Backstage // Josh & Jake Kiszka

Part 3

The boundary of decency was hanging on by a delectable thread. Jake exchanged with Josh a silent but deeply meaningful look, one that spoke a thousand words with one fleeting glance. You knew that to suggest such a thing was verging on the ridiculous. You weren't teenagers anymore, with all the adolescent truths and dares that brought excitement to you back then.

And yet, you could feel the atmosphere shift. You looked over to where Magda was sleeping contentedly on the couch and wondered if you'd taken it a step too far. You should be sleeping. Not playing idiotic games with two people who shared the ability to win over anything you could conjur alone.

"Perhaps we should lay down some ground rules, first." Josh suggested, his tone a little uneasy even though he wasn't completely dismissing the idea.

"Why?" Jake replied, "What are you afraid of?"

It was nothing more than sibling rivalry. Jake was visibly aroused by the idea of it, whilst Josh languished somewhere between wanting it and knowing that it came with sharp edges. A double edged sword.

"I'm not afraid, brother." Josh retorted, stacking his cards back into the little cardboard box they came in. "But every game has rules, doesn't it?"

"It was a dumb idea, anyway." You posed, "We should probably get some sleep before we get to the venue."

Jake slid his hand across the table, catching your forearm in a firm grip as you intended to slip away.

"Sleep is for the weak." He said, cautiously letting you go once he realised you would stay.

Josh chuckled to himself and you felt the subtle shake of his leg against yours, his foot tapping up and down nervously. You felt the sudden urge to place your palm on his thigh, to feel him steady beneath your touch. The thought fleeing from you almost as soon as it had arrived, intrusive and entirely unhelpful as Jake stared at you.

"Alright, Captain Fuckery." You replied, nodding in agreement with his sentiment. "Nothing that'll wake Magda up. That's my only rule."

Perhaps you were foolish to think that it would be innocuous. You'd already been granted a window into how each of their minds worked and you knew that there was an ulterior motive with Jake. It didn't matter which game you'd proposed. He would have had you squirming on the end of his hook.

Jake nodded in agreement and poured himself another shot of bourbon. Sliding the bottle across the table to Josh who took a hearty swig before offering you a taste. You shook your head and decided not to cloud your judgement. You'd already gotten yourself into something you couldn't crawl out of.

"Truth or dare?" You offered, keeping your eyes locked on Jake, knowing he would probably hate being asked first.

"Truth." He replied, without hesitation.

Oh, he was playing for the road least travelled. He wanted fire and brimstone and he had no intention of playing it safe. You considered posing a perfectly innocent question. To see if he would be satisfied with it. But you knew he wasn't entertained by cautiousness.

"Have you ever wanted something which belonged to Josh?"

Pandora's box was ajar. He knew precisely what you meant, but he would mull it over until you were overthinking your choices. There was a sweet inflection in his smile as he looked down, no doubt pretending to think about it and you realised you were starting to feel a warmth in your belly whenever you caught his sweetness emerge.

"Only ever the things which really belonged to me." He shrugged, "Like the time my dear twin stole the points I'd been saving to win a whole ass guitar. But sparkle boy simply had to have his lava lamp huh?"