Page 63 of Little Do You Know

Bash playfully nips the bottom lip I’d previously been chewing on before pulling away. “Can I trade the birthday spankings for birthday kisses?”

“What if we compromise and do half and half?” he asks with a smirk.

“You can’t split twenty-one fairly, so my answer is still no.”

Bash smiles captivatingly, and I lean forward to peck his cheek. “Okay, love. Birthday kisses instead.”

Underneath the water, where no one else can see, Sebastian holds me in place tightly against him. His hand is running up and down the backside of my thigh. If I don’t move now, this will head in a potentially dangerous direction.

I pull my hands from around his neck to let them linger in the water. I can tell he’s not going to let me slip away, so I do the last thing he expects: splashing water in his face. Bash immediately lets me go to wipe his eyes, and I swim away as quickly as possible. I’m a strong swimmer, and I almost make it when he picks me up, slinging me over his shoulder as I shriek.

When I look over at Owen from where I hang over his shoulder, my brother is smiling at us. Maybe it won’t be terrible for us to tell him we’re together tomorrow.

~

I’m five shots deep, and I don’t even want to know what number Blake or Penelope is on. I’m not worried about Penelope because she can drink me under the table, but Blake is a lightweight. Owen’s been keeping her within arm’s distance all night, so I have no reason to worry.

There is absolutely no way in hell that I’m going to make it to twenty-one shots by midnight. I would die. I plan to tap out at seven, but I wouldn’t be mad if I didn’t take any more. There’s already a good chance I’ll end the night puking, but I know that Sebastian has been watching me like a hawk all night.

There are sorority girls and some guys from the football and basketball teams, including Landon, much to Bash’s dismay. To my dismay, Vera’s here. I didn’t want to invite her after how the other night went. Unfortunately, Vera already knew it was happening, so I couldn’t say don’t come. I’d never hear the end of it from Mom. Her best friend is Vera’s mother.

Owen warned the neighbors that we were having a party, so most of the people in the building our age are also here. I don’t care at this point; the more, the merrier.

I have a new disposable camera hanging around my neck after going through one. Hungover Thalia can look through them tomorrow.

I’ve been bouncing from friend to friend, never staying too long in one place until Penelope practically pulls me down on the floor next to her. “We’re playing spin the bottle. You have to play. Please,” she pleads. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sebastian hovering. Maybe if I get lucky, it’ll give me an excuse to kiss Sebastian a day early in front of everyone.

“I’ll only play if Bash plays too. Poor guy is so uptight you’d think he’s a virgin,” I tease, knowing fully well that he’s not a virgin by any means. He makes it so easy to get a rise out of him.

He rolls his eyes but refrains from verbally complaining while sitting down on the other side of me without argument. The feel of denim brushing against my bare skin makes me shiver.

The rules are relatively simple: you must kiss the other person for ten seconds, no passes, no respinning.

It’s tame enough until Blake’s bottle lands on me, and I smile, leaning across Penelope to kiss her. There’s plenty of catcalls, but it’s just a kiss. I’m too drunk at this point to care.

Penelope spins, landing on Landon, which I happily snap a picture of. “I need another shot.” I laugh happily, and Penelope is up and back in a flash.

We clink our cups together, and I down it quickly, shaking my head to get rid of the aftertaste. I’d be more worried if I couldn’t taste the alcohol, so bitterness is good for now.

“Little Lia, you are trouble,” Sebastian whispers in my ear, and I smile cheekily at him.

“Don’t call me that.”

He smirks, tilting his head. “What will you do about it?”

I purse my lips because I can’t do anything in front of everyone…yet. Maybe if I’m drunk enough later, I’ll kiss him in front of everyone just for the hell of it. I hate secrets, even if this one has been fun.

“Just spin the damn bottle, Bash.”

And then, to my unhappiness, it slowly stops, pointing to Vera. Are you fucking kidding me? I have no one to blame besides myself because I’m the one who dragged him into this game too. Karma really is a bitch.

She smiles coyly at him, confirming everything I suspect about her change in attitude related to Sebastian.

Vera climbs over the bottle and kisses Sebastian, but he makes no move to reciprocate other than staying still. When Sebastian pulls away, she frowns, lowering her voice. “Seriously? You couldn’t even kiss me back? I remember that being a lot more fun last time, Bash.” Her eyes slide to look at me, as if to make sure I’m listening, and my heart stops.

It takes my brain a second for the words to click due to the amount of liquor I’ve consumed in a short amount of time. Last time? When did they kiss before? I suck in a sharp breath and attempt to get up without stumbling, except the heels I’m wearing make that difficult. I need to think, and I can’t do that sitting next to Sebastian right now. “Lia, are you okay?” Penelope asks, giggling, and I nod once, plastering a smile on my face.

She didn’t hear what Vera said. I don’t think anyone else did, but even if they had, it’s not like they would know about us.

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