The following story first appeared in the 'Lucky In Love' Valentine's Day Anthology on the Wattpad 'Paid Stories' profile. Enjoy!

I sat on a couch nursing a beer, surrounded by people I didn't know. Well, I was with my girlfriend, Jessica, but the rest of the party-goers were her friends. Mine were a bit more intellectual, but I was trying to expand my horizons for her sake. The truth was that I was lucky to have her, she was the prettiest girl in the school, and guys would kill to have her.

Yet Jessica was so much more. She was smart, funny, and wouldn't say a bad word about anyone. She was practically perfect, and I was completely smitten with her, which was why I was at a party in a cheerleader's house instead of studying for the SAT's. Though with only ten people present, it was more a gathering than a party.

Brit stood in the center of the room. "I know. Let's play 'Never Have I ever' to spice things up."

"It's your house. We'll do whatever you want," a guy said, sitting across from me in a recliner.

"I'm game," another cheerleader said.

"I bet you are," another guy joked.

She gave him the finger, and everyone in the room laughed.

"How do you play?" Jessica asked.

Smiling, Brit said, "We take turns going around the room. Each person says something true about themselves like, 'Never have I ever gotten a speeding ticket', but if other people in the room have gotten a ticket then they have to drink."

The first guy said, "That's a bad example. We know that's not true."

Brit shook her head. "Shut up! I'm a good girl."

More laughter.

"Sounds like fun," Jessica said. "I'll play."

"Me too." Like I really had a choice without looking like a complete dork, but I feared given my life experiences that I would drink a lot in this game. At least I didn't have to worry about driving home, my friend, Kevin was picking me up after his shift at McDonald's so that we could have a late-night gaming tournament while Jessica planned to spend the night here at Brit's house.

"Does everyone have a drink?" Brit asked.

Those who didn't filled their glasses, and we settled in to play when the doorbell rang. Brit hopped up to answer it and returned with Jim McGrath, a douchey football player from my physics class. Jim glanced around the room and made eye contact with Jessica. It lingered too long for my taste.

He said, "Hey everybody. Hi Jessica."

Another football player said, "I thought you said that you weren't coming, fucker."

"I never said that," Jim replied.

"Whatever."

Brit said, "Jimmy, we were going to play Never Have I Ever, are you in?"

"Definitely." He smiled devilishly as he pushed his way on to the couch on the other side of Jessica.

There were already three of us sitting there, so we ended up pressed hip to hip. No one else seemed to think it was weird, but it was obvious to me that Jim had intentions for Jessica. Bastard. He knew that she was my girlfriend, of that I had no doubt, but to a guy like him, I was only a speed bump. It was his birthright to steal her back to the popular crowd.

"You have something to drink, Jimmy?" Brit asked.

He pulled a pint of whiskey from his varsity jacket. "Of course."

"Great. Let's get started. I'll go first," Brit said. "Never have I ever ridden a roller coaster."

"What!" Jessica said.

"Sorry. I'm scared of heights."

Most of the room drank outside of Brit.

Someone said, "Never have I ever shoplifted."

A few people drank.

"Never have I ever broken a bone."

The questions went around the room. I finished my beer and pulled a fresh one from the six-pack at my feet. Jessica needed a new one as well. I wasn't much of a drinker, so I could feel the buzz start to dull the edge of my mind which maybe wasn't a bad thing, I tended to overthink everything.

It came to Jim's turn. He said, "Never have I ever sucked a cock."

One of the girls said, "You're a jerk."

Laughing, Jim said, "Hey, I didn't choose the game, but I am going to win. Drink up, girls. Or guys, if that's your thing."

Some of the girls quietly brought their drinks to their lips. Jessica didn't. We had messed around some, but we'd only been dating for a few months and were taking things slow, which I was completely fine with. She was my first girlfriend, and I was enjoying all the stages of our relationship, not that I wasn't dying to get into her pants.

Jim glanced sideways and noted that Jessica's drink stayed in her lap. He smirked. I wanted to smack it off his face, but I kept my hand on the armrest and gritted my teeth instead.

Jessica said, "Never have I ever showered with fifty guys."

The three guys from the football team including Jim drank. He said, "Good one, Jessica."

Now it was my turn. I had racked my brain and came up with a good question, but at the last second, I decided to change it. "Never have I ever smoked pot."

"Lame," someone said. I couldn't tell who. Everyone drank including Jessica.

Jim said, "I'm surprised that Brian didn't say, never have I ever had sex."

His friends laughed.

"You're such an asshole," Jessica hissed.

Snickering, Jim said, "What! It's true, isn't it?"

"Fuck off! Jimmy!"

All the heads in the room turned in my direction. I was surprised to find that those words had come from my mouth.

"Relax. You don't have to get all butt hurt. It's just a game," Jim said.

"Not the way you're playing it, mouth-breather."

Jim pointed a finger at me. "You say another word, fuckface, and I'll kick your ass."

"I'd like to see you try." I jumped to my feet, knocking over the unopened beers on the floor.

Leaping up, Jim squared off with me. "It's your funeral."

Jim had me by three inches and fifty pounds. It wasn't like I was a weakling, I played tennis and swam, but I didn't spend hours in the weight room like the gorillas from the football team. I didn't care what happened, I wasn't about to be bullied by him. Maybe, I if I got in a few good punches, then he'd move on to easier prey.

Brit jumped between us. "Not in the house. My parents will kill me if something gets broken."

"Fine. Let's take it outside."

I swept my hand towards the front door. "After you."

Jessica put her hand on my forearm. "Brian, don't."

"Yeah, Brian," Jim cackled. "I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend."

"Isn't that your point, to embarrass me, so that you can show Jessica what a loser I am and how much better off she'd be with you."

He tilted his head towards Jessica. "You said it not me, besides you have no idea what to do with a girl like her."

Jessica put her arm around my waist. "Brian knows exactly what to do, and after tonight he won't have to drink to the sex question."

"Whatever," Jim growled. "I'm out of here. This party sucks donkey balls."

I smiled at him, showing plenty of teeth. "I bet you'd have to drink with that question, Jim."

He clenched his fists and flared his nostrils, but then shook his head. "I'll see you around, Brian."

"Not if I see you first."

Internally, I cringed. I was such a dork. I sounded like a horrible 80's action hero. I'd really have to work on my macho comebacks before the next goon belittled me in front of Jessica.

Jim stomped out the door. After it shut, everyone looked around uncomfortably. The game was probably over. Jim's friends glared at me but kept their thought to themselves. It didn't matter. I knew what they were thinking. What everyone was thinking. They'd be nice to me for Jessica's sake, but I didn't belong here, and certainly not with her arm around my waist.

I turned to Jessica. "I should go too."

"You don't have to."

"I do. Kevin's on his way," I lied.

He'd be at least another hour, but I'd wait down the street rather than bear everyone's condescension. I went to the back bedroom to retrieve my coat. Jessica remained with her friends. I found it easy enough amongst the other jackets but sat down on the bed for a minute. I needed to gather the strength to pass through the gauntlet of cool kids on my way out the front door.

Procrastinating, I studied the bedroom. It was a little girl's room with bright pink walls. I'd heard her parents had taken Brit's younger siblings to an indoor water park for the weekend. Dolls, costume dresses, and hair ties littered the floor. A spider crawl across a pair of Sketchers thrown haphazardly in the corner. I thought about smashing it with the shoe, but it wasn't really hurting anyone and would probably leave a mark on the carpet.

Voices carried down the hall. The party had resumed without me like I thought that it would. I heard footsteps in the hall, probably someone headed to the bathroom. They came closer, so I pulled out my phone to make it look like I was texting my ride instead of being a creeper in a little girl's bedroom.

Jessica appeared in the doorway.

I set down my phone. "Hey."

"Hey." She came in and sat down on my lap. "Do you really have to go?"

"Kevin's my ride. I told my parents I'm spending the night at his house."

"Couldn't he pick you up in the morning?"

"Morning?"

"Yes. You could spend the night here. With me. Brit won't care."

"You don't have to do that," I said, "I appreciate what you said to Jim, but you don't have to feel obligated."

Frowning, she said, "Obligated. How could you say that?"

"Because."

"Brian!"

I took a deep breath and voiced my darkest fear. "Why are you with me, Jessica? No one thinks we belong together."

Staring me in the eyes, she said, "I don't care what everyone thinks, I like you ... I like you a lot."

"But why?"

"Why. Because you're sweet and kind. You have a killer sense of humor, and you're extremely patient, I would've flunked trigonometry if it wasn't for you. How many hours did you spend tutoring me?"

"A lot." That was a math problem unto itself, but it was that time spent together that had sown the seeds of our relationship.

"Exactly. And you're extremely handsome. You definitely have an Andrew Garfield thing going on," she said, running her fingers through my hair. "I'm lucky that I got to you before Brit sank her claws into you."

My jaw dropped. "What?"

She blushed. "I was going to wait until next weekend to sleep with you. On Valentine's Day. But, you standing up for yourself tonight, it stirred something inside of me, something primal."

"It did?"

"I know I should be more woke, but I was really turned on by you acting all manly with Jim. I want you. Tonight."

Sounding completely stupid, I said, "Cool."

"Do you want me?"

"That's not even a question. Of course, I want you."

"Cool," she said.

"We should probably go back to the party, at least for a little while."

"Right. I should text Kevin and tell him what's going on."

"Good idea." She got off my lap and waited at the door while I sent my message.

Kevin responded almost immediately. He was happy for me and a little jealous. He had no problem covering for me or chauffeuring in the morning as long as I gave him details of my exploits. Yeah, right. There was no way I was doing that; a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell.

As Jessica led me back out to the party, I thought, Never have I ever been more happy or more in love.