“Derrick-tion.”
“You used the direction pun already,” I point out.
“Yeah, I ran out, Ilagan.”
His nose slightly scrunches when he hears me laugh. “Seems like the game made you feel better, though.”
I focus back on scowling.Don’t admit that, Nika.One boy shouldn’t be enough to distract me from my misery.
When he suggests we play something else, I say, “What, you want to play the ice game again?”
Heat creeps up my neck when I realize how that sounded. “Stop,” I warn Seph when he looks all smug.
“What? I didn’t say anything.”
“It was recency bias. Only thought of the game because the soiree just happened.”
“Again, didn’t say anything.”
“I wasn’t suggesting the game so we could hold—”
I catch myself before digging myself into an even bigger hole.
But he’s still annoyingly smiling. “So we could hold what, Ilagan?”
Scowling for real this time. “Wasn’t your whole mission about making me feel better?”
Seph finally drops it and mentions that we never got to play Never Have I Ever at the soiree. I only put up my palms so he doesn’t tease me about the ice game again.
He follows suit and raises his fingers. “Never have I ever… gone through watching my mom move on with someone else.”
I quickly drop my hands. “Nope.”
“Have you talked to Auntie Beth about it?” he asks. “I’m sure she’d understand where you’re coming from.”
My mouth twists. “Moseph, I really don’t like talking about this.”
“You know, it’s unhealthy to keep everything to yourself.”
“Excuse you. I embody vulnerability.”
He crosses his arms. “Yeah? Are you sure the vulnerability is inthisbody?”
I scowl when he looks so proud of his wordplay. “Fine, fine.” I hold up my hands again so we can move on from talking about my parents. “Never have I ever…noteaten from the siopao boxes Ma gives you.”
Seph pauses. “That’sall you’re giving me?” he asks, flabbergasted. “I ask for vulnerability, and you’re giving me siopaos?”
“It was a struggle for me to eat all those siopaos,” I point out. Ever since my Dr. Derrick boycott, it’s been harder to chew with my right molars.
He then nods toward my hands. “Still your turn.”
“I just went.”
“That doesn’t count.”
I shake my head, not budging. “I don’t seeyouconfessing anything.”
Seph considers this. “Confess something, huh?
