“Shhh!” I said, my eyes rounding. I peered over his shoulder, but we couldn’t see the others.
“What?” he asked, confused. “They can’t hear us.”
“I wasn’t flirting!” I whisper-hissed.
“Well, you were standing real close and talking all serious—”
“Okay, okay! Maybe it looked bad, but we were just talking. It was crowded.”
“Hey.” Marna came around the corner toward us. “Don’t worry about Kai. He’s a nasty drunk. Come on back.”
“I don’t think I should,” I said. I wished I could just shake it off and be cool, but he’d hurt me.
“Do I need to send him over to apologize?” she asked.
“No!”
“Kaidan!” she hollered. “Get over here!”
My pulse quickened and I crossed my arms over my chest, staring down at my feet.
I heard him approach through the long blades of grass. Marna and Jay must have walked away, because when I looked up, it was only the two of us. He stared down and nudged an old tree stump with his foot.
“Sorry,” he said, concentrating on giving the stump another good thump.
Wow. An apology. I felt myself soften.
“I’m sorry, too, about the whole chair-flipping thing.”
“No, I deserved it.”
When we looked at each other, standing all those painful feet away, my heart constricted and it was hard to take in air. He was already sobering, but I knew the taste of tequila would still be on his lips. I had to pull my eyes down again to breathe.
“Will you come back over if I promise not to say anything else?” he asked.
I nodded, and he took a flask from his pocket, taking a long swig before he pocketed it again. Why was he drinking so much?
I followed him back to the group, where we both sat down.
“Okay, I’ll go next,” Marna said, seeming determined to ignore the tension in the air and play that stupid game. I was so not in the mood to participate. “Ginger, truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
“Forgive me for taking the idea from Kai, but I dare you to snog Blake—” She modified the request at the insistent stare from her sister. “Oh, come on! Just the teensiest peck on the lips.”
I thought she would still refuse, but apparently she wasn’t one to outright turn down a dare. She turned to Blake and pointed a finger at him.
“Try to cop a feel and I’ll make Anna’s chair flip look angelic,” she warned.
He grinned and she leaned in, both closing their eyes as she pressed her lips against his for one, two, three seconds. It appeared innocent, but they were shy when they pulled away and sat back.
“Right,” Ginger said, clearing her throat. “My turn. Jay, truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Do you fancy Marna?”
“I’m not sure what that means, but if you’re asking if I like her and think she’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met and I wish she would move here, then yes.”
Marna and I giggled at his brazen, smitten openness.
Our attention was diverted when Kaidan threw a quick glance over his shoulder, and then stood up, moving to the hidden side of the giant oak tree and leaning against it. Right at that moment the back door creaked open and the blond girl stepped out, peering all around and staring at our group.
“Hey, is Kaidan Rowe down there?” she asked.
“Nope,” lied Blake.
The girl frowned and went back in the house. Kaidan sauntered out and took his seat again.
“Dude, how did you know she was coming?” Jay asked.
“Superhuman hearing,” Marna answered for him.
Jay laughed and adjusted his hat. “My turn, now?”
“No, I’m not quite finished with you,” Ginger said. “Have you ever cheated on a girlfriend?”
Jay squinted at her. “No. I wouldn’t.”
“You would,” she corrected him. “Everyone cheats.”
“That’s not true,” Kaidan said. Everyone gawked at him and he shrugged. “Well, it’s not.”
“What the hell do you know about it?” Ginger asked him.
“Nothing, I suppose. I know I need another drink.”
We all watched him get up and go back into the house.
“What’s his problem, then?” Marna asked her sister.
“What’s not his problem? Probably hasn’t been laid in a whole hour. Gettin’ snippy.”
Jay was pinching his chin hair in thought. All at once our group became quiet and I heard a door slam. Kaidan stood on the deck watching me. When I looked around the other Neph were staring at me, too, or above me, around me. And then I heard a whispered voice say, Do not be afraid.