Saturday #2
I would be mortified if it were my turn, but not Nova.
She lives for the spotlight. I’m not sure what she says to the DJ, but he hands the mic right over and she immediately breaks into “I Dreamed a Dream.” At first, everyone just seems mildly confused.
Then the DJ gets in on it, adding some bass beats, turning the completely tragic power ballad into some sort of a club remix that everyone is just drunk enough to vibe with.
When I glance over at Logan, he’s watching her with literal twinkles in his eyes.
Behind him, Nox is watching me. I don’t mean to meet his stare, but I can’t help it.
My gaze is drawn there by some gravitational pull I can’t control.
But all he does is roll his eyes with a grin.
I know him well enough to understand exactly what he means.
The saga of Logan and Nova continues.
I answer with a smile. So it does.
We all applaud when she makes it back. Nova offers a gracious bow, then turns to Logan. “Your turn.”
“Dare.”
“I dare you to speak in a British accent for the rest of the night,” I cut in, not even sure where it came from.
The dare just spills out. My heart feels lighter, maybe from my friends, maybe from that simple moment of connection with Nox, I’m not sure.
But I’m ready to give in to the mischief of the night. I’m ready to revel in it.
“Yes!” Nova grins. “Love it!”
“Cheerio,” Logan supplies graciously. “Truth or dare, milady?”
“Truth,” I say cautiously, fully aware it’s a test even before my gaze slides toward Nox. Is he going to stick to the rules? Or is he going to abuse them?
“Did you actually eat an entire box of French crullers in one night while studying for a biology final?”
My jaw drops and I gasp as if offended, but inside I’m cheering. He stuck to his word. He’s playing the game.
Willa snorts into her fist, trying to hide her laughter. Nova just grins.
“FINE. I’ll cop to it. Yes. I did. And they were freaking delicious.” I wrinkle my nose at him. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” he answers without hesitation.
It’s Grant’s turn to come up with one. We all watch him while we wait. He clenches his jaw, staring at Nox, thinking. “I dare you to challenge Justin to a dance-off.”
A beat of silence passes, then—
“Hell, yes!” we collectively cheer. It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for.
Nox drops his head back with a sigh, muttering, “Goddammit.”
“Dance-off!” we chant. “Dance-off! Dance-off!”
A whole crowd gets into it. We form a circle.
Justin takes it in stride. He’s nice enough and good-looking enough to thrive under the attention.
Nox wants to die. I can see it in his eyes, and maybe that’s what has me cupping my hands around my lips with a wild holler.
After a round or two, he loosens up, actually letting himself smile that wide smile I haven’t allowed myself think about in so long.
It’s got more wattage than a lightbulb when he turns it on me, illuminating me from the inside out, making my entire body throb.
Logan eventually hops in for a turn, because he can’t help himself.
Then a few others. It’s probably half an hour before we even remember the game and all turn a collective eye on Grant, who looks suspiciously innocent, as if he was hoping to get out of it the entire time.
He picks dare.
Willa jumps in, daring him to take off his shirt, let down his hair, and shout, “Bring me my hammer!”
And no, I don’t miss the extra few moments she sneaks looking at his abs before he tosses his shirt back over his head afterward—or the way she licks her lips.
The game continues. Willa has to cartwheel across the entire quad.
Nox gets dared to pants Nova’s ex, because, according to her, “It would look desperate if I dared Logan to do it.” He retaliates by forcing her to admit to her most embarrassing moment, though I don’t quite believe her when she says it was an accidental nip slip in the middle of a play.
Something in the glance she gives Logan leaves me wondering.
But it’s too late to pry because Grant is ordered to use Willa as a bench press, then I’m forced to shout penis as loudly as I can for thirty seconds straight.
You’d think that dare would’ve grown old in middle school, but my cheeks are on fire by the time I’m done.
The more the others drink, the sloppier the dares become.
Nox, I notice, remains sober the same as me.
We catch each other mid-eye-roll when Logan dares Nova to give him a fully clothed lap dance on one of the benches, because, “We’re supposed to be in love, aren’t we?
” I get dared to sexy crawl across the grass toward Willa, but it’s Nox’s hooded gaze I feel the entire time.
I’m pretty sure my entire ass is hanging out based on the breeze I’m feeling back there, but I do my best to ignore it as I hop to my feet, looking everywhere but his face.
Willa is forced to confess that her biggest turn-on is slutty reading glasses, which Nova and I already knew, but just needed to force her to say out loud.
We dance closer and closer to the lines.
Round and round.
Blurrier and blurrier.
Until finally, we blow past them.
“What’s your body count?” Logan asks me, not thinking as the words blurt out in that horrible British accent he’s still admirably committed to.
The second they’re said, he freezes. His eyes go wide.
Nova and Willa grab each other’s hands, too far away to get to me.
Nox whips his face toward me, eyes almost black his pupils are so dilated.
I go still.
“You don’t have to—” Logan tries to walk it back, but I don’t let him. I signed up for the game. I knew the rules.
“One,” I whisper, flicking my gaze to Nox before looking away. “Just one.”
He folds his fingers into fists, physically holding himself back from coming closer the way I know he desperately wants to.
I can feel the tension radiating off him, the desire, the frustration.
It’s taking everything he has not to whisk me away, to demand the conversation we both know I’m avoiding.
Nova slaps Logan’s bicep when she thinks I’m not looking. He winces. But it’s Grant who comes to my rescue.
“We should probably call it a night,” he murmurs, glancing around. The DJ took his stand down half an hour ago. At least seventy percent of our class is gone. The party is winding down. But I’m not entirely sure I’m ready to leave.
It’s the smart thing, yes.
To draw the line.
To end it now.
To let it die.
But is that what I want?
“Or,” Nox interjects, wholly out of character in wanting to extend the night.
Does he sense my hesitation? Or is he simply just as desperate as I am to hold on for a little while longer?
“If you want…” He reaches into his pocket, digs around for a second, then yanks out a glimmering silver key. “We could go to the pool?”