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“Right.” I nodded. Even the junior boys knew about it. “Well, Carson and I have to work on the Angel Program together, so we’ve kind of been forced to get along. He probably invited me to be nice.”
“Okay,” Drake drawled like he didn’t believe it.
“Seriously,” I said because the more I said it, the more authentic it felt. Carson was simply being cordial.
“Yeah. I believe you.” He shot Ethan a look that said he didn’t believe it at all.
But I wasn’t about to let it go.
“What? What was that look?” I said, pointing between them.
Drake shifted on his feet then ran a hand through his bleach blonde locks. “It’s just. . . Carson’s kind of a pot-stirrer. He likes shaking things up, giving people something to talk about. You two usually don’t get along. I’m just saying that if he invited you, he probably had a reason.”
My throat instantly dried. It hurt to swallow.
What if Carson did invite me there in some epic plan to embarrass me?
I glanced toward the living room, my gaze latching onto Carson, who was chatting up Olivia. I hadn’t even seen her come in.
Lauren’s words from Monday came back to me. I heard Olivia’s on the prowl, and she plans on crashing.
Great.
I groaned inwardly, trying to ease the nerves jumping in my belly. He barely said two words to me when I came in, but there he was, bent forward at the waist, so Olivia could whisper something in his ear. He frowned as he listened, then suddenly, his eyes lifted to mine, and my stomach dropped.
I snapped my head back toward Ethan and Drake, cheeks flushed. Maybe this hadn’t been such a great idea, after all. I had the terrible urge to leave. Coming suddenly seemed like a horrible idea. What had I been thinking? Now that Carson and I were working on a project together, we could somehow be friends and get along? And why did I even want to?
I turned and focused back on Ethan’s conversation with Drake, I tried to follow along, but they were using football-speak, and I was lost.
I sipped my drink—probably a little quicker than I should’ve—but it dulled the edge of my nerves, and before I knew it, the party didn’t seem so bad. The slightly fuzzy feeling in my head had me more relaxed than I’d been in weeks, maybe months. Until Carson’s voice rose above the music.
“Truth or dare,” he yelled. “Starts in two. Let’s go.”
“I think that’s our calling,” Drake said. “We’d better get in there. Mandy Peters is here, and I’m hoping to ask her to the Snowflake Ball. I’ve been dragging my feet and I’m, like, the last person I know to get a date.”
“Not the last,” Ethan muttered under his breath, which earned him a jab to the ribs.
He laughed and said bye to Drake, as I muttered, “Thanks a lot, bud.”
Ethan chuckled and grabbed me, pulling me in a headlock. “Don’t worry, you’re going to that dance,” he promised.
“So you say.”
As he dragged me toward the living room, I asked, “Do we have to do this?”
Ethan gave me a look that said I was a wimp. “Come on. Are you really going to let him scare you off over a little game of truth or dare?”
“If it means keeping my clothes on, then, yes,” I said eyeing everyone around me.
Ethan snorted. “You’ll be fine. You only go if someone picks you. Just choose truth,” he said with a shrug.
I groaned and begrudgingly followed Ethan and took a seat on the floor in front of the sofa. Everyone but a couple kids, several of which were making out in the corner, took a seat.
Carson turned and adjusted the volume of the music on the surround sound unit. I remembered the day they got it. When we were thirteen, Mr. Brooks came home with a giant television and the stereo system. By the time he figured out how to install it, the sky outside turned to dusk, but Ethan and I waited patiently, then stayed up late watching Jaws with the sound blasting. The next day, we went to the beach and were so paranoid about a shark being in the surf, we kept running onto shore. Carson called us babies.
Everyone gathered around the room in a circle, taking their places. Olivia sat several seats away from Carson, giggling and flipping her blonde locks over her shoulder in the most obnoxious way. Only when Maddie took the spot on my right, did I sigh in relief. A lot of guys liked her. Surely, she was more interesting than I was. With her next to me, I’d probably be left alone. Or at least I hoped.
Ethan squeezed my arm as Carson briefly went over the rules, which, of course, everyone already knew. When he finished, he glanced to Ethan and added, “Also, let’s keep it semi-clean, folks. My baby brother’s here tonight.” He winked at Ethan before
