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“What?” She looks at me. “This thing is boring as shit. Might as well drink something to lighten up the mood.”

They all start to sit down, but I keep standing. “I think I’ll go back. I don’t drink.”

“Party pooper,” Andrew taunts. “Really, Dotty? It’s just a little game. No harm in that.”

Hand curls around my wrist, and without having much of an option, I’m pulled down and almost fall in Derek’s lap. I want to scoot a bit to the side, but his hand doesn’t leave mine so I don’t have much choice but to stay glued to his side.

“Now let’s start.” He looks me straight in the eyes. “Never have I ever smoked pot.”

He pulls from the bottle and gives it to Jeanette. “Aren’t you supposed to say something you’ve never done?” Her perfect eyebrow rises in question.

“When would I get buzzed like that?”

She shakes her head but follows his suit, taking one healthy swallow, before giving the bottle to her brother. He looks at her disapprovingly and passes the bottle to me. I look down at the amber liquid. The strong smell overwhelming my senses and making me gag without liquid even touching my lips.

“Did you do it?” Derek asks me.

I look up from the bottle and find him so close to me that it startles me. I swallow down the big lump that formed in my throat and shake my head no.

Slowly, a small smile breaks on his lips. Not taking his eyes off of me, he brushes my fingers away from the bottle and brings it to his lips. After swallowing a bit of liquid, he gives it to Brook who does the same.

“You tried pot?” I ask, surprised. “When?”

She shrugs like it’s not a big deal. It makes me wonder how well I really know her. How many secrets has she hidden from me and everybody else? Dark and scary secrets that tear you apart.

I frown at her but let it slide.

And so we do a few rounds of the game, bottle traveling from one hand to another while we say silly stuff like, never have I ever laughed until something I was drinking came out of my nose or never have I ever threw up after drinking too much. Thankfully, I didn’t do much of those things, so I didn’t have to drink yet. Just the thought of it makes my stomach roll uncomfortably.

“Didn’t we say we are going to have fun?” Jeanette asks with a glimmer in her eyes.

“Sure we did, princess,” Andrew agrees. “Better make these next few ones juicy because there is only half of the bottle left.”

“Don’t call me that. I already told you.” She shoves the bottle into Andrew’s hands harder than necessary. “Never have I ever had sex in a public place.”

He grins at her before taking a pull out of the bottle and giving it to Max. “You did?” Jeanette looks at him with raised brows. Alcohol is affecting her. Even with the dimmed light, I can see her flushed cheeks and how her eyes aren’t as sharp as before, but more on a glassy side. “Where?”

“Aren’t you being noisy.”

“You are the one who wanted to make this game fun,” she provokes him. “Now talk.”

His eyes take her in as if it’s the first time he actually sees the girl sitting next to him, and the corner of his lips curls into a half-smile. “It was last year in the men’s bathroom here at school.” He shrugs. “It was a good lay.”

“Mhmm.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

He stares at her for a while, but in the end decides to leave it alone. The bottle passes through our hands, without anyone except Andrew drinking. Another one survived, and if the questions continued in this way, I would be safe.

Like he can read my mind, Andrew looks across the circle to look me straight into the eyes. “Is there something you did, Dotty? Or are you always this prim and proper?”

I feel my cheeks heat in embarrassment, but I refuse to say anything. My lips are pressed in a tight line and my hands are curled so tightly into fists that I can feel my nails probing into my skin.

“Andrew…” Derek growls at his friend.

“It’s just a game, King. Chill!” He laughs bitterly. “Who’s got your panties in a twist?”

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