Page 15 of Take My Hand

I’d learned that he’d skinny dipped in the sea, skipped school—or ‘bunked off’ as he called it—kissed an older girl, kissed a boy for a dare, and stolen from a shop. The most interesting part, though, was that he sipped his vodka with a stony expression during questions about sex. He was gorgeous, funny, clever, and got me all hot and bothered when he looked at me, so I should have known he wouldn’t be a virgin. I was just surprised that I didn’t like the idea.

“I’m bored of this game,” Emma slurred. “Let’s watch a film.”

She was also drunk, not because she’d done a load of things, but because she had continued to down vodka like it was going out of fashion.

“Which film?” Liam asked, smiling lazily as he lolled drunkenly.

“No chick lit shit,” Ana said, pointing a wavering finger. “I want to watch a horror movie.”

“No,” Emma protested. “I get scared.”

Liam leaned into her. “I’ll take care of you. Keep you safe.”

Emma blushed and fluttered her eyelashes.

“Horror movie it is then,” Ana said with a smirk.

“I need to pee,” Liv said and got to unsteady feet.

We all watched as she swayed out of the room.

“She won’t come back down,” I said as we heard a hiccup from the hallway. “She’ll be asleep within five minutes.”

“True story.” Emma stood up and held herself steady with her palms on the table. “Okay, let’s go into the living room and get this film started. And I’ve decided it’s romance we’re watching. My house, so my choice.”

Decision made, I went over to the sink, deciding that I wasn’t a big fan of vodka and wanted a glass of water instead. I assumed Zak had gone into the living room, so almost jumped out of my skin when he came up beside me as I ran the tap for cold water.

“Can you get me one of those, too, please?” he asked, emptying his vodka into the sink and then holding out his glass.

“You not a vodka lover?” I asked, filling his glass first.

“It’s okay. I prefer a lager.” He looked at my frown. “What? It’s refreshing.”

“It’s awful, that’s what it is.”

“What about you? What do you prefer?”

“Cider or beer.” I filled my glass with cold water and flipped off the tap. “Or water.”

“Wow, your dad must be so proud. He owns a bar, but his daughter prefers the soft stuff.”

I tilted my head and shrugged. “I do drink, just not vodka. It makes me sick, to be honest. As for Dad, he makes it a rule not to drink before eight at night if he’s working, but even then, he limits it to one or two drinks a night.”

“Sounds sensible.” He leaned back against the cabinet, his long, strong fingers gripping his glass as he took a sip. “My dad says that most of the liver transplants that he does are because of booze.”

“He’s not just a doctor, then? He’s a surgeon?”

“Yeah, he is. A transplant surgeon.”

“And your mum’s a dentist?”

“Wow, you have been researching me, haven’t you?’

I huffed. “My dad told me because Liam’s dad told him. My dad and Liam’s dad are best friends, which makes me and Liam kind of like cousins I guess.”

“Cousins,” he repeated, nodding slowly. “Good to know.”

I wasn’t sure what that meant, but the heat in my blood made me think it might be something important. Something that maybe one day would lead me to taking a shot of vodka in a game of Never Have I Ever.

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