Page 52 of Beautiful Monster

“You go first then,” Fischer says, looking like he’s brewing up something awful in that mind of his.

“How do you play?” I whisper.

Cadence smiles at me, like I’m a kid sitting at the grown-up table. “We take turns saying something we’ve never done. Everyone who has done it has to drink.”

Oh great. It’s just another way to show off my inexperience and make me feel like a loser.

“I’ve never been a paid, commissioned artist,” Cadence says with a smug smile.

My eyes don’t leave her face as I pick up my drink.

“I think that’s just you, sis.”

“You’re a brat,” I mumble before sipping my champagne.

When it’s Fischer’s turn, he makes some obnoxious remark about blow jobs, which makes Cadence the only one to drink. I bite my lip as I feel Liam’s eyes on me.

Nope, not even a blow job, I think in my head. Get over it.

When it comes around to me, I try to think of something to say, but it’s humiliating. Everything I could say makes me feel like an idiot, like I should be humiliated for the things I haven’t dived into doing yet, especially when it was Cadence who so boldly convinced me to wait.

"I don't know," I mumble. "Never have I ever…"

"Fucked Liam," Fischer blurts out, and my sister's jaw drops.

"Fischer, man!" Liam groans, dropping his face in his hands. Meanwhile, my cheeks turn about ten shades darker and the tension between Liam and me grows.

I like Liam, I really do. He's the nicest and most mature of Cadence's friends, and there's a little part of me that keeps considering him. Like a constant reminder that we should probably be together. That if my choices were presented already, the obvious choice would be Liam. And it wouldn't be the worst-case scenario.

To be totally honest, I just always assumed I would lose my virginity to Liam.

But that's about it.

I don't think about him when he's not around. I don't search for his flaws, thinking that he has none, but knowing that if I did search, I would find plenty.

Across the room, my sister puts down her cup, but I see Liam's eyes glued on her face.

"This game is done," she murmurs.

Awkward silence fills the room, while Fischer fights the urge to say something else. The truth is obvious. My sister avoided drinking because she didn’t want to admit that she and Liam have had sex.

Fischer doesn't want to accept it because he wants Cadence all to himself. But he walked right into this without even realizing it.

And if I could choose for my sister, I'd push her into Liam's arms all day long.

Instead, I feel his arms wrap around my shoulders, squeezing gently.

"You okay?" he asks. "It's just a joke."

His tone is genuine, and I probably do look a little shell-shocked. And I must be tipsy because I'm actually leaning back into his touch.

The room sways a little when I look across the space and see Fischer leaning in toward my sister, trying to whisper something to her while she keeps her eyes down and away from him. A moment later he's kissing her, and she's not ignoring him anymore. She's kissing him back.

I can't tear my eyes away because I realize at that moment how much I don't understand my sister. Fischer treats her like shit, and just when I think she's fighting back, she leans right into his advances. Like she was in control all along.

When I turn my head to see Liam, his face is already turned toward me.

Our lips are inches apart, and I start to pull away, but he's already kissing me. His lips are soft, and my mind starts to replay the kiss from Alexander as Liam presses his tongue into my mouth.