"Shhhh." I held a manicured finger to my red-colored lips.

Vanessa giggled. "We're going to get in so much trouble." Her black hair and brown eyes blended into the darkness.

My finger moved from my lips to Vanessa's. What part of shhh didn't she get?! "We need to be quiet." I reminded her. She quieted.

"There's no way he's going to get it." Alec said, his long brown hair following as he shook his head.

"No way." Aiden nodded, agreeing with his twin.

A few seconds later, Grant walked out in a full police uniform. He was carrying a baby peacock under his arm. "Alright, let's head out." Our exotic, angry neighbor owned peacocks, along with bears, lions and a zebra. Grant was dared to steal one. He choose the peacock for comedic reasons he told us. He worked as a state policeman. He was recently hired and already going against nearly all protocol. Grant announced that he would need to wear his uniform in order to pull this off.

My eyes widened. "He's so cute!"

Grant turned and smirked at me. "Who, me or the peacock?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. Both, I thought. The uniform looked amazing on him. Every one of his clearly defined muscles were exposed. I wondered when he found the time to work out. We were almost always together and I'd never seen him so much as lift a weight. "Venture your best guess."

"Oh crap guys!" Aiden gasped. Sirens were blaring in the background, getting closer. The neighbor had called the cops. He was standing on the broken wooden steps of his front porch with untamed silver hair and a large, old-timey phone in his hands. He was glaring at Grant.

Grant cursed under his breath. "Let's go." Grant said taking off in a run. We all followed, hot on his tail. Grant's apartment was only a few blocks down the road. So, we figured it'd be an easy get-away. We were ready to test that theory.

Grant and I have been friends since he moved here in the seventh grade. He had always been attractive. He was also always risky. Grant was known as the bad influence. It was his idea to get some alcohol and play truth or dare. He was constantly doing things like that. Since the day I met him I've never seen that guy not doing something. The girls all loved him; he was a huge flirt. He had this special ability to make you feel like the only person on the planet. It didn't last though; I'd seen it a million times before. He would obsess over a girl for like a week and then he was over it, out of the blue, no explanation. I can't lie and say that there wasn't a time when I seriously considered dating him, but all those girls he left were stuck in the back of my mind. Besides, I would never want to ruin our friendship. We were so close, we grew up together. If we dated and it didn't work out, we would loose that forever. Just the thought made me feel sick to my stomach. Not to mention, he didn't see me like that. He treated me like his little sister. One time he got suspended for beating up the captain of the football team because he said I had a nice rack. It was weird to me because I wasn't very chesty. I was a minuscule B cup. I had been told my butt was big though. I didn't give much thought to those things. I grew accustomed to Grant and his inappropriate jokes, boobs and butts were a frequent conversation topic. Not that Grant would ever talk about me like that. He never said anything dirty about me personally and anytime anyone did he would shut them right down. He was a big reason I'd never really had a serious boyfriend. All of the guys were intimidated by him. I'd wanted to talk to him about it for a while now, but part of me liked his protection. I wasn't even looking for a boyfriend right now, so I wasn't in a huge hurry to have that conversation.

"I can't believe you pulled that off!" Vanessa panted as we entered Grant's house. It wasn't much, but he wasn't home that often. He called his house the shack.

Grant shrugged. "The real test will be seeing if I can sneak our little friend back in with no one seeing me." He put the peacock on the floor. It began walking around, bobbing it's head with each step. We all stared in drunken amazement. Grant chuckled. "Anyway, where were we?"

"It was Aiden's turn." Alec nodded towards Aiden.

Aiden scanned the room for a moment. His eyes landed on me. "Zephyrine."

I met his gaze, challenging him. "Bring it."

"Truth or dare?" A smile made its way onto his face.

"Dare." I took a sip of my wine cooler. I didn't usually drink this much. Today was Grant's 23rd birthday. I decided one night of heavy drinking wouldn't harm anyone. Grant hated his birthday, he insisted that no one bring him anything. He said he just wanted to hangout. I ignored this request and got him a gift I knew he'd like. I planned to give it to him later when everyone else left. Grant and I were always the last ones to leave.

He spoke without hesitation. "I dare you to strip down into your bra and panties and run down the street."

Everyone's eyes were on me. They already saw me as the weak link of the group, I wasn't about to give them anymore proof that was true. I stood up and began lifting my shirt over my head.

Grant grabbed me. "You don't have to do this Rinnie. He's drunk." Grant had trouble pronouncing my name when we were younger so he called me Rinnie. The nickname had stuck to this day.

I turned to face him. "It's okay Grant, no one's forcing me."

He stared at me for a moment, contemplating. "Okay." He sat back down, looking worried.

"Hey Grant, since when did you start telling girls to leave their clothes on?" Aiden yelled unnecessarily loud. Grant ignored him. I pulled off my shirt, exposing my red lacy bra. I tried not to think about their eyes on me. Without my consent, my eyes focused on Grant. Maybe it was a comfort thing, maybe he was just something pretty to look at. I wasn't sure, but I couldn't stop looking at Grant. His light blue eyes were watching me, looking something close to in pain. I suddenly became shy. I tried not to make eye contact. Grant watched me for a second, wide-eyed then looked away. Then, I unbuttoned my pants and yanked them off. I was left in my matching red lace bra and underwear.

"Okay." I said, turning to face Aiden. "How far am I going?" I put on my bravest face. Inside, I was a nervous wreck.

"Just down to the old convenience store." He looked me over, smiling.

I headed out the door. They all followed behind me. "She's really going to do it!" Vanessa gasped as I opened the door and started running.

I ran as fast as my feet would carry me. I knew a lot of people who lived around here. I would die of embarrassment if someone I knew saw me parading around in my unmentionables. I felt eyes on me every inch of the way, but when I checked there was no one standing there. I told myself to focus on something else, anything else. It was freezing. I forced myself to embrace the cold. In about five minutes I was back at the apartment door, my breathing fast and uncontrolled.

"You're an idiot." Grant said, glaring at Aiden. Aiden didn't seem to care, his green eyes were shining. "Here." Grant pulled off his black leather jacket and wrapped it around me. He always wore the same jacket; it was his trademark.

"Thanks." I hoped he assumed my red cheeks were from the cold, not because of him and how close he was standing to me. We walked back into the apartment and resumed our positions.

Alec looked at me. "Okay, your pick now."

Everyone watched me in anticipation. My eyes fell on Grant. He kept refusing to choose me, so I decided to get his attention. "Truth or dare Grant?"

He smirked at me. "Do you even have to ask?"

"I dare you to show us your favorite toy to use in bed." I smiled deviously. Everyone but Grant burst into laughter. Grant was constantly making dirty jokes, so it felt good to finally meet him at his level.

His eyebrows raised. "How do you know I use toys in bed?"

I rolled my eyes. "Lucky guess."

He shrugged. "Would you like a demonstration as well?"

"Just show us." I yelled at him.

He went down the hall, into his bedroom. He returned with a hand behind his back. "Any guesses?"

"A whip?" Vanessa said pretending to whip Alec who was sitting beside her. He gladly played along. We all found it funny and started laughing.

"Not quite, but I like the way you think." Grant said, removing the handcuffs from behind his back.

I got up and walked over to him. I took the hand cuffs from him and began turning them over in my hands. He eyed my hands as I spoke. "Who wears them?" I asked, genuinely curious. After I said it I told myself I was done drinking for the night, clearly I had too much.

Grant looked shocked for a moment, then shrugged. "The girl. I like to be in control."

"Big surprise." Aiden said, jokingly.

"You should leave those out, might come in handy for a dare later." Alec pointed at the handcuffs. Grant took his seat. For the next dare, Grant dared Vanessa to be handcuffed to Alec until her next turn.

"Oooh, it's my turn." Vanessa said, nearly knocking the bottles off the table.

"Go for it." Grant said, looking bored.

Vanessa began to giggle when her eyes landed on me. "Zephyrine." She paused dramatically. "Truth or dare."

After the last dare I was given it was a no-brainer. "Truth."

She scooted closer to me on the couch. "What's your body count?"

My heart skipped a beat. I wanted to punch her right then and there. "Zero." I said through gritted teeth. I felt everyone's eyes on me. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

Grant shot Vanessa a warning glance. He looked far from bored now. "I'm done with this game."