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Kira claps her hands again. “Alright! Last round, people. Make it count.”

James grabs the bottle dramatically and gives it a theatrical spin. “If I land on Mikey, we’re fighting.”

The bottle slows… and lands on Mandy.

James throws his arms in the air. “The universe has spoken!”

Mandy rolls her eyes but plays along, standing as he does a goofy strut across the circle toward her.

“I shall cherish this moment forever,” James says solemnly.

“Just don’t write poetry about it,” she mutters.

He plants a quick kiss on her lips and then clutches his chest. “Tragic. She’ll never love me back.”

Everyone laughs.

Everyone but me.

I know it’s a game. I know James is all talk. But there’s a beat in my chest that ticks harder than it should when I watch him kiss her, even jokingly.

Mandy glances back at me as she returns to her seat, and for a second, I think maybe she felt that beat too.

And I just watch her, thinking about our "spin the bottle" kiss.

That kiss wasn’t just a kiss.

I can still feel the echo of it, like the taste of adrenaline after a fight.

She’s Allison’s little sister. She’s off-limits. So why do I already want another "spin"?

Chapter four

Mandy

Iwake up with the distinct feeling of being kissed.

Not a dream.

Not a fantasy.

A memory.

And it’s not just any memory. It’s Nate’s lips, warm and solid against mine, the soft heat of his hand brushing my hip as our friends collectively held their breath like we were the finale of some teenage drama series.

I groan into my pillow.

It was just a game. Just spin the bottle.

Okay… maybe notjusta game.

And fine. The kiss wasn’tjusta kiss.

It was… unexpected.

It was steady and real and slow enough to burn through me like an exposed wire.

But it was also public. Silly. And something that absolutely cannot mean anything.