Page 42 of Fractured Souls
“We are playing . . .” Noah reaches down in the booth, grabbing a small basket.
“Where the hell were you keeping that?” Mark asks.
“You don’t want to know,” Jamie deadpans.
“We are playingIf You Dare.”
“If . . . you dare?”
“Yes, it’s really simple. I invented it. We take turns drawing a piece of paper, and we all have to do whatever the piece of paper says for points. If you do the action . . .” He reaches down, grabbing a little whiteboard.
Jamie’s brows scrunch. “Okay, I didn’t see the whiteboard.”
“If you do the action, you get a point,” Noah continues.
“And you’ll obviously win because you possess no shame.” Mark grins.
“Shame would imply that I care about anyone’s opinion.” Noah leans against Jamie. “The only person whose opinion I care about is right here.” He pats his chest. “And that is shaky at best most days.”
“You asked for this,” Hunter says to Jamie.
“Literally tried to prevent this,” Mark says, taking a drink of his beer. “But I was the asshole.”
“I’m so sorry,” Jamie says to him.
I take a healthy sip of my drink. I’m going to need it. “Mmm, this is good.” It’s a little too sweet for me, but still good. I hand Bo my drink to try. He takes a sip and nods. I feel eyes on me and look up. “What?”
Jamie shakes his head. “Sorry,” he mumbles, focusing on his water.
“He’s just tasting it. Just a sip. It’s okay.” Noah pats his leg.
What are they talking about?“You can drink you know. I can drive.”
Bo shakes his head. “Work tomorrow. I’m trying a new piece out.”
“A new piece?” Hunter asks.
“I’m a pianist. I play at a couple of restaurants during dinner time. It’s fun. I kind of do my own thing. I’m writing something new I want to try out.”
“His voice is amazing.” I smile at him. “He used to sing to me all the time.”
Bo’s quiet as he looks into his drink. “I used to, yeah.”
An uncomfortable silence grows over us. “Does anyone want to eat? We ate before we came here, but if you guys are hungry, we can wait.”
“I’m fine. What about you?” I ask Bo.
“No, I’m good.”
“Great.” Noah beams putting the basket on the table. “The game is easy. We each draw a piece of paper from the basket. Whoever does the prompt gets a point, and if you don’t do the prompt, you get a point taken away. If you attempt to do the prompt but fail, nothing happens. Whoever has the most points wins.”
“Wins what?”
Noah taps his chin. “Hmm, let’s see—”
“No. It’s Hunter’s birthday. Let him pick what the prize is.”
A grin grows on Hunter’s handsome face. “Every time you see Mark you have to give him a big hug and tell him you love him.”
