Lucky In Love? A Valentine Anthology

Never Have I Ever

Never ever has Brian Hanson had a night like tonight nor will he ever forget it.
This story was contributed by Henry Scott.

I sat on a couch nursing a beer, surrounded by people I didn't know. Well, I was with my girlfriend, Jessica, but the rest of the party-goers were her friends. Mine were a bit more intellectual, but I was trying to expand my horizons for her sake. The truth was that I was lucky to have her, she was the prettiest girl in the school, and guys would kill to have her.

Yet Jessica was so much more. She was smart, funny, and wouldn't say a bad word about anyone. She was practically perfect, and I was completely smitten with her, which was why I was at a party in a cheerleader's house instead of studying for the SAT's. Though with only ten people present, it was more a gathering than a party.

Brit stood in the center of the room. "I know. Let's play 'Never Have I ever' to spice things up."

"It's your house. We'll do whatever you want," a guy said, sitting across from me in a recliner.

"I'm game," another cheerleader said.

"I bet you are," another guy joked.

She gave him the finger, and everyone in the room laughed.

"How do you play?" Jessica asked.

Smiling, Brit said, "We take turns going around the room. Each person says something true about themselves like, 'Never have I ever gotten a speeding ticket', but if other people in the room have gotten a ticket then they have to drink."

The first guy said, "That's a bad example. We know that's not true."

Brit shook her head. "Shut up! I'm a good girl."

More laughter.

"Sounds like fun," Jessica said. "I'll play."

"Me too." Like I really had a choice without looking like a complete dork, but I feared given my life experiences that I would drink a lot in this game. At least I didn't have to worry about driving home, my friend, Kevin was picking me up after his shift at McDonald's so that we could have a late-night gaming tournament while Jessica planned to spend the night here at Brit's house.

"Does everyone have a drink?" Brit asked.

Those who didn't filled their glasses, and we settled in to play when the doorbell rang. Brit hopped up to answer it and returned with Jim McGrath, a douchey football player from my physics class. Jim glanced around the room and made eye contact with Jessica. It lingered too long for my taste.

He said, "Hey everybody. Hi Jessica."

Another football player said, "I thought you said that you weren't coming, fucker."

"I never said that," Jim replied.

"Whatever."

Brit said, "Jimmy, we were going to play Never Have I Ever, are you in?"

"Definitely." He smiled devilishly as he pushed his way on to the couch on the other side of Jessica.

There were already three of us sitting there, so we ended up pressed hip to hip. No one else seemed to think it was weird, but it was obvious to me that Jim had intentions for Jessica. Bastard. He knew that she was my girlfriend, of that I had no doubt, but to a guy like him, I was only a speed bump. It was his birthright to steal her back to the popular crowd.

"You have something to drink, Jimmy?" Brit asked.

He pulled a pint of whiskey from his varsity jacket. "Of course."