Chapter 180
Summer's POV
The look he gave me suggested he had a very different definition of fun, but he followed me to the circle anyway, settling onto the floor and pulling me down next to him with enough force that I ended up half in his lap. His arm wrapped around my waist immediately, holding me against his side like he was afraid someone might try to steal me, and I felt the solid muscle of his thigh pressing against mine, felt the warmth of his body seeping through my clothes.
"Rules are simple," Mia announced, setting the bottle down with exaggerated care. "Whoever spins, whoever it lands on, you kiss. No chickening out, no substitutions, no do-overs unless there's a legitimate technical malfunction. Everyone got it?"
There was a murmur of agreement, and I noticed several people glancing between Kieran and me with expressions ranging from amusement to anticipation, like they were expecting drama and couldn't wait to see how it unfolded.
"I'll go first," Mia declared, and reached forward to give the bottle a hard spin.
It whirled in dizzying circles, the glass catching the dim light and throwing little reflections across everyone's faces, and I held my breath as it began to slow, as it wobbled and hesitated and finally stopped with the neck pointing directly at Logan.
"Oh my god," Mia said, but she was already laughing, already leaning forward as Logan met her halfway with a grin that was equal parts smug and delighted.
Their kiss was brief and sweet, just a press of lips that lasted maybe three seconds before they pulled apart to a chorus of whistles and catcalls. Mia's face was bright red but she was smiling, and Logan looked like he'd just won the lottery.
"Your turn, Summer," Logan said, gesturing toward the bottle with exaggerated formality. "Show us how it's done."
My heart started hammering against my ribs. I glanced at Kieran, whose entire body had gone tense beside me, his jaw clenched and his eyes fixed on the bottle with an intensity that seemed excessive for a stupid party game. His arm tightened around my waist, fingers digging into my hip hard enough that I felt the pressure through my jeans.
I leaned forward, suddenly hyperaware of every eye on me, and reached for the bottle. Please land on Kieran. Please, please, please—
I spun.
The bottle rotated in a blur of green glass and reflected light, faster than Mia's spin, fast enough that it made me slightly dizzy to watch. Around the circle, people were leaning forward with avid interest, and I could hear Logan making some kind of commentary but couldn't focus on the words because all my attention was locked on that spinning bottle, on willing it to slow down and stop in exactly the right place.
It began to decelerate, wobbling slightly as it lost momentum, and I watched it drift past Oliver Martin, past some girl whose name I couldn't remember, past Mia who was grinning like she knew exactly what I was hoping for—
And then it stopped. Pointing directly at Logan.
"Oh, come on," I heard myself say, disappointment making my voice sharp and slightly petulant, and Logan laughed and started to lean forward like he was actually going to go through with it.
But Kieran moved faster.
His entire body went rigid beside me, his hand clamping down on my hip with enough force that I gasped, and then he was leaning forward, his other hand shooting out to grab the bottle before Logan could get anywhere near me.
"Wait," Kieran said, his voice coming out low and rough with tension. "Wait, hold on. There's—" He squinted at the floor beneath the bottle, his brow furrowed in exaggerated concentration. "The floor's uneven. Right here, feel this—there's a gap in the boards. It caught the edge. The spin doesn't count."
I looked down and sure enough, there was a faint seam where two floorboards met—though whether the gap was wide enough to actually affect anything or whether Kieran was grasping at the most desperate excuse his panicked brain could manufacture, I couldn't tell and honestly didn't care because the look on his face was somewhere between desperate and furious, like the thought of me kissing Logan was physically painful to him.
"Dude," Logan said, clearly trying not to laugh. "That's the most invisible gap I've ever seen. I don't think—"
"It's there," Kieran insisted, his fingers still wrapped around the bottle in a white-knuckled grip, refusing to let go. "It affected the spin. We have to redo it. That's the rule."
"That's not actually the rule—" someone started to say, but Mia cut them off.
"He's right," she announced, not even trying to hide her smile now. "Technical malfunction. Totally unfair. Summer, spin again."
Logan was grinning so wide his face looked like it might split. "Yeah, wouldn't want any technicalities ruining the integrity of our very serious game," he said, his tone dripping with amusement.
Kieran finally released the bottle, but his hand immediately returned to my hip, holding me against him with possessive force as I reached forward to spin again. I could feel him watching me, could feel the tension radiating off him in waves, and when I glanced at his face, I saw his pupils were dilated, his cheeks flushed darker than before, his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping.
God, jealous Kieran was unfairly hot.
I spun the bottle again, putting everything I had into the motion, and this time I didn't even bother pretending I wasn't hoping for a specific outcome. The bottle whirled so fast it became almost invisible, just a streak of movement and light, and I held my breath as it began to slow, as it drifted past person after person in agonizing slow motion—
And stopped. Pointing directly at Kieran.
The circle erupted in cheers and whistles, and I felt my face go hot, felt that familiar mixture of excitement and shyness flooding through me even though this was exactly what I'd wanted. There was something about the deliberateness of this—about the bottle choosing him, about having to cross the circle and kiss him in front of everyone—that made my heart race and my palms sweat.