“I mean, you did say you watched Christmas movies at the inn.” I flop my hand over. “That’s how we got into this situation in the first place.”
“Fine. I watch Hallmark movies,” he admits, a shrug. “But I like other movies too. People can like two things at once, you know.”
I eye him suspiciously. “Sure, but I’m not much into scary movies.”
“That’s okay,” he says, his grin widening. “We’re not really watching. We’re playing a game.”
I blink at him, my curiosity piqued. “A drinking game?”
He gives me a boyish look that tangles up something deep in me. “With a twist.”
I narrow my eyes. “Okay, Lumber-Jax. What exactly is going on here?”
“It’s also a play on truth or dare,” he explains, then gestures toward my glass. “The wine… I just thought you’d like a glass.”
“You thought right,” I say, intrigued, my body already responding to the playful energy radiating off him. “So… rules?”
“So,” he leans back, lazy but intent. “I take it you’ve never seen this movie.”
“Nope.”
“Then every time one of the zombie rules pops up on screen, you get to pick truth or dare. Sort of.”
“Sort of?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Well, for truth, we tell the other something intimate. Maybe something we’d like done to ourselves, or something we’d like to do to the other person. For Dare.” He picks up the bowl of ice cubes and gives it a little shake. “We use these and do what we like.”
I squirm, heat blooming through me. “Jax… I don’t even want to know how you came up with this idea.” I eye him. “Or do I?”
He winces, a guilty grin tugging at his lips. “First, I’m not a creeper, okay?”
“The fact that you feel the need to qualify yourself before explaining anything makes me more curious.” I cock my head as my stomach flutters. “Should it worry me?”
“It should,” he mutters, half warning, half teasing.
“Oh my God, what did you do?” I laugh, my nerves and excitement twisting together.
“Well…” He hesitates, shaking his head, and I know he’s holding back a story. “I grew up in an inn, Row. Do you have any idea what goes on behind closed doors at an inn?”
I swallow hard, already feeling the electricity of his words. “I think I’m about to find out.”
“There was this one time…” He pauses, shaking his head again. “Let’s just say, ice, movie, and a lot of admissions and giggles. After that, I invested in a really good pair of noise-cancelling headphones.” His eyes squeeze shut like the memory pains him, but maybe not entirely in a bad way. There’s something intriguing there, something aroused.
I lean toward him, heart hammering. “I think I’m glad you waited until after that incident to buy headphones, because this… this sounds fun.”
“Yeah?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, let the game begin…”
21
Jaxon
I flick the movie on and take a sip of my wine, catching the curious way Rowyn is watching me. She has a grin on her face, and is into this game every bit as much as I am. Yes, I would simply love to take her upstairs, or right here on the couch, but I want to draw tonight out. The next couple of weeks are going to be intense, and while I’m away, she’s likely going to be hanging out at her favorite coffee shop.
Is that why you’re doing this, dude?