Page 24 of The Games We Play

Nathan reaches into the middle of the circle, grabbing a piece of paper from the green container. My eyes scan over everyone in the circle and their reaction is as still as mine. We all follow the paper as he unfolds it.

“On the pool table.” He flashes the paper up in the air before flicking it down on the table.

Then he reaches into the red container. “Hell yeah, lap dance,” he reads aloud before tossing that one ahead and reaching into the circle to spin the bottle.

Lap dance. Oh God, I can’t dance. My eyes bounce around the circle and I wonder who else is freaking out internally like I am. I guess it could be worse, but still. A lap dance, on the pool table, in front of everyone.

A flick of his wrist has the bottle spinning, the sound of the glass grazing circles on the wooden table vibrate through the room as everyone holds their breath.

It slows down, slowly, then slower, finally landing on…Wes.

The jaw dropping smile that crosses my face could be seen across the entire state of Texas.

A few hollers and hoots leave the group as Wes palms his face and Nathan throws his hands up. “What the fuck? Really?”

They joke and banter while Nathan wants to back out, but Wes forces him over to the pool table, reminding him, and all of us, that if you play, you play. And there is no backing out.

I glance over at Seamus, and he is smiling a tight lipped smile. I think he’s happy with the turn of events.

Wes takes his phone out of his pocket and taps the screen a few times, then the familiar beats of theThong Songby Sisqó blare through his tiny speaker.

Wes, being the idiot that he is, ended up half stripping and making a joke about the whole thing, shaking his ass and humping Nathan’s leg. It was more humorous than it was sexual, and when it’s all done, we all clap and give Nathan a hard time for appearing flushed.

He claims that he was embarrassed, we obviously think he probably liked it.

After that’s all done, they return to the circle and the tension has softened.

Okay, maybe this won’t be so bad.

“Mimi, baby, it’s your turn,” Nathan calls out as he takes asip of his water, looking directly at me with determination in his eyes.

“Not your baby.” I reach into the green canister, showing more confidence than I actually have and pull out a piece of paper.

Unfolding it, I say out loud, “In the bathroom.” I screw up my face, because yuck. But at least it’s private. Although, there’s probably only one person I’d be comfortable being alone with.

I sit to my full height and take a deep breath as I reach in the red jar, withdrawing with the folded note between my pointer and middle finger, then unfold it.

I gasp as I see the two little letters.

BJ

“Shit,” I whisper to myself. Seamus stares at the diabolical piece of paper then looks up at my face, his expression is completely unreadable.

Anger, maybe. Uneasiness, definitely.

“Hell yeah!” Nathan shouts. “That’s mine. Come on, Mimi, spin. Land on me, baby.”

Fuck. I’m having an internal fucking meltdown and my heartrate is through the roof.

“What happens if the bottle lands on a girl?” Daphne asks.

“Same, same.” Nathan rubs his palms together as he eyes the bottle. “Come on, Mimi, go.”

“There is no such thing as giving a girl a BJ, so it’s void if it lands on a girl. Even Wes said so himself earlier,” Shane replies, coming to my defense.

Everyone nods in agreement.

I shift my gaze to Shane with a thankful look.

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