There is a knock at the door and Lou-loo barks. I swear by the sound and speed of his footsteps Jesse is running excitedly to the door. Wrapping myself in my dressing gown, I attempt to seek comfort in its warmth, grounding myself with the familiar fluffy material.

In the lounge, Jesse has pillows scattered on the floor either side of the coffee table, Monopoly set up in the middle and more beer and pizza than we will be able to consume. I wonder if he realises it’s a Sunday night? Why he decided to become a teacher when he could never turn up to school on time is beyond me.

“Better than ice cream and two spoons, right?”

A slither of guilt bites at me. “We should have invited the other two over, don’t you think?”

Jesse pins me with a look of disgust. “To our games night? I think not. Jeez Louise.” At the sound of her name, Lou-loo barks and I laugh. “No, Lou-loo, not you. It’s a figure of speech.” She cocks her head to the side. “Never mind,” he mutters, waving her off and she huffs, lying her head back down on the floor.

“Okay, well, if we are really doing one of our old school game nights, we are playing by the old rules.” I challenge him with my brows high.

“Oh, you are on, Fallon.” He sits down on one side of the coffee table and cracks a beer. “Each time you land on a chance card, instead of picking it up, you get to ask the other person a question. Deal?”

I nibble my bottom lip. “I’ve got nothing to hide from you Jess. You’ll get bored … I on the other hand have loads I could ask.”

Jesse smirks playfully. “Roll the dice, Meadow.”

Jesse

I roll a five, moving the little silver dog forward until I find that I’ve landed on a chance square.

“Buckle up, Meadow.” Kinsley rolls her honey-coloured eyes whilst stuffing her face full of pizza. “Let’s start with something easy,” I say, even though all I want to do is hit her with some hard truths about opening up to Tanner.

“Okay, I’ve got it. Your first kiss?” I smile coyly, knowing full well this will embarrass the shit out of her. Somehow she manages to swallow her mouthful without spitting beer everywhere before her face turns bright red.

“Jesse!” she gasps. “You already know the answer to that!”

Kinsley hides her face behind her hands, shaking her head. “Leroy Morgan, seventh grade … It was a dare, okay?”

When she peeks out from behind her hands my head is tipped back and I can no longer contain my laughter. “The poor guy, he had the biggest crush on you. Don’t know how you could ever be so mean,” I tease.

“Yeah, yeah. Just you wait.”