Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
The green Heineken bottle slows, just passing Nate and Hollis. It nearly lands on Jesse Wilkes’s girlfriend Katie. It spins another fraction of an inch, glides to a stop. And points directly to the living room doorway.
At me.
15
Summer
And this is why games like Spin the Bottle and 7 Minutes in Heaven stopped being cool after middle school.
Because when you’re twelve and thirteen, you’re allowed to kiss random boys without worrying about the consequences.
When you’re an adult, there are always consequences.
For example, if I have to kiss Colin Fitzgerald right now? Everyone in this room is going to see how hot I am for the guy.
“Let me spin again,” I blurt out. “Fitz isn’t even playing.”
Katie, a pretty redhead with a wide Julia Roberts-esque mouth, wags a finger at me. “No way! I just had to kiss Hollis—in front of my boyfriend!”
“I wasn’t threatened,” Jesse says easily. “I mean, it’s Hollis.”
“Hey,” Mike protests.
“That’s not the point,” Katie argues. “All I’m saying is, you kiss whoever the bottle points to. No exceptions.”
My gaze shifts to Fitz. He’s sporting what I like to call Exploding Ovaries attire—gray sweatpants that ride oh-so-low on his trim hips, and a tight white T-shirt that shows off his tattooed arms. This fucking guy. He’s a total ten.
Actually, let’s make that a nine. I’m deducting one point for the fact that he looks like he wishes he could hop into a transporter and teleport to Siberia.
His less than enthused expression raises my hackles. Really? The idea of kissing me is sooooo repulsive to him? After our showdown earlier this week when I called him out on his nastiness, he should be clamoring to curry favor with me.
Asshole should be begging to kiss me.
Fitz inches backward. “I’m, ah, gonna grab some food.”
From the other end of the couch, Hunter drawls, “Good idea.” His tone is light, but there’s a hint of darkness behind it.
Like me, Hunter hadn’t seemed too pumped to play this game, although I didn’t see him complaining when he got to French the insanely hot Arielle ten minutes ago. Arielle’s the only other single chick here. Katie and Shayla are both taken, but apparently their boyfriends (Jesse and Pierre, respectively) don’t mind sharing their girlfriends for the sake of the game.
“Freeze!” Katie orders when Fitz tries to take a step.
He freezes.
“I’m sorry to have to break it to you,” she informs him, “but Summer will be kissing you now.”
Oh my God. Where’s Brenna when you need her? If she were here, she never would’ve allowed Katie and Arielle to convince us to play this silly game. Brenna would’ve laughed in their faces and challenged everyone to a shot contest instead, which I’m sure would’ve resulted in lots of kissing anyway. Just not on-the-spot, being-forced-to-kiss kissing.
But nope, Brenna had other plans. Bitch.
“I’ll spin again,” I insist. At this point, I’ll gladly kiss anyone else, even Hollis. Or one of the girls.
To my shock, Hollis sides with Katie. “Naw, babe, a rule’s a rule.” My reluctant, unhappy expression only hardens his resolve. “This’ll be good for you guys.” He glances toward the doorway, where Fitz is frowning at him. “All you two do is fight. Time to kiss and make up.”
Aggravation rises inside me. “Come on, Hollis.”
“See! Even better,” Katie says happily. “You two need to clear the air.”
“With your tongue,” the dark-haired Arielle agrees solemnly.
Nate, the captain of the hockey team, snorts in amusement. Why can’t I kiss him, dammit? He’s tall and built and has amazing, vivid blue eyes.
Before I can blink, Katie is tugging on my hand. My jaw drops as the tiny redhead, who can’t be more than five feet tall, muscles me onto my feet and gives me a little shove.
“You are freakishly strong,” I growl down at her. And I do mean down—I’m almost a head taller than this girl, yet she’s still able to manhandle me.
She grins. “I know.”
Fitz’s wary gaze sweeps the room. “How drunk are you guys, exactly?” He raises a brow at his team captain. “Since when do we play kissing games?”
Nate shrugs and lifts his beer bottle. “Only live once, right?” he says easily.
“All right, babes.” Katie claps her hands. “Kiss and make up.”
I give an outraged squeak when there’s another hard push on my back. I stumble forward, and I’m two seconds from smacking my nose on the doorframe before Fitz’s strong hands steady me.
His touch sends a bolt of heat through my body, and my breath catches in my throat when I notice that his eyes have softened. Actually, no. They may have lost their hard edges, but they’re certainly not soft. They’re heavy-lidded now, gleaming with unexpected heat.
Then he blinks, and the fire is replaced by exasperation.
“Let’s just do this so they shut up,” he murmurs so only I can hear. “She won’t let it go.”