Chapter 95 I hold my breath and close my eyes, waiting for his kiss
After I finally dry off and leave the room, the party is already going full blast. The music is loud, and a few guys have set up a bar area with vodka bottles and beer. They are heavy drinkers, judging by their age.
I do not hate parties. Back home in Miami, I often have small get-togethers with my friends. We would grab some cold beers and go to the beach to enjoy the night air by the water. We talk, we drink, we dance. We always have a great time.
I sigh with a sudden sense of missing home. I miss Miami and its easy, relaxed feeling. Northwood is a fast, busy city. It fits people like Liam, not me.
We really are from two completely different worlds.
I push my way through the crowd, trying to find Liam. I need to talk to him about me staying here, which now seems like a really bad idea. Judging by how fast people are drinking, I better find him quickly.
I walk past two girls sharing a joint and try not to judge them. Then I finally see Liam, sitting on the sofa with that blonde girl in his lap.
She is laughing about something and then leans in to kiss him. He just leans back on the cushions and lets her touch him all over. I can tell he is very used to being that close with her.
I stop moving as I feel a bad twist in my stomach. Is that his girlfriend? Why did he not say anything about her?
But then again, why would he? I am just his country stepsister, the one he is embarrassed to have around his friends.
I take a shaky breath and look away. I can not stand to watch them kiss. And I already hate that blonde girl.
“Hey.”
I turn and see a guy holding two red cups behind me. I remember him as the one who offered to help me before.
“You okay?” He smiles and offers me a drink. “Here.”
“No, thanks.” I force a smile back. “I do not really want a drink.”
“Me neither. It is not alcohol. Just water.”
I look at him, a little suspicious, and take a sip. It really is just water.
“You know, if you do not want to drink, you probably should not be here.” Crap, I do not mean to sound rude. But I am in a bad mood and it just comes out.
The guy does not seem bothered. He laughs. “Well, I already regret coming. But I am glad to have one sober person to talk to.”
He is nice and friendly. I start to like him right away.
“Sophie.” I offer my hand. “Liam’s stepsister. So, you are a friend of his?”
“Alex.” He shakes my hand. “And no. I am not his friend. Someone else brought me here.”
I hear something he is not saying directly. He notices I noticed and smiles. “Do not get me wrong, everyone wants to be friends with Liam Thorne. He is very popular. But I work in the student government and I play for a school team… we are just different kinds of people, so we never really got to know each other.”
I know he is just being polite about it. He is a straight-A top student. A guy like him naturally would not want to hang out with a spoiled rich kid like Liam.
“So what sport do you play?” I ask.
“Windsurfing.”
“No way!” I say, surprised. “I windsurf too! I am on my school team as well!”
His eyes open a little wider too. “Really? So which school do you go to? How come I have never seen you at any of the practices or competitions?”
“I go to school in Miami. But I heard Northwood has the best team. I really hope I can watch you guys train sometime.”
Someone suddenly interrupts before I can finish. “Sophie! Alex! Come and join us!”
We both turn and see that red-haired guy named James waving at us. The rest of the group is looking at us too, Liam included. His hand is still around that blonde girl’s wrist, but his eyes are on me. His mouth is a hard line.
“That is James,” Alex whispers to me.
James comes over and pushes us toward the sofa. “Come on, come on, do not be antisocial. We are playing Truth or Dare. And you two are playing with us.”
I almost roll my eyes. Truth or Dare? Are they still in elementary school? No, I do not think I want to..
That blonde girl cuts me off. “But you have to. It is the rule. Every new person has to play.”
I hate her even more. “Rule? According to who?”
Her voice is high and annoying. “According to the owner of the house, of course. Right, sweetie?”
She rubs against Liam’s chest and puts her head on his shoulder. Liam does not say a word. I take his silence as agreement.
Anger starts to burn inside me and I snap, “If the owner of the house has to force me, I might as well leave.”
An uncomfortable quiet fills the room. Now everyone in the group can feel the bad feeling between me and Liam. But most of them do not care why. They are just enjoying watching me challenge Liam and his date.
Liam looks at me and turns his lips up in a mocking smile. “Let her be. She is too busy talking to her new friend about school projects, internships, and test scores. It is not easy to find someone else that nerdy at a party.”
My eyes open wide. Now he is making fun of Alex? What is his problem!
“You know what?” I sit back down. “I will play. Let us see what is so fun about this childish game.”
James laughs. “Not childish. Not the way we play it.”
And I soon find out what he means.
Half an hour later, it has been six rounds. One girl was dared to take her shirt off and jump in the pool. A guy was dared to unhook another girl’s bra with his teeth, and I am pretty sure they did not know each other before tonight.
Does everything have to be about sex with these people?
After James drinks six shots in a row and spins the bottle again, the bottle stops pointing at me.
My heart drops a little, knowing my good luck for the night is over.
I swallow and look at James, hoping he can see in my eyes that I want him to go easy on me. But he just grins at me and says, “Sophie, I dare you to kiss Alex.”
I groan. “Seriously? Can you not think of anything new?”
Normally, I would not mind the kiss since it is just a game. But knowing Liam is watching makes me feel strange. I glance in his direction, and there he is, staring at me with anger.
“This is stupid,” Liam says through his teeth.
His angry face is such a nice thing to see. I shrug. “It is your stupid game.”
I look at Alex. He smiles and leans in to kiss me. It is more like a quick touch on the lips than a real kiss. I really appreciate him being polite.
When he pulls back, he even gently rubs his thumb at the corner of my mouth.
The group cheers and claps. Only Liam’s face is hard and dark, but I feel good about annoying him.
“It is your turn to spin,” James reminds me.
I spin, and the bottle points to a thin girl. I do not know her, so I give her the easiest dare I can think of and ask her to take a shot.
She drinks her shot and spins the bottle again. This time it points to Alex.
“Alex. I dare you to lay Sophie on the floor and make out with her for two minutes.”
I almost spit out my drink.
What is wrong with her? I just went easy on her and now she gives me something terrible? I look up and see her trading a smug look with the blonde girl named Rossi on Liam’s lap.
A mean girl and her sidekicks. That explains it.
“No, seriously. This is too much,” Alex says. “I can do something else.”
“This is your dare. It is set.”
Before Alex can say anything else, Liam speaks up, his voice hard. “It is stupid. We already saw them kiss. What is so exciting about that?”
Rossi giggles. “What is the big deal? They are both single and they seemed to like the kiss before.”
“The big deal is… well, I know her and she is not like us. Give her something easier to do and leave her alone.”
My chest hurts. That is his rLiam? Not to defend me or protect me, but because he thinks I am not cool enough to play their stupid game?
Does he really think he is so much better than me?
“It is fine with me,” I say, glaring, as I stand up from the sofa.
Liam pushes Rossi away and stands up too. We stare at each other across the table and he snaps, “Are you out of your mind?”
I look right back at him, defiant. “Why? Is this not how your group plays the game?”
I grab Alex’s wrist and pull him up. I know it is dumb to act this way just to make Liam angry, and I will probably need to say sorry to Alex later, but right now I just want to see him get mad.
Alex clears his throat. With everyone watching, he puts his hand on my waist and pulls me closer. Before he kisses me, he lowers his head and gently bumps the tip of my nose with his.
Without meaning to, I hold my breath and close my eyes, waiting for his kiss.
Suddenly, I feel a hard pull on my elbow, making me stumble back a few steps. With gasps and shouts from the group, I am dragged into another person’s arms.
I am too shocked to do anything as Liam holds the back of my neck and crushes his mouth against mine.