LS: The Beginning (26 page)

“I win,” Lisa screamed. The remaining ladies joined Lisa to dance, celebrating their
victory. The look my team members issued me signified they didn't see Susan giving any sign.
Did Lisa
cheat?
I had to let it go; it was just a game.

“Tonight has been amazing. It's been a while since we had such fun, but
Susan and I have a meeting to attend first thing tomorrow morning. So
I’m afraid we'll have to leave you gentlemen and ladies to it,” Justin gave
his closing speech.

We thanked him and Susan for their remarkable hospitality, wished them a happy Thanksgiving, and the
non-family members added merry Christmas to their wishes. They left
the games room with huge smiles on their faces: indeed, they were gleeful.

Just then my phone vibrated in my pocket. I hardly put my phone on vibrate; it was only when I was in a formal
gathering. However, it wasn't a formal occasion in this case, just a dinner. Still, I had to respect my aunt and her husband's presence.

I'd received a call from my parents earlier, so I wasn’t expecting any other calls.
It was Sharon on the line. I had completely forgotten about her. Being with Lisa gradually erased the memories I had with her.

“Hello Steph,” she greeted her voice soft and lonely.

“Hey, how are you doing?”

“I’m fine, I guess,” she replied.

“How has your day been? Less I forget, happy Thanksgiving.”

“Boring, and to worsen the situation, my mother is out,” she said.

“I would have come to keep you company but I’m a little busy now. I’ll try
my best to see you before the day’s out.”

“That would be great. I’ll be expecting you.”

“All right, got to go now,” I said, as Julie called for everyone’s attention.

“Okay, bye.” She ended the call.

Julie had been playing with her amazing blonde hair and
thinking of me, Lisa was playing a game of pool with Ryan, and
Bobby was busy trying to get Stacey to notice him.

“Okay, let’s play the last game for today: truth or dare,” Julie requested.

“Sounds fun,” Ryan concurred.

“But isn’t it spinning the bottle?” Stacey asked.

“PoTEto, PoTAto.” Julie pronounced the word in two different ways, inferring they meant the same thing.

Strangely, I hadn’t heard of the game before, or maybe I'd probably forgotten about it. If I did forget it, then it must have been a game I disliked. “I don’t know how to play this game,” I admitted. For the second time, everyone stared at me with a surprised look. It was a bit embarrassing, trust me.

“I’ll tell you,” Lisa volunteered, provoking Julie in the process. “People sit in a circular pattern, and then someone
spins the bottle. When it stops, the person the bottle points at would be asked truth or dare by each player. Truth means you’d be asked a question and your answer must be truthful; dare, on the other hand,
means you’ll be dared to do anything. You can't be dared twice; after a dare is used, the next person has only one option: truth.”

“Okay, I understand.” I nodded.

We sat in a circular pattern on the marble floor as Lisa had said. Everyone felt
comfortable because of the fact the game was meant to be intense, and
the old folks weren’t around to ruin it. Stacey brought an empty VK orange bottle and she was
chosen to spin the bottle first. Being the umpire didn’t mean she couldn’t fall
victim of the bottle on its first spin.

The first victim was Lisa. She opened her mouth in
surprise as the bottle stopped, pointing at her. Unfortunately, telekinesis wasn't part of our supernatural abilities.

Ryan was the first to ask, “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” she quickly responded.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked.

She answered without stopping to think, “No.”

It pained me to hear
her say no, but then I would have probably answered the same thing if I was asked about my relationship status. Everyone was reasonable with their actions, either truth or dare, except the two ladies, Stacey and Julie.

“I dare you to kiss Ryan,” Julie said, knowing the thought alone would make me irate.

After a long minute of silence, I said, “Please, excuse us.”

I grabbed Lisa’s arm. My grip was so tight that it made her wince. I was furious because she could end up burning his tongue
and that would create a scene. Also, I couldn’t bear the sight of her kissing another
man – again. We went to talk in the corner of the room.

“Lisa …” I said.

“I’m not dumb,” she interrupted. “I know what Julie’s trying to do. She wants to know if the rumor she'd heard is true,” Lisa said, leaning on me.

“Yeah, I know you know, but I won’t let you do it,” I harshly replied.

“Trust me. I’ve learned how to control myself, thanks to you.” Her
voice sounded so tempting; it made me glow.
“Remember, you said I’m just your close friend, so why bother?”

She walked back
to rest of the group; she didn't turn back to look at me. I looked away from the action because there was no need to watch her kiss my cousin, who by the way got confused about my reaction, considering I'd introduced Lisa as a friend.

I heard Lisa’s soft lips press against Ryan’s. The pain was agonizing, but then I was glad she could control herself. At that moment, her safety was more important than any romantic desire. After wiping the jealousy off my face, I went back to hear the question that Stacey
asked.

Because Lisa was left to choose ‘truth’, she had already been
dared.

“Do you like Stephen?” she asked.

Again without contemplating, Lisa answered, “Yes.”

“Okay, would you like to go out with him,” Stacey continued.

This was an answer I was eager to hear. My hands were folded over my
chest and my legs crossed as my pulse surged in wait of Lisa’s response.

“Sorry, but you’re allowed only one question,” she cleverly replied,
leaving me to wonder the extent of her
like
for me.

The game continued with Bobby being the next victim, who was made to kiss
Stacey and also confess about his love for cheerleading. That was a bit funny. Stacey was the final victim of the day, and the worst of all. Her brother
dared her to remove six accessories, including clothes. She was left in her
underwear. As for me, I was quiet throughout the rest of the game from the time Lisa made me jealous. Lisa had succeeded in taking away my happiness, leaving me sulky and depressed.

When everyone got tired, there was no need to continue the game, so we said our goodbyes. Bobby had to ride with Julie because
he came without a car, and Stacey decided to remain in her parents' house that night.

I was still quiet.
Maybe she said those painful words to me because she’s in love
with me
, I thought. Getting to my car, the snow had already covered the car’s windshield. I looked
at it with annoyance, and it obeyed my mental command; the snow melted and wet the
glass. Lisa wanted to comment, but after seeing my miffed expression she held her
thoughts.

The drive to her house was quiet; she didn’t talk and I didn’t want to
be spoken to.
All this was because of a simple kiss. Apparently, I didn't think so at that moment. It felt like a slap across the cheeks.

Lisa only
spoke as we arrived at her house.

“Hope you’re spending
the night?”

“No. I have somewhere to go,” I said. “See you soon."

Her lips were immobile and her expression was perturbing as her eyes grew red. My last words must
have weakened her incandescent skin. Frankly, at that moment, I seemed
not to care. She ran to her room, leaving the front door open. I wasn't in the mood to run after her so I left.

On the way to my house, I remembered I'd given Sharon my word that I’d
be with her before the full moon. Sadly, I'd bailed out on the
most important person in my life, and being with another friend would worsen
the guilt I felt. I went straight home and decided not to speak to anyone.

Chapter Fourteen

Too Proud To Tell

Lisa and I resumed spending most of the days together, and pretending as though nothing happened on the night of Thanksgiving. Let’s just say I couldn’t be mad at her for long. Also, I'd taken Sharon out for a treat the next day as an apology for my absence. As for Stacey, I seldom spoke to her and when
I did, Lisa’s name was never mentioned.

December 25
^th
is a day of conviviality; a day of joy. Christians call it a
day to celebrate the birth of their savior. Others say it’s a day to be with
family. All in all, it is a day to be joyful.

***

Morning had arrived, yet it was difficult to feel the presence of the
sun. The cold was alarming, worse than the previous night. I shuddered
as the cold air passed over my body and turned to the major source of the cold, the windows. Without hesitating, I quickly moved and closed them. One would
wonder why I felt the cold. Being able to release ice from my bare hands, I should have been able to control the weather. Unfortunately and strangely, I couldn’t.

I
’d being hearing about the Facebook hype, but I wasn’t the type of
person who followed the crowd. Then Lisa had forced me to join just for the fun of it. When it came to the crowd, I was like: “No way, I am not following,” but when it came to Lisa, I surrendered. Also, being on Facebook helped me to track Sharon’s activities. I had no choice but accept Julie’s friend request and
many others who wanted to meet me. Lisa also made me join
Skype for video chatting, she didn’t reflect on the free calls
aspect because we were both wealthy.

I called my parents and Stacey's parents to wish them a merry Christmas. The Fords had invited me for a second dinner. Although it sounded tempting, I had to decline. The whole
kiss me-kiss you
situation might repeat itself.

There I was in my office-like room, chatting with Lisa whilst checking my friend’s pictures on Facebook. Although Sharon was a beautiful girl, the two female pictures that were
competing for the top spot were Lisa’s and Julie's. Julie looked so beautiful; her
hair was always uniquely done, her dress codes always matched her white
skin, which accentuated her lovely blue eyes. On the other hand, Lisa was noticeably hot. Ironically, being a very
quiet person in reality, her sex appeal was considerably higher than other
girls. Her fashion
style was so captivating; she was the favorite for winning this
competition.