Milkshake Hearts

Chapter 48: Touchy

"We haven't been on an actual date for a while," Courtney muses, the Tuesday of the second week of April, as they walk together from the office through to the Games studio for a Family Style Jackbox shoot, the others trailing some ways behind them.

"Thursday?" Shayne suggests. She laughs in response, reaching out to take his hand.

"If I recall correctly, you said that the first time I suggested an actual date too..."

"I know," he smiles softly, "but really, Thursday? I'll plan something."

"Sure, baby," she nods, squeezing his hand lightly before letting go as they step into the studio and move to their places. Shayne makes a point of not sitting directly beside her, for once – although he's directly behind her and his hand finds its way to rest on the back of the couch behind her, fingers occasionally pressing against her when she leans back – knowing he is a little too motivated to be touchy for a casual Jackbox shoot.

"Hellooooooo gamers!" Damien, on the sofa beside Courtney, gives his introduction after the video's director indicates for them to start. They're playing a less-known jackbox game – Faking It – on some vague sponsorship deal that Damien half-mentions as he introduces the point of the game: someone's lying, and they have to guess who.

It starts off simple enough with a numbers game and a question about sports jerseys that doesn't really reveal anything about any potential answers, nor does the follow up, about number of social media apps – although Shayne has a sneaking suspicion that Ian is the liar. It's confirmed on the next question when he can't even justify his answer.

"Ooooh, well this one could definitely find someone out," Sarah calls at the start of the second round – a "raise your hand if" style contest –, as they wait for the timer to go for them to raise their hands. Sarah, Courtney, Shayne and Damien all raise their hands, while Ian and Tommy sit in silence.

"Wait, Shayne and Damien?" Ian calls out, confused, when the question of whether there is a bra in the player's house pops up on the large screen in front of all of them.

"Ian, remember how I've lived with Courtney for quite a while?" Shayne laughs, defending himself, Ian giving a quiet "oh" in realisation as Courtney looks over at him and rolls her eyes in playful mocking.

"Damien though!" Sarah calls out, "Either there's something you haven't told us, or Damien is the faker." Shayne and Courtney keep their faces neutral, not wanting to accidentally give anything away.

"My roommate has a long-term girlfriend, guys, I'm just assuming," Damien tries to explain away his response. Everyone still votes him as the faker, though, and he's found out first round. "Okay, well, fine, my strategy was to copy Shayne which in hindsight was not a good strategy."

Sarah manages to survive the entire way through the next round of holding up names as the Faker, before they again fall to the number round.

"How many dates before there should be nudity?" Shayne reads out the question when it appears on the screen in front of them, throwing up a slightly delayed two fingers himself when he glances around to see everyone else's response – not because he's the faker, he just doesn't entirely have an opinion. Although, he realises belatedly, technically it was two dates for them.

"Well the couple have different answers," Tommy points out, "and Shayne was super delayed giving an answer..."

"To be fair, we went on a couple years' worth of dates before anything happened," Courtney brushes off Tommy's questioning and her own single raised finger with a shrug, Shayne nodding in agreement, before shifting the blame on to Damien's own four fingers, a complete outlier from the rest of them on one or two. Although, to be fair, Damien is like that.