Page 39 of Love Me Reckless

During the drive,with me in the middle backseat, we listen to a playlist Sofie and Ava made of my favorite songs while we play Bridesmaid Never Have I Ever, which is a list of twenty questions about me.

“How many nevers did you get?” Sofie asks Ava across my lap, peering over her clipboard.

“Nine,” Ava replies. “You ready? I’ll start.”

From the front seat, Zach and Sawyer are talking in low tones, but I have a feeling they’re listening.

Ava consults her clipboard. “Okay, speeding ticket. Never.”

“True,” I reply.

“Yes!” Ava says, putting a check by her correct answer.

Sofie glances at her list. “Cried in a movie theater. Ever. Remember when we went to seeThe Fault In Our Stars?”

“My mascara leaked all over your shoulder.”

Sofie laughs. “And you bought me that stuffed bunny to make up for it. I still have her.”

“Okay, next one,” Ava says. “Cut your own hair. Never?”

“Truth.”

“Not even a little bangs trim?” Sofie asks in disbelief.

I laugh. “Nope.” My mother would hang me by my toenails.

“Okay, what about this one,” Sofie says, reading from her clipboard. “Lied to get a job. That’s a never.”

I nod. Mostly because I’ve neverhada job. At least not one I’ve ever had to apply for.

“The next couple are nevers,” Ava says. “Broken a law, been carried out of a bar, gotten a tattoo.”

I glance up just as Sawyer gives me a sideways glance. He’s turned to Zach, so his face is in profile, and his lips are parted like I’ve caught him mid-sentence.

“Never.” But maybe not for much longer.

Sawyer arches an eyebrow, like he’s thinking the same thing.

“Okay, what about ‘peed your pants?’ Never?” Sofie asks.

I cover my face with my hands. “Ever. But I was only six, and it’s my brother’s fault.” It was after the kidnapping, and my parents were so tense. Without Grayson, we all would have cracked.

“I get it,” Sofie says. “My brother used to put peas up his nose to get me to laugh.”

“Ew,” Ava says, laughing.

“I totally did shit like that to William,” Zach adds from the front.

“Okay, next one. Used handcuffs? That’s a never.”

My skin prickles with heat. “Nope.”

“Maybe Sofie should answer that one too,” Ava adds in a low tone.

Sofie keeps her face blank but there’s a blush creeping up her neck. “This night is about Kirilee, remember?”

Zach gives Sofie a quick wink in the rearview mirror. It’s no secret that they are crazy about each other. I offered to get them their own room but they turned me down.

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