Truth or Darerolled around the circle. Someone admitted to pissing in the campus pool. Another took a dare to shotgun a beer with no hands. The laughter got louder, messier. One of my teammates had to text his ex that he missed her. Another was dared to kiss the guy next to him, which he did, laughing hard and throwing back another drink.
I told myself it was all bullshit. I told myself I didn’t care.
But every time I looked up, that guy still had his hand on Tru’s thigh, still tracing lazy circles on the inside seam of his jeans like he’d earned the right.
My jaw ached from clenching. I kept waiting for Tru to pull away. To push him off. Todo something.
He didn’t. Instead, he whispered something back and laughed. Not his real laugh. Not the one I used to know. But still, it was a laugh he didn’t give tome.
My ears rang with it, and my vision swam with blank pages in a journal that should have been dedicated to me.
I took another swig of beer, swallowing down the roar building in my chest. Maybe it was the booze. Maybe it was the six years of unsaid shit between us pressing against my ribcage like a ticking bomb. Or was it the fact that I was watching somebody build the memories with him that should’ve beenmine?
That was supposed to be me next to him. Instead, I was alone on the edge of the circle, watching my nightmare unfold in real time.
A few more dares went around. Someone licked peanut butter off a shoe. Someone else confessed to faking every orgasm they’d ever had with their boyfriend. And then?—
“Carter,” someone called, slurring it with a grin. “You’re up. Truth or dare?”
Every eye turned to me. Evenhis. Did he feel triggered by those words?
I swallowed hard, set my beer down, and forced a smirk. “Dare.”
A few people cheered. One guy said,of course you would,and laughed like it was obvious. They didn’t know how badly I needed it. I neededsomethingto let me feel in control again. To bleed off the pressure building under my skin.
The guy next to me grinned wide. “You’ve gotta kiss someone.” The group laughed. The brunette across the kitchen eyed me like she wanted to fuck me. “Not just anyone,” someone else chimed in. “It’s gotta be the hottest person in the room.”
Great. A truth and a dare all rolled into one. They always knew I’d choose dare. I always did. Truth was dangerous. Truth might burn the whole place down.
A few whistles. Someone fake-gasped. I could already feelthem scanning the room, picking out some random girl to throw at me.
Pick her,someone said, pointing toward the brunette.
“What about Kyle?” Someone else yelled.
“Yeah, be brave, Carter. Let’s see how secure you really are.”
Laughter buzzed around the room like gnats. I could feel the heat rising in my neck, spreading under my collar. Like gravity, my gaze found Tru’s. He was already watching me. Back pressed against the arm of the couch, legs crossed, a death grip on the red plastic cup in his hand like he wasn’t holding his breath.
His boyfriend had an arm slung low around his waist.
My stomach twisted.
The hottest person in the room was him.
It always had been.
I could still feel the imprint of his shirt between my fingers from earlier. Could still hear him laugh when he said,Make me.
I looked away, hoping a blink would erase the feeling, but it didn’t.
A voice—someone I didn’t care about—nudged me again. “Clock’s ticking, man. You stalling?”
I pushed off the wall too fast. The room tilted a little. My head buzzed, and my stomach roiled. I scanned the crowd, pretending to decide. Like I wasn’t already walking toward him.
Every step felt electric. Fucked. Final.
He watched me come closer with wide eyes, one foot tucked under him like he might bolt. His boyfriend straightened up, uncertain, already tensing.
