King generously filled the tumblers halfway with his father’s best brandy.

He knew it was dangerous, and that there was more to the phone calls than what Effie was saying. He hated to admit it, but he kind of hoped the drink would open her up. King desperately wanted to hear that she was done with Thorne for good.

He didn’t know what might come of that news. But for the first time in years he was high on a kind of hope he hadn’t felt since high school.

“What are we drinking to?” he asked as he handed her the glass. She sniffed the brandy and wrinkled her nose.

“I don’t know if I’m in a toasting mood,” she said. “Why don’t we play a game instead?”

“Poker?” he asked. “That’s pretty much all we have here. With the naked lady cards.”

“Sure.”

He felt her eyes on him as he reached for the pack on the coffee table. King had to push away two romance books, a tangled mess of earbuds, and a balled-up jacket to find the pack. Effie settled back into the couch and cupped the tumbler in her hand.

“You’re seriously as messy as a man,” he said with a laugh.

“Hey! We’re snowbound with no idea of when we can escape. I think a little messiness is the least of our worries.”

“Okay, okay,” he conceded. “So, what are we playing?”

“Five card draw. Let’s keep it easy.” They clinked glasses and King raised the tumbler to his lips as he shook the cards out of the case.

“Hey!” Effie called.

“What?”

“It’s bad luck not to make eye contact after you touch glasses.” He stared into her eyes as she took the tiniest sip and made a face.

“Gross,” she said.

“You asked for harder than wine.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get used to it.”

The rounds went quickly. They were equally matched, which made the game almost numbing.

“We really need to make this more interesting,” King said.

“If you’re hinting at strip poker, that is so not happening. And not just because it’s freezing ass cold.”

“Hey, I keep the fire going. No complaints. And besides, I wasn’t hinting for strip poker.”

“Okay, then, what?”

King put down the cards. “Another game. What was your favorite in college?”

Effie looked to the ceiling. “Flip cup.”

“Yeah, we don’t have beer, cups to flip, or any kind of decent table. What else?”

“Kings?”

“I’m tired of cards.”

“Never have I ever?”

“Now we’re talking. But first, you really need to catch up.” King motioned to her glass. He just had one sip left and hers was almost full. “It’s no fun, and not fair. You’ll have an advantage.”

“You’re like twice my size!” she protested. “We’re probably on equal grounds with the brandy.”

King shook his head and pretended to scoff.

“Sorry Effie, rules are rules. Everybody knows Never Have I Ever is only allowed when all players have had at least one full drink. But just so you’re not at a disadvantage, I’ll have two drinks to your one. Sound fair?”

“Okay, fine,” she said.

He watched as she pinched her nose and took a long swallow.

“Ugh, it burns,” she said.

“That’s because you’re not supposed to shoot it. You want to know a trick?”

“Drown it in Coke?”

“Okay, that’s gross,” he said. “No, this is how you drink brandy. Hold it at the apex of your tongue for six seconds. Then slowly swallow. Your saliva and tongue dilute it so that it’s smooth. If it burns your throat, it’s either cheap liquor or you’re not drinking it right. And trust me, this is Dad’s. It’s not cheap.”

He watched as Effie held the brandy in her mouth for a moment before swallowing. “Hey, it works! Either that or I’m getting drunk.”

“Maybe a little of both.”

By the time she made her way to the bottom of the glass, she didn’t wince or flinch at the taste.

“It’s actually not bad,” she said. “But I think it would be better on the rocks.”

“Personal preference, but I think in the winter months having it neat is better. It’s cozier.”

“Okay, liquor expert. I had my drink, do I qualify to play now?”

“I suppose you’ve passed all the entry requirements. You want to go first?”

“Sure. Wait, this is weird with two people. How are we playing? Am I supposed to say things I’ve never done that I think or know you have? Or are we doing the whole freshman-in-college desperately trying to show off thing and say things I actually have done so I can drink?”

“Wow, you’re really into the rules. How about the former? Try and guess what I’ve done.”

Effie laughed. “You think you’re so mysterious. Okay. Never have I ever… met an A-list celebrity.”

King took a swallow as Effie squealed. “I knew it! All those years in L.A. Who was it?”

He wagged his finger at her. “I don’t have to tell that. You didn’t name a specific celebrity and neither will I.”

“Oh, my God, stop! Just tell me—”

“Maybe later. If you’re good.”

She rolled her eyes at him, looking like she used to high school. King couldn’t figure out what it was about her. She was draped across the couch in his old running shorts and a thick-strapped tank top that was falling off one shoulder, but it was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

“My turn,” he said. “Never have I ever watched porn on my computer.”

“Bull,” she said and eyed him over the tumbler. “You have to say things you haven’t done and guess about me.”

“No bullshit,” he said with a shake of his head. “I don’t watch porn often, admittedly. But when I do I stream it to the television or use my phone. I’ve honestly never watched it on a computer.”

“That’s cheating,” she said.

“Are you drinking or not?”

Slowly, Effie raised the glass to her lips and took a drink.

“Dirty girl.”

“Shut up. Fine, you want to play like that? Never have I ever gotten myself off looking at photos of someone I know.”

“Now who’s calling bullshit?”

She shook her head. “It’s true. I think that’s a guy thing, needing constant visual stimulation. I mean, yeah, girls watch porn sometimes. But the biggest turn on is what’s in our heads. I’ve never looked at a picture of anyone I know.”

“Okay, fine,” he said. King took a long drink.

“Who?” she asked.

“First you want me to name-drop celebrities and now you’re asking who I jerk off to. You’re quite the gossip, but I’ll never tell.”

“Yeah, right. I think I know.”

“Oh, yeah? Who?”

“Bill Murray.”

“You think I jack off to pictures of Bill Murray?”

Effie rolled her eyes. “No! I think you met Bill Murray. I read that he’s always photo bombing random people and walking around in normal places.”

“Well, you’re wrong. Too bad you asked about that and not the other thing, because I was about to tell you one or the other.”

“I don’t need to ask about the other thing.”

“Why not?”

“Because I already know that for sure,” she said pointedly.

“Wow, someone’s full of themselves!”

“Are you going to go or not?”

“Alright. Never have I ever… masturbated anywhere besides my own home or a hotel room.”

Effie gave him a strange look and King held her gaze. It felt like a lifetime, but she finally raised the glass to her lips.

“I knew it—”

“How did you know?” she cried.

“Well, I didn’t. It was a lucky guess. So tell me where.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“Actually, you do. According to the official Never Have I Ever rules, if only one person drinks they have to tell the story.”

“Crap, you’re right. But wait a minute! You wouldn’t tell me—”

“Sorry, I just remembered. And there’s no retro-active regulations in this very mature, official game.”

Effie sighed. He could tell by the flush of her cheeks she was tipsy.

“Fine,” she said. “I was in college and on my way home from a night out. It was the year I spent living with a roommate, and we were so broke we had to share a bedroom. I was really… horny… and I saw she was home when I pulled into the driveway. The walls were paper thin at that apartment and I just really needed to… you know…”

“And?”

“And I got myself off in the parking lot, okay?”

King laughed, but the story had already turned him on. He shifted on the couch to try and hide his erection.

“And what were you thinking about? Given that you women are such imaginative creatures you don’t need any visual stimulant?”

“I don’t remember,” she muttered. “Anyway, I answered your question. Now it’s my turn.”

“Go for it.”

The blush left her cheeks and she looked at him sharply. “Never have I ever, in the last five minutes, gotten a hard-on for someone in this room.”

The silence in the room was only interrupted by the occasional crackle of the fire. “Effie—”

“Are you going to play or not?”

King brought the tumbler to his lips. He drank so fast, even in his buzzed state he felt the burn in his throat.

“So tell me about it,” she said.

“What?”

“The rules. If only one person drinks, you have to tell the story.”

“Effie, this is getting—”

“What, are you scared? I did it.”

“If that’s what you want,” he said. King put the empty tumbler down on the table. “You’re hot, okay? I mean, that’s not a secret, and it’s not a secret that I think so. There’s the brandy, and you’re telling me how you get yourself off in parking lots—”

“Hold on, I’m not telling you just out of the blue. It’s part of the game.”

“Is it?” he asked. “It doesn’t matter why you’re telling me. I’ve got this gorgeous woman in front of me, we’re all alone at a remote cabin, and all I can think about is her hiking her skirt up in a car where anyone can walk by. Making herself come when, if you really want to know the truth, I want her to come for me.”

Effie swallowed. “Truth or dare?”

“That’s not what we’re play—”

“Truth or dare, King?”

“Dare,” he said. He felt like his heart was going to explode from his chest.

“Kiss me.”

“Effie—”

“Are we playing or not?”

Before he could second guess himself, and because he knew it was stupid, King lunged at her. She tasted like he remembered, but with a glaze of sweet brandy on top.

He hadn’t realized how perfectly their lips fit together, or that he’d been searching for that same fullness and flavor for the past few years. Effie opened her mouth to him and he flicked his tongue across her teeth.

“It wasn’t a skirt,” she whispered into his ear.

“What?”

“I wasn’t wearing a skirt when I got myself off in the parking lot.”

“Oh?”

“It was summer. It was shorts. Kind of like this,” she said.

He felt himself grow stiffer as he growled into her mouth. All he wanted was her, regardless of the consequences.

He’d done his best, but he couldn’t hold himself at bay anymore. All he could think about was how wet she would be. How tight.

He felt her reach for his belt and her fingertips lightly flick across his groin.

Not again.

Brusquely, he pushed her hand away. Effie looked at him in shock. He heard how their panting was in sync.

“No,” he said. “You just broke up with my brother.”

Effie groaned. “Not this—”

“You’re hurting, I get it. And I don’t blame you, but I’m not going to take advantage of you.”

“You’re not taking advantage of me! I want to—”

“Effie,” he said as he stood up. “I want to, too. But I need to know that mine is the only name you’re going to call out in bed.”

She looked confused, but he had to get out of there. King made a beeline for the bedroom, confident that she wouldn’t follow.

Still, he listened for her footsteps for an hour. They never came.

His erection wouldn’t go away. He couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss and how right it had all felt.

It was a mistake, he knew that. Effie had done him dirty one before, and she’d literally just ran away from his brother’s condo a few days ago.

King rolled onto his stomach and moaned, the pain of his blue balls providing a slight distraction. He couldn’t tell if he was angrier at Effie, or Thorne, or himself.

This whole thing is just too fucked up, he thought.

It didn’t help that the brandy still swam lazy circles in his head. He’d never wanted to run away more than he did in that moment. However, he was stuck and he didn’t know for how long. He also didn’t know how much longer he could hold it all together.