Page 14 of Spin The Bottle
“You want to join?” one girl asks, smiling up at Carter, another one of Aiden’s teammates. He smiles at her, shaking his head.
Aiden makes eye contact with me, his eyes widening when he sees me. “Leila.” His deep, gruff voice makes me shiver when I see everyone’s eyes on me. “You came.”
I decide to play coy, blinking up at him. “And you are?”
There’s a low howl coming from his teammates, the girls in the room shooting me daggers with their eyes. Not Aiden, though; he laughs, a smile spreading across his face.
I watch as Jordan nudges Aiden, eyeing me carefully. “What’s her deal?”
I scoff, Aiden’s eyes still on me. His tongue traces his full bottom lip, wetting it, and he shrugs. “Leila here is my biggest fan. Isn’t that right?”
Gabi laughs beside me, and I glare at her. “What?” she asks innocently. “It’s funny.” Traitor.
My head snaps when I see Aiden sitting on the ground, everyone making room for him. “Are you playing?” he asks.
“Not if you are.”
“Oh, c’mon.” He stretches out, his dark brown hair hidden behind that baseball cap he always wears. “Don’t chicken out.”
I open my mouth to reply, but his phone buzzes in his pocket. I watch as he pulls it out and scans the screen, his jaw clenching when he reads whatever is on that phone. His eyes blaze, looking around the room.
I raise my eyebrows. “You look pretty scared to me. Are you sure you want to do this?”
He tucks his phone back in his pocket, his lips twitching a little, but just as quickly, his face drops, and I watch as he swallows, making his Adam’s apple bob with the movement. “You want to play?” he asks, his eyes darkening. “We’ll play.”
His hand reaches out in front of him, those long fingers grabbing the neck of the bottle. I glance up at him, seeing him staring back at me, smiling slightly, before the bottle spins on the ground between us.
“You’re watching that bottle pretty damn close,” Aiden says, his voice making me glance up at him. “Any particular reason?”
I swallow, looking into his eyes as he grins. Yes, there’s a reason. I hate to admit this, but something about him makes me nervous. And the thought of what might happen scares me. Will it land on someone else? Or will it… I gulp.
Please don’t land on me.
Please don’t land on me.
Please don’t—
“Look at that.” I watch Aiden’s head drop to the ground, looking at the bottle that is—
Fuck.
The neck of the bottle lands at my feet, pointing directly at me. I glance up at him, his blue eyes shining with humor.
“What are the chances?” Aiden asks, a husky laugh coming from him.
“Stop being cocky,” Grayson tells him.
“It’s my nature,” Aiden replies, looking up at his best friend. His eyes land on mine, tilting his head. “Are you up for it?”
“On second thought, this game is stupid.” I let out a breath, turning to face Gabi. “Do you want to take my place?” She smiles knowingly but shakes her head.
“No way,” Aiden interrupts. “You are not backing out now. Are you really that scared of me?”
“I’m not scared,” I tell him, leaning forward. “I’m just not interested.” I’m such a liar. The idea of kissing him has my blood pumping, but I can’t let him know that.
He shakes his head. “I find that hard to believe.”
I scoff. “That’s just because you’re conceited.”
