Page 6 of Catch Me If You Can

Caleb glanced back at me from time to time as they all took their turns showering him with love. I could tell he was looking for a way to pull me into the conversation.

“Hey, don’t we need a band logo? Nathaniel over here has mad art skills,” Caleb said, walking over to me and placing his hands on my shoulder.

My cheeks burned at the sudden attention as everyone muttered awkward phrases like “cool,” “that’s so awesome,” and “yeah.”

I scratched the back of my neck, trying to fade into the background, but Caleb wasn’t letting me go.

One of the girls suddenly gasped. Everyone turned to look at her.

“You know what we should do? Spin the bottle!” she cheered.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Alright, let’s head downstairs,” Caleb said, ushering everyone to the basement.

It sucked seeing other people in our spot, but I bit my tongue. If Caleb wanted to hangout with these people, I guess I might as well try.

“Dude, these are delicious,” Tony groaned, stuffing his face with one of my muffins at the bar.

“Yeah, and if you eat all of them, you die,” Caleb said, pointing at him. I bit back a laugh.

Tony threw his hands up in fake surrender.

I noticed now that Caleb was carrying a bottle of vodka. Everyone cheered and got into position on the floor in front of the screen, forming a big circle.

“Alright, everyone get comfy,” Caleb smiled, turning on some music from his phone. The speakers in the corners of the room started playing one of his favorite All American Rejects songs.Dirty Little Secret.Something about this song always made me nervous.

I swallowed hard as I took my seat between Tony and Caleb.

“Girl, guy, girl, guy—dude, you gotta mix it up,” Tony said beside me, nudging my shoulder.

“Oh, sorry,” I muttered, standing up to move across the circle. I found a spot between two of the cheerleaders.

One of them was THE Sarah Lockwood.Everyoneknew Sarah Lockwood. She was the most popular girl in school. Surprisingly, she wasn’t a mean girl in the slightest, unlike the ones you’d see in movies. She was actually really nice. Especially to me, for some reason. Our science teacher had paired us together in class earlier this semester, and she always giggled when I talked, which made me feel… nice.Wanted. She smiled at me as I got seated, and I politely smiled back and waved a hello.

“Okay, everyone knows the rules,” Tony said, rubbing his hands together excitedly as Caleb placed the bottle of vodka in the center of the circle. “Spin. Bottle. Kiss or be kissed. Get it, got it, good.” He gave the bottle a spin.

Everyone laughed and watched it spin. Nerves crawled up my spine as we waited in anticipation.

Across the circle, Caleb’s eyes were locked on the bottle. I wondered who he was hoping to kiss. My throat burned at the thought. He told me all about the girls he texted but I had yet to see him actually ask one out on a date. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about another girl hanging around us all the time.

“Hell yeah!” Tony shouted, pumping his fist in the air as the bottle slowed and pointed at Amelia—Sarah’s pretty brunette friend, also on the cheer squad.

She rolled her eyes as everyone hooted and hollered, but leaned in all the same. Tony crawled over, closing the distance before their lips met.

I swallowed hard watching them.

Adjusting my glasses on the bridge of my nose, I nervously glanced back at Caleb. Somehow, just seeing him calmed my nerves. He gave me a quick wink and smile, and it worked—sort of.

At seventeen, you’d think I’d have had my first kiss by now, but nope. I’d never told anyone about my lack of experience. Not that I had anyone to tell. And I definitely wouldn’t tell Caleb. Something about him knowing makes it even worse.

As the bottle continued to make its rounds, so did my anxiety.

“I’ll give you ten bucks to kiss Tony,” Sarah whispered suddenly.

Startled, I looked at her, taking in her gentle and teasing tone.

“I’d rather kiss Coach Stevenson’s left toe,” I whispered back.

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