy.”

“What strategy?”

Celeste didn’t miss a beat. “A good one.”

Theo exhaled sharply, clearly not impressed. “That’s not an answer.”

Morgan waved a hand dismissively. “Fine. You want the truth?” She leaned in like she was about to unveil some great conspiracy. “It’s an ancient technique. The Sacred Order of Uno Masters—”

Orion cut her off with a groan. “Oh, for the love of—”

Celeste threw in her own distraction tactic, flipping her hair dramatically. “Honestly, it’s your fault for not realizing sooner. This was a test.”

Bennett narrowed his eyes. “A test for what?”

“To see if you were paying attention,” I said quickly. “And guess what? You failed.”

Theo’s lips twitched, but he wasn’t letting it go. “So you’re telling me,” he said, voice full of amused skepticism, “that this entire time, you weren’t cheating—you were testing our observational skills?”

“Exactly,” Celeste said, completely straight-faced.

Orion’s glare could’ve burned a hole through the Morgan. “I want a divorce.”

“We’re not even dating, what makes you think you can divorce me?” Morgan pointed out.

Orion gestured vaguely. “Irrelevant.”

Bennett let out a slow breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Okay. New rule.” He pointed at each of us in turn. “From now on, everyone has to wear socks during game night. No exceptions.”

Theo nodded. “Agreed.”

Meanwhile, as everyone bickered, Celeste and Bennett shared a knowing glance. In the chaos of rule-making and accusations, their quiet alliance formed. A secret agreement, just between them, ensuring Bennett would have the upper hand next round.

I gasped. “You can’t just make up new rules because you lost.”

Theo smirked. “Actually, I can. House rules.”

I turned to Orion, hoping for backup. “This is tyranny.”

“For once, I agree with him,” Orion said. “Socks. Mandatory. Forever.”

Celeste pouted dramatically. “You guys just hate fun. We were only thinking outside the box.”

Theo leaned back in his chair, looking far too pleased with himself. “No, we just hate losing unfairly.”

Morgan crossed her arms. “Sounds like sore losers to me.”

“Call it whatever you want,” Bennett said, standing up. “But next time, if I see a single naked toe under that table, I’m flipping it.”