Id never been in love, so if she was talking about romance, the answer was easy.
How many people do you love, total? Sloane said. Summing across familial, romantic, and all other variations.
I wanted to just choose a number at random. Five sounded good. Or ten. Too many to count sounded better, but Lia was watching me, very still.
Id loved my mother. That much was easy. And Nonna and my father and the restI loved them. Didnt I? They were my family. They loved me. Just because I wasnt showy about it didnt mean that I didnt love them back. Id done what I could to make them happy. I tried not to hurt them.
But did I really love them, the way Id loved my mom? Could I love anyone like that again?
One. I barely managed to get the word out of my mouth. I stared at Lia, hoping shed tell me that wasnt true, that losing my mom hadnt broken something inside of me and I wasnt destined to spend the rest of my life two shades removed from the kind of love that the rest of my family felt for me.
Lia held my gaze for a few seconds, then shrugged. Your turn, Cassie.
I tried to remember why Id thought playing this game was a good idea. Michael, I said finally. Truth or dare?
There were so many things I wanted to ask himwhat he really thought of the program, what his father was like, beyond the issue of tax fraud, whether there had ever been more to his relationship with Lia than trading verbal barbs. But I didnt get a chance to ask any of those questions, because Michael leaned forward in his seat, his eyes gleaming. Dare.
Of course he wasnt going to let me dig around in his brain. Of course he was going to make me issue the first dare of the game. I racked my brain for something that didnt sound lame, but also didnt involve kissing, nudity, or anything that might give Michael an excuse for trouble.
Hit me with your best shot, Colorado. Michael was enjoying this way too much. I had a feeling he was hoping that I would dare him to do something a little bit dangerous, something that would get his adrenaline pumping.
Something Briggs would disapprove of.
I dare you I said the words slowly, hoping an answer would present itself. to dance ballet.
Even I wasnt sure where that came from.
What? Michael said. Clearly, hed been expecting something a little more exciting, or at the very least risqué.
Ballet, I repeated. Right there. I pointed to the center of the rug. Dance.
Lia started cracking up. Even Dean bit back a smile.
Ballet is a tradition of performance body movement hailing back to the early Renaissance, Sloane said helpfully. It is particularly popular in Russia, France, Italy, England, and the United States.
Michael stopped her before she could orate an entire history of the art. Ive got this, he said. And then, a solemn expression on his face, he stood up, he walked to the center of the room, and he struck a pose.
Id seen Michael do smooth. Id seen him do suave. Id felt him push a piece of hair out of my facebut this . This was really something. He stood on his tippy-toes. He twirled in a circle. He bent his legs and stuck out his butt. But the best thing was the look in his eyes: cold, steely determination.
He capped the performance off with a curtsy.
Very nice, I said between hysterical giggles. He sank back onto the sofa and then turned dagger eyes on Lia.
Truth or dare.
Not surprisingly, Lia chose truth. Of all of us, she was probably the only one here who could lie and get away with it.
Michael smiled, as genial as Lia had been when shed started this whole thing. Whats your real name?
For a few brief seconds, vulnerability and irritation passed over Lias features in quick succession.
Your name isnt Lia? Sloane sounded strangely hurt at the idea that Lia might have lied about something as simple and basic as her own name.
Yes, Lia told her. It is.
Michael stared at Lia, raising his eyebrows ever so slightly.
But once upon a time, Lia said, sounding less and less like herself with every word, my name used to be Sadie.
Lias answer filled my mind with questions. I tried to picture her as a Sadie. Had she shed her old name as easily as she changed clothes? Why had she changed it? How had Michael known?
Truth or dare Lia dragged her eyes across each of us, one by one, and I sensed something dark slowly unfurling inside of her. This wasnt going to end well.
Cassie.
It didnt seem fair that it was my turn again already, when Dean had yet to go, but I stepped up to the plate.
Dare. I dont know what possessed me to choose that option, other than the fact that the look on Lias face convinced me that shed make Sloanes question look about as personal as an inquiry about the weather.
Lia beamed at me, and then beamed at Michael. Payback .
I dare you, Lia said, relishing each and every word, to kiss Dean.
Dean reacted to that sentence like hed been electrocuted. He sat straight up. Lia, he said sharply. No.
Oh, come now, Dean, Lia cajoled. Its Truth or Dare. Take one for the team. Without waiting for his reply, she turned back to me. Kiss him, Cassie.