The bartender winks at me before turning his back and busying himself, returning several minutes later with his hands full.
“Nine pints of VB,” he says, as I note the logo on the side of the glasses:Victorian Bitter.I hand over the credit card my father had opened for me several years ago, not bothering to look at the total before signing the receipt.
Declan and Claire come over to help me carry the collection of glasses and usher me through a door in the back of the room into a courtyard. In the setting sun, string lights cast a shimmering glow over a collection of several tables, around one of which sit the other Adventure Abroad participants, including Hari.
After we distribute the beers, a silence falls around us. There’s so much we don’t know about each other that no one’s really sure where to start.
“I’ve got an idea,” I volunteer. I take a long drag from my glass in an effort to create suspense, trying not to wince at the bitter taste of the beer. The name of the brand was certainly on point. “Let’s play a game. Truth or dare.”
I can’t think of a better way to get to know each other—to see what each of us will admit and how far we’ll go. I can tell instantly it’s a good idea. The others shift uncomfortably in their seats, all ofthem except for Kyan, who cocks an eyebrow in my direction. His message is clear:challenge accepted.
With no overt objections, I look around the group, choosing at random, my eyes settling on the nerdy-looking Italian guy Hari had introduced earlier. “Tomas, why don’t we start with you? Pick someone for truth or dare.”
Tomas’s cheeks glow beneath his olive complexion. He looks around, finally settling on the person sitting across from him.
“I choose Declan,” he says slowly in his thick accent. “Would you like truth or dare?”
“Uh, yeah, dare,” Declan responds, not entirely confidently.
After a moment of pondering, Tomas finally settles on one. “I dare you to take a shot.”
I groan, but Declan laughs, clearly relieved. “Sure, but I’m buying a round of them for everyone.” And so he does, trotting to the bar and returning to the table a few minutes later with a platter of shot glasses that he doles out to each of us.
“Slàinte,” he says as he downs the shot.
I follow suit, the alcohol burning my throat, but as soon as it hits my chest, I feel warm. It’s not the slight dizziness like I felt from the glass or two of champagne I’d have at my parents’ parties. It’s something better, more solid. Like this is how I’m supposed to feel, an unfamiliar comfort in my own skin.
“Okay,” I say, once everyone’s put down their shot glasses. “Declan, your turn.”
“Well, Phoebe,” Declan says, his attention turning to me. A hazy sheen drapes over the table, which I can no longer attribute to thelights. “I think we must put you in the hot seat for starting this. Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” I answer without a pause.
“Right, but I’m not going to go easy on you like Tomas did,” he shoots a smile at Tomas to show he was joking, which Tomas returns good-naturedly. “I dare you to steal a bottle from behind the bar.”
My smile slips, but I force myself to maintain eye contact. “Done.”
I straighten my spine and start walking back towards the bar, making sure to swish my hips enough for Kyan to notice.
“There’s no way she’ll do it,” I hear Adrien whisper at my back.
Wait and see, bitch.
I sidle back up to the bar in front of the cute bartender who served me the first time. I lean forward, just enough for him to have a clear view of my cleavage.
“Back already?” he asks, dimple flashing.
“Couldn’t stay away,” I say, taking my voice one octave lower than normal. I clench my hands into fists beneath the counter and thank God the effects of the shot are still going strong.
“Another round of beers?” he asks.
“Actually,” I say, “when I was here the last time, I leaned over to try to see the labels on the bottles—a lot of those are foreign to me, after all—and I think my earring may have fallen out behind the bar. I can’t find it anywhere.”
The bartender gives a quick glance at the floor around him.
“Sorry, but I don’t see anything back here.”
“I know this is crazy, but would it be possible for me to take a quick look? It’s just that these earrings are super sentimental. A giftfrom my grandmother who died last year. If I lost one, I don’t know what I’d do.” I make my eyes as big as possible.
