“Come sit with me, kitten.” Eli pats the spot next to him. Again, his eyes seem warm and caring, but fuck, I don’t trust it. I almost trust the coldness in Luke’s eyes more than that warmth in Eli’s. But I do what is asked of me because no punishment is my motto for the day.
I dig my lunch out of my backpack and hand a sandwich to Caden. He smiles like I just handed him a Super Bowl ring. As he grabs it, Eli holds out an apple for me.
I’m still leery of the fruit, but I take it and set it next to my lunch box. While I eat my other sandwich, the guys talk about football and the away game on Friday night. I don’t have a lot to contribute to the conversation. It’s the first game of the season.
Supposedly I’m grounded and won’t be able to go. Not that I would normally go to an away game anyway.
“Tell your mom you’re dating one of us.” Jack sits down on the bleacher above me. “Then she’ll have to let you come.”
“Only one of you?” I raise my eyebrow and Jack smirks. “How would I ever choose?”
“I could be your boyfriend. Take you to fancy dinners and dances.” Jack leans over and snatches one of my chips. “Moms love me.”
“Moms won’t let their daughters out past eight with you. But me”—Eli leans in close to me—“Moms adore me. Who doesn’t want their daughter to date the wide receiver?”
“Please, they want their daughters to catch the quarterback.” Luke leans his elbows back on the bleacher behind him and gives me a look that could only be called a smolder. “Moms know the quarterback is always the winner.”
I laugh and turn to Caden. “What about you?”
Caden shrugs, no expression on his face. “Parents hate me. If you want to stay grounded for the rest of your life, you could say I’m your boyfriend. But since I want you to be free to play, don’t.”
Fuck, who got in this guy’s head and messed it up? I feel the ridiculous urge to hug him, which is stupid on so many levels. But instinctually, he’s one of mine for the year—until I can figure a way out of this arrangement. I don’t like seeing him so down on himself.
“I bet my mom would love you best, Caden.”
He narrows his eyes like I’m poking fun.
“My mom hates a kiss ass. She’d rather a guy be upfront with her and not try to do naughty things to her daughter behind her back while being a nice guy to her face.” I finish my apple and put away the rest of my stuff before realizing there’s still silence.
I lift my eyes, and Caden is smiling at me.
“Speaking of naughty things…” Caden starts.
I tense, waiting for the guillotine to fall. Fuck, what did I do this time? I finally look at the other guys. They watch me with anticipation, but I can’t tell if it’s because I’m about to be punished again or something else I might not like.
“What did I do now?” I ask in resignation because seriously, it’s been a good day so far.
“We figure we need to start off slow with you.” Luke brushes his hands off and walks down the bleachers until he’s on the field. “So we’re going old school for your first lesson.”
Jack holds up his half-full soda bottle from lunch and joins Luke like they planned this whole thing out. “What better way to get your first kiss than with a game of spin the bottle?”
Caden starts down as Eli stands and offers me his hand. I stare at it for a second. Of all my firsts, giving this one to the horsemen isn’t a hardship. It would actually be a relief to not still be waiting for my first kiss. If this had been a normal school, I would have attended a party in middle school where I would have played spin the bottle. And my first kiss would have been a peck from some random guy who I might have liked.
Now my first kiss will be with one of these guys, and I don’t think they’re the kind to just give me a simple peck. None of my firsts will be simple with them. If I give them everything they want, that is.
Sighing, I slip my hand into Eli’s, and he helps me down to the field.
Eli pulls me down next to him as we all settle into a circle.
“I’ve never played this before.” My palms are actually a little clammy and I rub them against my jeans. Out of these guys, I don’t think I could choose who I want to kiss first. Part of me is excited to kiss all of them. Heat builds in my chest.
Luke talks as Jack puts the bottle in the center. “Obviously when we were younger, the ratios were a little more mixed.For our purposes, you spin the bottle and you kiss whoever it lands on. After that, instead of spinning the bottle, you’ll just go around the circle and kiss all of us.”
My eyes feel like they want to pop out of my head. “You’re going to pass me around instead of the bottle?”
Eli laughs softly. “In a manner of speaking. We all want to be your first, which is why fate gets to decide this time. We all want to taste you.”
A spark lights low in my belly and bursts into flames. Not kiss me. Taste me. I don’t think this is going to be a tame peck on the lips.
