Page 93 of Don't Bang a Bandmate

“No worries,” Jonah says. “A kiss is just a kiss.”

Katrina’s face turns bright red. The ladies in the circle swoon a bit, Jonah’s gentlemanly nature always welcome among us.

“Okay, okay,” Knox says, ready to move on from his best friend smooching on his little sister. “Let’s keep this going.”

Jonah lazily spins the bottle. It makes a single turn before quickly stopping, the tip pointed straight at me.

Before I can insist he save his lips for Marla, Jonah leans over and offers me the same friendly kiss on the cheek. I accept it gladly, every eye in the room now on me.

“Okay,” I say, exhaling hard as I reach toward the bottle.

“Yeah, girl!” Christian says beside me. “Spin that shit.”

I give it a whirl and sit back, pinching my eyes closed as it goes round and round, playfully nervous to find out where it’ll land. I hear it come to a stop on the floor, and the others react with various teasing sounds.

I open my eyes to look.

It’s pointing at Bronson.

30

JORDAN

“Dammit,”Christian whispers under his breath.

My stomach flutters. Casually, I shrug and push forward on to my knees. Bronson does the same. As my oldest friend in the world moves across the circle toward me, the weight of our shared history vibrates between us.

Sure, we’ve kissed before.

But never in front of other people.

In the seconds between us, my thoughts run wild.

Should we do this?

What will they think?

Will the others catch on? Start to suspect?

But as I tilt my head to one side and Bronson tilts toward the other, the world suddenly goes quiet.

We kiss. Not the friendly pecks the circle has experienced thus far, but a real kiss of affection.

I pull back, a smile tugging at my lips while the others chuckle and clap.

“Not bad,” Knox teases.

“Shut up,” I say as I return to my spot in the circle. “A kiss is just a kiss,” I add, quoting Jonah.

“What? I’m just saying.” Knox bobs his head at Bronson. “Spin, big guy.”

Bronson spins the bottle. It blurs around the circle, all of us laughing and tilting with it as it slows.

It stops on me.

“Oh, come on,” Christian says, barely hiding his disappointment with a laugh.

“It’s like it’s meant to be,” Addison quips.

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