KAMILA
“Iam so, so sorry. I had no idea that he was here,” Zoey whispers. “Neither did Will,supposedly.”
She narrows her eyes at him, and he holds his hands up in surrender. “I swear I didn’t know either.”
When Will steps aside, Cameron comes into view. He’s sitting on a couch with his arm around a girl I don’t recognize. He’s wearing a tight, long-sleeved black shirt, and dark blue jeans. His hair is messier than usual in thatI didn’t really tryway, but you know he did.
“Hey, Cameron,” I say stiffly. “Of course, you’d be here today of all fucking days,” I mumble.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that last part.” He gives me a lop-sided smile, letting me know he heard every damn word.
How the hell did he get into the Kappa house, let alone this room?
I open my mouth to voice the question when I feel an arm wrap around me. Levi smiles widely.
“Hey baby, sorry I kept you waiting, I ran into a friend.” Zoey lifts both eyebrows, and I almost do too, before catching Cameron’s reaction.
His eyes flicker to Levi with an expression I can’t decipher, and I decide to play along.
“No problem, babe. Levi, this is Cameron and…” My voice trails off as I wait for the girl to introduce herself.
She sticks her hand out. “Denise.”
“It’s nice to meet you guys.” Levi and Cameron exchange a handshake, except they both hold on for a little too long. Eventually, I elbow Levi lightly, and he pulls back.
Cameron tips his head to the side. “So, how long have you guys been seeing each other, if you don’t mind me asking.”
Trick question. The kiss happened a week ago, meaning I have to answer carefully to get it right.
Levi speaks first. “We’ve been friends for a while. I only gained the courage to ask her out about three days ago. I know, I know, took me long enough, right?” He laughs. “She agreed to give me a chance, and this is our second date. So far, it’s been going great, right baby?” He smiles down and winks. It takes everything in me not to laugh.
“That’s exactly right, babe.” I give him a quick peck on the cheek and smile at Cameron, who looks at both of us skeptically. Meanwhile, Will’s shoulders shake in silent laughter until Zo shoos him away.
“Well, you guys are adorable. Oh, and happy birthday,” Denise says while checking Levi out in the most obvious way possible. He might not be my actual boyfriend, but Denise doesn’t know that. She could also stop eye fucking him right next toherdate.
“Hey everyone!” Brian yells. “We have somebody here celebrating their birthday, so I think it’s only appropriate that we let her spin the wheel for tonight’s game.” People cheer, and Jake gears me to the center of the room. He sees my confused expression and mouths,trust me. Usually, I wouldn’t mind having multiple people’s eyes on me, yet this feels highly intimidating.
“Bring it out, guys.”
A massive spinning wheel that was hidden in a dark corner of the room is being rolled towards me. Once it’s close enough for me to read the text on it, I’m no longer confused. There are games like truth or dare, spin the bottle, never have I ever, fuck marry kill, etc.
“They’re all drinking games, of course,” Brian informs me.
“Gotcha.” I tilt my head, examining all the options. “I haven’t played most of these since high school.”
“We always manage to make it more interesting, trust me.” He grabs my palms and places them on the wheel. “Make sure to spin it hard, or it’ll stop too quickly. Let’s spin!” he shouts the last two words. Everyone starts chanting, including my friends, and I put all my strength into the movement, hoping I did it right.
“Not bad for a first-timer.”
We wait for at least fifteen seconds before it lands onnever have I ever.
That shouldn’t be too bad.
“Anyone who doesn’t want to play, get out while you can. The rest of you grab a drink over in the corner where the keg and cocktails are if you don’t already have one. Shots are not available. This is a long game and the last thing we need is a case of alcohol poisoning,” Brian announces.
One by one, seventeen people collapse on the floor while a couple of the guys push the couches against the walls for more space. Levi and Em sit on either side of me while the rest of my friend group is spread across the circle. And directly across from me is Cameron, who is no longer sitting next to Denise; instead, he’s now with Will and a stranger. Sending a sarcastic smile his way, he ignores it and me.Wimp. Zoey shoots me a sympathetic look. I wave my hand and mouthit’s okay.She’s in a weird position, and I’m not going to make her choose between Cameron and me like we’re in high school.
“The rules are simple,” Brian states. “Most of you probably already know them. We go around in a circle, everybody takes aturn and says something they themselves have never done. You phrase it asnever have I everblah blah blah, and people whohavedone the thing drink. You guys get the gist. Anyways, birthday girl, why don’t you start us off.” He waves to me.
