“As long as the bonding doesn’t require standing up,” Carl whined. “I get lightheaded.”
“Nothing physical,” she agreed. “Dale? Marsha?”
“I guess.”
“Whatever.”
“Great. I love the enthusiasm. Okay, everyone up and sit in a circle.”
Groans went up louder than I would have expected, but then the most vocal of them probably came from me. I had hoped we could bond lying down.
Once we were all in an upright position, Kenzie explained the game. “This is a team bonding exercise called Ten Fingers. Everyone hold up your hands.” We all did as instructed except Dale, who had sustained an injury to his pinky finger a few days earlier, and it now appeared to be hanging limply.
“Jesus, Dale.” I shook my head. “Is there any part of you that isn’t injured?”
“I can’t help it. I didn’t know I would be required to raise all ten fingers today, or I might have been doing some physical therapy in preparation,” he spat back.
“Quiet, boys. I’m trying to explain the rules. So I’m going to say something like ‘I’ve never kissed a dog,’ and if youhavekissed a dog, you put one finger down. In Dale’s case… we’ll just assume he’s kissed a dog.”
A low rumble of amusement burst forth from the five of us.
“So this is ‘Never have I ever’?” I asked. “The drinking game?”
“Yes, but we’ll be playing the kid’s version.”
“Ooh, I’m in,” I said, suddenly getting a new wind. Nothing I wanted more than to dig out a little filth from these people. “How dirty can we get?”
Kenzie glanced at the cameras. “Depends on how much you want your mom to know about you, I guess.”
I winced. “So PG-13?”
“That’s probably smart. Okay, so I’ll start. For Dale’s sake, we’ll get this one out of the way right now. Never have I ever broken a bone.”
Everyone but Kenzie lowered a finger. Dale’s limp, pathetic one stayed where it was. She gestured for Dale to go next.
“Never have I ever peed in a public pool.”
All fingers went down except Carl’s. He wrinkled his nose, flinching away from us. “Really? All of you? That’s absolutely repulsive.”
“Come on. You can’t tell me you haven’t peed in the ocean,” I pressed, honestly not understanding how someone could go through life without committing such an act.
His head snapped in my direction. “Never. Why? Have you?”
“Of course. Sometimes standing right next to you.”
Carl’s face turned hard and angry. Clearly he was not finding the fun in the game.
“Carl,” Kenzie soothed. “Why don’t you go next?”
“Never have I ever strangled someone who peed on me,” Carl barked, all the while glowering at me. He then lowered one finger in an attempt to intimidate me. Kenzie grabbed his hand and scolded him with her eyes.
“Okay, Carl. Not helpful. Next.”
“I’ve got one,” I offered. “Never have I ever had sex in the back of a cop car.”
Marsha lowered a finger. I gaped at her. She never ceased to amaze me.
“Okay, I just want to be clear that you understand the game, Marsha.”
