Kiki shakes her head in disbelief. “No way,” she says as if the thought of me stealing something is as likely as me heading to the moon.
Kai turns to me with a raised brow that I’m not sure how to interpret. Whether it’s curious, impressed, or concerned. “Seriously?”
“It was just something small. A pack of gum,” I say quickly, going with the first lie I can think of. I won’t let the truth ruin the moment that brought us here—the dress I hoped would make him see me in a new light.
“Good for you.” Carla raises her cup to me in a salute before taking a sip of her drink and lowering her index finger, now down to just three fingers. She takes her time thinking through her options, tapping the fingers she has left standing against the bare expanse of her collarbone. “Never have I ever… sent a nude from school.”
Timothy snorts lazily before bringing another finger down—the thought of him in any state of undress, but especially at school, makes me shudder. Beside me I can feel Kai stiffen uncomfortably, but he doesn’t put a finger down. An unexpected pressure eases in my chest. I’m not exactly sure what Kai’s romantic history is. For all I know he’s dated dozensof girls since he started at Millcreek. Plenty of girls have been interested, that I know for sure. And just because I never saw him holding hands in the halls or the cafeteria with someone doesn’t mean that he didn’t have someone behind closed doors. He’s already managed to keep us—whatever it is we are—a secret this entire time.
But if he didn’t put a finger down, then why does he look like he has something to hide?
Timothy’s mouth parts into an O like it did earlier for me. A wordless gasp. “Oh sh—”
“Shut up,” Kiki interrupts before he can finish. She shoves her hand beneath the water, but through the blur I can see she’s put another finger down.
“Naughty girl, Ki,” Carla teases with a smirk.
Kiki splashes in Carla’s direction, earning a surprisingly high-pitched scream from Timothy, while Kai buries his face in his hands.
“Can we please never talk about my sister and nudes at the same time ever again?” he pleads, peeking through his fingertips at Carla who shrugs in agreement.
Silence settles over us and it’s not until the others start to peek over at me that I realize it’s my turn. I inhale sharply as my brain kicks into overdrive, trying to sort through the dozens of things I haven’t done. I would’ve saidhad alcoholif it weren’t for the sip I took seconds earlier. Besides a few sips of Mami’s wine or Papi’s Coronas over the years, which I don’t count, it’s the first time I’ve been any sort of reckless when it comes to alcohol.
“I…” I bite back a groan as I realize I’ve already screwed up, getting the format of the question wrong. “Never have I ever kissed somebody.”
Thanks to the panic of screwing up before I’d even begun, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Unfortunately, it was the most embarrassing confession I could have made. Maybe with a different crowd it wouldn’t have seemed so unusual, but this is the social elite. The types of people whose relationships are front page news. Kissing is child’s play to them. A dozen kisses under their belts by freshman year. Surprisingly, though, instead of being met with unanimous pity or laughter, I’m graced with an array of reactions.
“Awwww,” Carla coos before lowering one of her fingers and taking a sip, looking at me like she wants to pinch my cheeks.
Beside her, Timothy mumbles something under his breath before taking a sip of his drink—now down to just two fingers.
“My mom’s really strict,” I say quickly, doing my best to cover up my pathetic lack of a love life. Mentioning Mami makes me wince, as if I might summon her by just saying her name. I bite my tongue before I can keep rambling. About all the slumber parties I bailed on. All the friend groups I faded to the background of. All the horrible things Mami dealt with when she was my age—all the things she’s trying to save me from.
I almost don’t have the strength to look at Kai, avoiding facing him until I feel him shift closer to me. “You really haven’t kissed anyone?” he whispers, so close his knee bumps against mine. The contact is dulled by the weightlessness of the water, but doesn’t dampen the spark.
I shrug, my cheeks as warm as the water bubbling around us. “Guess I never found the right person,” I mumble.
Kai’s lips part, but he doesn’t say anything. His brows are arched, as if in confusion or surprise. And I’m not sure if Ishould be flattered or worried. Or if this changes what he thinks about me—and whether it’s for the better, or for worse.
Before I can lose myself to that worry, Kiki snaps her fingers at Kai to get the game back on track. “Let’s go, lover boy. It’s your turn.”
Kai quickly turns toward Kiki until he’s no longer leaning into me. “Never have I ever been an annoying younger sister,” he shoots back, eyes narrowed to slits.
Kiki responds with a buzzer sound and a thumbs-down. “Try again. And you’re not older.”
“Ten minutes still makes me older,” he taunts before giving in with a shrug. “Never have I ever cut class.”
“Goody Two-shoes,” Kiki mutters after her sip.
“Says Ms. I’ve Never Gotten a Detention,” he snaps back.
“Yeah, because I know how to break the ruleswithoutgetting caught.”
Kai rolls his eyes so intensely I briefly wonder if Mami’s warning to me and Joel that our eyes would get stuck forever could come true. “Are you done gloating, or are you gonna go?”
Kiki takes her time thinking of a reply. She hums and taps her perfectly manicured coffin-shaped nails against her plastic cup. Makes us all wait until Timothy starts to loll his head around in bored impatience. Her eyes lock somewhere in Carla and Timothy’s direction—the two of them too close together for me to tell which one of them she’s looking at as the corner of her lips tug into a devilish smirk. “Never have I ever cheated on someone.”
Both Carla and Timothy stiffen. When they move, it’s apart from each other. Carla slips out from beneath Timothy’s arm while he shoves his fist beneath the water now that he doesn’t have any fingers left to hold up.
