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We moved on, and I chased away my darkening thoughts by focusing on the next statement made by one of JJ’s friends. Were they friends? Whatever they were, he was someone who was giving JJ looks that suggested he wanted more than friendship at that moment in time. “Never have I ever slept with anyone who was more than five years older than me.”
Only a few people drank, which I guessed wasn’t all that surprising since we were in uni, and from what I’d seen, the majority of people seemed to be fucking around with fellow students. JJ drank, flipping his middle finger at his maybe-friend, and then laughed once he’d downed the remainder of his drink.
“Still jealous, Bo? You know I prefer my men a little more seasoned than us. Although, if you ask nicely…” He trailed off, licking his lips suggestively, and Bo slithered over to him. I averted my eyes, catching Ander’s in the process, and I flinched, quickly looking away. Not before I saw the naked hurt in his expression, though.
“My turn. Never have I ever fancied someone here at this party,” one of the girls said, and almost everyone around the circle drank. Quickly raising my cup, I took a sip. No one would know who it was. The house was packed with people, and anyway, I’d flirted with Noah back when we’d first met, so as far as anyone knew, I could’ve been thinking of him.
I sucked in a breath when JJ’s voice rang out loud and clear. “Never have I ever liked my best friend as more than just a friend.”
It seemed like silence fell across the room, although maybe it was the fact that my heart was beating so loudly I couldn’t hear anything else. JJ was staring across the circle, not even looking at me. Why the fuck had he asked that question? I fixed my gaze on Noah, and he nodded once, encouragingly.
My hands shaking, I picked up my drink.
Across from me, there was a long pause, and then something moved.
Another hand, mirroring my own.
My eyes met a pair of hazel ones as I lifted the cup to my lips.
I drank.
So did Ander.
* * *
Ander drank.
Anderdrank.
Anderdrank.
Ander drank.
However I phrased it in my head, it still made no sense. Now I was in my bedroom, hiding under my duvet, where I’d fled as soon as I’d put down my drink. I was the very definition of a coward.
There was a loud crash, and I shot out from under the duvet to see a figure silhouetted in my now open doorway, the door itself shaking after smashing into the wall.
No. Why hadn’t I locked the bloody door?
I threw the duvet back over my head. If I hid, the monster wouldn’t see me, and they’d go away. Right?
The duvet was suddenly ripped away from me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, curling into a ball.
There was a soft chuckle from above me. “Out of the two of us, I would’ve put money on me being the dramatic one. Anyone would, I think. But here you are, acting like you did after we watchedA Quiet Place. Remember how you hid under the covers and wouldn’t let me leave in case those creature things came to get you?”
“Hey, that film made me jump!” I dared to crack my eyelids open, just a bit, enough for Ander’s face to come into focus. There was a soft smile curving over his lips.
“I know it did.” His smile disappeared as he sank onto the edge of my bed. “E, please can we talk?”
There was no getting out of this. Slowly, I straightened out my body and moved into a seated position, my back against the headboard of the bed. I kept my gaze trained on my knees—it seemed like the safest place.
“What do you want to talk about?” I asked as if I had no clue why he was here in my room.
I could feel his eyes boring into me for a long, long moment before he took a deep breath. “A few things, beginning with what happened last weekend and ending with what happened tonight. Maybe other things, but that’s probably enough for now. I think it covers most of our…uh…issues lately.”
Swallowing hard, I nodded. “O—okay.”
“Okay,” Ander echoed. He shifted a little closer so his thigh was almost brushing mine. “Let’s start with the—no, let’s start with tonight. We both drank at that question.”
