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Sky shook his head while thrusting his hips back and forth. “I’m a briefs guy.”
That started a new round of laughter. I wiped my eyes when Sky turned to me. “Truth or dare?”
The desire for revenge quaked in his eyes. I didn’t want to experience that sensation, so I took the safer route, “Truth.”
“What’s your most prized possession?”
That wasn’t something I’d thought about since moving here. Last year, I might have said my bike or the diamond earrings my dad gave me for my fourteen birthday. I still treasured those, but they were replaceable. There was only one thing I had that meant more to me than anything else. Something I kept tucked away in a drawer in my closet because I was too scared to lose or ruin it. I hadn’t taken it out since I started school here. It had been my security blanket when I first arrived but the thought of anything happening to it was too much for me.
“My brother’s hat.”
None of them spoke. They just watched me.
“It’s an old Dodgers hat he wore all the time. It’s faded and frayed on the bill, but it’s the only thing I have left of him.”
“I’ve never seen it,” Gavin whispered behind me.
“I needed it to get through the day for a while, but once I met Emily, then you guys, I realized I wanted to protect that piece of him.”
“Why don’t you have anything else?” Noah asked.
“My mom—well, Spencer’s mom—took everything else. She didn’t know I had the hat. Otherwise, I’m sure she would have demanded that too. I didn’t really understand why Dad let her do that, but now, I get it. He was all she had. Spencer wasn’t technically my dad’s son or my brother.”
“Not biologically, but in all the ways that mattered, he was. That’s messed up that she kept everything else from you.” Luca shook his head.
“I have pictures and my memories. That’s what matters.”
The night was just lightening up, and I didn’t want to bring them down. I hurried the game along. I could pick anyone, but since Noah managed to go unnoticed, I pointed at him. “Truth or dare?”
He scrunched his nose. “Dare, I guess.”
I grinned and hurried into the kitchen and grabbed one pretzel from a bag on the counter and set it in the center of the coffee table. “Eat that without using your hands.”
He rolled his eyes, but I caught a hint of a smile while the others started laughing. He got down on his knees and held his hands behind his back before leaning over the table. He used his nose to let it to the edge then stuck out his tongue and flipped it into his mouth.
Overall, it was much easier than I expected but still worth getting the guys to laugh again.
After he finished eating, he scanned the room and froze on Vince. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” Vince challenged.
“Belly dance to the first song that comes on your phone,” Noah said with a grin.
Vince narrowed his eyes and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He tapped it a few times then set it on the table as a rap song started playing. He stood and pulled his shirt over his head and started moving his hips and rolling his abs to the music.
It was silly, and he wasn’t taking the task too seriously, but that didn’t stop me from admiring his body. I wasn’t sure if his superhuman strength was to thank for that or if it came from football training and weight lifting. Either way, I did not mind.
“Okay.” Vince fell back in his spot at the end of the song. “I’m worn out now.”
I laughed. “Do you guys want to watch the next movie?”
They agreed. I’m sure they were each grateful to be done with the game. I’d been right to dread playing it from the start. Nothing good ever came from it. Sure we had some funny moments, but I also learned something I didn’t want to know each time.
Without speaking, they moved the couches to the outer walls and began filling the air mattresses, arranging them into one huge bed in the center of the room. That must be the result of over a decade of friendship and working together. They didn’t need to speak to know what the rest were thinking.
Soon, the beds were made up with piles of blankets, and Sky had even made a few bags of popcorn and brought out drinks.
They settled into different areas while I stood off to the side, unsure where to go. This was always the trickiest part. I didn’t want to hurt feelings or make any of them think I was playing favorites. There was a delicate balance needed in our relationships and I still didn’t know how to find it.
