“Truth or Dare it is then.”
Ah, crap. “Okay.” I swallow. “Truth or—”
“You went first last time,” he interjects as he lights up another cigarette. “Truth or dare, Groupie?”
It’s apparent he hasn’t quite caught on that there’s an easy way out of this for me. “Dare.”
Boom. Safe.
The smoke from the lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth wafts through the air. “Let me see your tattoos.”
What. The. Fuck.
I’d rather sing him every song in my notebook while standing in front of our entire graduating class than let him see that.
How the hell am I going to get out of this?
Thinking quick, I realize honesty is the best policy. Sort of.
“I don’t have any.”
It’s evident he doesn’t like that answer, but there’s nothing he can do about it. He can’t see my tattoos because there are none. Tough cookies.
And now it’s my turn. “Truth or dare?”
There’s no hesitation on his part. “Truth.”
I could go easy on him, but I’m hoping if I can make him even half as uncomfortable as he made me with his last request, he’ll agree to stop playing this game.
“Why did you kiss me?”
His nostrils flare on an indrawn breath, and for a moment I don’t think he’s going to answer…
But then he does.
“Because I wanted to.”
Little tingles shoot up my spine and I press my legs together.
Phoenix wanted to kiss me.
Thank God I’m buzzed because I have no idea how to fully process the magnitude of that.
He tosses his cigarette into his cup and it hisses. “Truth or dare?”
I don’t want him to ask me what’s on my body, so I say, “Dare.”
It feels like he’s spearing my soul with a dull knife when he utters his next statement. “Show me the ink on your upper thigh.”
My lips part on a shaky inhale. Clearly, I’m the one who’s slow on the uptake because he just one-upped me. Big time.
I can’t do this. I can’t.
But I have to. Because something tells me he won’t let me squeak out of this.
I hate to say it, but the fact Phoenix has difficulty reading is a major bonus for me right now.
My legs feel like rubber as I stand. “Okay.”
I go to move the T-shirt up, but Phoenix beats me to it. The second he touches me, I grow light-headed.
Frustration creeps over his features as he tries to decipher the three words on my upper thighs.
I’m about to tell him his time is up, but then he shifts off the couch and moves closer, inspecting the ink.
He brushes over one of the words. The contrast of his calloused finger and gentle touch sends heat between my legs.
“Fat.”
My heart thuds against my ribs.
Brows furrowing, he reads another. “Pig.” Anger colors his tone as he utters the last one visible to him. “Fat ass.”
Bringing his thumb to his mouth, he wets it…then rubs it over one of the words, trying to erase it.
But he can’t. Not that easily anyway. “It’s permanent marker.”
“Why…” The line between his brows grows deeper and his voice drops to a faint rasp. “Why do you do this to yourself?”
Because it’s what I am.
What everyone sees me as.
Blinking back tears, I move his hand away. “You can’t ask a question unless I pick truth. Plus, it’s my turn.” I sit back down on the couch. “Truth or dare?”
A muscle in his jaw bunches. “Dare.”
My chest feels like it’s been cracked open, exposing my darkest secrets. I’ve never felt more vulnerable in my whole entire life.
I think it’s only fair that he lets me see his secret.
“Show me where you live.”
He looks at me like I’m certifiable. “No—”
“I just showed you something no one else knows about. Something incredibly personal and private.” Something that almost broke me. “The least you can do is show me the trailer you live in.”
Even though it’s clear he doesn’t want to, he caves. “Fine.” He digs his keys out of his pocket. “Let’s go.”
Dirt and gravel crunch under the tires of Phoenix’s Toyota as he drives through Bayview.
After making a quick right, we pass a line of run-down trailers, each one shoddier than the last.
My stomach bottoms out when he pulls to a stop in front of the worst one at the very end.