Never have I ever.

Grace playfully tapped her finger on her lip, thinking of something to say. “Okay, I’ve got it. Never have I ever cheated on a partner.”

To my relief, no one at the table drank. However, I had to think if I had to drink or not. I had asked the girls if what I did counted as three-timing, and they said that no, it didn’t. This was all consensual, so… Yeah, I didn’t drink.

“Look at you guys, being faithful,” Mila laughed. “At least I hope you’re all being truthful.”

“We are, we are,” Kevin assured her. “Can’t say I haven’t been tempted, though.”

That earned him a cold glare from Grace. “Hurt Lena and you’re dead, Kevin.”

The tall boy straightened up immediately. “Y-Yes ma’am!”

We laughed at the little scene, but I think we all knew Grace was being 100% serious, especially Kevin.

Next was Sarah. She gave it some thought before she decided on something. “Never have I ever stalked someone on social media.”

Again something I didn’t have to drink for. Other than Sarah, though, everyone else drank. My mouth dropped.

“S-Seriously?” I spoke.

“It’s just so easy!” Mila said with shame. “They post EVERYTHING they do, Oliver! Everything!”

“Not proud,” Ben nodded. “But sometimes curiosity gets the better of you.”

“Yeah…” Thomas answered wryly.

“You can bet we’ve all gotten stalked, too,” Sarah pointed out.

“Oliver doesn’t even have an account,” Thomas said.

“And I’m not sure I want to, especially now,” I said. That got another laugh around the table, but… I wasn’t really trying to be funny. Still glad they laughed.

“My turn,” Mila said. “Mm… Never…” Her eyes landed on me. Her cheeks blushed, and with a small smile, finished her sentence. “Never have I ever told someone ‘I love you’ without meaning it.”

“Ooof,” Kevin winced and went for his drink with a shaking hand. “It’s like you’re trying to get me killed.”

“Kevin, I fucking swear…” Grace started in a threatening tone.

“I’ll treat her well! I promise on my mom!” Regardless, he had to drink.

No one else did, and I certainly wasn’t going to even touch my bottle. Mila, Grace and Sarah had their eyes on me, and when I didn’t even move my hand, they all giggled.

Ben frowned at a sudden revelation. “I don’t think I’ve ever told a girlfriend I love her. Huh.”

“But DID you love them?” Mila asked him.

“I… don’t know? I don’t think I know enough to be claiming what love is.”

“Does anyone ever?” Sarah said. “Don’t worry about it too much.”

“I guess.”

When that little conversation was done, all eyes fell on me again, and I realized it was my turn to say something. Shit, I’d been so worried about whether or not I had to drink that I didn’t think of what to say.

I didn’t want to say anything too boring. The level of the questions was already relatively high. It was all mostly about relationships. S-Should I stay on topic or try or change it? Would I accidentally reveal something I shouldn’t? My chest was starting to hurt.

“Oliver,” Thomas called out. “Ask whatever you want,” he said easily.

I pressed my lips, but nodded. “Never have I ever…” My eyes fell on the pool, and I had my question. “Gone skinny dipping.”

I nearly did at Sarah’s pool, but we wore swimsuits in the end.

I don’t think I should be surprised that Thomas and Sarah were the only two who drank.

Thomas laughed at that. “If you have a pool, you have to try it at least once, right?”

“Yeah,” Sarah agreed with a smirk. “It’s liberating.”

Grace pouted in thought. “Does a hot tub count?” she asked.

“Huh?” Ben and Kevin exclaimed.

“That’s up to the one who asked,” Thomas grinned. “Oliver?”

If it counted, then I knew for sure Mila, Grace, Sarah and I would have to drink. THAT would reveal a lot, I thought, so… “No, I meant in a pool,” I answered quickly.

“Then no,” Grace said. I think that made the guys more curious.

With that, it was Ben’s turn. He looked around the table and settled on something. “Never have I ever… have had a crush on more than one person at a time.”

I tensed up and glared at my bottle.

“I don’t like this game…” Kevin whined as he drank, looking at Grace with fear.

Thomas gave his drink a thoughtful look before he also drank. None of the girls touched theirs.

…

With pursed lips, I took my bottle and drank.

“Ohoho?” Kevin raised an eyebrow at me. “Oliver?”

“He said crush,” I defended myself.

“So he did, so he did…” Kevin smirked, and goddammit it was his turn. “Never have I ever… kissed more than one person within a week.”

Motherfucker.

No one else touched their drink. I didn’t dare look at the girls, because if I did, everything would be way too obvious. I… I could lie and just not touch my drink, but…

With a sigh that was almost a groan, I took my bottle and drank the last quarter in one go out of frustration. My face was burning and my head was spinning, and I knew for sure it had little to do with the ****.

No one commented on it. Ben and Kevin looked at me with wide, stupefied eyes. Thomas smiled wryly and shook his head in disappointment. Again, I didn’t dare look at the girls.

We had gone a full round, so it was Thomas’s turn again. He tried to de-escalate the situation by asking something tame, saying he’d never ever cheated at a board game. The girls and I also tried to play it cool. They had better results than me, sounding a lot more composed.

But then it was Ben’s turn again. I prayed silently, asking for them to just let it go. But it seemed they were having fun with this.

“Never have I ever had a crush on someone at this table.”

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. I heard three more people drink. I had to open a new bottle to keep playing and had a bigger swig. Maybe if I drank more people would just think I was drunk and brush everything off.

Again, no one said anything. Kevin took his time pondering on his next question. Though I guess they weren’t really questions. Or were they indirect questions?

…

Yeah, the **** was getting to me. My head was feeling a little heavy and my vision felt ever so slightly delayed from my head movements.

Kevin swallowed hard, bit his lip nervously, but spoke. “N-Never have I ever had a threesome.”

I rushed to my feet with bottle still in hand. I felt the world around me spin, but not enough to break my balance. I walked away from the table and closer to the pool, giving my back to the others.

He did not just say that, did he? He knew what he was doing, right? Nerves and embarrassment were giving way to anger. This WASN’T appropriate. I barely knew these guys and THEY were the ones pushing this.

When Thomas teased me and even laughed when I told him things, I never felt offended. I always told him things because I felt I could trust him, and so far he’d been worthy of it. But that wasn’t the case with Ben and Kevin. I didn’t owe them anything, I didn’t owe them the truth.

Yet I still drank, because I’m a weak-willed imbecile who feels guilty for lying. Because that last time I refused to play a game like this…

I heard a grumble, a sigh and someone clicking their tongue. From the corner of my eye I saw the three girls drinking as well. Thomas had his elbow on the table, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a look of disappointment.

Ben and Kevin were looking at us with wide eyes, stunned. And now I wasn’t completely sure I liked these guys.