“I forgot to tell you…” I chuckle. “That’s how much Asher paid for this.”
“You paid half a million pounds for a poorly lit karaoke room, cheap vodka, and pizza?” Kai puts the bottle down.
“It’s good pizza. And good company,” Asher says, reaching for the last slice.
“Riddle me this. You had half a million pounds to spareon a concert, but you’d never done karaoke before?” Kai stares at him with a sudden intensity.
“I just hadn’t gotten around to it. It’s sort of pointless. There’s nothing in it for me.” Asher averts his eyes. It makes me wonder if there’s more to it, something he’s not saying. Maybe he didn’t have enough friends who wanted to do karaoke with him. The centrifuge spins you to incredible heights, but it leaves everyone you care about on the ground. “Singing for an invisible audience for your own amusement is stupid, if you ask me.”
“There doesn’t need to be a point. You could, I don’t know, just have fun,” Kai says. “Life is already pointless anyway.”
“Stop with the nihilism. It’s my turn. Kai, truth or dare,” Asher says.
“For your own good and your criminal record, don’t let Kai do a dare,” I warn. I still remember the time Mia dared Kai to show up to class in an inflatable dinosaur costume and he followed through. Or the time we had to dissect worms in class and I refused out of principle. Kai ended up breaking into the empty classroom at night and released the worms, which caused an all-year-round worm infestation in the football field.
“Oh, really?” Asher has that competitive look on his face again. My jaw tightens slightly.
“I’ve never turned down a dare.” Kai holds his gaze, unfazed. “Do your worst.”
“Please don’t,” I say.
Asher leans forward until his knee brushes against Kai’s. “My worst, huh?” A smirk tugs at his lips as he locks eyeswith him. “I dare you to kiss me. With Sasha’s permission, of course.”
I snort, relief flooding through me. I almost expect Kai to grab Asher’s face immediately and French-kiss him out of spite, but when my gaze cuts to him, his expression is unreadable.
“Come on. Choose something else?” Kai says. He shifts on his seat. “That’s kind of a stupid dare.”
“What? I thought you had never turned down a dare,” Asher quips.
“This is…” Kai clears his voice. “I’d rather—”
A pang of unease grips me. That feeling I’ve had since Kai and I became friends again returns, like he’s keeping something in.
“Scared?” Asher leans forward with a self-satisfied grin. “It’s just a kiss.”
“Fuck it.” Kai braces himself against the side of Asher’s beanbag, inches away from his face. Asher stiffens, caged between his arms, but all Kai does is reach down to grab the bottle of vodka. He chugs the rest of it before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m not going to kiss you because I’m pretty sure I’m bi, and I don’t want my first queer kiss to be with—” Kai points in Asher’s general direction. “No offense.”
“I’m very much offended,” Asher says.
“I don’t want my first kiss with a guy to happen because of a dare. I want it to matter.” He looks away. “You’re the first people I’ve told. I don’t know if I’m ready for anyone else to know yet. I’m still confused, so just… give me some time to process.”
When he turns to me, a plea of understanding shimmers in his eyes.Are you mad?
Of course not.My heart beats painfully. I want to pull him into a hug, ask him a dozen questions—When did you realize? Did you think you couldn’t tell me?—but all that leaves my mouth is: “Oh. Dope.”
“Dope?” Asher snorts.
“I’m processing! I had no idea, but I’m happy!” I reach for Kai’s hand and tug at his fingers. “Seriously, Kai, I’m so, so happy.”
“What do you mean you didn’t know? You’re his girlfriend,” Asher says, eyes narrowing at Kai. “You hadn’t told Sasha you’re bi?”
“I—” Kai freezes. The relieved look on his face turns panicked.
Fuck. The contract.
His eyes flicker to me, as if looking for an answer, but I don’t know what to say.
I don’t want my first kiss with a guy to happen because of a dare.That doesn’t sound like something someone in an exclusive relationship would say. That doesn’t sound like something Sassy’s boyfriend, the lovestruck girl and the gentle first love, would say.
