Addicted After All(62)

Connor is too conceited.

Rose is too high-strung.

Daisy is too wild.

Ryke is too aggressive.

Lily is too awkward.

I’m too hateful.

Sam and Poppy are just right.

And I wonder if they’re the ideal we should all be striving for. Or if we should just accept our nature and continue as we are.

After brief contemplation, Poppy says, “Dare.”

“I dare you to give me a shoulder massage.” Rose snaps her fingers like hurry up.

Of course she’d find a way to benefit from the dare.

Poppy scoots closer to her sister on the couch and starts kneading Rose’s shoulders with her fingers. Rose looks at peace, as though everything worked in her favor.

“Loren,” Poppy says. “Truth or dare?”

I tense. “Truth,” I say, even though dare might be easier for me. I selfishly don’t want to move Lily off my lap for any reason. I like her where she is.

“How many people in this room have you seen buck naked? Name them too.”

I tilt my head. “And I was just starting to like you, Poppy.”

“You always tell me that,” she says warmly.

I do? I mentally pass through her comment while I calculate my answer. Christ. “Four people. Lily, of course. Ryke.”

Ryke raises his brows quickly like guilty. This happens when we’re undressing for events in one room. We all just don’t care.

“Connor,” I add.

He raises his wine glass to me.

“And unfortunately Daisy.” I glare at her for streaking in our house. I caught a small glimpse, and it was enough to imprint an image that I’ve tried, desperately, to erase.

She playfully winces. “Sorry.”

Ryke shifts uncomfortably, but he doesn’t say a word about it. I highly doubt he’s that upset. But then I think about Ryke spotting Lily undressed, and it almost twists my face, gross sentiments invading me.

There’s a lot there that I don’t like to imagine or talk about. Starting with who’s the baby daddy? rumors and ending with Ryke and Lily discussing sex. The in between—Lily being aroused by his make-out sessions with Daisy—is temporary and only fueled by her hormones. So I can live with it fine.

It’s the other stuff that’s attempting to unravel me.

“What about Rose?” Daisy suddenly asks me. “Didn’t you see her naked with the leeches…?”

Rose’s mouth drops. “Loren—”

“Holster your broomstick,” I tell her. “I didn’t even try to look at you. For one, no.” I cringe. “For another, I was focused on Lily.” I remember the road trip where the girls skinny dipped in a pond. We were all trying to remove the leeches, not catch a peek of each other’s girlfriends, wives, friend—whatever.

Rose relaxes back into Connor.

I nod to Daisy. “Truth or dare?” I’m betting she’ll pick dare.

But she hesitates for a second, her cheek still on Ryke. Her eyes are glazed, which means she’s tipsy, maybe verging on drunk. I haven’t craved alcohol that severely tonight. It’s easier when there are more people staying sober than just me.

Daisy raises her head and surprises me by saying, “Truth.”

A question lights up in my mind. An * one. For Daisy, I would normally try to soften my spiteful, slightly vindictive nature. But it’s a knee-jerk reaction. And I let it out faster than I can rein it in—forgetting in a moment that she’s not Rose.

“When Connor walked in, and Ryke came on your face—how embarrassed were you?”

All of Daisy’s sisters’ jaws unhinge. Daisy slumps down in the couch, her eyes wide in complete horror. I may have unleashed one of the few secrets still kept in the group.

I hear Sam mutter to Poppy, “Where am I?” He’s shielding his eyes with his hand. He’s known Daisy practically forever.

Connor is smiling into his wine glass, and Ryke looks like he wants to tear off my head—or maybe Connor’s.

“You f*cking told him?” Ryke growls at Connor.

“Maybe a month ago,” Connor admits. “It was a good story. I felt guilty for keeping it to myself.”

“Fuck you,” Ryke curses.

Rose smacks Connor’s chest. “You walked in on them?”

“It was unintentional,” Connor says easily. “Though the timing was bad—or perfect, depending on the way you look at it.”