“This is your favorite game, right?” She pulls away and sticks her tongue out to show she’s kidding. She must have stopped drinking, because she seems a lot more collected than the last time I saw her, her cheeks less flushed. Or maybe we’ve just switched places. Maybe now I’m the drunk one. I try to laugh along with her, but mostly I just feel queasy. The room blurs slightly and I shake my head, trying to clear the tequila from my system.

“I don’t think I’m going to play,” I say, trying to back out of the circle.

“You’re here,” Andrew says, coming up next to me. His arm brushes against mine, and it’s wet from when Cecilia dumped her beer on him. I shift slightly so we’re not touching. “I’ve been looking for you.” He’s smiling and it kills me because I know it’s a lie. Was he looking for me when Danielle was draped over him in the living room? When Cecilia was flirting with him out on the porch? It’s a line he’s always used on girls at parties, and now he’s using it on me. I turn my head away and don’t respond to him.

“Hey, Chase, come play!” Danielle shouts. “Brosner, get your ass in here!” And because she’s ordered it, Chase appears, ambling over to us, his hands full of nachos. Why does she want him to play?

Danielle takes a seat and everyone follows her lead, spreading out into a big circle on the wood floor. Somehow I find myself sitting too.

“Ava! You’re the pro.” She hands the bottle to Ava, who sets it down gently in the middle of the circle.

“Alcohol please,” Ava says, holding her empty palm out. Chase hands her another bottle of tequila, this one only halfway gone, and she takes a showy sip, smacking her lips and shaking her head, shuddering as she swallows. “Thanks, Chase.” She pats him gently on the cheek, letting her fingers stay there for just a little too long. Then she reaches out and gives the bottle a spin. We all watch it, moving our heads around and around, back and forth, the possibilities and combinations running through our minds.

It lands on Jason Ryder. Everyone cheers and Ryder raises an arm up to fist pump, spilling a little beer on his shirt in the process. Next to him, Susie’s forehead creases a little, but the smile stays on her face. We all know that the rules of high school mean she can’t act like she cares.

“Aw, no fun,” Ava says, pouting. “We’ve already made out.”