I shrugged my shoulders. My brother shook his head. He knew as well as I did where she was. She was probably in the woods with one of my brother's friends right now, doing things I'd only read about in Cosmo. I almost wished I could be doing the same thing. Almost. But I know how guys talk. I know the things they say about girls when they aren't around, and I didn't want anyone talking about me the way they did about Cassie, even if I was supposed to be flattered. At least I knew she wasn't in the woods with Gavin. I could hear him laughing off to my left.
"Do you wanna go home?"
"No, I'm okay." I didn't look at him when I said it, because I knew that if I did, he'd find someone to take me home. I'm a terrible liar and I didn't want him feeling more responsible for me than he already did.
Brenden nudged my shoulder with his. Sometimes I wondered if he ever wished he had a sister that wasn't so socially awkward. This bonfire would be a lot more fun for me if I'd made more friends. He, Gavin and Cassie were the only people here that I could really talk to. All night, I'd only had trivial conversations with people I knew from school. After we finished talking about class, or teachers, and what they planned to do after graduation, there was nothing left to say.
"Since there aren't that many people left, Gavin was gonna get a game of spin-the-bottle going." I didn't respond because I thought he was gonna tell me he didn't want me playing spin the bottle with all his friends.
"You wanna play?" he prompted after I remained silent.
I looked at him, almost shocked. "You want me to play?"
"Sure," he said brightly. He pulled me from my sitting place, and dragged to me the other side of the fire where Gavin already had the last of the party members sitting in a circle next to the fire.
My brother sat down next to his girlfriend and pulled me down beside him flashing me a smile. As I looked around the circle, I realized I was the only sophomore playing, and there were more boys playing than girls. Gavin had just finished strategically placing all the girls around the circle so that each time the bottle was spun, hopefully it would land on one boy and one girl.
As he looked around the circle, he spotted me for the first time and raised his eyebrows. I glared back. He chuckled then proceeded to tell us the rules.
"Ok," he started in a booming voice. "We're playing spin the bottle with senior rules. There's enough liquor left for everyone to get their own bottle," he flashed my brother a smile, and it seemed like they planned it that way as my brother grinned back at him. Gavin produced bottles from behind his back and began passing them around the circle until everyone had one.
"Ok, now, an empty bottle goes in the middle. We will start with me spinning and go clockwise. If the bottle doesn't land on you, you drink. No cheating ladies. The point of this is for all of us to get fucked up, so no pussy sips." The guys laughed.
"If the bottle lands on you, you and the other person have to kiss for three seconds, tongue optional," he said with a grin as he looked at the girls sitting around the circle. You could almost hear their breath catch in their throats at the thought of them getting to tongue kiss Gavin. It didn't escape my notice that Gavin's eyes skipped over me.
"If you choose not to kiss, then you drink for five seconds. The third time the bottle lands on you, you and your partner have to go into the woods for three minutes." Gavin said this as his eyes locked on a girl sitting directly across from him. This must have been his ploy to get her to make out with him. Looking at her face, I vaguely recalled who she was.
I think her name was Emily Parish, and she was desirable by all the guys because she refused to put out. That made her an oddity. She was beautiful, and I could see why Gavin was putting up this charade to try and get into her pants.
Her presence only made me more mindful of how different we looked. Her fair skin and light eyes were in direct contract to my mocha skin and brown eyes. I felt extremely ordinary sitting in this circle, and suddenly I was looking for a way to escape. As if sensing my tension, my brother nudged my shoulder and smiled. I tired to relax.
"If you choose not to go into the woods for the three minutes," Gavin continued in his silky voice. "You have to remove an article of clothing. Shoes and socks, don't count." I had to give it to him, he was very thorough.
"Every one clear on the rules?" Gavin's eyes locked on mine as he asked the question, and I nodded. I knew he was daring me to chicken out, which is exactly what I wanted to do, but seeing the challenge in his eyes, I couldn't back down now. He knew how weird I was around boys that weren't him or Brenden and I wanted to prove I could do this. Gavin nodded happily, and the game began.
I wasn't sure how many times we'd been around the circle already, but I knew that if I wanted to be sober enough to walk, I needed to slow down. Every time the bottle didn't land on me, I had to drink, and now about a fifth of my bottle was gone. I was sure that as long as I was sitting down, I'd be fine.
I was feeling very warm now, from the combination of the liquor and the fire, and I shrugged off my jacket. I could feel the heat rise in my face as I tired not to focus on the buzz that was taking over my body. The game continued until it was Gavin's turn. He stared at Emily as he spun the bottle, no doubt hoping it would land on her. It didn't. The bottle landed between me and a girl who had joined the game late.
The bottle was closer to me than it was to her, and I didn't know what to do. I looked up at Gavin and watched as a smug smile spread across his face. Before either of us could say a word, the girl next to me jumped up and yelled she was going to do it because the bottle was closer to her. Of course it wasn't, but no one said anything as she made her way across the circle to Gavin. I watched in fascination as she threw herself into his arms.
He kissed her back, with his eyes open, focused on his watch. When the three seconds was up, he pushed her off him and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. She made her way back to our side of the circle with a mystified look on her face. I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn't look up. I knew my face was on fire, and I didn't want him to see. I was insanely jealous of this girl I didn't know. I had to pretend like it didn't matter.
The game continued and finally, the bottle landed on me. I watched as Gavin raised his eyebrows, trying to gage my reaction. The boy that spun the bottle played baseball with my brother and Gavin, but the alcohol prevented me from remembering his name. I think it was Wilson Butler, but the brightness of his eyes was distracting me. I leaned across the circle, unaware of the view I was giving my brothers friend down the front of my lacy top.
I came to rest in front of him, and its seemed like he was just as nervous as I was. I closed my eyes and waited until our lips met. The three seconds was over before I realized it even began, and I sat back on my heels, no doubt the heat in my cheeks very evident. I took my place back beside my grinning brother. He looked and me and I punched him in the shoulder and told him to shut up.
A couple turns later, I spun and the bottle landed on the same guy I had just kissed. There were no pretenses this time as I moved toward him and planted my lips firmly on his. This kiss was more fun because I wasn't as shocked to be kissing a senior. He used his tongue to coax my mouth open, and I let him. Gavin called time rather loudly and reluctantly we broke apart. I crawled back to my side of the circle fully aware that I was drunk.
I didn't drink for the next couple of turns, trying to get a handle on myself, when suddenly I heard the group let out an audible gasp.
"What did I miss?" I asked as I opened my eyes. Everyone was staring at me, and I suddenly started to panic. Did I just drool on myself and not notice?
I looked down and saw where the bottle was pointed. One end was fixed on Gavin, and the other fixed on me. I felt my world tilt as I tried to calculate how many times I'd gone. This was my third time, which meant I'd have to go into the woods with him.
My eyes slid from the dirt-covered bottle until they landed on Gavin. He was staring at me smugly as if he already knew I was going to chicken out. The only sound that could be heard around the circle was the crackling of the fire.
No doubt, because of the liquid courage, I stood up rather wobbly and asked, "Are you coming or what?"
Gavin looked at my brother, and my brother shrugged. "She wanted to play."
"Not a big deal guys, it will be just like kissing the family dog." Gavin's eyes darkened as he stood and followed me. I knew he didn't want to do it, but he didn't have to make it so obvious in front of everyone one. I tried in vain to walk in a straight line but the alcohol and the unevenness of the ground was making that nearly impossible. Gavin took my arm and began marching me deeper into the woods.
We walked deeper into the woods were no one could see us and we stopped.
