Page 46 of Let the Games Begin
“Umm, let’s start off tame. Truth,” she said, taking a bite of her souvlaki.
“All right, what’s the wildest rumor you’ve heard about yourself that was actually true?” Haruki asked.
Valentina answered without hesitation. “That I broke up with someone in a two-line text,” she said with a grimace.
Zeke almost spat the water he was drinking out of his mouth. Looking at Valentina, and then at Olivia, and then at Valentina again. “Val? Is nothing sacred?” he asked, clearly more embarrassed by the public revelation than he was upset about the memory. Selfishly, Olivia was glad.
“Sorry, I wanted to give you a minute to take it in by yourself before I came to your apartment forthe talk,” she said with a laugh.
“Okay, Zeke, truth or dare,” said Aditi.
Olivia knew her best friend well, but she could never predict what was going to come out of her mouth.
Zeke was still on a strict precompetition diet and couldn’t indulge in foods beige and beautiful, unlike the rest of them. So, he took a bite of a carrot stick and answered, “Truth.”
“Boring, but all right,” Aditi said playfully. “Zeke, who is the last person you hooked up with?” She gave him a mischievous smile.
“Aditi!” said Olivia as they exchanged looks. Olivia was shocked, while Aditi was in her element.
“Well, it wasn’t me,” said Haruki, making the others laugh.
“Or me,” said Valentina, “unless… It’s been a year, Zeke? I can introduce you to someone if you need me to. Who’s going to be a better wingwoman than your ex-girlfriend?” Valentina glanced over at Olivia. Was that a nod of approval? The clarification definitely felt like it was more for her benefit than everything else. So, Olivia took it.
Zeke was squirming opposite her. It was kind of fun to watch him this way. And Olivia was so curious to hear his answer. She wanted to know about Zeke’s romantic life so she could gauge whether she was just another number in the Villagebeforeshe got in over her head.
“Um, the last person I hooked up with was a model I met at London Fashion Week,” Zeke said with an air of finality.
“A model? That’s kind of basic,” said Valentina.
“I’m a model, I’m not basic,” said Haruki with mock offense.
“You could never be basic,” said Zeke, reassuring him.
“And when was the last time you texted this model? Do you stay in touch?” asked Aditi casually.
Olivia’s eyes widened. “Okay, that’s enough now,” she said, nudging Aditi to stop.
Zeke smiled, clearly respecting Aditi’s commitment to vetting him.
“Aditi, since you’resoenthusiastic, truth or dare?” Olivia said, taking a gulp of her drink.
“It’s always dare,” said Aditi confidently.
“Okay, I dare you to… kiss the most attractive person in the room,” Olivia said.
Aditi looked around. She paused for a moment as if ponderingher options. Then she put her hand up, pressed it to her lips, and made out with herself.
“Boo!” shouted Valentina.
“If I had tomatoes, I’d be throwing them at you right now,” shouted Olivia.
“Wait, so you want me to be dishonest?” said Aditi, taking her hand away from her face as the rest of them laughed.
“All right, kiss the most attractive person in the room… whoisn’tyou,” said Olivia.
So, Aditi got up, made a show of walking around the circle twice, and then went over to Haruki.
“Hi,” she said, her voice thick with charisma.
