The atmosphere in the room has shifted from playful game night to something heavier. Something protective and barely restrained.
"Hmm." I try for a light laugh that comes out more nervous than intended. "Maybe that was too dark of lore for truth or dare. We can go back to asking about embarrassing firefighter calls if you want."
"All I need is a name," Tank says, his voice low and dangerous—the voice of a man who has killed before and would do so again without hesitation. "And I can kill him by morning. Make it look like an accident. I have training."
"I'm sure my boys at the station can help hide the body," Elias adds, completely serious, all sunshine gone from his tone. "We know a lot of remote locations. Lots of places a person could disappear forever."
"And I can ensure an investigation never happens," Julian finishes, his tone ice cold and businesslike. "I have lawyers. Very good, very expensive, very morally flexible lawyers. They've made problems disappear before."
Oh my god. They're actually planning a murder. A coordinated, multi-step murder. Over a burned shed. Over me.
And the terrifying part is, I genuinely believe they would do it.
"No!" I hold up both hands in surrender. "Absolutely not! No murder mysteries becoming reality for Valentine's Day, thank you very much. I appreciate the sentiment, truly, deeply, from the bottom of my heart—but I'd rather not spend the holiday visiting you all in prison. Orange is not my color and neither is jumpsuit gray."
They exchange glances that suggest they're filing this information away for later rather than actually abandoning the idea. Tank's fists haven't unclenched.
Note to self: never give them actual names. They will absolutely commit crimes.
"Alright, new question," Elias says, visibly forcing himself to relax. "What would you actually want to do these last few weeks leading up to Valentine's Day? Hypothetically. If you could do anything."
I feel heat creep up my cheeks. "I actually... made a list. A stupid list. Ruby told me to just write down things I wanted to try, experiences I wanted to have." I wave a hand dismissively. "But I don't know where I put it, so maybe it wasn't meant to be."
Julian reaches into his pocket and produces a folded piece of paper.
I recognize it immediately. The pink paper. Ruby's handwriting in the margins. My own chaotic list scrawled in the center.
"YOU TOOK IT!" I lunge toward him, but he holds it out of reach with infuriating ease.
"I didn'ttakeit," Julian corrects primly. "I was cleaning up and found it while you were sleeping on my couch. I had to endure the agonizing torture of carrying you to the bed so you wouldn't have aching muscles in the morning before your shift at the bakery."
I groan, burying my face in my hands. "You're making it sound like I'm heavy!"
"Nah," Tank interjects, smirking. "Julian's just weak as fuck."
"Go fuck yourself."
Before Julian can use the list as blackmail—which is clearly where this is heading—Elias snatches the paper from his hand with firefighter reflexes. He unfolds it, scanning the contents, and his expression shifts from curiosity to genuine interest.
"Hey, this is actually doable," he says.
I'm already blushing furiously. "No, it's probably stupid! Ruby just told me to write things down, to offer to try, but we don't have to do anything! It was just a brainstorming exercise, not an actual?—"
"We'll do it," Elias interrupts. He folds the paper and tucks it into his pocket. "I won't read the whole thing right now. But we'll pick one item from the list and make it happen. Each of us."
I gawk at him. "Some of them are unhinged! Like—" I try to remember what I wrote in my late-night fever dream of hopefulness. "Like getting matching tattoos! That's something we can't do when we barely know each other!"
The three of them shrug in perfect unison.
"Why not?" Tank asks.
I stare at them, horrified. "Are you all horny or drunk? Both? Which one?"
Tank's smirk widens. "Could be either. Or both. Haven't decided yet."
"Take your hard-on elsewhere!" Elias groans, throwing a pillow at him. "No sex things tonight. We agreed. This is a pack bonding experience, not an orgy."
Julian stands abruptly, brushing invisible lint from his clothes. "I'm going to bed. I have a modeling shoot in the morning and I need actual beauty sleep." He points accusingly at Tank. "So don't wake the whole house with your masturbating grunts."
