[Emily] A game of Truth Or Dare

Emily knew that if she chose the wrong person to start - Jason, Ben, or, God forbid, Rachel - then things would get out of hand very quickly. She dealt herself the first card. Each one had the profile of the person who would give the challenge, like "across from you" or "beside you." Some cards even had wildcard details. Emily had fond memories of the game from college, when Sarah had busted it out at almost every party. This card was an "across from you," and luckily, the one sitting across from her was Kate. That should keep things simple, she thought to herself.

Kate glanced around, expecting someone else to speak. "Oh, me?" she said. She was wearing a breezy, pastel-colored sundress with a cinched waist and floral patterns. A little done-up for a drunk night in, but Emily wasn't about to start complaining about other people's style. Her light brown hair was done up in a bun. "Okay, uh, truth or dare, I guess."

"Truth," said Emily.

"Oh gosh, what should I ask," she laughed. Emily had to sympathize. It wasn't easy trying to start things off when you barely understood your place among your friends. "I guess... how many guys had you been with before Noah?" She blushed, realizing she had asked too much, too soon.

Noah laughed awkwardly. "Here we go," he said.

Emily went red. She and Noah had had this discussion before, and she hadn't enjoyed it. "Not a lot," she said.

"That's not a number," said Jason.

Mark was staring at her. Hell, it wasn't just Mark. Everyone was. That was how it worked when you were the star of the show, Emily thought. She had never liked that kind of attention. "Nine," she admitted. That had been about six or seven too many for Noah's liking.

"Whatever," he said.

Emily wanted to move off of the topic quickly. She passed the deck over to Kate, and she drew her card. It read "boy to your right." The first person next to her was Sarah, but after that was Noah. Emily looked long at her boyfriend. "Truth or dare?" he asked neutrally.

"Truth." The question followed: "Have you ever cheated?" Kate had blushed hard again. That was something she and Emily had in common. "Sort of," she said, and explained a sort of emotional affair she had once had with a coworker. Emily chose to ignore that answer. Then it was Noah's turn, and his card read "girl to your right."

"Dare," he decided, wanting to get away from that line of conversation.