Page 55 of The Fall Before Flight

“Hell no!” interjects Kinsey. “Girl, get your ass over here. I’m reliving the youth I never had!”

And then comes the ultimate torture in the form of a deep, teasing tone. “Are you scared, Amelia?”

My eyes snap to Leo. Yes, you asshat. And do you really want to play? Did you forget how badly I want to break you? His smile slowly fades, though his gaze doesn’t waver from my face. Steady challenge issues from his shadowed eyes.

Declan, who’s sitting beside Leo, looks between the two of us, his brows lifting. Then he laughs. “Doc, your balls are definitely bigger than mine. If she were looking at me like that, I’d probably beg for my life.”

“Pleeease, Mia?” begs Kinsey.

“Yeah, come on,” adds Tiffany.

Callum squawks like a chicken. I break eye contact with Leo and stomp forward. Plopping cross-legged on the ground, I snatch a marshmallow from a pack and stab it with a stick.

“Commence the bonding,” I announce, then point my stick-impaled marshmallow around me. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Oh, oh, I’ll start!” chirps Kinsey. Her knees bounce as she chews her lip in thought. “Mia, truth or dare.”

I flip her off and everyone laughs. “Truth.”

“Really?” whispers Callum, surprised at my choice.

I’m surprised, too. It just slipped out.

Frank clears his throat loudly. “Do we need to lay down some ground rules?”

Kinsey waves him off. “No. I’ll go easy. So, Mia… most embarrassing memory, please.”

“Boring,” mutters Declan.

I don’t even have to think about the answer. “When I was in eighth grade, I got my period for the first time in the middle of class while wearing white pants. I didn’t know it had happened until I stood up and a boy behind me screamed that I’d pooped blood and was dying.”

When the laughter fades, I look around the group, squashing my first impulse to pick Leo. “Tiffany, truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“Hmm. Okay, I dare you to braid Frank’s beard.”

Both Tiffany and Frank groan in protest, but the result is worth it. The attention is off me, and Frank’s biker-long beard sits in a perfect French braid.

Declan goes next, then Callum, then Preston. Frank dares Declan to eat a raw egg, which is produced from a cooler and downed with disappointing ease. Callum and Preston both choose truth, but the mood stays light, both the questions and their answers funny.

“Okay, um, Doctor Chastain?” asks Preston hesitantly. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Do you have any hobbies? If so, what are they?”

“Come on, P-man!” exclaims Callum. “That’s totally lame.”

Preston shrugs indifferently.

“Yes, I do have hobbies,” answers Leo. “I like to hike, mountain bike, kayak… really anything outdoors. Let’s see, I also collect books—first editions—and my favorite evenings are spent reading at home, listening to jazz and smoking an imported cigar.”

Everyone gets a kick out of the response, especially Kinsey. “Do you also enjoy romantic dinners and sunset walks on the beach?”

Leo grins, eyes sparkling. My stomach tightens and drops to my toes. I can’t take it anymore. I just can’t.

I leap to my feet. “I’m going to bed,” I announce and beeline for the tent amidst surprised protest.

---