Page 16 of Spin The Bottle
My mind is spinning. Who sent me that text? What do they want from me? I look around the room, but no one is looking at me, too invested in the game still going on. Fuck this. I lift myself off the ground, stepping closer to the door.
“You okay, man?” Jordan asks, landing a hand on my shoulder.
I nod. “Yeah, I’m good. Just thirsty.” I push the door open, leaving the crowded room and heading to the kitchen.
“Pierce.” A guy I’ve never seen before claps my shoulder. “Tough luck, man,” he says
“Uh, yeah, thanks.” My face falls at his disappointment. One game. I lose one game and everything changes.
I squeeze past the people dancing in the kitchen, trying to find a flash of green. That tight green corset top she’s wearing has engrained itself in my mind. But I don’t see it anywhere. I don’t see her long brown hair flowing behind her back; I don’t see those black denim jeans clung to every dip and curve in her body. I don’t fucking see her.
Where did she go? Did she leave?
“Hey.” I feel a soft hand run down my arm and turn my head. A blonde girl I’m pretty sure was in Jordan’s bed last week, shoots me a smile. “Aiden, right? I’m Valerie. I’m in the Kappa Gamma house on Greek row,” she says like that’s any sort of relevance to me. Her hand leaves my arm and pulls out a piece of paper from her jean pocket, holding it out to me. “You should call me sometime.”
I take the piece of paper from her, scanning it when she leaves my side. My eyebrows lift at what she wrote beside her phone number. 34D. No name, just her bra size. I shake my head, crumple it up and stuff it in my jeans.
My head lifts, trying to see where the hell Leila went. She’s not down here. Is she upstairs? I grip the railing, climbing up the stairs until I see a flash of green against a wall. Can’t see much of her, though; another guy’s body is in the way.
I cross my arms, leaning against the wall while listening to her laugh. It’s not the laugh I’ve heard before, though; it’s strained and tense, almost uncomfortable.
“You know I can make it worth your time.” My eyebrows lift, wondering what Leila will say. Does she like this guy?
“The first time was more than enough.” So she’s slept with mystery dude before. Interesting. “Just let it go.” Her hand presses against his chest, pushing him back.
“C’mon,” he growls, stepping closer to her. “It was good, right?”
“You know,” I start, approaching them. The guy turns his head around, eyes widening when he sees me there. “When a girl pushes you off her, it usually means she isn’t interested.”
“Oh shit, Pierce,” the guy says, letting out a strained laugh. “Tough game last week, huh?”
My brows furrow. “What were you two talking about?”
He laughs. “Crazy thing. I forgot where your bathroom was. I was just asking this girl here.” What a load of bullshit.
I hear Leila scoff and look up to see her roll her eyes at him. I don’t bother acknowledging him when I take a step closer to her, noting how she swallows when I get close to her.
I cock my head. “You okay?” I ask her.
“She’s fine. I really was just lost.”
“There’s a bathroom downstairs,” I cut him off. “Go.”
I don’t even bother turning around to check; the way her shoulders sag in relief tells me he’s long gone.
“What was that about?”
Her eyes meet mine in defiance. “He wanted to know where the bathroom was.”
I find it amusing how she’s relentless in going against everything I say. “Please,” I scoff. “We both know that was bullshit.”
“You really think you can do whatever you want, don’t you?” she asks me, her eyes burning with that fire I’m used to seeing from her. “You just tell people to leave and expect them to listen.”
I shrug, leaning into her. “It worked, didn’t it?”
She nods. “You’re right,” she says before shaking her head. “But it won’t work with me. I don’t see what the appeal is. You’re all the same.”
“And who do you want me to be?” She doesn’t answer, though. Her head turns to the side, away from me. I trace her face with my eyes and see she’s biting down on her bottom lip. “Why did you leave?”
