King Hall (Forever Evermore, #1)(35)

I sat as he handed tequila to each of us, and was left staring at the huge bottle in front of me. Did he really expect us to drink all this?

When no response came, he offered, “Up and Down the River?”

Ezra opened his bottle, shrugged a powerful shoulder, and took a swig. “Works for me.”

“What’s that?” Pearl and I asked as one.

Jack grinned, plucking cards out of his bag. “You’ll see.”


My forehead banged against Pearl’s as I whispered, “Think…I’m drunk.” Oh, yes siree, we had most definitely played Up and Down the River. An hour later, and half my bottle downed by my lonesome, we were trying to figure out another game to play.

Pearl burped, giggling. “So’my.” She pointed with her own half-empty bottle to Jack and Ezra, neither of them seeming quite as fazed. “What’s it with men and holdin’ their liquor better?”

I shook my head and rocked the other way, right to Ezra’s face. I blinked, trying to study his features up close. Perhaps, I needed to get my eyes checked when we returned to town, since he looked a tad blurry.

He chuckled, returning my regard, letting me look my fill.

When my eyes finally focused, I examined him long enough to realize he wasn’t near as drunk as me, so I demanded with a slur, “Let me see your bottle.”

A black, arched brow rose in time to his bottle. Half gone. Same as ours.

I grunted, rocking to sit firmly on my butt. “Dunno,” I told Pearl. A blink. “Hey! We were supposed to do a game!”

She thumped her forehead with her palm. “Damn, I forgot.” She hummed a tune I didn’t recognize, swaying back and forth to the beat, while observing the men, their lips twitching. She and I glared at them, and then, she smirked. “Truth or Dare. Mys style.”

Both men’s eyes were immediately guarded, so I jumped on her suggestion, confirming, “Oh, yeah. That’s good.” As I took another swig from my bottle, a thought occurred. “Mys style?”

Pearl’s eyes flashed gold, and she snapped her fingers, her power surrounding us again. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it. She explained, “Means you can’t lie.” A burp. “And you have to do the dare.”

Uh-oh. Lowering my bottle, I wore the same air as Ezra and Jack now. I had the secret that would get me killed. But then again, I knew Truth or Dare. I didn’t have to pick Truth. I could stick with Dare. That was a little frightening with this group, since we always seemed to be in some sort of trouble with our defiant ideas, but no dare was impossible.

I straightened my shoulders. Yeah, I could do this. And it wasn’t really up for debate. The men had picked the last game. This one was ours, and it was decided by her words and mine.

“I’ll go first, since the guys bamboozled us,” Pearl slurred, burping again. She pointed at Jack. “T or D?”

Jack’s lips pursed, then he stalled by taking another drink. “Truth.” He dove right in.

Pearl grinned. “Have you ever fooled around with someone not Elemental?”

Instant. “No.” He glanced around the group, his eyes landing on me. “T or D?”

After some thought, I decided to be brave. Plus, if the questions weren’t too bad at first, answering them would appear like I wasn’t trying to hide something. “Truth.”

Crossing his legs, Jack asked, “Have you ever fooled around with someone not Shifter?”

Straightaway, I felt a pull on my vocal chords. I tried to fight it, but the liquor made me slow, and my response popped out. “Yes. A Com.”

Silence.

Oddly, they kept their mouths shut. It was probably because of the spell Pearl had created. No one wanted to speak unless they had to, but their faces said it all. Eyes enormous and unblinking, they gawked. Mys routinely stuck with Mys, but Mys and Com were unable to produce offspring together, so they were acceptable bed partners, even if sniffed at. Swaying, I shrugged, and mumbled, “It was before I met Dominic.” Obviously, truth. I had kissed a Com at my old school.

Silence.

“Okay,” I muttered, breaking this awkward moment, placing my bottle away from me to rub my eyes. My attention swung to Ezra. “T or D?”

His jaw clenched. “Dare.”

“Hmm.” I thought about what would be good. Came up with a little revenge for the reaction I had received from the last question. “I dare you to kiss each Mys faction that’s not Vampire.” An evil grin lifted my lips.

Jack and Pearl chuckled, but Pearl stopped when Ezra was unexpectedly on his hands and knees in front of her. Lips on hers. He was so fast I hadn’t been able to track him moving. He swiftly kissed her, then moved like lightening, his lips on a startled Jack’s.

I hooted, snorting a few times, seeing Ezra’s face scrunch up at the action, but I hastily shut my trap when he was abruptly in front of me.

He glared, eye-to-eye with me, muttering, “Quit laughing, sweetheart.” The next second, his lips were on mine. His mouth was wide, his lips full and warm. Both our eyes were open, his scowling, mine wide in shock. He jerked back, opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it and returned to lie on his sleeping bag.

I smirked, not the only one of us now to have kissed someone not of their faction.

Pearl snickered right along with Jack.