The Kiss

the front door, or anything. It made her feel like a complete idiot for going. Once more she wondered why she bothered with what he thought. The little voice inside, the one she usually ignored, knew the answer: Nate was an ass, but his infuriating remarks had never been wrong. If only he’d approached things differently—in a non-hating-her kind of way—he’d have saved her loads of heartache.
    And maybe she’d like him then.
    Well, he didn’t care about her liking him, and saving her heartache certainly wasn’t among his priorities.
    She sighed and turned her focus on Cal, who had finally let go of her arm.
    “The guys have set up a little bet.” He winked again . “So I’ll leave you without the pleasure of my company for a while.”
    “A bet?” How long had she zoned out for?
    “A drinking contest. Beer.” He smirked, and she was extremely annoyed that the first thought on her mind was how smirks looked much better on Nate.
    Bad, bad way of thinking. Nothing looked good on Nate, because Nate wasn’t good-looking. She’d have to keep reminding herself that. She assured Cal she’d manage to have some fun without him and walked towards the far end of the living room.
    There, among a circle of people playing Spin-the-Bottle, sat the two guys who’d been at The Gridlock on the night of the kiss—the ones she’d nicknamed Flashy and Biker Wannabe . Eliza flicked her gaze upward, silently thanking Whoever Held the Strings for one last chance to spot her mystery kisser. If he was one of those two, she would finally find out which. If not, she’d probably grow old nagging at her friends about losing what could have been true love.
    Oh, well, if she tried hard enough, she might someday convince herself that she’d dreamed up that perfect kiss.
    With her best flirty grin, she approached the circle. “Can I play?” Nobody seemed to mind—there were in fact some wolf whistles, which she attributed to her lucky, tiny top—so she strategically placed herself opposite to where the two men sat side by side. If she spun the bottle just right, she might be able to get either one of them.
    “New girl spins,” a geeky looking guy suggested.
    Eliza smiled and did just that.
    The bottle stopped in front of Biker Wannabe, who blushed profusely. He wasn’t wearing his leather jacket this time, but perspiration shone on his forehead as he got on his hands and knees. Internally patting herself on the back, Eliza crawled forward and met him half way for her kiss.
    Simply put, it turned out to be nothing to write home about. No more than a friendly peck that caused no tingles whatsoever. Eh, it was probably the other guy. Typical of her luck that Mr. Right would turn out to be the last man she’d ever go for. She shuddered at the memory of the turquoise suit. Maybe he would tone down the flashiness for the right girl.
    “This wasn’t a proper kiss! Spin it once more!” The geeky guy who’d said it was her turn to play licked his lips. “Maybe you’ll get lucky this time.”
    He was sitting at Flashy ’s right, and Eliza really didn’t feel like kissing him, so she decided to not try and rig the spin again. Instead, she placed her hand at the middle of the bottle and turned it with all the strength she could muster.
    The bottle turned two, three, four times…and ended up pointing at a pair of boots that had just stomped their way into the circle.
    “Well, look at that,” said the owner of the boots. “I guess you did get lucky.”
    Eliza would honestly rather not look. She’d pluck her own eyes out rather than see the man she was supposed to kiss. Could her night get any worse? “You’re not playing, Nate.”
    “Says who? I want to play. You’ll like it.” He wagged his tongue in that extremely annoying way that never failed to make heat rise up Eliza’s cheeks.
    “I’m not kissing you!” She knew she sounded like a spoiled brat, but couldn’t have cared less.
    “Oh, come on , Sunshine. I’ve brushed and flossed!”
    People around them whistled and wooted, urging her to not break the rules of the game, and she thought maybe that was a good thing. She could possibly bite his tongue off, and rid herself of his maddening commentary on her life.
    With a sigh, she rose and took a step towards him. Strangely, her legs felt like jell-o.
    Nate gently placed a hand on her hip. “You’ll survive.” He leaned closer, and despite herself Eliza closed her eyes and let her lips part.
    The kiss