Page 9 of Body Checked By the Defenseman

“Nice to meet you both.” He shakes their hands.

We head deeper into the party where music is playing, and a crowd is sitting around the bonfire. Knox walks up to a cooler. “Would you ladies like something to drink? There’s beer and Mike’s Hard Lemonade.”

“Ooh, I’ll have a Mike’s Hard Lemonade,” Annie says.

“I’ll have one too,” I say.

Knox passes each of us a bottle. Briar passes on drinking since she is driving.

“Come meet my friends,” Knox urges.

We follow him to meet his friends and Briar mouths, “He really likes you.”

A part of me feels bad I am not feeling the same, but this is what usually happens to me. I either meet a guy who’s only interested in sex, or I meet a guy who’s willing to take things slow and I don’t feel a fire down below.

After introducing us to a group of girls and guys, we take a seat on lawn chairs sitting in a circle around one of the smaller fires that were made.

“I say we play a drinking game,” one of the girls suggests.

“Oh boy,” Briar mumbles from beside me. “Glad I’m not drinking.”

“This could be fun,” I tell her. “We never do anything like this.”

“I’m game,” Annie says and a guy sitting across from her smirks at her.

I realize I may be in trouble here because I am probably the only virgin in this whole group.

I give Annie a side glance and shrug.

“We don’t have to play,” Knox says, being the nice guy he is.

“I’ve never played a drinking game before. It’s something I can check off a bucket list,” I whisper.

He smiles at me like he thinks I’m cute. “Okay,” he agrees, and he gives my lips a small peck.

“Okay, so we’re playing never have I ever. I’ll start,” a girl with jet black hair sitting a few seats away from us says. “Never have I ever made out at a bonfire before.”

“You’re such a bitch, Krista, at this rate we’re going to be wasted in a half an hour,” the girl beside her says.

“Isn’t that the point?” Krista laughs conspiratorially.

Almost everyone in the circle drinks. When Knox realizes I am not drinking, he leans over into my ear. “We can fix that.”

I consider his offer. “Maybe later.”

We make our way around the circle, and I find myself drinking at every turn because I don’t want to be the odd one out. By the time we get to Annie, she says, “Never have I ever been drunk,” she says, and then everyone is drinking but her.

When Knox’s turn comes, I get a little nervous but I’m not sure why.

“Never have I ever skinny-dipped in that lake.” He points.

Everyone drinks except for me, Briar, and Annie.

“Well, we know what all of you need to do.” Krista laughs.

“Okay, blondie, it’s your turn,” she says.

“Her name is Ruby,” Knox clarifies.

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