Once we had our refills, we sat back down in front of the fire on the pillows we’d laid out there, and Moose curled up beside me again, wagging his tail gently when I rubbed the fur on his neck.
“Okay, truth or dare?” I asked when we were settled.
River laughed. “You’re so excited. You look like a kid who just got turned loose in Disneyland.”
“Answer the question.”
Another laugh. “Truth.”
“Lame,” I teased, but then I tapped my chin, looking up to the ceiling as I thought of a question. “Oh! I know.” I pointed my finger at his chest. “That one day that I walked in on you in our bedroom and you were all out of breath and naked, had you really just finished a workout and you were getting in the shower, or were you masturbating?”
His eyes went wide as saucers, and he barked out a laugh. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
“Answer the question, mister.”
“Both.”
I arched a brow. “Both?”
“I had just worked out. And I was getting in the shower,” he said, smirking. “But I also might have had a little one-on-one time in-between those two things.”
“I knew it!” I giggled. “You were so jumpy when I walked in. Also, no fair, didn’t invite me to the party.” I stuck my bottom lip out in a pout.
River just laughed me off, taking a big drink of his nog. “Your turn. Truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
He shook his head like he already knew. Then, after a long pause, he said, “I dare you to take a shot.”
“Done.”
“Of gin.”
At that, I grimaced. “Riverrrrr…noooo.”
“Does that mean you’re using your pass?”
I narrowed my eyes, determined when I stood. “Hell no. Pour the shot, big boy.”
He did, and I took it, and promptly had to cover my mouth and squeeze my eyes shut to avoid vomiting. Once the terrible liquid had settled in my gut, I chased it with some water and a little eggnog before it was River’s turn again.
This time, he chose dare.
“I dare you to stick your bare ass to that window and hold it there for sixty seconds,” I said, pointing to the window on the other side of the Christmas tree. Sure, it was dark. And sure, no one lived close enough on either side of River’s cabin that anyone would see.
But I knew that window was freezing cold.
River groaned, looking up to the ceiling.
“You can pass,” I teased. “If you’re too chicken.”
“You wish,” he said, and then he hopped up off the floor, and without another ounce of hesitation, he yanked his sweatpants and boxers down in one strong pull.
“River!” I said, laughing as I shielded my eyes.
“Just doing my dare.”
I laughed again, shaking my head, and I swear I only peeked a little through the slits of my fingers as he walked away from me, watching each glorious muscle of his toned ass move with him.
When he got to the window, he turned to face me, using his hands to shield his member. “Alright, you can look, ya big baby.” He chuckled. “Not like you haven’t seen it before.”
I rolled my eyes once they were uncovered, and then with a deep breath, River leaned back until his ass was on the window.
He sucked in a breath, eyes shooting open wide. “Fuck me, that’s cold!”
I cackled, and that laughter stayed with me for the whole sixty seconds as he bounced a little, squeezing his eyes closed, cursing over and over, all the while holding his junk and pressing his ass against that window.
I may have counted slower than necessary, but once I hit sixty, he hopped back over to his pants and pulled them on quickly while I looked away, keeping my eyes on my eggnog, instead.
“That was just cruel,” he said when he was clothed again, standing and holding his butt toward the fire. “Laugh while you can, because I’m going to get you back. Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
He glared at me. “Now who’s chicken shit?”
I stuck my tongue out, sipping on my eggnog while I waited for him to ask his question.
“Alright,” he said, plopping down in front of me on the floor again. “How many people have you slept with?”
My jaw hinged open. I waited for him to make a comment, or laugh, but he just watched me unflinchingly, waiting.
I could have used my skip. Part of me wanted to use my skip. But I had no idea what the rest of this game would hold, and I had a feeling I should hold onto those passes for something worse.
I swallowed. “One.”
River’s gaze didn’t change. His forest eyes held mine until I could no longer stand the way he stared at me, the way he was looking through my answer like there was something more behind it.
No, I hadn’t slept with anyone else.
No, it didn’t mean anything.
Other than I had been too busy seeing the world to care about hooking up with anyone.