“Which means this game might never end.” Stefan sighs.
“Oh, stop grumbling,” Hendrix snaps. “We’ve only just started.” He smiles at me. “Come on, Callan. What are your two truths and a lie?”
Like Theo, I’d assumed we were going around the table, at which point Hendrix would have been next, and I’d have had more time to come up with something to say. To buy myself some time, I eat some of the cake. It tastes a lot better than it looks. I decide I need to pick something reasonably obvious as my lie, or they’ll never guess. I’m a stranger to these men, and they to me. Equally, I don’t want my truths to reveal my ugly past.
“I’m an electrician, I share a birthday with Rory, and I’ve abseiled from the Hogan Stand at Croke Park.” I avoid looking at Rory as I speak. I have no clue if he’s told his housemates about our birthdays. I guess that he hasn’t.
“Sorry, but what’s Croke Park?” Theo asks.
“A Gaelic games stadium in Dublin,” Rory says.
I risk looking his way. He’s watching me with his eyes slightly narrowed and lips pinched together.
“That sounds fun,” Theo decides. “You don’t share a birthday with Rory?”
“I do.”
“Oh.” Theo’s expression falls and then immediately brightens again. “That’s cool. Did you ever have joint birthday parties when you were kids?”
Rory flinches. Maybe I shouldn’t have thrown that one in.
“Yes.” Hopefully, I can leave it at that.
“You haven’t abseiled off anything. Let alone a stadium,” Hendrix says.
“You’re right. How’d you know?”
He shrugs. “Just a guess. My turn.”
I glance at Rory. While he didn’t know I was an electrician until a couple of minutes ago, he would have been able to spot my lie from a mile away. I’m afraid of heights. Always have been.
Hendrix taps his lips. “I’ve had an orgasm in a restaurant while sitting at the table. When I was ten, I was convinced I was going to be an astronaut, and I’m on my third sugar Daddy.”
My eyebrows shoot up. Sugar Daddy? Being in this house is going to be enlightening.
“The first one is the lie,” Preston says.
Hendrix snorts. “Are you sure?”
“No.”
“You never wanted to be an astronaut?” Theo says.
Hendrix rolls his eyes. “You guys don’t know me at all. The third one is the lie. I’ve only had one sugar Daddy.” He grins. “I’m too young to have gone through three. But give me time. Huh. No one guessed right. Does that mean I get to go again?”
“You tell us,” Stefan says. “You’re the one making up the rules.”
“Or I could nominate someone.” He fixes his stare on Rory. “Your turn.”
“I moved to London when I was ten, my favourite subject in school was PE, and I’m the oldest of two.”
I bite my tongue. I know the lie, but I don’t want to have another turn.
“Oh, I know this.” Theo grins from ear to ear. “I think.” His grin fades a little. “The first one is the lie?”
Rory nods. “Your turn.”
Okay, so Rory has told some of his housemates a little about himself. When did he become so reserved? My stomach twists. I hate that we’re strangers.
