I was hoping it wouldn’t bethatobvious. “Hardly.” I shrugged. “It’s nothing major. Definitely nothing for you to freak out about,” I stated matter-of-factly.
He scoffed in response. “Go wash that shit off of your face right now.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why?”
Adam, now off the phone, had walked over to assess me himself and took the opportunity to butt in. “Amelia, why do you look like that?”
“Like what?” I said, losing my patience.
“Like . . .that.Why is your dress so short? Why do you even have a dress that short?”
Logan pinched the bridge of his nose, looking just like my dad.
The sound of knocking came from the front door, and Adam made to go and answer it. On his way out of the kitchen, he turned back to Logan and said, “If she wants to look like a fool, let her.”
I felt my heart shrivel a little bit at his words. I knew they were probably just trying to look out for me, but they were acting like I’d dressed scandalously. It was just a pink dress with a little mascara and lipstick. What was the big deal?
The anticipation of seeing who’d arrived came over me as I followed Adam to the front of the house. He opened the door to a crowd of five people gathered on our doorstep; three girls and two guys. I felt Logan standing behind me for a minute before he moved to greet their friends. I watched as he reached the blonde girl in the middle and gave her a hug.
She must have been Mara.
I stared at the girl, memorizing every detail that I possibly could. She was tall and skinny with tanned skin and plump, rosy lips. Her blonde hair was obviously natural and not dyed, and it cascaded down below her elbows. She wore a simple, white slip dress with thin straps that hugged her chest along her collarbones, and the glint of a thin, gold chain adorned her neck.
She was a goddess. OfcourseLogan had a girlfriend that looked like that.
Adam gave me the courtesy of making introductions to everyone as they walked in, and most of them just waved or said “hi” as they passed by me. Mara, however, took hold of my arm and sweetly purred, “Hi Amelia, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m so glad you’re here!”
I smiled back at her in response. “Thanks. But, where else would I be?”
Mara giggled, and it sounded like fairy bells. She grabbed Logan’s hand and pulled him into the family room where everyone else was gathering, leaving me alone where I stood.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed down a flare of nerves. Despite my best efforts in getting ready, I was still feeling like a little kid next to Adam and Logan’s friends andespeciallycompared to Mara. I would just have to make sure that I didn’t act like a twelve-year-old.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to me. Heading to the kitchen’s pantry where my parents kept a large, plastic bin for our recyclables, I found an empty wine bottle and pulled it out. I took it to the kitchen sink and did my best to wash out any sticky wine residue before I dried the empty bottle off with a paper towel.
In the family room, everyone was gathered together, either sitting on our sofa or on the floor, most of them already holding a beer in their hand. They were positioned in a semblance of a circle, which was perfect for what I had planned. Adam was in the middle of telling a joke—always needing to be the center of attention in social situations—and when everyone laughed at the punch line, I took my opportunity.
“Anyone up for a little game of spin the bottle?” I tried to sound as casual as I could, moving into the room to sit on the floor between a beautiful dark-skinned girl with curly hair and a redheaded boy with acne. Carefully avoiding Adam or Logan’s eyes, I looked around at the stunned faces of everyone else.
“Amelia, what are you doing?” I heard Adam say, but I pretended like I didn’t. Turning to the girl next to me, I offered her the bottle. “Do you want to go first?”
She smiled at me, reluctantly taking the bottle from my hands. “Um, okay. Sure.” I watched as she set the bottle down on the carpet, laying it on its side in the middle of everyone. Her long fingers gripped around the label as gave it a spin.
The bottle moved around in two rotations—the fibers of the carpet eventually slowing it down—before it stopped its movement to point at Adam.
Adam flushed, the tips of his ears growing red. He chuckled nervously as the girl got on all fours and crawled over to where he sat on the far end of the couch. When she reached him, she got up onto her knees, placed her hands on either side of his legs and quickly pecked him on the lips. She flashed him a smile before making her way back to her spot on the carpet.
Her confidence was mesmerizing.
Everyone kept their eyes on Adam, who began rubbing the back of his neck as his own smile grew wide on his face. He seemed to have forgotten that I was the one who set this game in motion, and that suited me just fine.
I stole a glance at Logan, who still didn’t look amused. Mara, however, looked delighted. “Adam, it’s your turn to spin!”
Adam glanced around at everyone, likely considering every possible outcome, before he scooted forward on the couch to reach the bottle on the ground in front of him. With a firm twist of his hand, the bottle started to spin.
This time when it stopped, the open end pointed right at me. Adam’s face sunk. “I’m not kissing my sister.”
Feeling a strike of embarrassment, I shot back at him, “I wouldn’t want to kiss you, anyway.”
