Page 72 of The Sweetest Revenge

I blew out an exasperated sigh. "Well, at least we know she did have it, but there's no way now to figure out where it went."

"We could try getting into her iCloud," Journey suggested.

My gaze held hers. "That's a great fucking idea." I wasn't sure why I hadn't thought about that yet. "We can meet early tomorrow morning. I'll bring my laptop and see if we can get into it. I'll let Zaiden know. He might know her password."

"Hey," a deep voice shouted from the doorway. "It's game time, ladies."

My lip curled into a snarl. "This is why I don't come to frat parties."

"Oh, come on," Journey laughed, strolling around the counter. "It will be fun."

"Making out with a stranger while he tries to stick his hand down your pants is not fun."

Mila and Journey both laughed, and I rolled my eyes.

"Live a little," Mila chuckled. "Unless it's true and you do actually belong to Zaiden."

She'd just said the one thing that ensured I played all the games, kissed all the boys, and pushed myself far past my comfort zone to prove Zaiden Knight didn't own me. "I'm in."

I followed them out of the kitchen and into the dark living area. My gaze lifted to the tall, thin man standing on the coffee table.

"Game one," he shouted. "Meet me at midnight." I rolled my eyes. These were games made up so the guy who wouldn't normally get the girl stood a chance. "Everyone pulls a ticket out of the hat. Each ticket has a time and location somewhere inside the house on it. Every room has one ticket in the pink hat and one in the blue hat. Ladies, you'll pull from the pink hat and guys from the blue. Make sure you make it to your location before your time because it gets pretty dark once the lights go out."

"What does he mean, the lights go out?" I whispered, and a wave of panic settled in my gut.

"I think he means it will be dark," Journey whispered.

"Fuck."

"It will be fun," Mila added.

"Yeah, so much fun." I groaned, and it probably would have been fun if I hadn't been scared of the dark. Actually, who was I kidding? I had no interest in kissing some random boy. Not in the light or the dark, but I was in it now.

"This game is first come, first served, and we'll play again for those who don't get to play the first round."

"What do we do in the dark?"

Oh, come on…I hated stupid questions. All eyes turned to me. Fuck, I'd said it out loud. Might as well finish my thought. "If you don't know what to do in the dark, then you should go home; it's past your bedtime."

A roar of laughter echoed through the large room.

"Why don't you pick first?" My eyes followed him as he jumped off the table and strolled toward me, as the crowd parted for him. I really wanted to say no and go home, but maybe this was what was needed to show Zaiden he didn't own me. Or it could be what gets the mystery man killed. It was a chance I was willing to take for freedom.

He held out the pink hat, and I reached in and pulled out a ticket. I closed my fist around the small paper and forced a smile as my gaze met his. "Midnight is in twenty minutes."

Pursing my lips, I nodded, ignoring the chill racing down my spine. "Thanks."

Mila and Journey pulled next before he disappeared into the crowd.

"Have I mentioned how much Ihategames?"

They both laughed again. "Yeah, a few times."

"I'm going to get a drink." I was going to need a lot more alcohol to kiss a stranger.

CHAPTER35

ARIELLA

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