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But I do.
I’d rather learn as much as I can about Claire, and not offer a single thing about myself—probably because I shared too much with her a long time ago and ended up regretting it.
She studies me with more conviction this time. It’s not true. It was for the first couple of months, but my rebound phase didn’t last long.
“True?”
The question in her voice makes my smile widen again. How little Claire thinks of my morale is the only truth that has come out of this game so far—well, that and the cake.
16
Claire
Aiden raises an eyebrow at me. “You think I fuck a different girl every week?”
My cheeks burn. “Um—Well, I don’t know.” I mean, by the looks of him, I think he could. Whether he actually does is a mystery.
“As flattered as I am to know that you find me so desirable—”
My eyes widen. “What? I didn’t say—”
He laughs at my flustered response. “Fiction, Claire. It’s fiction.”
Aiden is nice to look at—okay, really nice to look at—but there’s nothing going on between us. So why does his answer fill me with relief? “Rule number one,” I say, pointing an accusatory finger at him.
He’s practically grinning at me now, the dimple in his cheek clearly visible. “That was all you.” I open my mouth to say something, but he beats me to it. “Your turn.”
Clamping my mouth shut, I exhale through my nose as I try to think of what to ask next. Eager to change to a safer topic, I blurt out, “Have you heard that I have an older brother?”
Aiden rolls his eyes. “I already know you don’t. Try again.”
“You do?”
Something behind his blue eyes looks apprehensive for a moment, but then he recovers. “We went to the same school. I would have known if you had any siblings.” He leans back in his seat. “That one was boring anyway. You can do better.”
“Well, excuse me for disappointing you with the facts of my life. You’re the one who said you wanted to only hear things about me.”
He rolls his head against the back of the seat to look at me. “I was hoping to dig up some dirt on the always perfect Claire Ackerman.”
“Right.” I scoff.
“I’m serious.” He turns toward me, the side of his head still resting against the seat. “Give me a good truth, and if it’s a lie, the least you can do is make it interesting.”
His comment brings a frown to my lips. My truths are all boring, I know that. I try to think of a lie, but his devilish smirk makes it impossible to think straight. I glance down at my lap to avoid his stare and try to come up with something. “Okay...have you heard that I once had to scale down the side of my apartment building after getting locked out on the roof in the middle of the night?”
He studies me, and I feel a little bit of pride in the fact that I’ve finally stumped him. I lean the side of my head against the seat and turn to face him. “Well, what is it? Fact or fiction?”
He narrows his eyes at me playfully. “Fiction.” I laugh and his eyes widen. “Fact?”
“Fact,” I say, still laughing.
Pulling back to look at me, he shakes his head. “No wonder you wear the boots. Why the hell were you on the roof?”
I sit up straighter. “I like going on the roof to think sometimes, but we’re not supposed to have access to it. I’m usually careful about making sure the door doesn’t close behind me, but I guess I wasn’t careful enough that night. I tried calling my roommate, Violet, but she sleeps through everything.”
“Violet,” he says the name like it’s jogging his memory.
“Um, yeah,” I say hesitantly. “She went to our high school.” The topic of high school feels like a slippery slope. One missed step and we’ll find ourselves reliving the last night we’ve ever spoken to each other before tonight.
