Page 47 of The Proposition

“Guess again.”

“Private, then?” She took a long look at me. “Or were your parents doomsday preppers who thought education was the devil?”

“Wrong and wrong,” I said with a big heaping of satisfaction. “I’m Canadian.”

She groaned. “I knew there was a reason you said American public school. Ugh, okay.” She gathered herself. “Never have I ever worn a wife beater while playing never have I ever.”

I looked down at my tank top. “Oh, come on.”

“Just leveling the score.”

There was that sparkle in her eye. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was looking to have some fun tonight. The kind of fun that drinks usually led to.

Time to test that theory.

I reached back and pulled my wife beater over my head in one smooth motion, revealing my bare chest. I was a muscular guy. I lifted weights at least three times a week, the big three movements with barbells. None of that dumbbell bullshit. I knew how I looked with my shirt off.

And now Nadia did too.

She kept her face cool and took a long, slow look. Like she was perusing the menu at a restaurant. Not bad, her expression said at the end.

“I asked the question before you removed it,” she eventually said. “So it still counts.”

I put my fingers back up, then lowered one. “Fine.” I took a deep breath and thought of a more targeted question. “Never have I ever danced for money.”

She made a choking noise as she lowered a finger. “You make it sound so dirty!”

“I don’t know what you mean. You’re a dancer. You get paid to do it. It’s not my fault your mind goes straight to stripper.” I lowered my eyes at her. “You’ve never been a stripper, have you?”

She grinned at me with those brown eyes. “You’ll have to waste another question to find out. But first, it’s my turn again. Never have I ever…” She studied my face intently, as if the magical answer would come to her. “Never have I ever…”

“Tick tock,” I said. “I think there’s a time limit.”

“Never have I ever…” A grin suddenly came to her. “Kissed a girl.”

“Boo,” I said, lowering another finger.

“Hey, don’t be mad at me for choosing cheap points.”

“I was booing the fact that you’d never kissed a girl,” I said, taking a sip of my drink to cover my smile.

“Not my thing,” she said, taking a drink too. “I know what I like, and it’s not in a woman’s pants.”

“Never have I ever given a blowjob,” I said with a sweet smile. Nadia rolled her eyes and lowered a finger. “Hey. You used some cheap questions on me, so I’m giving it right back.”

She arched an eyebrow on her beautiful face. “Oh, so you’re big into reciprocating?”

I smiled right back at her. “Always.”

We both had one finger left. It was her turn. Basically, I was screwed if she wanted to finish me off with a dumb question like never have I ever had red hair. But she thought long and hard about it.

“Never have I ever been in a relationship longer than two months.”

I held her gaze for three long heartbeats. “Nope.”

She blinked with surprise. “Really?”

“Longest girlfriend I ever had was Christmas to Valentine’s Day,” I said.