Page 49 of For You & No One Else (Say Everything 3)

“Yes, ma’am,” Will said, his deep voice resonating over the other yeses.

“Okay then.” Dahlia grinned and stepped inside the circle. She placed the bottle on its side in the center. “May the odds be ever in your favor.”

She gave the bottle a spin and Eliza rolled her lips together, anticipation fluttering through her. The bottle slowed to a stop and landed on Khuyen.

“And we have a winner!” Dahlia said, making her way out of the circle.

“Hell yes,” Khuyen said with delight. He rocked forward onto his knees and leaned over to give the bottle a spin.

Everyone watched the thing turn like it was the most interesting movie they’d ever seen. Soon, the bottle slowed again and pointed toward a woman with bright-blue hair and Transformer pajamas. She waggled her eyebrows at Khuyen with an amused smile. They got up and went to the center of the circle to stand in front of each other. Khuyen reached out and took her hand.

“I think we’re supposed to sayoooooohhhwhile this is happening,” Trinity offered. “If I’m remembering how this works.”

Beckham laughed quietly from across the circle, and Eliza couldn’t help but smile back at him.

Khuyen leaned down to touch his lips to the woman’s, and they alloohed like middle schoolers. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and the whole vibe in the room was so light that Eliza felt the tension drain out of her. The guy to the right of the blue-haired woman spun the bottle and a few turns went by. Trinity kept getting picked, and she joked that the universe was against her because she kept having to kiss the guys.

Beckham’s turn eventually came up and as he leaned over to spin the bottle, Eliza held her breath, not really knowing if she was scared for it to land on her or not.Just a game, Eliza.But she didn’t have to worry. The bottle pointed at Khuyen again.

Beckham smirked and got to his feet.

Khuyen looked pleased as punch as he joined him. “Watermelon lemonade, my friend.”

Beckham flicked his hand in a bring-it-on motion. “Show me what you got, big talker.”

“You can’t handle what I’ve got, but I’ll go easy on you.” Khuyen didn’t grab Beckham’s hand like the rules stated. Instead he put his hands on Beckham’s face and pressed his mouth to Beckham’s with a dramatic flourish, making everyone laugh.

When they broke apart, Beckham was laughing, too. “I can’t handle that lip gloss. That’s what I can’t handle.” He puckered his mouth. “Wow, that’s sour.”

Khuyen licked his lips and winked. “It was good for me, too.”

Eliza leaned back on her hands, still grinning. She loved seeing this side of Beckham, that playful ease he had with his friends. She loved that he wasn’t like the guy who’d groaned at the any-gender rule. Instead, he was the guy who could kiss his male friend, who Eliza suspected was gay or bi, and it wasn’ta thing. He didn’t have to act macho or defend his straightness or whatever. She smiled at Beckham when he took his seat, and he shook his head, eyes dancing with amusement.

A few more spins went by. The first time it landed on Eliza, it was Trinity who’d been spinning. Trinity raised her hands above her head. “Finally, a lady.”

She and Trinity shared a friendly kiss, which got a cheer of approval from some of the guys. Trinity rolled her eyes at Eliza. “Dudes are so predictable.”

A few more turns went by, and then it was time for Eliza to spin. She leaned over and gave the wine bottle a good hard spin. That had been a bad idea. It seemed to takeforeverto stop. When it finally started slowing, it looked like it was going to point right back at her—which would mean another spin—but it stopped just short. Right on Will, who somehow hadn’t had to kiss anyone yet.

Will glanced over at her and smiled, clearly pleased. “Lucky me.”

Eliza’s shoulder muscles tightened just a bit. This one had more stakes to it than the kiss with Trinity. Will was someone she could see herself going on a date with. She didn’t want to mess this up or be awkward about it. She could squash any chance they had before it started. She swallowed past the constriction in her throat and smiled.

Will got to his feet and offered her his hand to help her up. They went to the middle of the circle, and Eliza ended up with Beckham in her peripheral vision. The earlier amusement on his face had disappeared, and the look he was giving her set her off-balance for a moment. He looked…tense? Annoyed? But before she could put her thoughts together, Will took her other hand.

She looked up, forcing a small smile on her face even though an anxious feeling was filling her. Maybe she shouldn’t do this. Maybe this game wasn’t as lighthearted as it seemed. But before she knew it, Will had leaned down and gently put his mouth against hers. The scent of strawberries filled her nose, and he kissed her softly, just enough to make it more than a peck but not enough to cross any lines.This guy would be a good kisser, she thought, as if from outside herself, like she wasn’t part of the kiss and was watching it instead. The circleoohed.

Before she knew it, Will was pulling back, his gaze holding hers. He squeezed her hands. “Thanks.”

She rubbed her lips together, awkwardness filling her. For some reason she felt like she’d zoned out on a conversation and was now trying to respond to things she’d missed. “Same.”

They walked back to their spots. Will didn’t let go of her hand until they sat on their pillows again, but she was almost too in her head to notice. What the hell was wrong with her? Maybe she’d been more nervous than she’d thought. The guy she’d been flirting with tonight had kissed her. She should’ve relished the moment. Instead she’d taken some mental trip to la-la land.

Two more turns went by, and Eliza’s mind wandered, her brain still turning over what had happened, but when Beckham got up to spin again, she snapped back into the moment. She watched the bottle rotate,whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, almost as if it were in slow motion. When it stopped and was pointing straight at her, it took her an extra second to process it.

Beckham’s gaze jumped to hers, wary. “Eli.”

If she’d had butterflies earlier, pterodactyls had now replaced them. She’d told herself that she’d thought this through. She absolutelyhad not. Being physically attracted to Beckham and knowing they could only be friends was one thing. Kissing that friend was a whole other ball game. Some things couldn’t be walked back so easily. She needed to keep this one hundred percent platonic. Just like she had with Trinity. A peck. Nothing more. She couldn’t do what she’d done with Will. Even that would be too much.

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