Shatter

“Yay,” I said dryly.

Jaymeson raised his hand. “Yeah, um, Ruben?”

“What?”

“I was in a tragic accident when I was…” His finger went into the air as if he was doing math. “Like seventeen, so I don’t remember anything from my childhood.”

“Interesting.” Ruben folded his arms. “That makes sense. I mean, I never believed that rumor that you could have slept with that many Hollywood starlets at the ripe old age of sixteen.”

Jaymeson grunted. “Believe it.”

Ruben glared. “What? No memory loss?”

“Well-played, damn it.” Jaymeson sulked, leaning his elbows against the table.

“As I was saying…” Ruben smirked. “If you were a closet cross-dresser when you were ten—”

“What the hell?” I snapped. “At ten? Kind of early…”

Ruben folded his arms across his chest and continued. “If you kissed a girl and she punched you when you were four, or you have some sort of weird toenail fetish — it’s all gonna come out this week. Be prepared. There will be a fishbowl for each of you in the middle of the room with questions. Each day you’ll be asked to retrieve one from the bowl and answer it for your cast members. Remember, this is supposed to be fun.”

“Is that why it feels like hell?” I asked aloud.

Ruben didn’t answer. Instead he placed the fishbowls on the counter, full of white pieces of paper. Each fishbowl had a name on it. “Who’s going to go first?”

“We have to start now?” Jaymeson whined.

“Yup,” Ruben said.

“I’ll go.” Alyssa popped up from her seat and retrieved a piece of paper from her bowl.

Ruben nodded. “Go ahead, read it aloud.”

Alyssa’s face paled. She looked to me and then back at the paper. Her voice shook as she read the question. “Who did you lose in a tragic car accident when you were sixteen, and was it your fault?”

I jumped out of my chair and ripped the paper out of her hands. “Hell, no. She doesn’t have to answer that.”

Ruben smirked. “Her contract says she does.”

I clenched my fists at my sides. “You piece of shit.”

Ruben narrowed his gaze on Alyssa. “We’re waiting.”

I grabbed her hand for support and nodded to her. Before answering, she turned her brilliant blue eyes to me. A smile broke out on her face. She didn’t look at Ruben or anyone else in the room — no, she looked at me, only me.

“My first boyfriend died when I was sixteen. It was an accident. Nobody’s fault really. And it’s taken me a long time to be able to realize that sometimes accidents happen—”

“Great,” Ruben interrupted.

“I’m not done,” Alyssa snapped, returning her attention to me. “After rain there’s always a rainbow, right?” She reached out and touched my face. Her fingers grazed my cheek and then my chin, then she brought my head slowly to hers and kissed my lips. “If Brady was the rain… then Demetri was my rainbow.”

She grinned at me, but there was no time for me to smile back. My lips were on hers in such a fast frenzy that she stumbled backwards. I lifted her into my arms and devoured her mouth, plunging my tongue into her warmth, tasting, teasing — but most of all claiming. Mine, mine, mine.

A throat cleared behind us. I didn’t give a damn. I kept kissing her, for everyone in the freaking universe to see. She was mine. I loved her, and damn anyone to hell who thought they could ruin what we had, including Ruben.

After a few more blissed-out seconds where I’m not proud to admit I undressed her with my mind at least a dozen times, I placed her back on the ground.

“Well, that was awkward.” This from Jaymeson.

Angelica was still staring at the ground.

“Who’s next?” Ruben asked.

Jaymeson pulled a piece of paper out of his fishbowl, with a bored sigh he read the contents. “Do I have any STD’s?” He laughed. “Is this for real?”

Ruben eyebrows lifted.

“Shouldn’t this be Angelicas question?” Jaymeson added, flinging the paper into the air. “Whatever, doesn’t matter. No, I don’t have any STD’s. I’m not that much of a man-whore.”

I didn’t think it would be the right time to actually point out that, yes, he was in fact the biggest man-whore I’d ever met.

Ruben looked to me.

“Fine, my turn.” I rolled my eyes and grabbed a piece of paper from the bowl. “Do you ever wonder why you and Alec look like polar opposites?” I laughed and slammed the paper on the table. “I think we all know the answer to that one.” I pulled Alyssa to my side and kissed her head. “I’m the hotter one, and when I was in my mommy’s tummy it was summertime. Therefore, I have lighter hair and eyes. When Alec was in our mother’s tummy it was winter, so he looks darker and, might I add, more pale.”

“Did a stork also drop you off when your mom went into labor?” This from Angelica.

“She speaks!” I clapped and handed her the fishbowl. “Your turn, slut.”

“Very funny.” She dipped her hand in and pulled out the strip of paper. Her eyes widened as she looked at the paper, and then she crumpled it up into her hand. “This is stupid, Ruben.” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m not doing this. Find another way to get everyone’s dirty secrets!”