“Ow. Deserved?”

“Some of them.” He shrugs. “I have never… worn a jade dress.”

“That’s not even something daring.”

Richard raises a mischievous brow. “I wouldn’t call the dress you wore in LA not daring.”

I blush and drink. “Never have I ever… attended boarding school.”

“What’s daring about boarding school?”

“You tell me.”

With a naughty grin, he drinks. “I have never… woken up not knowing where I was.”

I scowl and drink. This is too easy for him. “Never have I ever… punched someone.”

The boss drinks.

“Did they deserve it?”

“Oh, yes. I have never…”

Richard and I both guess the next three until the tequila in my system makes me bold enough to step up the game a notch. “Never have I ever… been left at the altar.”

Heart pounding, I wait for his reaction. Richard gives me a long stare and lifts the glass to his lips.

“So it’s true,” I say.

“Wouldn’t have drunk otherwise.”

“How did it happen?”

“Easily, she changed her mind mid-ceremony. My turn.” Richard makes it clear that’s all I’m going to get of his backstory. “I have never…”

After a few more rounds of the game, I’m about to reach the point of no return, so before I’m irredeemably drunk I surrender. “Okay, okay. You’ve made your point. I’ve become bad enough to lose at this stupid game. But if I drink another shot, we both know where it ends, and it’s not pretty. We should play a different game.”

Richard flashes me a molten stare, and for a second I’m left breathless. “Truth or dare?”

I don’t know why, but the truth part seems scarier than the dare. So I say, “Dare.”

“Don’t move.”

I sit rigidly in my chair as Richard bends his head towards my neck until his mouth is barely an inch from my collarbone. He inhales. There’s no touching. Only the faint caress of Richard’s breath on my skin. But it’s enough to send a shiver down my spine.

“Nice perfume,” he says, standing back up.

Mouth dry, I ask, “Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“Show me your tattoo.”

Richard undoes the top three buttons of his shirt, moving the fabric aside to expose his left collarbone where a small, black infinity symbol is tattooed on his skin. The little symbol stands out on his marble-like skin and it’s made of words. I lean in to read, getting a peek of his toned chest as an extra perk. I swallow, concentrating hard on the tiny words and not his pectorals. Depending on where one starts reading the writing says, “Love the life you live,” or “Live the life you love.”

“Cool,” I say, leaning back, although not before inhaling Richard’s green forest scent.

Richard buttons up his shirt and I’m left mourning the wonderful sight of his almost bare chest.

“Truth or dare?” he asks.

“Truth.”

“Are you still in love with your ex?”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Not sure I ever was, really. Truth or dare?”