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Aspen looks worried, but me, I’m ready. Bring it on. I’m not going to hide the way I’m feeling. I’ve tried talking to her, but she keeps putting me off. If a game of Truth or Dare is what it takes to get her to admit that there is something between us, so be it. I couldn’t care less who knows.
Each of the women in my life go to the brother of mine that they’re attached to. Marshall pulls up a bean bag and sits on the floor facing the huge sectional couch where we’re all sitting, and by the look on her face, Aspen begrudgingly takes the last open seat next to me.
Where she belongs.
“I’ll go first.” Marshall rubs his hands together in glee.
“Why do you get to go first?” Aurora pouts.
“I’m the youngest.” Marshall winks at her. “Being the lastborn Riggins brother often comes in handy.”
“That was Mom’s rule when we were kids, so we wouldn’t leave you out,” Royce counters.
“Well, I say the rule applies.” He taps his chin. “Owen, truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“How long until you knock her up again?” Marshall laughs and points at Layla.
“As soon as she’s ready,” Owen replies without missing a beat.
“Come on,” Grant chides him. “We all already knew the answer to that one.”
“We’re just warming up,” Marshall replies. He stands and grabs another round of beers for everyone except for Sawyer. She gets water. “Your turn, O,” Marshall says, taking his seat on the beanbag.
“Royce, truth or dare?”
“Truth,” Royce replies.
“Marriage and babies are making you all boring,” Marshall comments.
“You might want to think about your truth question and see how the boring title applies to you.” Royce laughs.
“Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?” He points to Sawyer’s baby belly that Royce is resting his hand on.
“Healthy.” Royce is quick to reply.
“I still can’t believe you all are waiting until the baby gets here to find out the sex,” Aspen says. “Not knowing would drive me insane.”
“Oh, it’s driving us crazy too, but there’s excitement in waiting to find out.”
“How do you shop?” Layla asks. “We knew Carter was a boy, and we had the nursery and everything all set up.”
“We’re going with greens and yellows and neutral tones,” Sawyer explains.
“All right, my turn,” Royce says. “Marsh, truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
Royce looks around the room. “Eat a bowl of popcorn covered in ketchup.”
“Pft.” Marshall climbs to his feet. “Surely, you can do better than that, brother.” Marshall stands and makes his way to the small kitchen in the basement. “We’re in luck,” he says, holding a half-empty bottle of ketchup in the air. Reaching into the cabinet, he grabs a paper bowl and comes over to the couch, holding it out for Sawyer. “Fill me up, sis,” he tells her.
Sawyer laughs as she fills the smaller bowl full of popcorn from one of the many bowls we’ve been eating out of tonight. “I get to add the ketchup too. You might need a spoon or something,” she tells him. Marsh hands her the bottle of ketchup and skips, yes skips, back to the kitchen to grab a spoon, and then skipping back. “Here you go.” Sawyer grins when she hands him the ketchup-drenched popcorn. Marsh takes it from her and eats it like a starving man.
“Done.” He grins, grabs his beer, and downs the rest of it. “Anyone else need another?” he asks. With a round of nos, he grabs himself another, tosses the bowl, and takes his seat again. “Let’s see, Aspen, truth or dare?” he asks.
I feel her stiffen beside me. “Truth.”
“Who here has the nicest ass?”
“That’s easy.” She shrugs.
“Well, let’s hear it,” he coaxes her.
“Carter,” she says with a straight face.
“Ooh!” Owen laughs. “She got you there.”
“You said here, that does include Carter, doesn’t it?” She laughs. The sound wraps around me like an embrace.
“I’ll get you.” Marshall grins and points his index finger at her in a warning.
“Aurora.” Aspen grins. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” Aurora replies confidently.
Aspen gazes around the room, much like Royce did for his turn. Her eyes light up, and I know she’s found her dare. “I dare you to eat a banana with no hands.”
“Elementary, my dear.” Aurora laughs.
“I’ll get it.” Aspen is up and in the kitchen, grabbing a banana from the basket on the counter.
Mom always has fruit lying around. She says it’s with hope, that with all the junk we consumed as kids, we would get a little bit of healthy too. She still does it to this day. I guess habits are hard to break.
After pulling a paper towel off the roll, Aspen hands it and the banana to her sister. “Eat up.”
“So, how does this work?” Grant asks.
“She’s going to need someone to hold it for her. The only rule is that she can’t use her hands.”
“Fuck.” Grant shifts his position. Every man in this room is thinking exactly the same thought that just ran through his mind. Fuck is the perfect response to the images I’m sure we’re all seeing.
