Jeff clapped so loudly and enthusiastically, it was clear that having us here meant a lot to him. This better not ruin my life, Karvotsky.

A guy can dream, right?

We started out with just the cheek. Jeff went first, it being his party and all, and landed on some junior girl I didn’t really know. I think. I wasn’t really paying attention.

Then Austin’s bottle landed towards some other girl and Madison didn’t even flinch. A second, sinking feeling added to my mix of wary emotions. The voodoo in the room was palpable.

Pretty soon, Madison gave a dramatic yawn. “Boring. Let’s kick it up a notch PLEASE. Lips, three seconds.”

I actually scooched back, trying to sneak away, when Robert Maxin grabbed onto my ankle. “If I have to be here, you have to be here,” he said.

“Boooo,” I said.

Jeff went first again. He spun the glass bottle, and everyone did this whole drum roll to play it up and make it even more suspenseful. It landed on me.

Laughter erupted from the group and spectators, and I got that sneaky feeling that takes over my every impulse whenever a big group gives me its undivided attention. I looked at Jeff and puckered my lips. “Ready when you are.”

Austin got on his knees. “Nick has to buy pizza now!”

“Why you gotta assume I was joking, Austin? I think that’s back to you buying pizza.”

Austin started to protest, but the group shut him down. Through the commotion, I almost forgot to feel nervous, and Jeff backed away, grinning. Then it was Hannah’s turn, and she definitely rigged it. Because it landed on Carter, and he was sitting next to her, and it’s really hard to get the bottle to land on someone next to you.

Crap, I thought, why hadn’t I sat next to Eliza? The one person I didn’t want my spin to land on.

Carter leaned to meet Hannah halfway. Robert watched them in total suspense, as if he were frozen in time. I looked over at Madison and saw that she did too.

Damn it. Poor Austin.

Carter and Hannah legit had the steamiest three seconds ever. I had to join in when everyone was calling out and hollering about the kiss. Get it, Carter, I thought, kind of glad for him. Especially when they sat back, and he had this stupid smile like the luckiest guy in the Milky Way (no, not the candy bar).

Madison and Robert were the only two who didn’t join in the hype.

The next few rounds were less exciting, except when a few girls got each other and decided to go for it. When it was my turn to spin, everyone did the same thing with the drum rolls and the cheering. A bunch of the girls in the circle perked up, and I honestly couldn’t think of a best-case scenario. Maybe it would have been landing on Madison, since people would get over that pretty quickly. I had a 1/16 chance of landing on the worst possible person.