Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green Read Free Book Online Page A

but she didn’t want good. She wanted
legendary
. Come Tuesday, she wanted everyone to be talking about this party… and her.
    She elbowed Caitlin in the side. “What do you say,” she said teasingly, “to a little game of truth or dare?”
    “I’m in.” Caitlin thrust her glass excitedly into the air. “So old school.”
    “Old school
when
?” Emerson looked doubtful. “Fifth grade?”
    “Well… yeah.” Caitlin looked over at Tenley and they both burst out laughing.
    When they were younger, Tenley and Caitlin had been known throughout Echo Bay for their outrageous games of truth or dare. Tenley could still remember some of their best dares: the time she’d videotaped Marta kissing Hunter Bailey, or the time they’d filled Mr. Curtis’s mailbox with thongs, or the time Caitlin had put on a strip show in the mini-mart, or—the crowning glory in Tenley’s opinion—the time she’d dared Fatty Patty (
Tricia
, she corrected herself once again) to swim out to the Phantom Rock during Fall Festival, to the very spot where Nicole Mayor had died.
    “Believe me,” Tenley told Emerson, “truth or dare isn’t just for fifth-graders. It can make for some”—she paused, searching for the right word—“
unforgettable
nights. Especially if the stakes are high enough. So what do you say, you guys in?”
    Marta leaned over Emerson, several strands of fiery red hair tumbling into her face. “Sounds better than kings.”
    Tricia tossed her cards onto the table. “Agreed.”
    “Em?” Caitlin knocked her knee against Emerson’s. “I’m telling you, it’s fun.”
    Emerson wrinkled her tiny nose. “I think I’ll sit this one out, Cait. I know I said I was over high school, but I didn’t mean I wanted to go back to
grade
school.”
    Tenley tensed. Who was Emerson to act all high and mighty? So what if she’d lived in New York for a summer and had her face in one commercial on TV? The video wasn’t even online. (Not that she’d ever admit she looked for it.) Tenley had spent last summer securing the just-as-prestigious title of Miss Teen Nevada.
    She smiled tightly. “Totally fine if you want to sit the game out,” she said. Grabbing the remote off the coffee table, she tossed it to Emerson. “Feel free to watch a movie while we play,” she added quickly.
    Caitlin rolled her eyes. “She is
not
watching a movie.” Her voice sounded louder than usual, and looser, too. She was definitely feeling the drinks. “Just play, Em,” she persisted. Letting her head drop onto Emerson’s shoulder, she smiled up at her. “Pleeeeease?”
    Emerson sighed dramatically. “Okay, fine. I’ll play.”
    “All right!” Caitlin cheered. She straightened up, meeting Tenley’s eyes. “Should we gather the masses?”
    “Leave that to me,” Tenley said. Walking over to the pool house’s marble bar, she grabbed on to the edge of the countertop and hoisted herself up on her butt. “Listen up, guys!” she yelled from the top of the bar. The room fell silent. Everyone turned in her direction. “We’re going to play a little game called truth or dare,” she announced. There were some moans and a few cries of
What the hell?
, but mostly people just looked intrigued. She had their attention. “I’m not talking the truth or dare some of you might have played in fifth grade.” She gave Caitlin a little smirk. “I’m talking a game that gets a little… wild.”
    “I’ll get wild with you, Tenley!” a random guy called out. He had pale skin and a headful of blond curls. With some hair gel and a tan, he might have been decent looking—but the SUPERHERO-IN-TRAINING T-shirt he was wearing screamed
nerd
.
    “I bet you would,” she answered, smirking. “Anyway, if anyone else wants to play, we’ll be out back on the deck.”
    She hopped down from the bar and, beckoning for Caitlin to follow, wove her way out to the deck overlooking the pool. As she squeezed onto a lounge chair with Caitlin, she watched the rest of