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“Ow! Fuck!” he cries and Axel laughs.
“Get the fuck out of my room! Now!”
“You’ve never kissed a boy?” Kaiden scoffs at me. We’re playing a game of truth or dare and my honest answer to the question has the boys laughing at me. My cheeks heat with embarrassment, but I throw my shoulders back and refuse to appear weak. The age gap between us has never felt so pronounced.
“What, because you spend so much of your time kissing girls, do you?” I snap back.
“She has a point, mate,” Axel points out with a laugh.
“Yeah, but at least I’ve kissed some...a few…okay, one.”
“Yeah but you’re older than me.”
“So?”
“So, the girls in your class are nicer than the boys in mine.” They laugh at that and I think the game is ready to move on.
“McKenzie. Truth or dare?” I ask him.
“Dare.”
“I dare you to kiss Odi,” Axel announces, before I can think of a good dare. My eyes go wide and my stomach does a weird twisty-spin.
“What? No!” I cry. I don’t want Zie to kiss me...do I?
“Why not?” Axel challenges.
“Because...because…” I don’t know what to say to that. Maybe because I want my first kiss to mean something, and for it not to be a part of some game for others’ entertainment. Because I don’t want to be teased. Because I don’t want an audience. Because I don’t want to kiss one and not the others.
“No. I’ll pass,” Zie announces, and instead of being relieved, I feel hurt. He doesn’t want to kiss me. Disappointment stabs at my chest but I try my hardest to keep a poker face.
“If you don’t kiss her, I will!” Kaiden whoops with a laugh.
“Yeah, or I can,” Axel threatens.
“Excuse me!” I put my hands on my hips and get to my feet as my temper flares. “I think if I’m the one going to be getting kissed, I should at least have a say in who’s doing it!”
“Okay then, Peony. Who do you choose?”
Three pairs of expectant eyes stare at me, the weight of their gaze making my skin hot and itchy. Who indeed. That’s the million-pound question, isn’t it?
I thought I was doing the right thing, passing on the dare to kiss Peony. But I caught the flash of hurt in her eyes.
Did she want me to kiss her? She didn’t seem to want me to, but then, why was she upset when I said no? Does she think I don’t like her?
Because, god, I do. I wish I could tell or show her how much.
It’s not fair, the way the guys tease her about being inexperienced. Sure, they’re older than us, but it’s not like any of us have that much experience. I’ve kissed a couple of girls, but that’s either been a dare, curiosity or something that just sort of happened. I’m a lot more interested in kissing Peony than anyone else. It’s why it hurt when she demanded that I didn’t kiss her.
If I’m honest, it actually pissed me off. Plenty of girls want to kiss me. Enough of them watch me during swimming practice and giggle and blush when I walk by. So why doesn’t Peony like me? I bet she has a thing for Axel or Kaiden instead. They’re both bigger, stronger and more built than me. I bet that’s why she wouldn’t answer the question or choose one of us. Because she doesn’t want to wreck our friendship or hurt my feelings.
But then I think about that flash of pain and I’m left feeling like a dick. I don’t think I was the bad guy here but I hurt her somehow, which was never my intention.
Man, I hate it when the guys stir shit up like this. It leaves me frustrated and confused.
