White Noise

23

"Never have I ever blown a guy in a car," Haley said.

I choked on my beer.

JD's hand, resting on my bare thigh, only made the coughing worse when his fingers dug into my skin. He shifted next to me on the couch, sinking deeper into the cushions and closer to me, pushing aside what little remaining air was left between our upper bodies as we sat side by side.

"You alright?" His voice was like silk, glossing over the shell of my ear as I struggled to swallow down the remaining irritation in my lungs.

All I could do what frantically nod. And all I heard was a chuckle in response.

"Liar!"

Mac's voice drew me back to the conversation. He was pointing a finger at Haley with a knowing grin and twinkling eyes.

"Jared Staten bragged about you going down on him in his car like a year ago!"

Haley's perfectly plucked eyebrows jumped up her forehead. "Really. That's what he said?"

My gaze was snagged by Travis, rolling his eyes as he reached to the coffee table between us to throw back a large gulp of his beer. He had been the most adamant about not wanting to play the game. And while Victoria, sat next to him on the couch, agreed to participate, she was scrolling through her phone with a bored look on her elegant face.

I can't say I myself had been jumping at the idea to play when Mac first proposed Never Have I Ever, once we were all settled with fresh cans of beer in his decked-out basement.

Shortly after JD and I reconciled from the eye roll incident at the party, Mac showed up in the kitchen to let us know he, along with Travis and Vic, thought the party was "whack" and "we'll have more fun drinking together at my place."

I was more than fine to leave, still a little shaken up from my run-ins with Conrad and Jason... and JD. It took a bit of prodding to convince Haley, but in a matter of a few minutes, the six of us were exiting the mansion with plans to meet at Mac's to continue partying for the rest of the evening.

His house was almost as impressive as the house—mansion—of the party we'd just left. I didn't see much of it though, since only a few steps past the front door threshold we'd taken a staircase down to what he called a basement.

Ha.

I would refer to it more as an underground suite. Full kitchen setup—with a bar, naturally—, foosball table, ping-pong table, a bunk bed tucked away in a corner. We were currently utilizing the plush sitting area—two worn couches, two leather armchairs, and a sleek coffee table facing the largest flat screen TV I'd ever seen in my life. Underneath the TV were so many gaming consoles I didn't even recognize them all, and a stereo system that probably cost more than most of the furniture combined.

Having already experienced JD's guest house doubling as a bedroom, I was more prepared this time around. The shock that this is what they considered a basement wore off quicker.

Haley cackled in response to Mac nodding his head at her question before sneering wickedly, "What a slimy motherfucker. It was him that went down on me—"

"You guys are nasty," Travis cut her off, his eyes slammed shut like this topic was making him nauseous.

Mac scoffed at him, crumpling his now empty beer can and using it almost like a wand to gesture at the couple on the couch. "Oh please. Like you two horn dogs haven't done worse."