Someone had clearly been instructed to follow his cue, because the lights went out. The few candles still burning in the dining room stayed, but as soon as Chloe, along with the other girls, fled to find a hiding place, she realized just how dark ‘dark’ meant. She was used to suburban darkness, diluted by the lights through her window from passing cars or an orange glow on her ceiling from the streetlamps. This was the kind of darkness you could only experience if you were in the middle of nowhere. Chloe paused by a window, looking over the drive at the back of the house. The waitresses from the party were loading their things into a car, laughing and chatting. Finished for the evening, off home for a cup of tea and bed. A strange part of her wished she could join them, to go back to a normal house with normal people, the kind of people who would have found this game shocking.

She heard footsteps behind her and realized that she couldn’t stay where she was. Who did she want to catch her? Rav, she supposed. So she should hide near his bedroom, on the far side of the house from hers. That way he would be more likely to stumble across her. She could go to her own bedroom, of course. Lock the door to her staircase, lock the door to her room. Let people assume she wasn’t alone in the locked room. Go to bed. Make elusive comments tomorrow about not wanting to kiss and tell. But something inside her, the same something that had kissed Rav in their first term and let him do delicious things to her body that afternoon wanted to know what might happen next. Zadie always said that they were too young not to be having an adventure or making memories. And she was right.

The game had gone on for almost twenty minutes when Chloe was caught. Strong hands on her arms. Thick arms. A thrill ran through her as she recognized a hint of CK One. Max held his hand out to her and stroked her upper arm, clearly trying to work out which of the girls she was. ‘You smell delicious,’ he whispered in her ear. Did he know? Had he realized that it was her? His lips traced her neck. She allowed herself a moment, his lips sending signals from her neck all around her body like electricity. Then she stepped back. ‘It’s okay, Coco,’ he said in a low, hungry voice, ‘I’m allowed.’ He slipped his arms around her waist, gripping her tightly, and dipped his head to meet hers. She sank into the kiss, her heart soaring. She knew it was wrong, but it felt amazing.