The White Lie

Chapter 12

I opened my eyes to find Alexander's twinkling blue one's staring back at me. I smiled, releasing my breath as he winked at me, pulling away. I took a breath, about to stay something before our serenity was interrupted.
"Hey lovers, care to join us for some dinner?"
I jumped back from Alexander, glancing up to meet Scarlet's eyes as she smirked at me from above. Alexander stood up quickly, leaning down and grasping me by the forearms to pull me up. Once both upright, Alexander leaned down once again to give me a quick peck on the lips before leading the way to the middle of the campsite where a heated game of uno! was underway. Amidst snippets of "You cheated!" "You can't have that many draw fours in your deck!" and "Hey! Who are you calling a cheater!?" It was decided that this would be the last game of uno! before dinner.

Soon enough everyone was full from a simple meal of baked beans on toast and sitting around the camp fire watching the sky gradually darken to a gravel grey. I breathed in the smell of the crackling fire and the fresh forest trees, feeling blessed to be in such an amazing place. So far this trip was exceeding my expectations and surely it could only go up from here.

Before I knew it, someone suggested a game of 'truth or dare' and I found myself groaning internally as the suggestion was met with a chorus of 'yes's'. I was definitely not a truth or dare kind of girl. To my dismay, everyone shuffled their camp chairs in closer to the warmth of the fire so everyone's faces were just visible through the flames and Indie spoke first.
"Nate. Truth or dare." She asked with a cheeky smile on her face.
Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow, but proceeded to begin the game.
"Dare."
Everyone watched on as Indie put on a show of tapping her finger to her chin, evidently thinking of a good enough dare for her boyfriend. Finally she seemed to have one.
"I dare you to eat a whole tin of cold baked beans"
We all cheered as Nate laughed.
"Please babe. That's not a challenge." He yelled confidently over his shoulder, before returning with a tin of cold baked beans. He proceeded to take the lid of before tipping the tin straight to his mouth and swallowing.
"Oh gross!" called out Sienna, evidently disgusted as Nate pulled the tin away from his mouth, leaving a trail of cold baked beans down the side of his mouth. I scrunched up my nose in distaste. Nate's only response was to waggle his eyebrows in direction of Sienna as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

If Indie was put out by her boyfriend's ability to easily finish her dare, she didn't say so. She simply turned to him and said "Okay. Your turn to pick someone."
Nate imitated his girlfriend, putting his finger to his chin before grinning roguishly. My heart began to beat as he looked my way, petrified that I was the next to be on the spot, however thankfully Nate's gaze flitted past me and onto Kai sitting next to me.
"Kai," He started with a devilish smile as Kai started to groan. "Truth or dare?"
Kai ran a hand through his soft brown hair, sneaking a quick glance at Alice before responding. "Truth." He said, somewhat reluctantly. Nate's smile dimmed, before brightening once again. "What is the worst night's sleep you've ever had?"
Even in the soft glow of the fire, I could see the heat that flooded Kai's cheeks. I glanced back at Nate and he smiled knowingly. "sle-ugh-nh-gar-sl" Kai mumbled, once again glancing at Alice. "What!?" Alice asked, clearly as confused as the rest of us. Alexander laughed from the other side of the fire and I snuck a glance at him, his beautiful face illuminated by the flames. "Come on Kai," he catcalled, "tell the girls about your big night out." Kai raised his hand, making an obscene gesture towards Alexander that made me stifle a giggle as Kai started to speak. "I fell asleep in a garden bed..." The uproar was instant, everyone amused by Kai's confession. I put my hand over my mouth to quieten my giggles as Kai feigned a glare at me. "Look okay," He called over the laughter, "I had a lot to drink and I knew I wasn't going to make it home so I thought hey, this is the closest thing I'll find to a bed." Nate howled with laughter, slapping Austin's outstretched hand.