WE CONTINUED PLAYING truth or dare as we waited for the power to return. Some notable dares included sending Niko off in the middle of the storm to get us pizza, Leila drinking a surprise concoction created by Brenton using only ingredients in his mini-fridge, and me doing a headstand until my next turn.
"James hasn't been picked on yet," Niko pointed out after Vanessa had finished her dare of chugging a two-litre bottle of diet coke in ten seconds. James, who was currently massaging my head which was sore from the headstand, stopped and looked at everyone in surprise.
"Truth or dare?" Holden asked him.
"Truth. I don't do dares," he answered.
"Come on, doc, don't be a wuss," Holden taunted.
I sat up straight when I felt James tense up and I looked between them. Behind the teasing, there was quite some tension between these two. "Dare," he said in a low voice.
Holden pretended to think of a dare. "I dare you to kiss Leila."
Everyone looked at him in disbelief. Of all dares that was what he came up with?
"Come on, I think we've had enough kissing for one day," Niko said in an attempt to mitigate the situation.
"I don't have to," James told me, but when all eyes were on me I didn't want to seem like the overprotective and jealous girlfriend, so I shook my head. Hell, Brenton didn't make a scene about Holden and Amber so I shouldn't either.
"Go for it, it's just a dare," I said.
James shot me a wary look but he slowly walked over to Leila and kneeled in front of her. He gave her a peck so fast I nearly missed it when I blinked.
"Come on, that's hardly a kiss," Holden criticized. "Even Amber got more action from Vanessa."
James turned to look at me, awaiting my instructions. "It's just a dare," I repeated.
He faced Leila and leaned in slowly to kiss her. She instantly wrapped her arms around him, running her fingers through his hair as she kissed him back. My focus zeroed in on them as I watched them kiss, my eyes bulging when I saw her mouth open wider. Was she using her tongue? The dare was supposed to be just a kiss. And why was James still kissing her? They did the dare, they should have been done by now. After the agonizingly long kiss, they finally pulled apart, both of them breathing hard. After seeing that kiss it was impossible for me to believe James only saw her as a friend. No one kissed their friend like that.
James returned and flopped on top of his beanbag chair, acting as nothing had happened. When he saw me staring he chuckled and poked my nose. "Your face is all red. You look like a little tomato." I didn't know whether to feel better or worse that the effects of the brownie hadn't completely worn off of him yet.
"I'm just going to grab some water." I stood up and used my phone flashlight to go upstairs and get a bottle of water. When I returned back down, Holden was in my seat talking to Brenton.
"Truth or dare, Dani?" Amber said when I came back to the basement.
"Dare, I guess."
"I dare you to kiss anyone in the room."
"Pass," my brothers said at the same time, earning an eye roll from me. I knew exactly what Amber was doing. She was finding an excuse for me to kiss James so I could feel better about his and Leila's kiss, but that wasn't going to be enough. It was too late, I was already beyond jealous.
I walked up to James who was smirking at me, ready for a kiss, and I knelt down. At the last second, I grabbed Holden's face and kissed him. He was taken by surprise but eventually kissed me back, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist as he did. I had only meant for the kiss to last a few seconds, but the anger I felt from James and Leila kept me going. We finally stopped when I was yanked away from Holden.
"What the hell?" James demanded, clutching my arm.
I wiped my mouth as I gave him an innocent look. "What's wrong? It's just a dare."
He dropped my arm and stood up before storming upstairs. I didn't spare Holden a glance as I ran after James. I was looking for him all over the house and caught him standing in the backyard. I opened the glass door and was hit with cool wind and rain.
"Come inside," I yelled over the sound of the storm.
"Were you trying to hurt me?" James demanded.
"What?"
"I got dared to kiss Leila and I asked you before I did, so were you trying to piss me off?" he elaborated.
I stood outside and closed the door behind me, stepping into the rain. "No."
"Why can't you trust me?" he shouted, the sound of the rain overpowering his voice.
"I do," I insisted. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."
"Why would you do that?" he asked, sounding more hurt than angry.
"I got jealous, okay? Seeing you two kiss made me jealous, I'm sorry."
"Truth or dare?" James suddenly said.
"What?"
"Truth or dare?"
"Dare," I answered reluctantly, scared of what his question would be if I picked the former option.
"I dare you to pick truth."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine, truth."
"Did that kiss mean anything?" he asked.
"It didn't," I said in a solemn voice.
"Are you sure?" he confirmed.
"Yes, I'm sure. I love you, okay?" I leaned in to kiss him, but James had another idea in mind. He shoved me into the pool and I fell inside, landing with a big splash.
"What the hell?" I screamed as I floated back up.
He laughed. "Alright, now I forgive you."
"I can't believe you," I said in disbelief. "Help me up."
James reached over, but I pulled him in with me. He fell in the pool and we both laughed. I then leaned in to kiss him, and he kissed me back, all of the tension between us disappearing as we deepened the kiss. As we were making out in the pool in the rain, my eyes locked with Holden's as he watched us through the window. Not giving him a chance to react, I closed my eyes and focused on James.
~*~
I let out a soft groan as I woke up, confused by my surroundings. Once my eyes had adjusted to the darkness I realized I was still in the basement and it was the middle of the night. Based on how dark it was, it was safe to assume the power had not yet returned. After my and James' pool incident we all stopped playing the game and opted for scary stories instead, and I guess we fell asleep in the basement. I felt the urge to use the bathroom so I slowly got up, feeling the weight of James' arm on my stomach. I quietly wriggled out of his grasp and tiptoed upstairs to the bathroom. As I finished washing my hands, I exited the bathroom and headed for the basement, not looking where I was going, and bumped into someone.
"Who's there?" the person whispered. "The owner of this house is dating a cop so get out."
"It's Dani, dummy," I said to them.
"Parker, what are you doing in the dark?" It was Holden.
"It's my house. Why are you in the dark?"
"I forgot my phone," he admitted. "I just came to get some milk."
Since my eyes had almost fully adjusted to the darkness and I knew my way around the main floor, I led Holden to the kitchen. I then opened the fridge and took out a bag of milk, surprised it was still cool in temperature despite the fridge being out of power. "Do you want it cold or warm?" I asked him.
He tried to snatch the milk bag from me. "I can do it myself."
"Cold or warm?" I repeated.
"Warm, I guess."
I poured the milk into a pot and set it on the stove, turning the heat on. The perk of having a cooking expert brother was that he convinced Mom to purchase a gas stove a few years ago, and thanks to it we didn't need electricity to heat up food. I leaned against the counter as I waited for the milk to warm up, the only light in the kitchen coming from the blue flames on the stovetop.
"So..." Holden started.
I held up my hand to silence him. "Don't."
"Seriously, what was that?" he continued, ignoring my request. "Why'd you kiss me when he was right there?"
I refused to look at him, instead choosing to focus on the flames. "I don't know."
He scoffed at my reply. "Come on, don't bullshit me."
I exhaled and looked up at him. "I was upset and I just wanted to make him jealous."
"Damn, you really used me," he mused.
I hid my face in my hands. "I'm so sorry, I feel horrible."
Holden chuckled. "I'm just teasing, it's okay."
"I really am sorry."
He waved me off. "Don't sweat it. If it counts for anything, feel free to use me again."
I groaned at what he said. "You're such a pig."
A loud clap of thunder echoed through the kitchen and I jumped, crashing into his chest. He placed his hands on my waist to steady me. "It's okay, you're fine."
"You can let go now," I told him.
"What if I don't want to?"
I sighed. "Holden..." He took a step toward me, removing any space between us, and my eyes widened. "What are you doing?"
"Don't get too excited, I don't want my milk burning." True to his word, he spun the dial and turned off the stove.
I cleared my throat, thankful he couldn't see how red my face had gotten. "Oh, my bad."
He stepped back and smirked. "You're cute when you're embarrassed."
"Go to hell." I left the kitchen and went back to the basement. As I was walking down the stairs I nearly bumped into someone, my lips parting when I saw it was Leila. "Were you eavesdropping?"
She inspected her nails, not looking at me. "I would've gone to the kitchen sooner but I didn't want to interrupt. It sounded like you were having a very important conversation."
Ignoring her, I went downstairs and back to James. I slipped in next to him in my old spot and snuggled under our shared blanket. James turned around to face me and his eyes were half-opened. "Is it morning?" he asked in a husky voice.
I brushed my lips against his. "Go back to sleep."
~*~
Thankfully the power returned the next day. My brothers decided to hang out in the house, Holden left to go work at the café, James went to the local library to get some work done, and I had the misfortune of going dress shopping with Vanessa and Leila. I kept searching for an excuse, but Niko guilted me into going so here I was, sitting on a bench in an overpriced boutique the next town over. Vanessa had invited all of her bridesmaids so we could all get matching dresses for the wedding. One of the floor attendants walked around with a tray of champagne, offering me a glass. I wasn't much of a drinker, but considering I had a long afternoon ahead, I grabbed two glasses and chugged them both.
"Gather around, ladies," Vanessa chirped in her usual perky tone. "As you all know, the colour scheme for my wedding will be pastel green and white — thanks to Dani for the amazing suggestion!"
I gave an awkward smile as all of the girls turned to look at me... and the two glasses of champagne in my hands.
"Here's a preview of the dress I want you all to wear!" Vanessa clapped her hands and a model walked out from behind the changing curtains and down the small runway set up in the bridal boutique. She was wearing a dusty sage coloured spaghetti-strap chiffon dress with ruffles alongside the V-neckline, going down to the dress, with a long slit to the mid-thigh. It was fitted to the hip then flared out nicely and overall, it was a pretty damn beautiful dress. "What do you think?" the bride asked us eagerly.
"It's so gorgeous!" one of her friends responded.
"I wish my bridesmaids wore this to my wedding," another added.
"Are they readymade?" one of her many friends asked.
"That is why you ladies are all here today," a woman whom I presumed to be the owner of the boutique said as she stepped forward. She grinned at us all. "We will measure you and custom make your dresses."
"And Daddy's covering the charges!" Vanessa exclaimed. That last sentence got all of her friends excited, and they pushed past each other to get their measurements. "Ladies, patience, please! Let's start one at a time." Vanessa turned to me. "Dani, you go first!"
Her friends looked at me with mixed expressions of envy and confusion as I was ushered behind the curtain and surrounded by the clothes designers and stylists. They made me strip down to my undergarments and measured every part of my body.
"We have a few ready-mades you can try on for reference," the owner said. Two of her staff came behind the curtains with a dress each, totally unfazed by my near-naked state. The owner took them both and handed me one of the dresses. "Try this one on."
She left me to change and I slipped into the dress, using the full-length mirror behind me as I zipped it up. I twirled around as I admired my reflection in the mirror. I wasn't thrilled to be here but I was thrilled to wear such a beautiful dress. I stepped out from behind the curtains and onto the runway. All of the girls surrounded me, giving their commentary as they poked and prodded me. I didn't care much but I found myself tensing a bit when I noticed Leila, who had stepped out earlier, appeared to have just returned.
The owner pushed past the other bridesmaids and examined the dress. "I knew it, the dress is too tight at the bust. We'll need to get you the next size up."
She went up to one of the staff and noted down my size requirements, leaving me with the other girls. Leila, who I was watching carefully, set her bag down and walked up to me, looking me up and down. "You're so brave," she said.
I raised my eyebrows. "How?"
Her red lips curved up into a smirk. "For being the only bridesmaid who's not a size zero."
I felt my right eye twitch. "My boyfriend happens to love my body just the way it is." Her smirk fell right off her face. "I can only hope you'll find love like that someday."
When Leila turned around I thought that would be the end of it, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She spun on her heel and tapped her chin. "And which boyfriend was that again? James... or Holden?"
I was in no mood for this path she was going down. "Watch it," I warned.
The devilish smile on her face reappeared. "So I wonder, how does it work? Are you banging James in the daytime and Holden at night? You're a busy girl, aren't you?"
That was the last straw for me. Without a second of hesitation, I swung my fist forward, my knuckles colliding against her face. It felt like the world was moving in slow motion as I punched the shit out of her. I pulled my arm back, ready for another launch, but when the realization of what I had done clicked in, I froze in place.
Oh, shit.
I watched in horror as Leila's head snapped back and she fell to the ground, blood streaming down her face. Everyone in the store ran to her aid as she let out a screeching cry.
"My nose!" Leila sobbed. "It's ruined!"
Vanessa ran to her step-sister, frantically calling the paramedics. "What happened?" she asked with wide eyes, looking at everyone in hopes of an answer.
Unable to deal with this nonsense, I lifted the bottom of my dress and stormed out of the boutique, not caring about the clothes I was leaving behind.
"Wait," the shopkeeper yelled after me. "The dress!"
"Put it on the tab," I yelled over my shoulder.
"If you're going to run away with my merchandise, at least take the right size!"