Truth or Dare You (The Love Game Book 2)

by Elizabeth Hayley

  “All the more reason for you to tell her. Because this is an amazing idea.”

  Frustrated by my lot in life that put me in the direct path of these two toddlers, I took a few steps toward the bed and grabbed the laptop.

  “Hey,” they both yelled in unison.

  “Shut up.” I looked at the screen, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. It was a website—a very ugly website with weird fonts and an orange, blue, and green color scheme. The top said Nite Bites, and there was a rambling mission statement underneath that said something about “servicing men and women without prejudice.”

  Glancing over at them, I asked, “Are you guys becoming vampire rent boys?”

  Drew groaned. “I told you the website was unclear.”

  “It’s just a rough draft. We can fix it later.”

  I dropped the laptop on the bed. “Seriously, what’s going on?”

  Drew scrubbed his good hand over his face. “Brody had this idea—”

  “Which you’re totally into,” Brody interrupted.

  “Which I’ve come around to,” Drew amended. “I wasn’t a fan at first, but the more we talked about it, the more viable the idea seemed. Anyway, when Brody and I were out delivering pizzas tonight—”

  “Are you still doing that?” I asked. “You’re going to get him fired.”

  Drew glared. “Do you want to hear this or not?”

  I held my hands up in a placating gesture and waited for him to continue.

  “He had a delivery at a frat, and the guys there gave him some money to run to the store and pick up a few things for them.” He paused, as if he could tell I desperately wanted to throw my two cents in, but I managed to restrain myself. “They tipped like fifty percent because they were so grateful. That’s when Brody came up with the idea for Nite Bites, a service that would deliver care packages to people with things they were either too lazy to get themselves or needed last-minute and could benefit from having them delivered quickly.”

  “Just think about it,” Brody added eagerly. “How many times have you woken up with a hangover and realized you were out of Advil or Gatorade or whatever? And you end up just going without because you can’t pry yourself out of bed to go get any? We could solve that problem and make a profit while doing it.”

  It was perhaps the most excited I’d ever seen him, which almost made me feel bad that I was about to dash his dreams.

  It wasn’t that I thought it was a horrible idea necessarily, but I also didn’t think it was okay to be delivering random shit to undergrads. What if someone in a frat said they had a cold, asked Brody to bring them Sudafed, and then they used it to start a meth lab in their basement? Or maybe, more likely, someone got alcohol poisoning from the beer he brought them? I wasn’t aware enough of the law to know if Brody would be culpable for that, but I also wasn’t sure it was worth the risk.

  “Look at her face. She’s cycling through all the reasons it’s a bad idea,” Brody said. “Well, keep them all to yourself. We didn’t ask your opinion.”

  “I don’t think it’s the worst idea you’ve ever had,” I started.

  “La la la, not listening,” Brody said like the baby he was.

  “But I also think it can go wrong in a lot of ways.”

  “What kind of ways?” Drew asked, causing Brody to give him a murderous look.

  “I think that people could order things that could be used illegally for one. And then that could come back on you because you provided it.”

  “We were going to put an age restriction on our page,” Drew said. “We won’t work with anyone under twenty-one. And everyone will have to accept our terms of service, which will make them sign off that they won’t share their care package with anyone underage. Brody had a prelaw buddy draft something that makes us not legally responsible for what someone does with the box after we deliver it.”

  Okay, well, that was good. I was sure someone could find a work-around to whatever language was in their terms of service, but at least they’d thought of it. But…

  “The campus also works by its own set of rules. You may be legally okay, but I don’t know if there could be other issues or something.”

  “How? We’re not students,” Brody said.

  “True,” I murmured. “I’m not going to lie. I don’t have a great feeling about it. But you seem to have done your research, and if you think you can make it work…” I shrugged because I didn’t necessarily want to give them my blessing, but I didn’t want to not give it to them either. I was sure they could make some decent money doing it, and they both seemed motivated by the idea.

  Drew hadn’t been into much of anything since he got out of the hospital, and Brody hadn’t been into much of anything since…ever. Was I really going to quash something that could maybe lead to better, more promising endeavors in the future?

  “Are you marketing it to only students or people in general?” I asked because I was curious despite myself.

  “Everyone, though we’ll probably focus a lot of our marketing on students because they’ll probably be more likely to use us,” Drew explained. “But we’ll definitely offer the service to anyone who’s interested.”

  That actually made me feel a little better—that it would be a business that targeted all people but just so happened to be used by students instead of one geared just toward them. If shit did hit the fan, their business would probably seem more reputable that way.

  “How were you going to market it?”

  “We haven’t gotten that far yet,” Brody grumbled, back to pecking away at his laptop.

  Drew turned a dazzling smile—one I hadn’t seen in far too long—on me. “If only we knew a marketing major who could help us.” He batted his eyelashes at me, as if I could be swayed by a pretty face.

  “No way. You guys are on your own.”

  He pouted dramatically and sighed. “You’ll come around.”

  Nope. No way. “I’ll leave you guys to it, then.”

  They gave me distracted waves as I made my way to the door.

  “You know what I think we need?” said Brody. “A little pink. Really make it pop.”

  Oh, hell no.

  I turned abruptly, went over to the bed, and grabbed the laptop again. I sat on an open space by their feet.

  “You guys are seriously the worst,” I muttered as I began fixing the disaster that was their website. I chanced a glance over at them when they remained silent. They were both regarding me with shit-eating grins on their faces, and I felt like I’d just been played.

  “What?” I asked, hostility clear in my voice.

  “Nothing,” Brody said.

  Drew’s smile widened. “Welcome to the team.”

  I growled a little, forcing myself to ignore how hot he looked when he was happy, before turning my attention back to the website.

  I guess I’d come around after all.

  Chapter Thirteen

  D R E W

  It didn’t take Sophia long to get the website ready and looking a thousand times better than the dumpster fire we’d created.

  Our inexperience also had the added bonus of getting her to think we were helpless without her. And now that she had some time and effort invested, she was fully on board, which I couldn’t have been happier about. Not only did that mean we had a common goal, but it meant I’d get to spend more time with her.

  Brody and I waited not-so-patiently for a few days while Sophia finished the website and plugged in whatever weird codes and targets or whatever were required to get the site up and running.

  I didn’t understand any of what she was doing, and I was sure Brody didn’t either. All I knew was the site looked professional and eye-catching, and she’d even gotten our social media going and was already posting and hashtagging to get interest before the site went live.

  “So what happens now?” Brody asked once she finalized everything and the site was accessible to the public.

  “We wait,” Sophia said. “I have the l
ink on all of your socials, and I’ve been posting pictures of the items we’ll offer. People have been messaging to ask when they can start placing orders, and I told them we’d be ready to start filling them soon.”

  “Why didn’t you just let them order?” Brody asked.

  “Oh, my brother, how little you know.”

  “Shut up, Yoda. It’s not a dumb question. Money’s money.”

  Sophia smiled, beaming with a confidence that made her look even more beautiful. “Money it is not. Generate interest you must,” she said, clearly trying to sound like Yoda but not really succeeding.

  I tried to hold back my laughter, but Brody just shook his head and said, “Don’t ever do that again.”

  “Fine. Star Wars is for nerds anyway.”

  I jerked my head back to show her how offended I was. “Excuse me,” I said, putting a hand to my chest at the insult. “Star Wars is an epic that can be enjoyed by everyone. It brings people from all walks of life together. You don’t have to be a nerd to enjoy it.”

  Sophia just stared at me as Brody nodded.

  “Anyway, back to things that matter…” she said. “It’s important to get people talking about the service before you officially offer it. People want what they can’t have, and you want them to be waiting for its release. Teasing them is important. Then when it’s finally available, they’ll be all over it.”

  I tried to remind myself that she was talking about our business venture, but it was difficult to keep my mind out of the gutter when she was using words like service, release, and teasing.

  “Okay, that does make sense,” Brody agreed, surprising even me. “I guess I should say thank you for helping us with all this.”

  Sophia smiled and settled back into the chair with her hands across her chest. “That’d be great.”

  Looking confused at her comment for a few moments, Brody finally said, “Oh, that was my thank-you.”

  Rolling her eyes, Sophia said, “You’re welcome.”

  “Thanks,” I told her. “I mean it. We couldn’t have done this without you.”

  “We could’ve,” Brody said. “It probably just would’ve taken us three times as long.”

  “Would you stop?” I begged him.

  Brody seemed to concede when he held up the Red Bull he’d been drinking in a toast. “To owning our first business.”

  “To Nite Bites,” I added, lifting my bottle of water.

  We both made a silent promise with our eyes that we’d wait for Sophia to join before we’d clink our drinks together, so we stood there holding them for a few seconds before Sophia finally picked up her large iced coffee and sighed.

  “To Nite Bites,” she said with a smile she couldn’t seem to suppress.

  S O P H I A

  I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction I’d get when I asked Aamee if I could distribute some Nite Bites business cards at the party Zeta Eta Chi was hosting at our house this weekend. We hadn’t thrown a party since before winter break, and I knew Aamee and…well, pretty much all the girls, myself included, were looking forward to the bash.

  Though it was far from warm weather, the party was a sorority tradition and an informal kickoff to the spring and usually held the weekend before Valentine’s Day. Before we knew it, it would be April, and people would be preparing for graduation.

  I didn’t want to muddle the party’s intention by suggesting that I take advantage of the people attending by passing out our cards. Ultimately, it was Aamee’s call, and though I was pretty sure her answer would be a negative one, I’d promised the boys I’d ask. The worst she could say was no, right?

  “Sure!” she said.

  I continued drying the bowl she’d just handed to me after washing it. “I understand. Just figured I’d ask, but—”

  “Do you need your hearing checked? I said it was fine.”

  I looked around, wondering if there were hidden cameras nearby and someone ready to jump out to tell me Aamee was just messing with me. When I was certain we were the only ones on the entire floor, I put the bowl away and stared at her.

  “Seriously? You really don’t mind?”

  “Mind? I think it’s a great idea!” She sounded so elated I wondered if she’d accidentally taken some of Bethany’s Ritalin.

  “Um, okay. Thanks,” I replied, sounding hesitant. “I didn’t expect you to agree so easily. I thought you might think it took away from the focus of the party or something.”

  She handed over another bowl. “It’s a good thing you’re not prelaw, because your arguing skills are shit. I said yes, and now you’re giving me reasons to rescind my offer.”

  “No, no, I’m not. Thank you, really. I owe you one.”

  “You don’t owe me anything,” she said with a smile so sweet it barely looked like her face. “Now Brody, on the other hand…” Her voice trailed off without finishing her sentence, and she stared out the window as she washed the next dish. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking about, and I didn’t want to know. “Make sure he knows he’s invited. I’d love to see him again.”

  Afraid that she might have second thoughts about letting us promote the business at the party, I didn’t chance a glance in her direction because there was no hiding the disgust on my face. I could see it in the reflection of the window.

  “I’ll be sure to tell him” was all I said.

  Chapter Fourteen

  S O P H I A

  “These look awesome,” Drew said, handing over the matte black business cards. In silver, Nite Bites was written in a playful script, and below the name of the company were the founders’ names: Brody Mason and Drew Nolan.

  “Why didn’t you put your name on here too?” Drew asked. “We’re a threesome.”

  Brody didn’t miss a beat before speaking. “As someone who’s familiar with threesomes, they don’t usually involve siblings.”

  “You’re disgusting,” I told him.

  Drew laughed. “You know what I mean. Trio, triad, whatever. We’re a team. You could’ve put your name on there too.”

  “I know. I kinda think it’ll help you get business if I’m not involved, though.”

  “Because no one likes you?” Brody said.

  Rolling my eyes, I handed the guys each a small stack of cards. “Not because no one likes me. I feel like having you guys be the public faces will be better all around.”

  “That’s so sexist,” Brody said, acting appalled.

  “I also won’t feel as weird promoting it at the party if people don’t know I’m part of it. Something about promoting myself seems strange to me.”

  “Well, you gotta get used to it,” Drew said, putting his good arm around my shoulder. “If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect other people to?”

  “He does have a point.” Brody grabbed his jacket and slipped it on. “Sorry you can’t go, man.”

  “Eh,” Drew said with a shrug. “I’m all right with it. I got my fill of sorority events with the bachelor auction and Aamee’s costume party.”

  “Okay, we’ll see ya later tonight, then,” Brody told him. Then he turned to me. “We should probably go. I told Aamee I’d be there before it started to help set up.”

  “You talked to Aamee?”

  “Well, texted, but yeah.”

  “When?”

  “What’s with all the questions, Nancy Drew? Do you have a little crush on your sorority president?” Brody was obviously teasing, but I found myself getting defensive. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to think I had a crush on Aamee—especially Aamee herself.

  “Ew, gross,” I said, sounding like an elementary school kid who’d been accused of chasing someone on the playground because they secretly liked the person. “Let’s just go.”

  “So you can see your girlfriend?” Brody practically sang. Even as an adult, he didn’t miss an opportunity to make fun of me if one presented itself.

  Then again, neither did I. “No,” I said. “So you can see yours.”

  The co
meback wasn’t well thought out, and I regretted it the moment I said it. It didn’t help that Brody knew it too. He grinned at me with the sort of smile that made my skin crawl. The only thing that could bother me more than Brody and Aamee was Brody and Aamee—together.

  “Come on,” I said, already heading out the door without waiting for him.

  When we got to the sorority house, most of the girls were in the kitchen, including Gina, who was holding a bottle of Tito’s and licking a popsicle.

  “Hey,” she said when she saw me, jumping up to wrap her arms around me.

  “Careful,” I said, trying to avoid getting a red stain on the back of my cream sweater.

  Gina hugged me like she hadn’t seen me in years before pulling away and finding a seat at the counter again. Though she misjudged its height and almost missed it entirely.

  Brody offered a “What’s up?” to the other girls in the kitchen, and they replied with a hello to both of us, though none of them seemed as pleased to see me as Gina.

  “She’s been drinking since noon,” Aamee said. “It’s your turn to babysit.”

  “Maybe getting the alcohol approved was a mistake,” I offered.

  There’d always been loopholes to get around the university’s alcohol policies concerning sororities—loopholes we’d often exploited—but with the new semester had come an easing on this rule, allowing us to not go to such extremes to serve liquor. Penalties for serving underage people were still severe, but that was a risk all the houses seemed willing to take.

  “Ya think?” Aamee grabbed the bottle from Gina’s hands and put it back in the freezer. “That’s enough, Hasselhoff. Go get ready.”

  Gina slid off the bar stool and wandered into the living room toward the stairs, but I didn’t watch closely enough to know if she actually went up them.

  “When I suggested it, I didn’t really think they’d ever overturn the rule. It was just kind of a pipe dream,” I said. “Like the 2020 version of the women’s suffrage movement.”

  “Yeah, I know. I couldn’t believe your mom and some of the other legacies were on board with the idea, but I guess even they thought the rule was outdated and sexist too. Other schools have updated the regulations. I guess Lazarus was feeling the peer pressure.”