I sit back and watch Kellan look over her tight skinny jeans and black high heels. She wears a black top to match that is low cut, showing off her tits. She looks like she’s getting ready to go have drinks with her girlfriends at a bar, not draw a dare.
Shane passes out a piece of paper to each of us. I lean over and whisper into Deke’s ear. “Leave it blank.”
He nods and folds it up.
One at a time, we each get up and drop them into the bowl. When we’re all done, she draws.
Her eyes instantly go to mine. I refrain from smiling.
“What does it say?” Kellan demands.
“Nothing,” she replies and tosses it the ground. She draws again.
“You can’t draw more than once,” I say as I stand.
“What the hell?” she demands when she opens the folded piece of paper and looks at Deke. He says nothing.
“You guys can’t do that,” Kellan snaps at us.
“Actually, they can,” Bennett says with a smile. And I wonder if he had the same idea as we did.
She reaches in and draws again. I go to rip it out of her hand, but she opens it up and reads it out loud. “As dark as night, as red as light. Let’s take a match and make it shine bright. Consequence- you must show the world your darkest secret.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I snap.
“It’s a riddle,” Kellan says with a smile.
“I fucking know that!” I growl. “What the fuck does it mean?”
“I don’t know. It’s not my dare. Shane?” He looks at him.
My eyes narrow on Shane. “What does it mean?” I demand.
“I don’t have to answer that.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “She will find out soon enough.”
_________________________________
Monday afternoon, we all sit at the lunch table. Becky and Austin talk about a test we had today while Deke speaks to me. I completely tune him out.
“So I spoke to Celeste when I got home last night, and she’s throwing me a birthday party.”
Becky frowns. “Is that what you want?”
She shrugs. “Not really but she is kissing my ass. And she feels a birthday party will help it.”
“When is your birthday?” I ask her, wanting her to tell me. But I already know. Turns out that Facebook page I made came in handy.
She ignores me and takes a bite of her cheeseburger.
“When’s your birthday?” Deke asks her.
Of course, she answers him. “March seventeenth.”
His eyes widen. “St. Paddy’s day?” She nods. “Holy shit! What a day to have a birthday. Plus, that’s this Saturday.” She nods. “And it’s the start of spring break.”
“It’s not a big deal.” She brushes it off.
“You’re gonna be eighteen. Of course, it’s a big deal,” Becky says. “I’ll come over and help you decorate.”
“I’ll post it on social media. It’ll be fun,” he says with a smile.
She sighs but takes another bite of her cheeseburger.
The bell rings, and everyone gets up. “Austin? Can I have a minute?” I ask.
She looks over at me. “No.”
I grab her hand when she goes to pull away. “I need to talk to you …”
“Well, I have nothing to say,” she says before turning and walking away from me.
I fist my hand and slam it on the table. I’m not sure how much longer I can take her ignoring me. It’s eating at me. Driving me crazy. I don’t like it. She can’t avoid me forever. I’ll get to her one way or another.
AUSTIN
“Wake up! Wake up!”
I groan at Becky’s annoying, chipper voice. “What are you doing?”
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” she yells, jumping on my bed. Her blond hair going everywhere. “Now it’s time for you to wake up. I made breakfast.”
“You can cook?” I ask, pulling the covers up over my head.
“Of course, silly.” She laughs. “Come on. It’s downstairs.”
“I think the birthday girl is supposed to get breakfast in bed,” I say, yawning.
She just laughs and yanks the covers off me.
I groan as I sit up. I reach over to my nightstand and check my phone. “It’s not even nine yet,” I call out.
“We have a busy day,” she yells from the stairs.
Becky stayed the night with me last night for us to ring in my birthday. We stayed up watching scary movies and talking about boys. Well, I’m still not talking to Cole, so I just listened to her talk about how much she loves Deke. It was exhausting, to say the least.
I make my way downstairs and into the formal dining room. Becky sits at the table with two plates. Both have pancakes on them, but the one in front of my seat is stacked six high with eighteen individual candles on them.
“You couldn’t find a one and an eight?” I ask with a laugh.
“This way is more fun.” She winks at me, then grabs the can of whipped cream that sits in the middle. She shakes it up before leaning over the table and spraying the top of the pancakes. Then she lights them. “Make a wish and get to blowing.”