The Weekend at the Villa – Part 1: Truth or Something Else

The villa had seven bedrooms, a lemon grove, and a swimming pool that looked straight down into the lake. Max had found it. He had also paid for most of it, and reminded everyone of that on the drive up from Milan.

"You're insufferable," said Lena, from the back seat.

"I'm generous," said Max. "There's a difference."

Ava laughed and leaned her head against the window. Ben, in the front passenger seat, was staring at the road as if it might jump out at them, and not saying much at all.

They had been friends since university. Four flatmates in a crumbling house in Bologna, with one shared kettle and a rota that nobody ever followed. Then jobs, cities, relationships, breakups. Now it was Ava's thirtieth birthday, and somehow the four of them had ended up at a lake with a bottle of prosecco and a plan to do nothing at all.

On the first night, they cooked together badly, drank too much, and played cards on the terrace while the stars came out over the water.

"Truth or dare," said Lena, grinning, when the cards ran out. "But only truth. Dares lead to hospital visits."

"Truth," said Ava at once.

"Who was your first kiss?"

"Max," said Ava. "At the Bologna New Year's party. He'd lost a bet."

"I didn't lose," said Max. "You forced me."

"You were very willing."

Lena threw a cushion at them both. "My turn. Ben. Truth. Why did you move out of the flat so suddenly?"

Ben went quiet. The lake lapped at the stone steps below.

"Because I was in love with one of you," he said, very quietly, "and I didn't know how to stay in the house pretending I wasn't."

Nobody spoke. Ava's heart jumped painfully.

"Which one?" Max asked, gently.

Ben looked up. His face was red and unhappy, and very honest.

"All of you," he said. "I was twenty-two. I didn't know how to say it."

The silence stretched. Then Lena laughed, shaky and surprised, and reached across the table to grab Ben's hand.

"Oh, Ben. You idiot," she said. "We all know. We were just waiting for you to say it."

Max let out a long breath. "I've been wanting to say something too," he said. "But I want to say it when we're all sober, and I think I'm already past that."

Ava looked at them all: Lena with her hand in Ben's, Max leaning back with a nervous smile, Ben trying not to cry. Her own chest was tight and warm and frightened.

"Okay," she said. "New rule. Nobody says anything they can't say in daylight."

"Agreed," said Max.

"Green?" asked Lena, looking round the table with a small, wicked smile. "Because I think we all need to sleep on this."

"Green," said Ava, and found she was smiling too.