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Me: He told me when he came to see me this afternoon. We had a nice chat over tea.
One minute passed.
Two minutes.
Ten.
“This must be so boring for you, Luna.”
I snapped up to Saylor.
“No wonder you’re on your phone the whole time. Why don’t we play a game?” Saylor moved the nail files and polish out of the way. “Never have I ever. Everyone in?”
“Sounds fun.”
“Let’s do it.”
“Haven’t played in so long.”
They all turned to me.
“All right,” I said.
“Perfect.” Saylor slid over us. “First, the rules. When it’s your turn, name something you haven’t done. Anyone who has done it has to drink, and I don’t mean a sip. Drain the glass.” She fixed on me. “Got it?”
I saw where this was going, and it was not meant to be good for me. “Got it.”
“Also, you have to explain what you did or didn’t do. I want the full story.”
Everyone nodded.
“Good. Katie, you first.”
“Glasses out, ladies.” We held out our glasses for Katie to fill each one to the brim. “Okay, how about this. Never have I ever played hooky.”
“What?” I cried. “No way. I don’t believe it.”
Katie smirked with canary feathers practically stuck to her lips. “No one does, but I’ve got a perfect attendance record. The only time I ever missed was because I was sick.” She flicked her hair over her shoulders. “You didn’t think I got in Regalia U for my looks, did you?”
Blowing out a breath, I drained my glass with Saylor, Piper, Everleigh, and Gabriella.
“Spill,” Saylor said.
Everleigh giggled. She had already drained half a bottle of wine before we started the game. “The time I skipped was with you guys. Bryant Rhodes got a new car for his birthday and drove us all up the coast. We totally hooked up in the back seat while everyone else was down at the beach.”
“That was my first time too,” Piper said. Saylor and Gabriella agreed.
They turned on me.
“My first time playing hooky, I caught a bus and train to Paris with some friends. We went to a Bruno Mars concert.” Short, sweet, and to the point.
“And?” Saylor pressed.
“And it was a fun concert.”
“Ugh, whatever. Who’s next?”
“Me!” Everleigh raised her bottle. “Never have I ever... been arrested.”
“Oooh, good one, Everleigh.” All of them except Katie burst out laughing.
Nostrils flaring, I forced the alcohol through gritted teeth.
“Explain,” Everleigh sang.
“I was arrested for taking my stepfather’s yacht out. He thought it was stolen and reported it.”
“Aww.” Saylor brimmed with glee. “So you’ve always been a felon.”
“And you’ve always been a bitch.”
She laughed, not fazed in the least. “Yeah, I have. My turn. Let’s see. What’s a good one? Oh! Never have I ever lied to someone in this room.”
The smiles evaporated quick. Looking around, no one drank.
“Come on, guys,” Saylor said. “Not even a little white lie.”
I raised a finger. “Uh, am I misunderstanding the game? I thought you were supposed to say something you haven’t done.”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, you lied to Piper about her cheating scum of a boyfriend, Ahmed.”
“True,” Piper muttered under her breath.
Saylor swung to her, glaring. “He lied, not me. And how does she even know about that? I didn’t know you two were so friendly.”
“I know because you told me, and everyone else, at Toussaint’s that night. Did you forget?”
She gave me a withering look, but didn’t correct me. She couldn’t. “Fine, I’ll do another one. Never have I ever been shipped off to boarding school.”
I bit back a grimace. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to get me drunk, Burkhardt. You’re not planning on taking advantage of me, are you?”
“Nope. I can do much better than you.” She flapped a hand. “Drink.”
Hesitating, I stared in the depths of my glass. The moscato was already starting to make me feel warm and fuzzy. The last time I got drunk was in my boarding school dorm with my friends. I woke up the next day and discovered I tossed half my clothes out the window and wrote Luna Was Here in lipstick all over the dormitory walls. I was gearing up to make another fool of myself in front of the worst possible person.
No. It’s Saylor’s turn to be fucked with. I downed my glass. And the cracks are already showing.
“Explain.”
“Already did,” I said. “The police picked me off that boat, so my folks sent me to boarding school to get me away from bad influences. Gotta be careful with Royals.”
Saylor smiled back. “Very careful.”
“My turn. Never have I ever... created a fake account to catfish a guy who didn’t know I existed.”
Saylor froze, gazing at me. I winked.
“Oh my fuck!” she shrieked, whirling on Piper. “You told her about that! What the hell!”
“I— I didn’t tell her anything!” Piper whipped her head around, looking at her friends for help. “I don’t talk to her, Saylor. You know that!”
