7
“Get over here Will,” Eileen called the second they stepped into the living room. “We’re playing spin the bottle.”
Space had been cleared in the middle of the floor to make room for almost a dozen people to sit together in a circle with an empty bottle of wine lying on its side in the middle. The boys who’d been playing cups earlier had joined in. Will stopped dead. Amanda’s sparkling dress caught his eye, and then the flash of blue next to her kept his attention. Jack.
If Will played, they might end up kissing. Will might kiss Jack. After years of harbouring a crush, he could find out what it was like without risking their friendship. Typically, when they played and the bottle landed on someone of the same gender there was a fifty-fifty chance that the participants would bite the bullet and just go for it, or they would chicken out and down their drinks as punishment. Girls seemed to have less qualms about kissing each other than the guys did.
“Is there room for me?” Will asked with a nervous smile. The circle was full. Football players had been added into the mix, and a few girls from school. Dune hovered by the kitchen doorway. He watched but made no move to join in.
“There is,” Eileen shuffled over, and Will sat next to her. Birch squeezed in with him on the other side, and beyond him—Jack.
Will’s stomach was unsettled, as if he were on a rollercoaster and the ground could drop away at any second.
Eileen nudged Will’s side. “Since you’re last to join, you start us off.”
Will swallowed hard. He’d be kissing somebody before he left.
He leaned forward and gripped the wine bottle. It was cold, and moisture clung to his fingertips. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it spinning. As he sat back, he noticed Dune’s gaze focused on him and he looked…worried.
Will tore his gaze away and looked at Eileen. He did his best to appear calm and easy-going, as if pretending would make it so. “This could be the first time I kiss a girl.”
She grinned back. “Let's hope.”
“It would be like kissing a brother,” Amanda grumbled.
“But, like, a hot brother,” Eileen said.
Will laughed, and he was glad it was genuine.
“Oh Jesus, you’re too much.” Amanda covered her face.
“Here we go!” Eileen followed the neck of the bottle as it slowed. Will tried not to look too interested in where it landed, but it came to a crawl as it reached Jack. His breath caught. It continued half an inch past Jack. The cork was clearly pointing directly at Birch. Disappointment cut through Will sharp as a knife, but even greater than that—relief. The relief surprised Will. Maybe he’d been more afraid than he’d even admitted to himself.
“I guess my innocence survives another night,” Will said.
“It’s still early,” Eileen pointed out.
“So,” Will glanced at Birch, who was nervously shifting in his spot. He kept double-checking that the bottle was pointed at him and not somebody else. “What were the rules? Twenty minutes in a bedroom?”
Birch jolted and snapped his head up to Will with wide eyes. They looked more golden than honey in his surprise.
“Thirty seconds,” Gale answered. “Clothes stay on.”
“Or off,” Eileen blurted. “Whichever you prefer."
Someone muttered, “Give it a rest,” to Eileen.
Will took in Birch’s trembling hands and his harsh breaths. Will leaned over and brought his mouth close to his ear. “You don’t have to, you know,” Will whispered. “It’s fine to take the punishment. I’m sure it’s only something small like downing your drink.”
Will glanced over Birch’s shoulder and saw Jack watching them. He snapped his eyes away as his stomach clenched. Did he really want to do this? In front of Jack? Will wondered if maybe he wanted to take the punishment and face a few jeers instead.
Will pulled away. His face was passing Birch’s when Birch grabbed the collar of Will’s shirt…and kissed him.
Will was so surprised he almost toppled over. He braced an arm on the floor and grabbed Birch’s shoulder to steady himself. There were a few wolf whistles, and a choir of voices began counting down from thirty.
Birch’s lips were soft, but Will was too preoccupied with the rest of what Birch was doing to really appreciate how the kiss felt. Will had been able to tell that Birch was nervous, but now that they were touching it was clear it was more than nerves. Birch was shaking.
Will slid the hand on the floor over to Birch and put it over Birch’s, giving what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. A harsh breath exhaled against Will’s cheek, and Birch relaxed slightly.
“Tongue!”
In that moment, Will wanted to strangle Eileen. The only person Will had ever kissed before was Dune, and he’d never felt like Dune hadn’t wanted to touch him. But with Birch? He felt guilty. It didn’t feel like Birch wanted to be near him at all. Despite that, his tongue glided against Will’s bottom lip, clumsy and unsure.
Ah. Maybe…
Will cupped Birch’s cheek and took charge of the kiss. He controlled the pace. He controlled the intensity. And he shivered when Birch melted against his chest, giving in to what Will dictated. Warmth was blossoming in his stomach when someone shouted, “Time!”
Will held the kiss a few extra seconds, liking that Birch waited for him to pull away before sitting back. Birch’s cheeks were red and his gaze hazy as he looked at Will.
Will shivered again.
“Your turn to spin Birch,” Amanda said.
Birch cleared his throat and turned away from Will.
Will took the chance to glance around the circle. Nobody was looking at him strangely. He noticed that Dune wasn’t waiting by the doorway anymore, and he was too nervous to look in Jack’s direction. Eileen leaned her head on his shoulder and mumbled something to him. Her words were too slurred for him to understand.
Will frowned at her. She’d seemed fine a few seconds ago. But then again, Dune was clearly drunk when they’d arrived, so everyone else must have been drinking long before they got there. He exchanged a look with Gale over her head and they helped to get her sitting upright.
“You okay?” Will asked.
Gale took her drink and put it on the table behind him, and out of nowhere Dune was there handing Gale a bottle of water.
“Oh, come on,” Eileen complained when he gave it to her.
“Bottoms up,” Will ordered, nudging her elbow.
Eileen looked between Will and Gale and then took the bottle, mumbling about how annoying they were under her breath. Will sat back and noticed that everyone was looking at him.
“What?” He caught Amanda’s eye, and she pointed at the bottle.
Will snickered. “Really?”
Birch was watching him with red cheeks. The shyness in his gaze didn’t make Will as hesitant this time. Birch already had his hand on Will’s shoulder, and Will thought he seemed eager rather than nervous. He might have just been imagining things to make himself feel better. Will took control of the kiss from the beginning, and Birch made a sound in his throat that brought warmth back into the pit of Will’s stomach.
When time got shouted again, Will was reluctant for his moment with Birch to end. As he pulled back, Birch followed after him, letting the kiss linger. They finally parted and Will fought to get his breathing evened out before anyone noticed. Birch’s gaze flicked up to him, hooded and glossy.
“Will—” Birch began.
“Spin!” Eileen shouted.
Will almost reached for the bottle but saw the angry look Amanda was giving him. He froze. Right. It wasn’t just Jack that said he liked Birch, Amanda said it too. Will realised that they must have been too into the kiss that time.
He cleared his throat. “I think the floor is slanted here.”
Birch looked disappointed, but Will hopped up. When nobody moved, he faked a relaxed smile. “Unless you all want to spend the rest of the night watching Birch and I make out?”
That’s all it took to get the rest of the soccer players moving. One of them—James—muttered, “Gross.” Will narrowed his eyes at him. James was on the team and the only guy that Will actively disliked. James behaved himself in front of Dune, but if the captain wasn’t around there were snide remarks thrown around at everyone.
“Eileen, you sure you want to play?” Will asked, helping her when she swayed. Gale had a hand on her back to keep her steady.
“I want to play with you.” Eileen tried to wrap her arms around his neck, and Will easily caught her wrists. She was always flirty, but she never tried to touch him.
“I’m getting water.” Will nodded to the kitchen. “Let’s go in there.”
Gale led the way with Eileen. Will glanced behind him. Amanda caught his eye before anyone else and scowled. He winced. Great. Pretending she wasn’t mad, he nodded to Eileen and mouthed kitchen . Will spent the rest of the party with Gale and Eileen. Eileen sobered up enough to talk with them, give out to Will for not being straight, and then cuddle up with Gale. She was falling asleep in the crook of his arm when Jack, Amanda, and Birch came out into the hallway.
“Lift outside?” Will questioned.
Amanda ignored him. “Come on, Eileen,” she said and got Eileen up. Jack watched them, looked at his phone, and then turned to face the door. Will’s stomach clenched. If Jack didn’t look at you, that meant he was ignoring you. Awkwardly, Will stood by the door.
“Yeah,” Birch finally answered, “Jack’s dad is here.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked shyly up at Will. Amanda noticed, and the glare she gave Will was ice-cold.
Goddamn it.
“Are you coming?” Birch asked.
“Nah, I’ll stay the night,” Will answered. “All the soccer players do.”
Gale and Amanda went past with Eileen between them, and they supported her unsteady body all the way to the car.
Birch lingered, and from the way he was glancing at Jack, it was clear he was waiting for him to go to the car ahead of him. Will picked at the hem of his shirt. Just go, he prayed. Don’t make Amanda any angrier. Jack turned back to Birch with an expectant look. Birch deflated.
“Goodnight,” said Birch, offering him a soft smile before heading out the door.
A flash of annoyance crossed Jack’s features. He didn’t look at Will before following Birch.
Will watched them go from the doorway, and Gale came up the gravel path.
“You pissed them off,” Gale stated as he joined him.
The car pulled out of the driveway. Jack’s dad waved at them before pulling away. Will leaned his head against the door frame. “It was spin the bottle,” he said. “What was I meant to do?”
Gale patted his shoulder. “Less tongue?” He left Will scowling at the empty driveway. He didn’t remember ever making Jack mad at him before. Amanda? Sure. She was cool, but she got annoyed at a lot of small things. But Jack? He had the patience of a saint.
Will wandered back into the house. The guys had the PlayStation powered up in the living room, and he could hear them messing around. He didn’t have the energy to pretend to be in a good mood anymore. He went up to Dune’s room. The lights were off inside, and when he opened the door, a lump on the bed rolled over.
Quietly, he closed the door and made his way to the bed. This was routine for Dune’s parties. Sometimes, most nights, they’d mess around at this part of the night—experiment. Other times they’d just pass out. Will didn’t feel like tonight would be a night for experimenting.
“Did I wake you?” Will whispered.
“No.” Dune rolled over to him. “Where’s Eileen?”
Will recalled earlier in the kitchen when she’d asked to stay with Will, and Dune had refused on his behalf. “She’s gone to stay at Amanda’s house,” he said.
“And how about your new friend?” Dune asked.
Will grew uncomfortable at Dune’s tone. It wasn’t friendly. “My new friend?”
Dune said dryly, “The one you were all over in the living room.”
Will rolled onto his back and rubbed his mouth. “It was spin the bottle.”
“You enjoyed it.”
“And so what if I did?” Will demanded, irritated. He understood why Amanda and Jack were mad, they’d both told Will that they liked Birch and he’d still done that. But Dune had said nothing along those lines, aside from calling Birch cute. But he called other guys cute from time to time. It had never meant anything before. “What’s it to you, anyway?”
Dune lifted himself up and pulled the covers with him. “Get out.”
Will didn’t waste any time. He was out the door and fighting the temptation to slam it behind him. It was only the knowledge that Dune would come storming out after him and kick him out of the house that stopped him. It had happened before—with James. Will didn’t want to be lumped into the same boat as James, but given how the night had gone…maybe he already was.