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“Come on,” Jay said. “It’s too crowded in here. We can go out back.”
The seven of us slipped onto the porch and down the deck stairs, finding lawn chairs to sit in under a giant oak tree. Kaidan leaned back in his chair, balancing it on the back two legs.
“How about a game of Truth or Dare?” Marna offered.
I was immediately apprehensive. Just as I was about to suggest something else, Kaidan spoke and my heart faltered.
“I’ll go first,” he said. “I dare Kope to kiss Anna.”
Everything inside me flooded with fury and embarrassment. Kaidan leaned far back with his arms crossed, cocky. I stood up without thinking and hooked my foot under his chair, swiftly kicking upward and causing him to topple backward. He looked up at me from the ground with a stunned expression that morphed into a grin.
The twins and Blake were in hysterics. Blake laughed so hard he fell sideways out of his own chair, which made Jay join in the laughter. I couldn’t sit there with them anymore. This whole night was a disaster. I turned and walked through the yard, toward the side of the house. I heard Ginger talk between gasps of mirth.
“Maybe she’s not so bad after all!”
I didn’t know where I was going. I made my way between the two houses, toward the street, and I heard steps running through the grass behind me.
“Wait up!” It was Jay. “You okay?” I stopped and let him catch up.
“I knew I shouldn’t have come.”
“Yeah, you called it. But maybe it’s not such a bad thing. He saw you flirting with that other guy, and it’s got him thinking—”
“Shhh!” I said, my eyes rounding. I peered over his shoulder, but we couldn’t see the others.
“What?” he asked, confused. “They can’t hear us.”
“I wasn’t flirting!” I whisper-hissed.
“Well, you were standing real close and talking all serious—”
“Okay, okay! Maybe it looked bad, but we were just talking. It was crowded.”
“Hey.” Marna came around the corner toward us. “Don’t worry about Kai. He’s a nasty drunk. Come on back.”
“I don’t think I should,” I said. I wished I could just shake it off and be cool, but he’d hurt me.
“Do I need to send him over to apologize?” she asked.
“No!”
“Kaidan!” she hollered. “Get over here!”
My pulse quickened and I crossed my arms over my chest, staring down at my feet.
I heard him approach through the long blades of grass. Marna and Jay must have walked away, because when I looked up, it was only the two of us. He stared down and nudged an old tree stump with his foot.
“Sorry,” he said, concentrating on giving the stump another good thump.
Wow. An apology. I felt myself soften.
“I’m sorry, too, about the whole chair-flipping thing.”
“No, I deserved it.”
When we looked at each other, standing all those painful feet away, my heart constricted and it was hard to take in air. He was already sobering, but I knew the taste of tequila would still be on his lips. I had to pull my eyes down again to breathe.
“Will you come back over if I promise not to say anything else?” he asked.
I nodded, and he took a flask from his pocket, taking a long swig before he pocketed it again. Why was he drinking so much?
I followed him back to the group, where we both sat down.
“Okay, I’ll go next,” Marna said, seeming determined to ignore the tension in the air and play that stupid game. I was so not in the mood to participate. “Ginger, truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
“Forgive me for taking the idea from Kai, but I dare you to snog Blake—” She modified the request at the insistent stare from her sister. “Oh, come on! Just the teensiest peck on the lips.”
I thought she would still refuse, but apparently she wasn’t one to outright turn down a dare. She turned to Blake and pointed a finger at him.
“Try to cop a feel and I’ll make Anna’s chair flip look angelic,” she warned.
He grinned and she leaned in, both closing their eyes as she pressed her lips against his for one, two, three seconds. It appeared innocent, but they were shy when they pulled away and sat back.
“Right,” Ginger said, clearing her throat. “My turn. Jay, truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Do you fancy Marna?”
“I’m not sure what that means, but if you’re asking if I like her and think she’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met and I wish she would move here, then yes.”
Marna and I giggled at his brazen, smitten openness.
Our attention was diverted when Kaidan threw a quick glance over his shoulder, and then stood up, moving to the hidden side of the giant oak tree and leaning against it. Right at that moment the back door creaked open and the blond girl stepped out, peering all around and staring at our group.
“Hey, is Kaidan Rowe down there?” she asked.
“Nope,” lied Blake.
The girl frowned and went back in the house. Kaidan sauntered out and took his seat again.
“Dude, how did you know she was coming?” Jay asked.
“Superhuman hearing,” Marna answered for him.
Jay laughed and adjusted his hat. “My turn, now?”
“No, I’m not quite finished with you,” Ginger said. “Have you ever cheated on a girlfriend?”