My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 55

Nina

Everyone went silent when Jessica suggested that we play Spin the Bottle.

“C’mon, guys!” she said, her pretty face flushed from the beer. “It’s just a game.”

“I’m down,” Matt chimed in. Lori shrugged, which was usually a sign of consent. James, Enzo and I, however, all stayed silent.

“James?” Jessica said, shaking the bottle gently. “What do you say?” I wanted to groan, because I could tell that Jessica secretly wanted James and I to kiss, even though Enzo was there. Why did she get like this when she was drunk?

“Oh, alright,” James said, throwing his hands up in surrender. “I guess it could be fun.” His eyes flickered over to me briefly, and I could tell that the idea of us kissing made him a bit excited.

I wasn’t excited, however.

“Well, looks like we have a majority vote here,” Jessica said, setting the bottle down in the middle of the circle, right next to the fire pit. “Sorry, Nina and Enzo. You guys don’t have to play if you don’t want to.”

“I’ll play.”

Enzo’s firm decision took me by surprise. I looked over at him with wide eyes; he was staring right at me from across the fire pit. I couldn’t tell if it was just the light from the fire or his werewolf eyes that made his irises look red from here. Judging from how my heart started racing all of a sudden, I figured it was the latter.

“Yay!” Jessica said, clapping her hands lightly. “Nina, you’re playing, right?”

I didn’t answer for a few moments. I really didn’t want to, but between the peer pressure and the alcohol, I finally conceded. “Sure,” I said quietly.

Jessica grinned. “I’ll go first.” She spun the bottle.

The bottle spun around several times, then finally landed on Matt, who looked devilishly pleased as Jessica leaned over to him and gave him a peck on the lips. I could tell that he wanted more judging from the way he leaned closer as she pulled away, which made me smirk a bit.

“Lori, you go next,” Jessica said.

Lori sighed and spun the bottle. It spun for several long moments; she had spun it hard and fast, and it went around quite a few times before finally landing on its target.

Jessica.

“Oooh!” Matt said, grinning while Jessica’s and Lori’s faces both went bright red.

“I- Uh- I didn’t- You don’t have to, Jessica,” Lori said nervously.

Jessica’s face shifted into a shy smile as she absentmindedly twirled a strand of blonde hair around her finger. “I don’t mind,” she said.

We all watched in awe as Jessica and Lori slowly leaned toward each other, then kissed.

It wasn’t just a peck, either.

I had always thought that Jessica was straight, but lately I had been wondering if something had changed ever since she said she hadn’t been feeling interested in guys for a while that day in the cafeteria. Now, as I watched my two friends kiss, both of their faces flushed as they pulled away, the way that Jessica seemed so excited to see Lori in the cafeteria that day was all beginning to make sense.

It made me happy to see that maybe Lori’s dream of being with Jessica could possibly come true, but that happiness didn’t last long as it was now my turn to spin the bottle.

Feeling like I was gonna puke, I took in a deep breath and spun the bottle.

While it spun, the only thing going through my head was the hope that it wouldn’t land on James or Enzo… Anyone else would’ve been fine, just a peck and it could be over with.

But it seemed that the universe didn’t ever have anything good in store for me, because the bottle landed on Enzo.

Everyone else gasped, except for James, who sat still like a statue, gazing into the fire. I glanced over at Jessica and Lori, who both shot me apologetic looks. When I looked at Enzo, his eyes seemed to glow red even more than before. I gulped.

“Ooh, you could cut the tension with a knife it’s so thick,” Matt said.

“Shut up!” Jessica growled, smacking him on the back of the head.