He didn’t stop her.
He didn’t pause.
He didn’t even open his eyes.
And I…
I stood there in the circle’s glow with the girls around me, heart stuttering painfully in my chest, stomach curling, tight, hot, uncomfortable.
This wasn’t jealousy.
This wasn’t attraction.
This was…
He was doing it on purpose.
To show me.
To rattle me.
To test me.
Because Riley didn’t kiss like that for fun.
He kissed like that to destroy.
And the crowd went absolutely wild.
Malia leaned close, whispering, “Luna… are you okay?”
But I didn’t answer.
Because Riley had just opened his eyes Mid-kiss.
And he was looking at me.
Directly at me.
Watching.
Measuring.
Daring.
The kiss finally broke.
She pulled away slowly, like she wanted to savor every last second of his mouth on hers, then practically floated back to her spot in the circle. People hooted and cheered as she sat down, breathless, smug, glowing like she’d just won something precious.
Riley didn’t even wipe his mouth. He just leaned back, eyes fixed on the fire… except every few seconds, they flicked to me.
Like I was the real show.
The bottle spun again. Laughter rose with the sparks. This time it landed on a guy in a backwards cap. He picked dare without hesitation.
Someone shouted, “SKINNY DIP, DEREK!”
The group erupted, screaming, clapping, stamping their feet in the sand. Derek grinned, shrugged, and immediately pulled off his shirt. The crowd screamed even louder.
