Page 22 of Naughty Nicky

“Yours, right? Are we still playing?”

Oh right, truth or dare. “Um, sure, if you want to.”

“We can watch a movie if you want.” He yawns. “Not sure if I’ll make it through one though.”

I sip on my hot chocolate although it is a bit too hot to drink. “I guess we can play a few more rounds.”

“So truth or dare?”

I don’t need to think about it for long. I really don’t want to do anything stupid. “Truth.”

I look over at him as I say it, and his eyes meet with mine. There is an intensity in them I haven’t seen since I got here. I don’t even know what it means. I look away quickly, unable to keep his gaze.

“What’s your biggest regret?”

I glance back over at him. “Going for the deep questions, huh?”

“I guess it depends on your answer.”

He has a point. I could tell him something stupid. Like cheating on a test in high school. But it wouldn’t be true. Because my biggest regret eats at me every single day. I wish it were something easy. I wish I could just make something up, and Iguess I could. But I feel like he would know. The way he looks at me, it just feels like he is looking into my soul sometimes.

“Quitting.”

“Quitting?”

I nod. “Giving up on my dream. I mean I know it landed me in debt, but I wish I just sucked it up or worked harder. Found a way to power through the hard times. Instead, I just gave up and quit.”

“How long ago did you move back here?”

“Three months ago.”

“So, it’s not really quitting, you could go back to traveling.”

I shrug as I pick at a snag in the throw blanket on the back of the couch. “I mean I could, but I tried. It didn’t work out. I should have just listened to my parents and gone to college like every other person. Then live my life the way people are supposed to.”

“And how exactly are people supposed to?”

“You know…get a degree, get a real job, get married, start a family.”

He snorts. “You don’t really think that do you? I mean look at your brother. He didn’t go to school, and your parents are perfectly fine with that.”

“Yeah, because he’s a professional snowboarder making a few hundred thousand a year. And of course, he mentioned recently that he just landed a few sponsorships. Of course, my parents don’t care about what he does.”

“I’m sure they would be fine with you doing whatever makes you happy, Pen.”

I roll my eyes. “How about you talk to them and find out?” I snap.

He sighs. “Look, they may not be my parents, but they are reasonable people. I’m sure if you talk to them about what you truly want, they would understand.”

“You think I haven’t?”

He shakes his head. “Maybe not in the way they need.”

“Whatever.” I really don’t want to talk about this. I don’t need to be lectured by someone else about my life decisions or how to better approach people about them. My parents don’t care about what I want. Plain and simple.

“All I’m saying is—”

“I get it. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

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