Page 29 of All Our Nevers

Before I can finish the sentence, all four of them say, “Evil.”

Well, that’s interesting. And, hey… if they insist.

I turn to the person in this circle that I will get the most joy from embarrassing. “Alright… Andy, before you were dating Sophie, how many times did you jerk off thinking about her?”

The room explodes into laughter. Nolan roars backwards until he falls right out of his armchair. Amelia’s drink seems to shoot out of her nose—actually, literally shoot out of her nose—and Sophie is immediately crying tears of mirth.

“I—I’m not answering that,” Andy stammers. His cheeks flare hot pink as he reaches for the vodka. “I’ll do the penalty shot.”

Sophie tries to stop him with a hand on his wrist. “Andy, we’re getting married. You can tell me.”

“I can tell you,” Andy returns, “but I’m not telling them.” He fills the lone shot glass then throws it back and grimaces. “Ugh. Horrible.”

“Alright then, Sophie,” I continue, knowing the next best way to torture Andy is through his fiancée. “Same question. How many times did you think about my brother while—”

“Don’t ask my wife that,” Andy spits.

“She’s not your wife yet, ya big sap.” Amelia swats at his leg, but her smile is real again. Thank God.

“These questions are amazing, man.” Nolan is still dying—hasn’t gotten up from where he collapsed onto the rug. “You really understand the spirit of the game.”

Sophie takes a breath, looks around the circle, then says, “I didn’t do that… very much.”

“Oh my God!”

“Sophie!”

“Jesus Christ.”

Laughter grabs everyone again until Amelia forces the matter. “Okay, okay, everyone shut up so we can hear her real answer.”

Sophie raises her glass in front of her lips, hiding there as she says, “I’m gonna go with… ten times.”

“Ten times!?” Amelia spins so her whole body is facing her friend. “Sophie, you horny bitch!”

“That’s barely anything!” Sophie yells, freckle-covered skin turning pink. “We knew each other like a decade before we started sleeping together.”

“I guess so, but damn.” Amelia shakes her head. “Thinking about someone specific is so… I don’t know, intimate? You were down bad, girl.”

Andy leans in towards Sophie and whispers something the rest of us can’t hear.

Sophie kisses his cheek and replies, “Maybe.”

“Alright, who else has a question?” Nolan asks.

The room is warm, and the alcohol makes it warmer. The soft couches have us all relaxed as we finish off our first round of beers and Andy says, “I don’t know. We kind of know everything about each other.”

“I don’t,” I say. “And I’m happy to keep going. Nolan, were you and Sophie ever a thing? Did you ever try to make a move?”

“Christ have mercy,” Andy mutters.

But Nolan has no shame as he says, “I can admit I was interested in the beginning.”

“You were?” Sophie asks from under Andy’s arm.

“Yeah, of course! I mean you’re so fun and pretty—”

“Hey,” Andy interjects—the protective side of my brother that literally only comes out for Sophie. “Remember that time I punched a guy over her? You want to finish that sentence?”