Page 16 of Vendetta

“Never have I ever…”

I rested my arms on my elbows, thinking for a moment before something finally came to me. “Left the country.”

“WHAT?” A few of them asked in unison, all eyes on me expecting an explanation. Most of the families around here vacationed in locations like Tuscany, Bora Bora, or any other number of places, sometimes multiple times a year. It didn’t surprise me that it had come off as a shock that I hadn’t left the state, let alone the country.

“It’s not that we couldn’t afford it or anything, it’s just that my dad was always so busy with work. Politics are a year-round thing that always require him to attend all of these press conferences and campaign meetings, and it’s hard to campaign from somewhere else in the world. There were a few times where we started planning to go, but something always came up. And my mom and I were supposed to go on a European vacation this summer. We had everything planned out to go to France, Italy, and Spain for two months, but then she passed at the beginning of the year.” I shrugged, my eyes getting glossy as I smiled through the tears threatening to come up. This wasn’t the time or the place to start crying, not with six pairs of eyes on me.I suddenly regretted my choice of ‘Never Have I Ever’, not having considered where it might lead.

Olivia placed a consoling hand on my thigh, mouthing ‘I’m sorry’ and giving me a sad smile as she and the rest of the group all took a drink. Well, hey, at least I managed to get the entire group with my turn.

I looked over to Bexley on my right, nodding to let her know that it was her turn to go.

“Never have I ever…” She thought for a few moments, TJ bending down to give Olivia a kiss on my left as I looked down at my drink, desperately avoiding the burning gaze that I could feel from across the fire.

Bexley chuckled to herself for a moment, recapturing the group’s interest before announcing “Taken a shot.”

This wasn’t news to Olivia or I, but the guys around the circle seemed absolutely dumbfounded.

“Like a shot of alcohol? Are you fucking with us right now?” Nate asked, and Bexley shook her head, smiling to herself as all of they all stared at her in disbelief before we all took a drink.

“First time for everything!” Zayn mused, grabbing the whiskey bottle at the foot of his chair and extending it over to Bexley.

“I’m good,” she laughed, “It’s not that I’m opposed to it, but my tolerance is already super low since I never even had a drink before college, so I want to build it up a bit before I trust myself with anything harder.”

“Suit yourself, Red.” Zayn conceded, taking a swig himself before setting it back down.

“Fuck, what haven’t I done!” He burst out laughing, struggling to think of something. He rolled the cigarette around his fingers, eventually bringing it to his lips, a puff of smoke drifting into the air.

“Fucked a virgin.” He finally announced.

I immediately glanced over at Bexley without thinking, Olivia clearly doing the same. Bexley attempted to hide her face behind her loose hair, instantly catching Zayn’s attention.

“Shit.” He muttered, seeming almost distraught now for having embarrassed her. “Sorry, Red. I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine, really.” She stated, trying to act nonchalant as the rest of the group exchanged awkward glances.

“He has a strict no virgins policy.” Nate told us before taking a drink from his beer. Everyone in the group did the same, with the exception of myself and Bexley. I had only slept with one guy in high school, and I wasn’t naive enough to believe that I was his first.

“Nothing against them,” Zayn clarified, “It’s just that I don’t want to be that important to anyone. I mean, taking the V-card, that’s a pretty big deal. I don’t need anyone getting clingy on me. Besides, I’m not ashamed to admit that I have particular tastes in the bedroom, and lovey-dovey shit with the crying afterwards and the cuddling just doesn’t cut it for me. And good luck trying to get a kick a virgin out afterwards, you got me fucked up—”

“Dude.” Cashton cut in, speaking for the first time since we sat down. “Read the room.”

Zayn shot an apologetic glance over at Bexley, who looked like she wished to be anywhere but here at the moment, before leaning back in his seat and turning towards Cashton.

“Your turn, man.”

“Never have I ever,” Cashton started, “Known my father.”

Well damn. That took a dark turn. Nobody spoke, everyone around the circle bringing their drinks to their lips. I thought I might get an ounce of emotion from the cold-hearted prick, but he just smirked at his success, seemingly entirely unaffected by his statement.

“Beat that.” He challenged Nate.

We all looked over to TJ expectantly, ready to see what he had in store.

“Never have I ever gotten my nipples pierced.” He said, directing the statement right at Olivia. She scoffed, lightly smacking him in the chest before taking a drink. Just when I thought I might be in the clear, she whipped her head to me.

“Bitch, you have to drink too!” Everyone’s eyes turned to me as I took a small sip, mentally cursing her.

“Oh Landry, you have to show all of us now. Game rules.”

---