"Y'all are finding out too much about me," Timothy looked at the others. They were all nestled about the common room with easy expressions on their faces. He slouched forward and propped himself up on his elbow. "Okay," he said, searching the embers fading in the fireplace near him, "never have I ever made a complete fool out of myself for someone. For the sake of love."

Paloma pursed her lips and shifted her loose curls over to her other shoulder. Brad's eyes followed the swirl of melting ice cubes in his glass as he gave it a gentle tilt back and forth in his palm. Lex's back straightened. She picked up her gin and tonic from the rug and took a long sip. There was only a damp wedge of lime left in the bottom of her glass when she set it back down. 

Timothy pointed at her. She was the only one that drank. "You, my friend, are brave."

Lex shrugged. "Or very, very stupid."

Timothy shook his head and weaved his fingers through the fringe along the edge of his blanket again. The same woven blanket that was strewn over Lex's legs.

"Want another drink?" he asked.

"Okay. Just one more." Lex sighed and grabbed a fluffy pillow from a large, decadent leather sofa behind her. She hugged it close to her chest and rested her cheek upon it.

"Anyone else?" Timothy peeled the blanket off his lap and stood up a tad slower than he usually would with one of his hands out in front of him.

Paloma lifted her wine glass. "Why the heck not."

It seemed Brad was not listening as he sipped on his watered-down vodka and grapefruit juice.

"That's the spirit," Justin winked at Paloma. He took off his navy thermal to reveal a plain and light gray t-shirt underneath. "Surprise me." He grinned at Timothy as he came to take his empty beer bottle away.

Timothy stopped mid-stride to the kitchen. They all darted their eyes upwards as they heard the floor creak above them. Dressed in beet red fleece pajamas, with her hair sprouting out from its nest of a bun, Elizabeth came down the stairs. She yawned and was sleepily alarmed to have all eyes on her.

"Jet lag," she croaked.

Timothy tapped his fingers on his chest. "I'm mixing up some drinks. Need anything?"

The half-awake young woman rubbed her eyes and thought for a moment. "Chardonnay. Soft cheese and crackers? And grapes?"

Timothy titled his head and gave a quick nod.

"Thank you so, so much," Elizabeth placed her small hand on his shoulder before pulling her scrunchy out of her hair and plopping onto one of the sofas.

"We're playing Never Have I Ever," Paloma perked up from her place on the sofa across from Elizabeth. "Would you like to join us?"

"All right," Elizabeth shrugged, "however, I haven't really done much of anything." She secured her hair into a bun at the nape of her neck.

"We've all done something, girl." Paloma slid back into the sumptuous sofa, raising an arm above her head.

After Timothy returned with the drinks and an array of snacks to nibble on, the group felt revived and a new surge of camaraderie and energy settled in.

Lex knew her deepest worries should not be allowed so much space in her head. She feared the retreat would be stuffy with pretension. Feared volatile personalities would clash with her own guarded one. Felt not a single one of them would accept her--an aspiring novelist who had not written creatively in a year.

The opposite was true. They welcomed her and commiserated. Each of them willingly and unashamedly served up their own insecurities and reflected on their cyclical times of doubt, rejection and self-loathing. All of them harboring and fighting at length to protect the sensitivity within themselves so as not to harden, roll over and succumb to failure.

"Time to switch this up," Justin rubbed his hands together and set his beer on the table next to him. His fierce eyes, flickering between black and amber in front of the freshly stoked fire, surveyed the group around him. "Truth or Dare."

Paloma belted out her signature laugh. "I haven't played that game since I was sixteen."

"I never have," Elizabeth confessed.

"Let's do this," Timothy sat up and patted Lex's back.

"I'm in." Lex smiled and cradled her drink in her hands.

Brad took his glasses off and cleaned the lenses with a cloth he pulled from his pocket. He closed his eyes and titled his head back as he put them back on. "I'll go first. I have the best idea." With pink cheeks and playful eyes, he scanned the room and asked, "Who shall be the first victim?"

Timothy nudged Lex's side. "C'mon."

"Okay," Lex covered her face with her hands. "Me."

"Alright," Brad leaned forward. "Truth or dare?"

Lex had already imparted a fair enough amount of truths onto the group that night. She took a breath in and answered, "Dare."

"Yes," Brad let out a syrupy laugh and balled his hands into fists. "Lex, I dare you to go into the bathroom with all the lights off, hold a candle in one hand and a cup in the other and look into the mirror with the door shut."

Lex almost choked on a sliver of ice that lodged itself in her throat. Her eyes stung. "You want me to what?"