“No, I’m not. You can join in.”
“I will because I’m fun.”
“You’re drunk.”
“Drunk and fun.”
I shot him a look, one that usually had him back down. But now his grin became wider.
“Come on, old man,” someone yelled, and people tittered. Compared to the twenty-somethings here, I supposed I was ancient.
Regretting coming, as well as the game I was about to participate in, I watched as people spun a damned bottle and listened to the mundane dares to drink beer or jump in the lake. The truths consisted of the worst hookups and most embarrassing moments.
Then Dale pointed at me. “Truth or dare, Linc?”
Could I get out of this by being even more of a fuddy-duddy and pretending I didn’t understand how the game was played?
“Skip me and go on to someone else.”
“No, no, no,” everyone chanted.
“That’s not how the game works,” one guy told me.
“Live a little, Linc.” I rolled my eyes at my brother whose flushed cheeks and cheesy grin told me I couldn’t leave because he’d do something he shouldn’t if I did.
“Okay, okay. I choose truth.”
“That's so boring,” someone yelled.
“But I get to choose, right?”
Mike spoke up, the first time he’d opened his mouth to say anything and not stick his tongue in my brother’s ear. “When was the last time you shifted?”
Maybe this was easier than I expected. “This morning.”
The dirtbag wasn’t finished, though. “Show us a photo.”
That wasn’t part of the game.
They want to see a picture of me? Do it, please.
“Oh, that’s a good one. Linc’s panther is a badass.”
I sighed because I had photos of my beast on the phone, initial pics that had been taken years ago when I first shifted and more recent ones.
I’ve matured since then, my panther assured me.
But it was a mistake because I didn’t know where this was headed.
I pulled out my phone and scrolled through photos. Panther shifters liked to keep track of the condition of their coat, so we took pics regularly.
There was my beast, proudly strolling through the woods searching for prey… that prey being my ex when I’d had a few too many beers. I held up the phone, hoping I was done with this game and they’d move on to someone else.
“Damn.”
“He’s gorgeous.”
Mike’s lips curled into a smirk. I was ready to release my panther and have him scare the crap out of that wolf. “Now I dare you to send that to your ex.”
