Page 47 of Ex- Factor
Chapter Twenty Six- Silas
Everybody was fully drunk. Angel had to be. She leaned back in her chair and said out of nowhere, “We should play spin the bottle.”
Eshe was sitting across from me, eyes low, head lolling.
I put my glass down harder than I meant to. “Absolutely not,” I said before anyone could even nod. “I will not be cuckolded in front of everybody like Cassius was when Angel dry-humped him last time.”
Cassius barked a laugh, shot up, and got me in a headlock before I could react.
“Keep bringing that up and I’ma beat your ass,” he teased, dragging me side to side while I fought him off.
Angel pried us apart, swatting at Cassius. “I was kidding! You two are ridiculous.”
Cassius dropped back onto the couch.
Angel clapped her hands. “The real game this time. Never Have I Ever—drinking edition.”
Everyone cheered except me.
I leaned back, beer sweating in my hand, trying to ignore the knot in my chest—left over from my parents showing back up in my life like a bad sequel. But it was starting to loosen.
Angel went first. “Never have I ever… skinny-dipped.”
West and Aja both drank.
“Never have I ever… faked an orgasm,” Aja cut in, grinning like she knew something everybody else didn’t.
Angel and Eshe drank at the same time. Naomi too. I raised my glass and took a long pull.
Eshe asked, “You faked an orgasm?” She wanted to know if I had with her.
“Never with you,” I said.
“But yes.” I didn’t sugarcoat it. “When Cassius had me fuck his ex so he could pretend he caught us cheating and finally get rid of her.”
The whole room went still.
“Explain that to me. Like, the entire story.” Eshe’s voice was lower now, heat creeping into her words.
Cassius shifted. “No. We don’t talk about those days anymore.”
Angel’s eyes sliced to him—sharp and cutting. “We talk about it. Just not when you’re around.”
Naomi laughed.
Angel finally broke the tension. “Never have I ever… thought about fucking somebody at this table. That you haven’t already.”
She drank. Naomi drank. Everybody drank.
Except Eshe.
Not right away, though.
Her fingers wrapped around her cup. She lifted it to her lips slowly, her eyes never leaving mine—and drank.
My head tilted. “Who? Which one?”
Her mouth curved like she’d been waiting on me to ask. “West. And Cassius. And Jonas.”
