Jeans of a Star

I didn’t know why it happened, but every time I thought I was gathering up some sort of courage to tell Dave exactly what I thought about him, he’d smile at me or laugh or make a joke and all of my courage would just vanish. If I had asked Charity, she would have told me it was because I didn’t want to tell him at all, but I would beg to differ.

Unluckily for me, more and more people were filing into the kitchen, which just made it more difficult for me to talk to him. It almost got to the point where I couldn’t hear his voice over the sound of everyone else, and I couldn’t decide whether I should be happy or sad about that.

Before I had a chance to decide, Anna and her followers came over to the spot where Dave and I were standing, batting their overdone eyelashes at him. I remembered a time when Dave made fun of girls like that, but now he just smiled at them with that sincere I would do anything for you smile. I couldn’t think of anything in the world that I hated more than that, except maybe Anna herself.

“We’re about to play a game,” Anna said, reaching her hand out to grab onto Dave’s. “Come with.”

I could feel my face scrunching up into a scowl, and honestly I didn’t care enough to do anything about it. Let Anna see how much I despise her. She probably didn’t care anyway.

Dave chuckled, pushing his back off the counter a bit. He grabbed onto my hand with the one that wasn’t holding onto Anna’s and looked at me while nodding his head in her direction. I knew what he was going to say before the words even fell from his lips, but I was too distracted by the sudden contact to do anything to stop it. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to get it together.

“Let’s go then,” Dave said, looking at me while tugging me gently away from the counter.

I couldn’t help but notice the glare that Anna shot in my direction and that was probably what pushed me into agreeing to go. What could be better than pissing Anna off? Well, having Dave Franco grab onto your hand, but that was beside the point.

After I nodded my head, Dave gave one more tug of my hand before dropping it completely, which deep down I wished he hadn’t done. I followed behind him while he followed Anna, and I couldn’t help but notice how nice Anna’s butt looked in her extremely short shorts, and I imagined that Dave was noticing too. It really wasn’t fair that girls like her existed, but there was really nothing I could do about it.

We followed Anna until she led us to a small circle of no more than fifteen people. They were laughing, cheering, and taking sips from their drinks – basically everything you would expect from a bunch of drunk 20-something’s – and none of what they did clued me onto what game we were playing. I had no idea what Anna had planned, and that didn’t really surprise me because girls like her were usually good at keeping secrets, which is why guys like her. I don’t hate her on purpose, I swear.

Everyone in the group greeted Dave immediately, and it just reminded me how well liked he was. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who was a victim of his charm.

“So, what game are we playing?” Dave asked as he sat in an open space between a blonde girl and some overly muscular gentlemen. There was an open space beside him and he motioned for me to sit there before anyone else could. I think that makes the score Eleanor -2, Anna -0. Or maybe she had one because of the whole butt thing.

That was when Anna giggled, flipping her hair back while she pushed the blonde girl over so she could sit on the other side of Dave. Everyone was watching her and it amazed me how she managed to get almost as much attention as Dave.

“We’re playing truth or dare,” she said, beaming at him. “The real kind.”

First of all, I honestly didn’t know there was a fake kind of truth or date. I mean, you dare the person next to you to make out with their high school crush and then you move on. That’s what it’s all about, right? What’s fake about that?

Taking a deep breath while my heart began to race, I waited for Anna to give her explanation, because by golly I knew she would.

She was never one to make me a liar, so she gave a smile before continuing to speak. I don’t know if it was just me, but my god her smile looked fake. Then again, I could’ve just been blinded by my soul burning hatred of her, but for all intents and purposes, her smile was fake.

“It’s easy, really,” she said, sneakily moving her knee so it brushed against Dave’s. “This is the adult version, and if any truth or dare isn’t deemed risqué enough, it’s vetoed and a new one is given. That way the game stays fun and it’s fair for everyone.”

In my opinion, truth or dare is never fair for anyone. You either get an awkward kiss with the person you’re crushing on or you have to run around naked, and Anna’s version sounded like it was only going to amplify the embarrassment. This led to my heart racing in my chest, and I sincerely hoped that no one around me could hear it.

“Let’s get started then,” Anna said. “I’ll begin.”

The game went through a short round of seemingly risqué dares, which led me to believe I had nothing to worry about. No one had chosen me yet, presumably because most of them didn’t know me, and all the dares before me had been mild at best. If Anna wanted to call making out for 30 seconds risqué, then more power to her.

It was only when someone finally called my name that I realized getting on Anna’s bad side was not something that I should have done. Was the whole thing just her bright idea to get back at me? Probably not, but I imagine when she saw her opportunity, she decided to take it. Girls like Anna were always great at ceasing the moment.

Honestly, completing my dare was the last thing I wanted to do. The last thing. But unfortunately, from the looks in everyone’s eyes, it didn’t seem like I really had a choice, and even though it wasn’t his dare, poor Dave didn’t have a choice either.