Julian has his hands on her hips, whispering in her ear and forcing her back towards his chest. Even drunk, she looks mildly uncomfortable to be in his arms while in our presence. And it shows as she squirms out of his hold. She smiles at him and places a chaste kiss on his cheek to make up for it.
He doesn’t let her off the hook. He literally grabs her face in two hands and plunges his tongue in her mouth.
“Hey, Julius, sit the fuck down,” Loren snaps. Thank you, Loren.
I don’t ask why Loren just mispronounced Julian’s name. Everyone knows Lo’s favorite comic book character is Julian Keller from X-Men, and Lo has declared (to the entire townhouse) that Daisy’s boyfriend doesn’t deserve to share the same name as him.
Daisy puts her hands on Julian’s chest and breaks apart from him. Then she settles in her seat beside Ryke, Julian slouching on the other side of her. She sits up on the edge of the cushion so he can’t wrap his arm around her shoulder.
Connor’s lips brush my ear. “She’s okay. Lo and Ryke have an eye on him.”
I nod, realizing that I can’t fixate on my little sister all night, even though I see how much she just wants to push Julian into the snow and leave him there. But she’s not rude enough to do that.
I most definitely would.
“Ryke,” Scott urges. “Go.”
Ryke scratches his jaw. “Never have I ever…faked an orgasm.”
“That’s just mean,” Daisy says, reaching for a full shot.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have done it then,” he retorts.
“And hurt the guy’s feelings?”
Scott motions from the shots to me and I shake my head. I’ve had no reason to fake an orgasm with Connor. And he’s the only guy I’ve ever been with.
Connor holds me closer, and he leans forward and grabs the shot. I glare at him as he brings it to his lips. “Not with you,” he tells me. I’m not even sure how a guy can fake an orgasm, but he’s creative enough that I wouldn’t doubt him doing it for personal gain.
“That’s what they all say,” Scott adds like a five-year-old.
Ugh. His interjection immediately makes me side with Connor, believing my boyfriend more.
“I hate this game,” Lily complains, the only other person who lost this round. She looks down at her available clothes to remove.
“Really?” Ryke says. “You’re a sex addict. I honestly didn’t think you’d need to fake an orgasm.” He must have been trying to help her out.
“Not all guys are created like Loren Hale.”
“Jealous,” Daisy says.
Julian’s lips part in disbelief as he watches her.
“What, I never faked with you,” she lies easily and pecks him lightly on the cheek. She whispers something in his ear that relaxes his shoulders. She’s good at pleasing “people,” so I’m not surprised that skill has translated over to pleasing “boyfriends.”
“Here,” Loren says, grabbing a plaid flannel blanket off the large recliner he shares with Lily. He wraps it around her shoulders and cloaks her body from view. “Take off your sweater.”
“That’s breaking the rules,” Scott informs him from a rocking chair nearest the coffee table.
Loren glares. “Yeah, and maybe I’d abide by them if there wasn’t a goddamn camera in our faces.” He doesn’t want the world to see Lily in her underwear. None of us really do. There’s already enough sick fan mail sent to the house. It’s easy to assume what men would do to a near-naked image of her.
Lily skillfully pulls the sweater off from underneath the blanket and tosses it to the floor. She looks more at ease.
“Rose, it’s your turn,” Scott says.
“Never have I ever…peed in a sink.” Easy.
All the guys take a shot, except Ryke and Lo who strip. Ryke removes his shirt, and Lo pulls off an arrowhead necklace.
And then Daisy reaches for another shot.
Both Ryke and Julian freeze and stare at her with raised brows while Connor and Lo try to contain their laughter. The booze is making my lips upturn more often than usual too.
“What?” She shrugs and throws the shot back, coughing a little as she sets the glass on the table.
“Explain,” Ryke says, handing her a shot of orange juice to chase the alcohol with.
She mouths, Thank you, before drinking that too. “I was at a party in New York,” she says, setting the glass down, “and I had to go badly but my friend was using the toilet. So I used the sink.” She touches her chest and hiccups. “I’m not weird.” She hiccups again. “You all did it.”
“We have dicks,” Ryke says bluntly.
“True.” She smiles.
I rest my head on Connor’s shoulder, the alcohol loosening my inhibitions that stay locked tight in front of others. He smells so good—his expensive cologne like citrus. “I love fruit,” I whisper to him. I imagine myself placing a kiss on his neck, but moving to do so sounds like so much work.
He stares at me with a growing smile. “I’ll keep that in mind, darling.”
“Never have I ever…been engaged,” Julian says, a cheap shot at Lily and Loren.
Lo glares at him while he pulls off his black long-sleeve shirt, and Lily wiggles off her pajama pants underneath the blanket.
Connor says, “Never have I ever…been cheated on.”
No one moves. And Scott blinks at Connor like he’s the devil incarnate, drama-blocking him.
My boyfriend just smiles. “Perfect.”
Scott prods Ben to say one from the kitchen. With a mouthful of chips, he says, “Never have I ever snorted coke.”
Lily sighs. “I hate this game.” Before she goes for her panties, she touches her hair and smiles, revealing a hidden bobby pin.
Lo strips down to his boxer-briefs, and Lily’s eyes gleam in excitement at seeing him almost naked. He shakes his head at her, but he can’t stop smiling.
In a wave, everyone takes shots. Scott, then Julian, then Daisy. And Ryke unclips his watch. Both Connor and I stay seated. I’m not surprised that almost everyone has experimented with drugs, but I’ve never had the urge to try out cocaine. And if someone peer pressured me, I’d say no, no. No. I really have no problem looking like the stuck-up prude in the room who refuses to blow a line with her friends. Hate me all you want. I’m not the one running around naked with dilated pupils.
Loren frowns at Connor. “You really haven’t snorted coke? Not even once?”
“I have a rule about drugs.”
“And what’s that?”
“Don’t do them.” He grins. “My body is a temple.”
“One that only Rose can enter,” Loren banters.
“I’ll let you in sometime, darling. Don’t worry.”
Loren laughs.
I roll my eyes, but I’m actually smiling at their “bromance” that has been heavily praised on blogs. People only like Connor when he’s with Loren. It’s weird. And I really don’t need another reason to be annoyed by Loren Hale, so I’ve let it go. Brushed it off the shoulder. Like dust.
Okay, I think I’m getting drunk.
Lo’s laugh fades quickly, and he stares off in thought. Since the screening party, he does this often. Just ending their quips with a silent, faraway gaze. As though remembering he’s supposed to be in a fight with Connor.
Ten minutes later, I have gained a serious buzz and we’ve reached Scott one last time. I verge on my limit, so I’m hoping he’s choosing a girl-friendly response. “Never have I ever…” His gaze pings from each of my sisters to me. “…swallowed a guy’s cum.”
“Fuck you,” Lo says, defending the three of us who Scott has been singling out the whole game.
Daisy’s eyelids droop a little as she reaches for her shot. She knocks over two more.