Page 85 of It's a Date (Again)

“Debbie,” Maya pipes in. “That is not how you play. It has to be something true or false about her, not how you feel followed by a threat.”

Her forehead puckers. “But it is true.”

“I’ll go first,” Maya says, letting out a sigh. “Peyton is terrified of spiders.”

“I am?” I ask.

Maya shrugs. “Now, you go, Debbie.”

“Hmm, let’s see.” She taps her nail against her wineglass, and when she thinks of one, her eyes light up. “Oh, I got it. Peyton is a terrible singer.”

“Isn’t that subjective?” Nash asks.

Debbie shakes her head. “Not at all. One time when she did karaoke, the DJ shut her mic off. That’s how bad she was.” She chuckles and leans back in her chair.

I quietly hum to myself to see if she’s right. It sounds good in my head.

“Are you humming?” Maya asks.

“No,” I lie.

“The bad singing is definitely true,” Tyler says with a smirk. “That is too specific of a story for it not to be true.”

Debbie raises a brow. “Or I’m a good liar?”

“Robbie, your turn.” Maya gestures to him.

He readjusts himself in his seat. “Whenever Peyton finds a coin on the ground, if it’s tails up, she flips it over so the next person thatcomes along next will have good luck.” Robbie glances at me and gives a small smile.

Tyler chuckles. “That’s the lie.”

“I think it’s the being scared of spiders,” Nash says.

Both Nash and Tyler look to me for the correct answer. “I don’t know,” I say with a laugh.

“Nash is right.” Robbie nods. “The fear of spiders is the lie.”

Tyler grimaces at him, while Nash smiles and sips his drink.

“Am I really that bad of a singer?”

“Oh yeah, the worst.” Debbie chuckles. “Who needs a refill?” she asks, holding up her wineglass. Tyler and Nash raise their cups and get to their feet.

Robbie pats my knee and whispers, “I like your singing. Because it’s similar to mine. Our karaoke duets sound like a couple of stray cats yowling and meowing for scraps of food.” He cracks a teasing smile.

I nudge him with my elbow. “Are we really that bad?”

“Oh yes. It’s like punishment for the other patrons.”

We both laugh.

“Hey, Peyton,” Tyler calls out. My laughter extinguishes as I look to him. He stands in the entrance to the hallway with knitted brows and wandering eyes that zip between Robbie and me.

“I’ve gotta go,” he adds, gesturing to the front door.

“Everything all right?” I ask, while getting to my feet.

“Yeah, just gotta let Toby out.” He looks down at his wrist even though he’s not wearing a watch. “It’s been a while.”

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