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Logan
I shake my head, silently pleading with Danika not to play. There’s a reason this game is dirty. You spin the bottle and pair up with whoever it lands on—boy or girl— and if it lands in the middle of two people, you get both. After everyone has a partner or two, the moderator, usually Melody, locks everyone in a room for ten minutes. The chambers. They lock from the outside and there’s no leaving until time’s up.
“Huh. You’ll do this but not Gunner.” Melody shakes her head.
“Why do you care so much?” Danika asks, her black converse climbing the stairs in front of me.
“I don’t. I just hate losing,” Melody grabs Danika’s hand knowing I’ll follow.
Upstairs, Melody sits Danika between two guys from the football team, who eye her like she’s fresh meat. The game is by invitation only. Rarely do we get new people because Melody holds all the power. Danika being here tonight brings the game to a new level. The thought of anyone touching her makes me sick to my stomach. This sucks. I've got to do something.
“Alright,” Melody says, setting the decorated bottle in the middle of the circle. There’s twelve of us, six guys and six girls. I’m seated across from Danika, mentally calculating the amount of force I need to spin the bottle so it lands on her. Thank fuck I’m good at physics. “Who wants to go first.”
“Me.” I lean onto my knees before anyone else can grab the bottle.
I pick it up, making sure its weight hasn’t changed, then set it back on the ground. I line the bottle up with Carly, who is four people to the left of Danika, and spin. The bottle circles three times before reaching terminal velocity then slows, and finally stops on Danika. For everyone else, this is a game of luck, but for me it’s science. The one thing I’m better than Cooper at.
A few girls groan, as I stand and extend my hand to Danika. I escort her to the upstairs couch and sit beside her as we wait for everyone else to finish pairing up. When the final couple is sorted, Danika tenses beside me.
Melody jingles the bedroom keys in the air and everyone matriculates towards her like cattle to their master. “You know what time it is. Remember, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
The couples follow in a mess of a line behind Melody as she locks them two by two in their chamber. When it’s our turn, Melody glares down the hall at us. Danika stands, head held high and walks to the door Melody is waiting at. She looks calm, but I can tell with each sway of her ponytail that Danika is nervous.
Hell, I’m nervous.
“I don’t know how you did it,” Melody growls at me, “but that shit was fucked.”
Melody shoves Danika into the room and slams the door behind me. I flip the light on, assuming it’ll make Danika more comfortable, as the click of a lock signals our time has begun.
Danika wiggles the doorknob then sighs. “Who has doors that lock from the outside? What kind of medieval shit are Jake’s parents into?”
I rub the back of my neck. For the first time since losing my virginity in this game, I’m fucking nervous. “Well, that depends on who you ask. Officially they are small business owners.”
“And unofficially?” Danika asks, taking a turn around the room.
“Porn.”
She runs her fingers across the bedsheet and looks over her shoulder at me. “Shut up.”
Those butterfly lashes bat and my mouth goes dry. I lick my lips and clear my throat. “Rumor has it, this house used to be a brothel. They bought it twenty years ago, updated all the appliances and shit, but kept the kinky stuff.”
“You lie.”
“Only if what I’ve been told are lies. Jake doesn’t talk about it.”
She turns to the window and pushes the blinds open with one finger. This room looks out at the pool. At the chaos of the party. “Where is he anyway? I’d be pissed if people were having a party in my house and I wasn’t home.”
“I'm sure Jake’s around somewhere, but he doesn’t care.” He’s just happy not to be alone, but Jake’s family secrets are his to tell. And while I know Danika won’t say anything, I keep my mouth shut.
“Huh.” She says, sitting on the bed. “So what now? What would you do if I wasn’t me?”
Her big brown eyes lock on mine, the vulnerability in them undeniable and a turn on. I shrug. “Anything you’d let me do. Most girls have no inhibitions when they agree to play dirty spin the bottle.”
Someone’s cries of pleasure penetrate the wall. Danika tenses again and I can’t help but wonder how far she’s gone. I assumed California parties put our parties to shame. I mean, it’s fucking California. But right now Danika seems so innocent. So virginal. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
She sighs and lays back on the bed, the hem of her dress riding up almost to her hips. Most people wear jeans and a T-shirt to the games, but tonight Danika’s got on a short black flower-print dress that matches her shoes. I can’t help but wonder if she dressed up for me.
I walk over and sit on the bed beside her. I lean onto my side, propping myself up with one arm and brush the hair away from her cheek. “Talk to me, Danika. You were the one who told me I shouldn’t bottle my shit up. Remember?”
