The Key to the Oleander

Chapter Nineteen - Athena

I stay put, panting as he pulls up his pants.

"I'll meet you in the living room." He tells me before leaving. I stand there for a few seconds before pulling my leggings up and returning to the living room with popcorn.

I try to ignore that him just leaving without a kiss, a 'I love you', anything, bothers me.

"What's wrong?" Amber asks and I realize I'm frowning.

"Nothing." I shake my head and force a smile. I take a glance at Ace and see him sitting down facing the screen. I find it weird because the credits are on, the movie is over.

"So... anyone up for a drinking game?" Love smirks. Everyone agrees, but I stay silent, still lost in my thoughts.

"Athena?" I look up and see Amber looking at me with worry.

I nod and say, "Yeah, sure. I'm up for it." Amber hesitates before looking away, but I can tell she's still worried.

Love comes back into the living room with shot glasses and vodka and we all form a circle on the floor.

Ace sits to the left of me, Roman sits at his side and Theo his and across from me. Love sits next to him and Amber sits to the right of me.

"When it's your turn, you ask a person of your choosing a question about anyone in the room, a yes or no question, or a question about someone else. Anyone can ask what the question was if they take a shot and you can either tell them, or take a shot. I'll start, we'll go clockwise." Love explains before leaning into Amber's ear.

When Love leans back, Amber's face turns red. She bites her lip and looks down for a few seconds before looking back up and saying, "Roman."

Roman takes the bottle of vodka and pours it in his shot glass before swallowing it down.

"What was the question?" Roman asks with no emotion.

Amber has never been a big drinker, the last time I remember her drinking was at her first party when we were sixteen. So I'm not surprised when she looks down at her shot glass with wide scared eyes.

Amber looks at Love and nods. Love smirks before looking across from herself at Roman.

"I asked who is the cutest guy in the circle." Love doesn't hesitate to repeat the question. Amber covers her face with embarrassment.

Roman's face doesn't change one bit, he only nods.

"Next!" Love taps on Amber's shoulder, which Amber removes her hands from her face.

Amber leans into my ear and her question surprises me. "Who's your first love?"

I bite my lip as I think. If what Ace said was true about us dating in highschool, technically he would be my first love. But by my memory, Cole was. But it was nothing compared to what I feel towards Ace.

I decide to be petty about what Ace did earlier and say, "Cole." Ace perks up, his jaw clenches and I can tell he's annoyed at the mention of him.

Ace snatches the bottle, pours into the cup and tips his head back, swallowing the liquid as fast as he can.

"What was the question?" He demands.

Amber looks at him with surprise but answers nonetheless, "I asked her who her first love was." Ace's eyes spark with anger but he doesn't say anything, he only nods.

"My turn." I say in a singsong way before leaning into Ace's ear.

"Who's the most attractive person in this room?" I ask. I assume he would like to get me back and not say my name.

"You. Athena." He answers with no hesitation.

Love was the last one to leave, and it was already one in the morning. I yawn before rubbing my eyes.

"What the fuck was that, Athena?" I see Ace in front of me, angry as ever once I remove my hands from my eyes.

"What? Cole was my first love." I know exactly what he was talking about.

"No he wasn't, and you know that." He takes a step toward me.

"Why did you leave the kitchen like that?" I ask.

"Like what?" His face forms into confusion.

"You did your business and left. No kiss, no nothing."

"That's what you're mad about? Come on, Athena. It's not that big of a deal." He scoffs, rolling his eyes. I stay silent as I begin to question if I really was overreacting about it.

"Yeah, maybe." I whisper before turning to head upstairs.

"Where are you going?" He asks, making me pause.

"I'm going to bed." I reply before making my way up the stairs.