Page 60 of Origins
I wanted to keep it a surprise, but Miles was relentless in trying to peek. Even so, I was able to get most of my list completed without him spoiling the fun.
Watch a Movie
Truth or Dare (or Seven Minutes in Heaven)
Braid Hair
Pillow Fight
Old Maid
But it was still a shock when Miles, who had been chewing on a spring roll near my ear, choked and burst into a coughing fit of his own. I was torn between wanting to help him breathe, and protecting my list from the nasty half-digested food spewing out of his mouth. But, eventually, humanity won.
“Miles!” I smacked him on his back—much like I had with Titus earlier—trying to be helpful. But it was no use. Eventually Titus, Julian, and even Damen had to rush to assist. Whatever it was that caused Miles’ issues, it must have been terrible.
Finally, after a tense eternity, Miles’ breathing evened and the redness receded from his complexion.
Or, he had looked normal until he saw me watching him. Instantly, it was as if his blood boiled, and he was suddenly unable to look in my direction.
“What is wrong with you?” Damen noticed the strange exchange.
I was slightly affronted—I had done nothing wrong. But I relaxed when I realized Damen was addressing Miles and not me. Miles didn’t answer Damen’s question. Instead, he snatched the clipboard from me and thrust it into Damen’s hands.
I could only watch in horror as Julian and Titus stood behind Damen, reading over his shoulder.
This was terrible. I had so much more work left to do. I hated when people went over my incomplete projects.
There was a momentary pause before three sets of eyes slowly rose from the paper and stared at me. The boys’ gazes contained a mixture of bewilderment, amusement, and something else that I couldn’t quite place. Immediately I began to get anxious.
What in the world was their problem?
“What’s wrong?” I leaned away from them. Why did it feel like something was wrong? Perhaps monks hated playing cards—it was too similar to gambling, or whatever. Who knew?
Slowly, Damen turned the clipboard around until it was facing me. Then, just as dramatically, he pointed at the neatly printed ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven’ item.
….Okay?
I pursed my lips, studying the paper. Was I missing something? Everything seemed perfectly normal to me. I glanced back up at him. “What’s wrong with that? Do you have something against massages?”
Perhaps it was a hereditary aversion. Finn said that he hated that part of Seven Minutes in Heaven too. It was the only thing that made sense. I knew the guys weren’t against touching, so I had no idea what the problem could be.
Julian face-palmed at my words, and Titus appeared even more confused. But it was Damen—with a raised brow—who finally answered.
He seemed slightly alarmed, but mostly amused. “Massages?”
“Right, massages.”
“Bianca?” Daman’s lips quirked briefly, but he continued in a smooth voice. “How do you play Seven Minutes in Heaven?”
Surely he was joking. Damen, in all his sexy glory, had never played the game before either? I found it hard to believe. But with his serious eyes searching mine, I realized that he might be, in fact, not joking at all.
So not only were they monks, but they were sheltered too. It was a good thing they had me. By god, who didn’t know how to play this game?
“Well,” I began, crossing my legs in front of me as I lectured. “This is a more advanced version of Truth or Dare. The point of the game is to build closeness between friends. You start with your normal Truth or Dare rules, but that’s where the similarities end. You see, you can only choose truth. If there’s a truth that you don’t want to answer, then the questioner wins a dare.”
“The dares have to be done in order, and you can only withhold the truth three times.” I held up three fingers to count off the dares. “The first dare, you simply hold hands with the questioner until your next turn. The second time, you have to sit on his or her lap. But, for the last dare, the questioner wins a massage from the loser.”
All four boys were staring at me with looks of disbelief.
