Page 18 of Playing Rough

Lucas rubs his hands together eagerly. "Alright gents, time to spice things up. Let's play some Never Have I Ever."

A chorus of shouts and laughs rises from the group as we settle around the firepit.

I nudge London seated beside me. "This could get interesting."

He nods, looking relaxed despite the ruckus. "Or incredibly fuckin’ embarrassing. Guess we'll find out."

Lucas starts us off. "Never have I ever...kissed someone of the same sex."

Amidst hoots and jeers, Luc and Teo drink.

I speak up next. "Never have I ever...dated two girls from the same sorority at the same time."

"What the fuck, Cap?" Tristan takes a swig of his beer to more laughter. "Why you gotta call me out like that, bro?"

More confessions get called out, punctuated by heckling.

"Never have I ever been walked in on by my parents doing the dirty," Teddy says, wrinkling his nose. Half the circle drinks while the rest of us crack the hell up.

"Never have I ever made out with a girl in the library stacks between classes," Lucas says, eyes darting straight to Knight.

Knight just smirks and takes a drink as wolf whistles sound around us.

"Never have I ever sexted a teammate's girlfriend," Tristan says, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

A few guys squirm and avoid his gaze, but no one fesses up. Smart move on their part.

"Alright, my turn." I grin wickedly. "Never have I ever walked in on Coach Lewis in a compromising situation."

"Damnit, Kensington!" Deck grimaces before taking a swig. "I was trying to forget about that."

Next up is London, who grins slowly. "Never have I ever drunk dialed someone in the middle of the night to profess my love."

I cough pointedly into my fist, cheeks warming as I take a sip of my drink. London's grin widens as laughter echoes around us.

"Alright, alright, keep it civil gentlemen," Coach calls over, though his eyes twinkle with amusement.

As the stars come out, drinks flow and tongues loosen. Accusations get thrown, blackmail’s gained, and sides ache from laughter by the time we finally call it a night.

Walking upstairs with London later, I shake my head wryly. "Remind me never to spill my deepest secrets around this crew."

London chuckles, hazel eyes bright. "Where would be the fun in that?"

Empty bottles litter the tables as the guys trickle off to bed, feeling tipsy and worn out. Soon it's just London and I still nursing our drinks. The speakers are just background noise now.

"Not a bad little team you've got here, Kensington." London's tone holds a note of grudging respect. "They really came together this weekend."

"Our team," I correct him. "Ourteam came together. And yeah, they're not bad." I take a last pull from my bottle, watching him over the rim. "Present company included."

London huffs a soft laugh, catching my meaning, and my heart speeds up. "Don't go getting all

sentimental on me now." But there's no malice there.

I stand, clapping him on the shoulder, ignoring the fire tearing up my arm where my fingers brush against his skin. "I'm heading back to the pool for a bit. You good?"

Something complicated flickers across his face before he nods. "Yeah, think I'll go to bed."

I leave him staring thoughtfully into his empty bottle and make my way to the softly lit pool. The water glows an eerie blue, still and smooth as glass. Stripping down to my trunks, I slide in.

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