I knew that what he said was wrong. I knew that what he said was a lie. Or not necessarily a
lie
, but certainly not the
truth
. I knew it wasn't the
truth
. But it was easier to pretend it was.
I could tell when he held my hand. It was so much different from Brendon holding my hand. It didn't make me smile, didn't make me feel a little too light on my feet. It made my stomach twist and my throat close up. It wasn't right, it wasn't okay. But I pretended it was and let him pull me through the crowd of people and into the house.
We got drinks and I let him show me off, trying to act as oblivious as I possibly could. That was probably my first mistake, acting like that. He probably wouldn't have been so keen on the game if I hadn't acted like I didn't know the rules.
I smiled blankly every time he introduced me and snaked his arm around my waist or shoulders. It didn't take all that long for me to realize that the dice were ending tonight, that he was finally cashing in all his chips. Every introduction took us closer and closer to the stairs. And when we finally reached the banister he pulled out a line that I acted like I had never heard or used before.
I thought that fooling around in upstairs bedrooms ended at high school parties, not that it would have mattered. Third bedroom on the right. He told me the view was amazing and I needed to see it from the second story to appreciate it. We didn't make it to the window.