Chapter 29: The Game
"We all know how the game works, right?" Ruby asked, surveying them one after the other as they gathered in the dimly lit living room, ready to play ’dare dice.’
Shane knew the rules and nodded confidently. Evie followed suit, but when their eyes turned to Ezra, he met their gaze with a pointed look. They probably assumed a guy like him wouldn’t have a clue about such games.
"Yeah," Ezra replied, clearly unfazed by their expectations. He didn’t fit their stereotype of someone who avoided games, and he wasn’t about to let them think otherwise.
"All right, that settles it," Ruby declared decisively as she unveiled the dice for their game. Each player would roll the dice, and the corresponding number would determine their dare. If a number was already taken, they could roll again or pick another.
"I’ll take the honors of going first," Ruby said with a mischievous smile, earning agreement from the group, who anticipated the daring challenges ahead. She rolled the dice, which landed on a ’six one,’ totaling seven.
"So number seven is... Close your eyes and let someone feed you something. Then guess what it is,"
Ruby obliged and closed her eyes. Evie quickly took charge, scouring the kitchen for something suitable. She returned shortly, spoon in hand. "Say ’ahh,’ Ruby," Evie teased.
Ruby complied, parting her lips and feeling the spoon enter her mouth. She savored the flavor, her brow furrowing in concentration. "Is that... Peanut butter?" she guessed.
"Wrong," Shane chuckled with satisfaction.
"I can’t be!" Ruby protested, opening her eyes.
"It’s almond butter. You were close," Evie smirked.
"Fine, fine... Who’s next?" Ruby tossed the dice toward Ezra. "Your turn."
Ezra rolled, landing on "One one."
"That’s number two."
"For number two, the dare is... Let someone go through your recent emojis and read them out," Ruby stated, with a hint of mischief. "Evie, you do the honors."
Evie’s grin widened as Ezra retrieved his phone. She perused his emoji keyboard. "You’ve got a face that looks annoyed... and rolling eyes. Classic Ezra. And wait, cucumber?" she raised an eyebrow expectantly.
Shane burst out laughing. "Let me see that."
"And water... Peach?" Evie continued, locking eyes with Ezra. Everyone could tell what those emoji choices implied, and it raised suspicion about Ezra’s recent texts.
"I can explain," he said, trying to sound casual while Shane and Ruby stifled their laughter.
"Who have you been texting?" Evie pressed, clearly intrigued.
"Honestly, my keyboard has this malfunction. It swipes on its own," Ezra insisted, but the skeptical gazes from the other people suggested they weren’t buying it. And it was true, because his emoji keyboard had a lot of things that didn’t correlate, maybe food, vegetables, one would think Ezra was hungry but that wasn’t the case. But the recents were highly suspicious.
"Okay, next person," Ruby announced, shifting the focus back to the game.
It was Evie’s turn to roll, and she tossed the dice, which landed on a total of ten.
"Number ten says... Pick someone in this room and describe your first impression of them."
Evie scanned the room thoughtfully and finally settled on Shane, who raised an eyebrow in surprise. "So what’s your first impression of me, sweetie?" he teased playfully.
"I thought you were one of those cocky, arrogant guys," Evie admitted straightforwardly.
"One of who?" Shane asked, intrigued.
"You know the type: prideful but seriously, I wouldn’t have guessed you were such a fun and easy-going person. You’re always teasing people, which isn’t what I expected at all," Evie stated clearly.
"Aww, that’s sweet," Ruby chimed in.
"Now, it’s Shane’s turn."
"Let’s go, baby!" Shane rubbed his hands together, grinning. He rolled and got a total of nine.
"Number nine says, who would you like to kiss right now if you had the chance? Would you do it?" Ruby asked matter-of-factly.
Shane smirked and answered, "Ezra."
Ezra shot him a sharp glare, clearly taken aback, while Evie and Ruby shared wide-eyed looks, astonished by Shane’s boldness.
"Just kidding" He laughed it off, glad he had successfully pissed off Ezra and gained that death look in his eyes.
"I wouldn’t choose Evie, knowing it could cause trouble... So," he said, turning to Ruby with a dramatic flair, "Shall we?" He leaned in to kiss her. Evie and Ezra watched, the latter unfazed as always, while Evie couldn’t suppress a smile at the sight. Finally, she thought.
They pulled away, gazes locked, and Ruby flushed before they both looked away.
"S... shall we continue?" Ruby asked, visibly flustered.
"Let’s switch the game to Never Have I Ever," Shane proposed assertively. "Does everyone agree?" They agreed. Finally, some secrets were about to get revealed. He relished the thought.
"Never have I ever said ’I love you’ and didn’t mean it," he declared, locking his gaze sharply onto Ezra and Evie.
"What?" Evie questioned Shane who was still fixing a pointed look at them as if asking them to drink up.
But neither of them drank, and his eyes narrowed, contemplating them for a moment before deciding to let it go.
Next was Ruby. "Never have I ever wanted someone I know I shouldn’t want," she asked. Silence enveloped the group before Evie reached for her drink and downed it, eyes on her intently. Ruby followed suit.
"Never have I ever wished I could go back and fix something I broke," Ezra stated. Shane instinctively grabbed his drink, locking eyes with Ezra briefly before gulping it down.
What was Shane desperate to change? Was the question in the minds of Evie and Ruby, but Ezra knew what it was about.
"Never have I ever looked at someone and wondered ’what if?’" Evie posed, and nearly everyone reached for their drinks, all except Ezra and they shared a laugh.
"Never have I ever lied in this game?" Shane asked.
And Both Ezra and Evie took a drink, confirming their deceit.
"Never have I ever had a secret I want to take to my grave?" Ruby pressed on. Evie drank, followed by Shane, then Ezra. Now it was clear that each held secrets they intended to keep hidden. The game continued, laughter filling the air, suspicions brewing as they lost track of time.
***
When Ezra stirred awake around midnight, his gaze fell on Evie, who had dozed off on his chest, softly snoring. He shifted her gently, and she curled onto the rug as he stood up. He glanced around the living room, before running a hand through his hair, thoughts swirled in his mind as he headed upstairs.
The next morning...
Evie found Ezra at the mirror, meticulously knotting his tie, already prepared for work. "You’re leaving early this morning," she remarked with a playful tone.
"Yeah," he replied, his tone clipped and noticeably different.
"I made you coffee," she said, entering the room and placing the steaming cup on a small table. She noticed he had yet to acknowledge her presence. Not a single glance, or a smirk thrown in her way—something seemed off.
"I’m good," he replied curtly, signaling he wouldn’t touch the coffee.
Her eyebrows drew together in concern about his sudden change in demeanor.
Finally turning to face her, he shot her a cold look. "And you don’t need to keep pretending when we’re off the clock."
Her stomach sank.
His words cut deep.
She blinked in disbelief, momentarily at a loss for words, feeling the chill in the air as he brushed past her. Without another word, Ezra snatched his suit from nearby and headed outside.