Chapter 5

Lila’s POV

“Ugh, fine,” I sighed, crossing my arms as we stepped inside the house. The cool air from the AC brushed against my skin, doing little to calm the nervous flutter in my stomach. “Let’s play truth or dare. What are the rules?”

Damien’s face lit up with clear enthusiasm, his eyes gleaming with that familiar mischievous spark. “That’s more like it. We should play inside where it’s comfortable.” He led the way into the living room, and I followed, my heart already beating faster than it should.

He dropped onto the couch and patted the spot beside him. Once I sat down—keeping a careful distance—he laid out the rules with a casual shrug. “Simple. You have to complete every dare. If you refuse, you pay a fine of three hundred dollars.”

“What?!” I yelped, sitting up straighter. I knew it. He was up to something. Three hundred dollars was way more than I could easily cough up, and he knew exactly how tight my allowance was.

Damien laughed softly, holding up his hands. “Relax. It’s not like I’m going to ask anything impossible. Don’t be a chicken, Lila. Let’s just have fun.”

I hesitated, biting the inside of my cheek. Deep down, a warning voice told me this was a bad idea, but another part—the curious, reckless part—wanted to see where it would go. “Fine. Let’s play.”

“You start,” he said, leaning back with that confident smirk.

“Okay… Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.”

I didn’t even pause. “Do you have feelings for Rache?”

“Nope,” he answered instantly, without a flicker of hesitation.

I nodded, trying to ignore the small rush of relief. “Alright. Truth for me too.”

Damien’s gaze sharpened, turning more intense. “Do you actually love your boyfriend, Ethan?”

I shifted uncomfortably on the couch, the fabric suddenly feeling too warm against my thighs. The question hit harder than I expected. I couldn’t lie to him—Damien had always been able to read me like an open book. My fingers twisted together in my lap. “No… I don’t love him.”

A satisfied grin spread across his face. “I knew it.” He leaned forward slightly. “My turn again. Truth.”

I swallowed, my curiosity getting the better of me. This was crossing a line, but I couldn’t stop myself. “Have you… ever had sex with a girl before?”

Damien held my eyes steadily, his voice low and calm. “No.”

My mouth fell open in genuine shock. “You’ve got to be joking. You’re easily the hottest guy on campus. How are you still a virgin?”

He gave a slow, teasing shrug, his eyes never leaving mine. “Let’s just say I’m waiting for the right girl. Someone specific I want to be my first.”

A strange, uncomfortable warmth spread through me. I shifted again, wondering who that “specific girl” could be. The way he was looking at me made my skin tingle.

“Truth or Dare?” he asked, his tone turning playful yet charged.

“Truth.”

His smirk deepened, voice dropping lower. “Are you still a virgin? Or has Ethan already popped that cherry?”

Heat flooded my cheeks. I let out a long breath. “No… he hasn’t.”

Damien’s grin widened, genuine pleasure flashing in his eyes. “Good to know.” Then, more bluntly, he added, “Ethan’s a complete fool if he has someone as sexy and beautiful as you and still hasn’t done anything about it.”

I blinked, a rush of embarrassment mixing with unexpected pleasure at his words. “What in the world are you saying, Damien?” I laughed nervously, trying to brush it off.

He shrugged casually, but his gaze lingered on me a beat too long. “Just telling the truth. You’re gorgeous, Lila. Any guy would be lucky.”

I quickly changed the subject, my pulse racing. “Whatever. Truth or Dare?”

“Dare.”

A bold idea sparked. I smirked, leaning in a little. “You mentioned there’s only one girl you want to lose your virginity to. I dare you to tell me exactly who she is.”

Damien didn’t look away. His eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. “I’m not sure you really want to know.”

“I’m sure,” I replied, staring right back, my voice steadier than I felt. “Tell me.”

He paused for a moment, then dropped the words like a bomb, slow and deliberate. “It’s you, Lila. You’re the girl I want to fuck.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. “What?!”

“I warned you,” he said with a grin, standing up slowly. “You weren’t ready to hear that.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” I whispered, refusing to believe it even as heat pooled low in my belly. It was one thing to secretly fantasize about my twin brother. It was something else entirely to hear him admit the same forbidden desire out loud.

Damien shook his head, his expression turning more serious. “I wish I was joking, sis… but I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you for a long time.”

“Since when?” I asked, my fingers squeezing together tightly in my lap. My voice came out small.

“I don’t really know exactly when it started,” he confessed, running a hand through his hair. “It just… happened. One day I realized I was falling hard. I’d get insanely jealous every time you dated some other guy. I wanted to be the one in your life—not them. I still do.”

His words hit me deeply. I understood exactly what he meant because I felt the same. I didn’t know precisely when my innocent feelings for my twin had twisted into something darker and hungrier, but they had. I hated seeing him with other girls. I wanted to be the only one he looked at that way.

We both fell silent, the weight of the confession hanging heavy in the air between us. The old, safe brother-sister relationship I had tried so hard to protect felt like it was already slipping away, replaced by something far more dangerous and exciting.

Damien’s POV

I watched Lila carefully, my heart pounding as the silence stretched. Had I gone too far? Was she angry? Disgusted? Regretting ever agreeing to play this game?

Shit… I shouldn’t have confessed like that. The thought looped in my head. What if I had just ruined everything between us?

Neither of us spoke for a long moment. The living room felt smaller, the air thicker with unspoken tension.

Finally, I couldn’t take the quiet anymore. My voice came out softer than I expected. “Do you… do you have feelings for me too?”

I held my breath, hoping the rumors I’d heard around campus weren’t just empty gossip. Hoping she felt even a fraction of the burning need I had for her.