CHAPTER SEVEN
THE THREE OFus were well past tipsy by the time we cleaned up after dinner and headed into the living room. Guests arrived intermittently, each with a bottle of alcohol or a case of beer, as we stood around the living room and Damien welcomed them in. Alex hung back, talking quietly to one of the men who had arrived early, while Damien dragged me through the growing crowd of people and introduced me. At first, I wished I could go stand by Alex and pretend to be invisible, but after a few minutes I was laughing and talking, feeling welcomed into this new group. Not all of them seemed to know each other, but some did, and everyone else warmed up quickly thanks to the sizable heap of liquor bottles that had grown on the kitchen counter.
I sipped on my drink—peach vodka and 7up—as I spoke with a man named Jerrod about the program I was in at the college. He had graduated a couple years earlier, he said, and was working in marketing at the same company Damien and Alex were.
“You know,” he said, “they could probably get you a job there too if you’re interested.” I was about to tell him that I wouldn’t be in town much longer after I graduated and ask him what exactly the two of them did working there, but before I could say anything, Damien swooped in and wrapped his arms around me. I leaned into his warmth and relished the jolt of delicious electricity that seemed to run through my body every time he touched me. I had never had a man be so open about touching me in public, and I loved it.
“What are you guys talking about?” Damien asked, his arms still casually wrapped around me.
“Oh, just school and work. Nothing exciting,” I answered. I hadn’t told him that I was moving in a couple months, and I didn’t really want to tell him right now. Even though we hadn’t spent much time together, I felt strangely attached to him and Alex, and already the idea of leaving them saddened me.
“Well, what do you think we should do now?” Damien asked, scanning the area casually. I shrugged in response. At this point, about 7 other people lingered around the room, some clearly couples and some flying solo. The only thing I knew was that I wanted to be with Damien and Alex, close to them.
“Let’s play Truth or Dare.” Alex’s coarse, seductive voice came from behind me.
I snort-laughed as I turned to face him. “What are we, twelve?”
“What’s wrong?” He asked, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. “Are you scared?”
“Pffft. Why would I be scared? I played this game plenty when I was in middle school. It got boring even then, and I was all doped up on new teenage hormones.”
“Then let’s see if we can make it a little more . . . Interesting than the last time you played.”
I agreed to his proposition, laughing, confident in the fact that this would be ridiculous and over within ten minutes. The boys gathered everyone into a rough circle around the living room, with Damien to my left and Alex to my right. We sat on the floor with a few other people, letting most of the other guests take the couch and armchair.
“Alright, ground rules,” Damien announced. “One: if you won’t answer a question for ‘truth,’ you drink. Two, if you won’t do a dare, you take a shot.” We all nodded in agreement. “And three: If you get to three shots or five drinks, you lose and you’re out. And then the other players decide your fate.” He smiled devilishly at the last statement, and a few people chuckled.
I was starting to feel slightly nervous, thinking of all the dares that adult men could challenge me to, but I wasn’t about to back down now. “Fair enough.” Alex and a few other group members nodded their heads in agreement.
“Then let’s get started. Ladies first.” He gave me a wink as he held up his cup in a feigned toast toward me.
“Alright, Damien, you’re my first victim, then. Truth or dare?” It felt so silly to say those words aloud, but at the same time, the energy of the room had changed into something charged with tension and excitement. Everyone was probably thinking about the possibilities, good or bad, of what this could lead to.
“Truth.”
“What the hell do you do for work?” I asked. “And be specific. Don’t give me that vague shit you said last week.” I could feel eyes on me now, but I looked only at Damien.
He looked taken aback, clearly not expecting the direction I went in. I bet he was hoping for something sexual. “Well, uh,” he paused, clearly nervous, “Alex and I actually own the company I told you I worked at. We started it a few years ago with one of our friends. So . . . we don’t do much now, besides handle the bigger problems that come around. Mostly business stuff.” He barely met my eyes, seemingly uncomfortable.
“What? That’s so cool!” Why would he have been hesitant to tell me that? He gave me a half-smile in response, looking around awkwardly. He should be proud, I thought, why is he acting weird about it? A pang of guilt hit me at this odd reaction he was having. I hadn’t meant to make him uncomfortable.
Alex sat to my right and broke the silence, saying, “My turn.” He turned to face one of the girls in the group who I had been introduced to earlier. She was petite, with long blonde hair and lightly tanned skin. “Laura, Truth or dare?”
“Truth,” she said softly.
He thought for a moment, then spoke. “What’s the most ridiculous thing a customer has asked of you while you’re working?”
A blush stained her cheeks as she thought of a response. “Well, one guy, who was probably my grandpa’s age, tried to bribe me with a few hundred dollars to piss on stage in the middle of my set. That was really awkward. Obviously I didn’t do it,” she added quickly. A few of the group members laughed in good spirits, and she smiled bashfully.
“She’s a stripper,” Damien whispered to me.
“Yeah, I kind of figured. She mentioned creepy old men and being on stage. That kind of gave it away,” I whispered back. He elbowed me playfully in the ribs then gave me a quick peck on the cheek. I breathed a sigh of relief that his discomfort from a minute ago seemed to have gone away.
The game slowly made its way through the circle, most people choosing to pick on the people they already knew. A part of me still felt like I was intruding on a party where everyone else already knew each other, even though I knew that wasn’t actually the case.
“Serena.” The sound of my name startled me, as we were only halfway through the circle. I looked up at the girl who said my name, a beautiful brunette with a smoky, sultry voice and an hourglass figure that could easily capture anyone’s interest. If I had remembered correctly, her name was Amber. Damien had briefly introduced us earlier before whisking me away to somewhere else.
“Yeah?”
“Truth or dare?” She asked with a playful smile.
“Hmm . . . Dare.”
“I dare you to kiss me.” Wait, what? She had come here with a man on her arm. Did she actually want me to kiss her? Either way, I wasn’t about to give up a point on a dare. I looked over at Damien, then Alex. They both seemed slightly surprised and very interested in the possible turn of events.
It had been a long time since I had kissed a woman. Years. And I had only done it once. But she was beautiful, and I was a little bit drunk, so I got up on my knees and crawled across the floor toward her, closing the ten feet between us and wiggling my ass more than necessary since I was sure Damien and Alex were watching from behind.
I approached her slowly, looking into her green eyes, and she gave me a flirty smile. Stopping a few inches from her face, I sat up on my knees, butterflies buzzing in my stomach. It’s just a kiss, don’t seem so nervous, I told myself. She leaned forward, and her lips grazed mine, soft and sweet. I had expected it to be a short, innocent thing, but her lips stayed connected with mine as she trailed her hand around my waist, stopping at the small of my back and drawing me in. Gentle at first, then pulling me in tightly, her hand still on my lower back as the other traced up and down my upper thigh.
She moaned softly into my mouth as we kissed and she gently pushed me back to the carpeted floor and straddled me. I could feel everyone’s eyes on us as we moved in tandem, her soft curves against my own. My hips rolled as she straddled me, heat pooling between my legs. A small gasp escaped me as she took my bottom lip between her teeth.
“Alright, that’s enough,” a deep, commanding voice interrupted. Alex. Another man—Amber’s boyfriend, maybe—gently grabbed her arm and pulled her off of me. I figured the men would have enjoyed watching that, but apparently not all of them did. “Who’s next?” He asked gruffly.