Chapter 2

"I'm meeting some friends tonight. Do you want to come with me?" Janet asked.

Friends?

Tiffany flashed through my mind.

"Yeah, I'm in," I said.

When Janet led me into the private room, a swirl of different scents hit me, and the room was buzzing with men and women.

Tiffany was sitting in the middle, and a guy I recognized was right next to her.

He was Mervin Lanning, her first love.

Everyone around them was cheering them on, and they were already locked in a passionate kiss. They slowly broke apart when they saw me walk in.

I clearly caught the provocation in Mervin's eyes.

Tiffany leaned against his shoulder and smiled at me. "You're here. Let me introduce him. This is my boyfriend, Mervin."

She kissed Mervin on the cheek and smiled, all sweet and shy.

"Hello, I'm Mervin Lanning."

Mervin held out his hand and smiled, like the provocation I saw earlier never existed.

"Hello."

I kept my expression polite, like he was a total stranger to me.

The truth was, I'd seen him before. I'd seen him on Tiffany's phone, in her journal, and in every slurred, lovesick ramble she spilled when she was drunk.

I went to sit off to the side with Janet while everyone stayed quiet and watched the four of us like a show.

I used to be the punchline in this crowd. But that night, with Janet by my side, nobody dared mess with me.

My eyes drifted to Janet without me meaning to. She was looking at me, too, gentle and calm.

Tiffany was curled up in Mervin's arms, and she got annoyed when she saw us trading looks.

She gave Janet a suspicious look, and her voice sounded pissed. "You and your fiance must be doing great, since you can't see anyone else here and only have eyes for him."

She sounded jealous, like she had just been cheated on, even though she was the one who handed me to Janet.

I found it kind of funny and said, "Yeah, we're engaged, so of course we're good."

Nobody answered, and the room went tense.

"Alright, alright, forget it. Let's play a game." Someone spoke up, breaking the silence.

Tiffany glanced at Janet, then pulled Mervin down to sit with her.

That person said, "Let's play Kings. Whoever draws the king picks two numbers, and they must do a dare."

Everyone was clearly into it.

One round later, Tiffany and Mervin got called. The king had them make out for two minutes in front of us and post it on their socials.

Mervin kept kissing her while checking my reaction. When he saw that I didn't react, he stopped watching me and really went for it.

After it ended, Tiffany glanced at me, clearly feeling uneasy. When she saw me calmly sipping my drink, she finally relaxed.

In the second round, Tiffany and I got picked. The king told me to hold her in my arms and do five squats.

When I saw everyone's knowing smiles, I smiled back.

Tiffany glanced at Mervin, who clearly didn't look happy, and walked out impatiently. She clearly hated having to do the dare with me.

"Can't we swap? I've got a boyfriend."

I looked up at her. She looked so annoyed that I laughed. "We can."

She stopped cold and looked at me in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"You're right. You've got a boyfriend, and I've got a fiancee, so we shouldn't play this kind of game together."

I let out a deliberately regretful sigh and continued, "Since the challenge wasn't completed, I'll take the drink as a penalty."

Right as I picked up my drink, Tiffany reached out, stopping me without thinking.

Her expression looked awful, and she practically forced the words out. "I can play along."

I shook my head while she glared at me like she was on fire. "No, thanks. That would piss Jan off."

I turned to Janet behind me, who was clearly surprised. "That's what I used to call you, right? Was it Jan, Jannie, or Nettie?"

I was deliberately pushing Tiffany's buttons. Sure enough, she couldn't take it and dragged Janet out right after. I followed them out, claiming that I was worried.

Tiffany's furious voice echoed from the end of the hallway. "Janet, what did you do to Chester?"

Unlike Tiffany, Janet looked and sounded completely innocent. "I didn't do anything. That's exactly how he used to treat you, wasn't it? No matter what he did, he was always scared of upsetting you.

"He's got a different girlfriend now, but he's still the same guy."

Janet's words landed right on Tiffany's sore spot.

Tiffany gritted her teeth and took a few deep breaths. She couldn't come up with a comeback. "Either way, I'm warning you to stay away from him. I told you to act, not make it real!"

Janet just smiled like it didn't faze her. "I get it. You know I can't stand him."

Without interrupting them, I went back to the room. When they returned, they were arm in arm like best friends again.

The room was still loud and buzzing. I ignored the occasional provocative looks aimed at me and blended in like it was nothing.

That seemed to draw Tiffany's attention even more. Maybe she was caught off guard because she always saw me as dull and quiet, and this side of me didn't match.

As the night wore on, everyone went their separate ways. Janet helped me back to the villa since I was drunk.

As I sank into the mattress, I grabbed her wrist. "Jan."

My voice sounded husky and gentle from the alcohol, and it threw Janet off balance. She pursed her lips, not moving.

My cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. I looked out of it, but my head was clear. I wanted to prove something.

I tugged her lightly.

She lost her balance and fell onto me.