BLUE
Blue: Merry Christmas, Beautiful.”
Jules: Merry Christmas, BJ! Speaking of BJs, how’s the trip going so far? 😉
Blue: Lol things are great! Day one, the whole family stopped over for a seafood boil. Then, yesterday, we mostly chilled. West’s grandpa did teach us how to make authentic, Louisiana beignets, though.
Jules: Ohhhh… make me some when you get home!
Blue: Honestly, I just handed him ingredients, then ate like three when they were done. I swear I’m still full. But that didn’t stop me from eating two bowls of gumbo for dinner.
Jules: Who cares? You’re on vacation!
Blue: I’m gonna have to wear pants with elastic waistbands for like a month lol
Jules: And West wouldn’t even notice. Boy’s blinded by love.
Blue: The feeling’s definitely mutual.
Jules: Get anything good under the tree this morning?
The question has my gaze shifting to the corner of our shared bedroom, where a gift bag with my name on the tag rests on top of my empty suitcase. The family got each of us girls an expensive handbag and gift cards so we wouldn’t have a ton of stuff to lug home, but my favorite thing came from West; a custom, gold bracelet with three charms dangling from the chain.
A flame symbolizing the first time we laid eyes on each other at the Bellvue bonfire. A milkshake to symbolize the first time we kissed at the diner, after West accused me of spitting in the one I served him. Granted, I was definitely guilty of messing with his drink, but he deserved it. The third is a heart because, according to him, I’ll always have his.
Blue: I’ll show you everything when I get home.
Jules: K. So happy you’re happy. Wish I could be there 🙁
Blue: Next time.
Jules: Definitely! Now go enjoy your man and your Christmas. Love you, woman!
Blue: Love you right back. Apparently, I have a game of truth or dare to get to. Wish me luck <3
I set my phone in the nightstand drawer, then rush downstairs. From what I can hear, the family’s gotten much livelier since dinner, so I follow the noise and I find our crew and the five wild ones we met a couple nights ago settled in the great room. The massive, mahogany fireplace is roaring and the gang’s getting riled up for what I’m told will be the most invasive game of truth or dare I’ve ever played in my life.
Should be fun.
Not really.
I scan the room for Scarlett and find Linden—the persistent one—sitting beside her on the hearth. He’s leaned forward with both elbows on his knees, smiling while whatever he’s saying seems to be charming my sister’s pants off. Here’s hoping that summation isn’t a literal one.
She did a good job of keeping him at bay the other night, but I’m not sure how long she can keep it up. Yeah, she cares for Shane, but this boy looks like he could be just the heartbreaker to change her mind.
West spots me and halts his conversation with River and Stoney to slap a hand to the couch cushion. While I texted Jules, he saved me a seat between him and Joss. Shockingly, Dane’s got her laughing free and easy now, which means she’s feeling more like herself.
“It’s about time you brought your sexy ass back down here,” West groans in my ear. I settle in beside him, drawn to him like a bee to honey, but catch myself just shy of planting a kiss on his lips.
Scar’s in the room—although she isn’t paying me an ounce of attention—but I do try to behave myself in front of her.
Try.
West opts to kiss my neck instead. Heat from his mouth moves toward my collarbone and I nudge him to stop. If he keeps at it, we’ll never make it through this game. He pulls back with a smile, but I still feel his stare. He knows he gets to me.
Every damn time.
“All right, now that we’re all here, let the games begin,” Dane announces, grinning like he’s about to open another round of Christmas gifts. “Who wants to start?”
It doesn’t surprise me when none of us girls’ hands shoot up into the air. Nor does it surprise me when each of the wild five seem to be eager to get things going.
“I’ll go,” Beau volunteers.
“Okay, truth or dare?”
Zero thought goes into Beau’s response. “Dare.”
Dane smiles and reaches into his back pocket. “I dare you to let River draw a tattoo on your back with permanent marker. Then you’ve gotta walk through the parlor where the adults are hanging out.”
“Easy.” The next second, Beau slides his t-shirt up his back and tosses it to the floor.
Then, we all watch in horror as River writes the words, ‘I love pussy’ on his back in bold letters.
“There,” River proclaims with a smile. “Make sure Grandpa gets a good look at this.”
Completely unaware of what’s been written, Beau shrugs, then fearlessly heads across the foyer where all the older members of the family decided to congregate. We can’t see in, but we can certainly hear.
“What the hell is wrong with you boy? Get your narrow ass out of here with that foolishness!” Boone yells, half a second before Beau sprints back toward us, sliding across the freshly polished floor in his socks. He’s almost home free, but catches Boone’s slipper to his back when it’s hurled at him from some unseen place.
The eruption of laughter drowns out the sound of Beau sucking in air through his clenched teeth, a reasonable reaction to the sting of having a rubber sole slap against his bare skin.
“What the fuck does this shit say?” he wants to know, walking off the pain as he casts a frustrated glare toward River.
Instead of repeating the phrase, River snaps a pic of the ‘tattoo’ and shoots it to Beau in text.
“No wonder I almost got my ass beat,” Beau growls at River. “All right, your turn, motherfucker. Truth or dare?”
“Truth,” River answers.
“Fine. Why don’t you tell everyone when you last pissed yourself.”
River’s face turns bright red, and I’m already intrigued.
“First of all, let me preface my answer by stating that I was shitfaced,” he explains. “But since I’m not a pussy, I’ll just come out and say it. Three months ago. But also note that I passed out outside, so it’s not like I wet my bed and shit.”
“Does that make it any better?” Sterling asks.
Scar covers her mouth when she laughs, trying to hold back. Unlike the rest of us who have no problem further embarrassing the kid.
“Joss,” River says, clearly hoping to get the heat off himself. “Truth or dare?”
Joss strikes me as a ‘play it safe’ kind of girl, so I was beyond shocked with her choice.
“Dare,” she says, holding River’s gaze.
He seems pleasantly surprised, too. “Sweet! Take out your phone, call the last guy you screwed, and tell him you’re pregnant.”
Joss smiles. “Guess I get a pass, because there was no last guy. There’s never been any guy.”
“Bullshit,” River says with a frown.
Joss shakes her head. “I shit you not.”
As if all five share a brain, each of West’s cousins stare at her, as if they can’t possibly understand how a girl who looks like her managed to get through life unsullied. Then, on cue, their gazes shift to Dane in unison.
“It’s true,” he confirms.
“Well, damn. I guess you do get a pass,” River finally concedes. “Actually, no.”
My brow quirks when he speaks up, changing his mind.
He volleys a look between Joss and Dane before asking a question. “You two are just friends, right?” he asks.
Drawing in an uneven breath, Joss nods. “Yeah. Since we were kids.”
River’s wicked smile reminds me of Wests, which means trouble. “Fine. I dare you and Dane to kiss. And I’m not talking some weak-ass, kindergarten kiss,” he clarifies. “Sit in his lap and really get into that shit.”
While most are laughing and intrigued to see how this particular challenge will play out, I’m focused on Joss, feeling her anxiety as she finally gets up the nerve to look at Dane. When their eyes lock, I only see sympathy in his, genuine concern for the girl he calls his best friend. But for those of us who see how they are with each other… we know it’s much, much more than that.
“You don’t have to do this,” he says quietly, holding Joss’s gaze.
She breathes deep again, but sucks up whatever she’s feeling for the sake of the game.
“No, it’s fine. Really.”
She says that, but the look on her face says otherwise.
I remember our talk clearly from the other day. She didn’t deny feeling something for Dane, but did make it clear she thinks they’re wrong for each other. She also insisted on not risking their friendship to find out if that’s true.
With all eyes on her, she stands from the couch and straightens her Rudolph tee over the waistband of the black stretch-pants she changed into after dinner. Dane’s eyes are glued to her, lowering with Joss as she straddles him in the giant armchair he chose at the start of the game.
I can’t help but wonder, is this the closest they’ve ever gotten? Sure, I’ve seen them hug before, but this is certainly more intimate than a hug.
Now face-to-face, Joss presses both palms to either side of Dane’s neck. Breathing wildly, she inches closer. His hands lift from where he once seemed resolved to keep them at his sides, deciding to take a chance holding her waist. They’re so close now that ringlets from her bangs touch his forehead. His chest rises when he draws in a breath and there’s barely enough space between her lips and his to slide a sheet of paper. But then, right before crossing the point of no return…
“I can’t,” she announces, letting her eyes fall closed while she and Dane continue to hold one another.
“I knew it,” River says with a deep laugh.
There’s a clear sense of regret in Joss’s expression. Is it that she’s sorry she let the dare go as far as it did? Or… is she upset she didn’t have the nerve to go through with it? Either way, I feel for the girl.
Positively mortified, she mouths a heartfelt, “I’m sorry,” to Dane.
He, of course, assures her he’s not mad, going as far as to pull her in for a hug. She buries her face in his shoulder before attempting to stand, but he stops her.
“Actually, hang on a sec,” Dane says, taking hold of her arm before she rises.
She seems confused, but not West. That triplet thing where they read each other’s minds kicks in again. All it takes is a quick glance from Dane, and West tosses him a throw pillow. Before letting Joss go, he wedges it between them, and now I get it.
Yup. Definitely hiding a boner.
“You lose. That means you get a penalty,” River announces, rubbing the failure in Joss’s face.
Heading straight for the shot glasses sitting on the bar against the far wall, he fills it to the brim with a hot sauce so hot they swear it’ll make you wish for death.
Slowly, Joss makes her way over and, after staring at the glass for a few seconds, she downs it.
Right away, she looks like she is in fact wishing for death.
“My go again,” River says. “West, truth or dare?”
“I don’t trust you fuckers. Truth,” he answers.
River looks visibly disappointed.
“Fine. Sorry in advance, Blue, but this is something I’ve been wondering for a couple years now,” he says before glaring at West. “The last time you visited, did you screw that chick who stopped by with her grandmother? I think the lady was an old friend of Aunt Sheryl.”
West sighs and shakes his head. “No, that didn’t happen.”
“She had to have at least sucked you off or something,” River insists. “You two were behind the house for a long time.”
“Well, good thing you only get one damn question,” West groans, shooting River a hateful look. “Now, it’s my turn. Linden, truth or dare?”
Linden peers up from his phone, tucking it away before he answers, “Uh… dare. Why not.”
“Pass your phone to Scar and let her read whatever text just came through,” West says, prompting my sister to hold her hand out with a grin.
Linden smiles back and there’s a certain level of chemistry I see brewing between them, which means they’ve clearly warmed up to one another.
“Brace yourself,” Linden teases, to which Scar responds with a light nudge of her knee.
She stares at the screen and reads. “It says: ‘The vid Kyle posted of the band’s last gig got a ton of hits and brought new faces to The Loft! Rue’s itching to get you guys in to do another set. Got any free weekends coming up?’ And… scene,” Scar adds with a smile when she finishes and passes Linden’s phone back.
West’s attempt at embarrassing the guy turned out to be one more thing for Scar to fawn over.
Shit.
“Tell him we’re open in a few weeks,” Keaton pipes up.
Linden finally manages to tear his eyes away from Scar long enough to reply to the text. Then, when he’s done, he has her right back in his sights.
“Scarlett, truth or dare?” he asks.
It doesn’t surprise me even a little that he chose her.
“Truth,” she answers.
Good girl.
That sly, you-know-you-want-me grin of his is back. “Fine. What’s your favorite part of the male body?” he asks.
Scar flushes red and I’m biting my tongue, hearing her voice in my head, screaming ‘I’m not a kid, Blue!’. Only, she is to me, and I probably won’t feel any differently about that when she’s thirty.
The triplets are staring Linden down almost as harshly as I am. Like I said, they slipped into big-brother mode pretty deep.
“Well,” Scar starts, “I’d have to say… a guy’s hands.”
Linden tilts his head and mouths something and I can’t hear him, but I swear I just read his lips saying, “For now.”
My lips part, ready to rip him a new asshole when Boone steps into the room.
“West, got a moment? Figured we should talk before I get too much bourbon in my system. I have some things I need to show you,” Boone announces.
West passes a glance toward me before meeting his grandfather’s gaze. “Sure, we’re just hanging out.”
He stands and I wasn’t expecting to be invited, but he has my hand, gently tugging me to my feet.
Before making an exit, I put Joss in charge of watching over Scar, then we leave the group behind and head into a dimly lit room at the end of the hallway. There’s a box with folders stacked inside, which means at least some of Vin’s truths are about to be revealed.
I don’t know whether I should be relieved or afraid, but either way, there’s no turning back now.
