Page 67 of Game Night: Truth or Dare

2. Chapter Two

3. Chapter Three

4. Chapter Four

5. Chapter Five

6. Chapter Six

7. Chapter Seven

8. Chapter Eight

9. Chapter Nine

10. Chapter Ten

11. Chapter Eleven

About R.A. Frick

Chapter One

Miles

“Two iced coffees for Miles,” the cute barista called out. When I’d ordered, I noticed he was named Matty and had he and they pronouns on his name badge along with a Progress Pride pin. I made my way up to the counter and saw him eyeing my hair, which he commented on like most people did, “Love the rainbow. Is it a ton of upkeep?”

Matty had dark brown hair with matching eyes, both a rich coffee color befitting his position. His small frame was accentuated by an off-the-shoulder knit sweater and tight apron with the Pour Boys logo, but he was so not my type. Still, flirting was fun.

“It can be, but a girl needs a hobby,” I batted my eyes–my most striking feature, which were decidedly not matching with one brown and one blue—knowing I was safe to play up my gayness in a queer-owned coffee shop in San Francisco. I was still waiting for my friend who had suggested the spot, so I leaned on the counter under the guise of reaching for my drinks. Matty raised one eyebrow but didn’t reply. “What are your hobbies?”

“Riding motorcycles with my fiancé,” Matty answered without missing a beat. I chuckled at his brush-off, glad he didn’t look bothered by my flirting.

“Miles, quit hitting on Matty,” a familiar voice called out, and I turned to see my blue-haired friend approaching from the entrance. Cielo wore a purple wrap dress over polka dot leggings and ankle boots that somehow all worked together. They saw the second cup by my hand and picked it up. “Oh, did you order for me? Thank you.”

“Cielo, good to see you,” Matty greeted before I could, my friend clearly a regular.

Cielo sipped their drink and hummed in appreciation before pointing at me. “Miles isn’t bothering you, is he? Because I invited him here and I can’t have him scaring off my favorite Beanocchio.”

“Hey,” I protested, but they both ignored me.

“Not at all,” Matty assured Cielo before turning to the customer who was walking up to the register. “Enjoy your coffee.”

“You really are a wanton flirt,” Cielo smirked to let me know he was only teasing me, and I rolled my eyes. “Did you happen to grab us a table, Casanova?”

“I did, brat.” I turned and led Cielo to the corner table where I’d left my bag to save the spot. They followed and took the seat facing the room. The seat I’d been sitting in before Cielo arrived. “Your daddies spoil you.”

“I know. Isn’t it awesome?” Cielo fluttered their mascara-clad lashes and continued drinking their iced coffee through the compostable straw. You had to drink fast with those or they started to fall apart, so I pulled out my metal straw from my messenger bag. “Oh, you’re smart.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” I took the opposite chair and smiled back, mollified from the earlier insult on my character. Really, I was a flirt, and couldn’t deny it. “Are you ready to help me with my super-duper, extra exciting taxes?”

“It’s what I do, darling.”

Cielo set his coffee down and reached for the pile of papers I pulled out of my bag. I opened my tablet screen to the file of things I’d saved digitally, and he took that as well. We knew each other through mutual friends, but this was the first time I accepted the offer of help with my complex tax forms. Working for newspapers, publishing my own comics, and taking commissions meant it was too complicated for me to do myself.

Two years out of art school and I was making a living, despite the dire warnings of how pointless an art degree was from my uncle Harold. My parents hadn’t understood my love of graphic design and manga, but they were always supportive.

“This doesn’t look too bad,” Cielo interrupted my wandering thoughts as he set the stack back down between us. “Mind if I forward these files to myself?”

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