Burn for Burn

IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT. REEVE GOT THE KEYS TO ONE OF THE empty summer houses his dad’s company takes care of, so everybody piled into cars, and now we’re in some random person’s house in Middlebury. Reeve just told us to take our shoes off so we don’t track dirt on the carpet, but then he helped himself to a brand-new bottle of gin from the bar and mixed it with a bottle of their Sprite. How considerate of him, right? He poured cups for everyone but himself, because he has to have his game face on for football practice on Monday. He’s so very moral about not drinking during the season.

I’m sitting on the living room floor, my legs stretched out in front of me. I’m super-sore from the last week of cheer practice. Rennie choreographed a new halftime routine, and she made us run through it a million times. A few of the guys from the football team are lying on the floor too, talking about some new defensive strategy.

I’m halfway falling asleep when Rennie bursts into the room, Reeve right behind her. “We just had an amazing idea,” she announces. She holds up an empty bottle of beer and does a little dance. “Who wants to play spin the bottle?” she shrieks.

The guys perk up. I’m wide awake now too. No way am I sticking around for this. Quickly I scramble up and say to Ashlin, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Everybody sit in a circle, boy-girl-boy-girl,” Rennie’s saying. “Ash, go get the people in the Jacuzzi.”

Ashlin covers her mouth and giggles and says, “Seriously, Ren? What are we, in the seventh grade again?”

Rennie glares at her. “Hello, it’s retro. And hello, it’s our senior year. It’s called making memories.” In a lower but not altogether quiet voice, she adds, “Perfect opportunity to make out with Derek, Ash.”

Ashlin’s face splotches, and she jumps up. From the other side of the sliding door, I hear her call everyone inside.

I give Rennie a quick wave good-bye, hoping she won’t notice, but before I can slip out of the room, she grabs my arm. “Lil, you have to stay,” she hisses, giving me a meaningful look. She looks over at Reeve and back at me. “Please. I need you.”

“I have to get home before my curfew.”

“It’s Saturday night! Your mom always lets you stay out a little later on Saturday nights.” Rennie takes my hand in hers, and I know she’s not going to let me leave. “Just till midnight, okay?”

“Fine,” I say with a sigh, “but I’m only watching. I’m not playing.”

She gives me a grateful kiss on the cheek and pulls me over to the group that’s already formed on the floor. Alex is there, sitting next to Ashlin, his hair damp from the Jacuzzi. Jenn Barnes and Wendy Kamnikar, two juniors that Derek is friendly with, plant themselves across from them. I sit down next to Tyler Klask and PJ, a part of the circle but not completely. I’m checking my hair for split ends when Rennie says “Lillia first!” and thrusts the bottle at me.

My mouth falls open. “Rennie!”

“Don’t be a spoilsport, Lil,” Rennie says, smiling at me. “Everyone has to play.” I narrow my eyes at her, but she just keeps smiling a sunny smile. “Hurry up and spin.”

“Come on, Lil. Just say yes or she’ll never leave you alone,” PJ says in a low voice, nudging me.

Reeve, who’s watching me with this bemused look on his face, starts pounding his fists on the carpet. “Lilli-uh! Lilli-uh!” Everyone joins in.

I glare at everybody. “God, you guys! So immature.”

Ashlin spins the bottle and shouts, “This one’s for Lil!”

It lands . . . on Reeve.

I can feel my cheeks heat up as our eyes meet. I’m about to say No freaking way when Reeve reaches out and adjusts the bottle so it’s pointing at Alex. “I think it was going more in this direction,” Reeve says with a lazy grin.

“Hey!” I object. “Interference!”

Alex clears his throat and jokingly says, “Look, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but contrary to popular opinion, I’m not contagious or anything.”

“I—I don’t think that! It’s just, those aren’t the rules.” I don’t want to kiss Reeve, and I definitely don’t want to kiss Alex. In fact, I don’t want to kiss anybody. Maybe I don’t want to kiss anyone ever again. At least not for a long time.

Reeve raises an eyebrow. “I had no idea you wanted me so bad. I’m flattered, Cho.”

“That’s—that’s not what I’m saying, and you know it,” I say. I can feel myself getting flustered. Reeve’s always doing that. Twisting my words around.

Derek says, “Reeve, just kiss her already.”

“Guys, don’t pressure her,” Rennie says hastily.

Oh, now she’s looking out for me? Give me a freaking break.

Just for that, I’m doing it.

As I crawl to the middle of the circle, I can’t seem to get a good deep breath. I sit on my knees, and I keep my palms flat on the ground to steady myself. Reeve leans toward me oh-so-slowly, dragging out the moment for as long as he can. He’s grinning at me, that smug self-satisfied grin I hate. I feel myself start to panic, but I try with all my might not to shrink away from him. If I freak out right now, everyone will see it and wonder why, and I can’t have that. I have to be normal. I have to pretend I’m the same girl I was.

Reeve tips my face up, and that’s when something in his face changes. The grin drops and he’s staring into my eyes like he’s trying to puzzle something out. At the last second, instead of kissing my lips he plants a kiss at the top of my head, the kind my dad used to give me when he’d come in to say good night. I don’t know if I should feel grateful or insulted.

“No fair,” Ashlin says, shaking her finger at Reeve. “It has to be on the mouth! Those are the rules.”

PJ nods sagely and says, “Ash is right. Them’s the rules.”

“Give it a rest,” Alex says. “He kissed her.”

Reeve claps his hands together. “Who’s next?”

I crawl back to my spot. I just want to go home.

Loudly Rennie says, “It’s Reeve’s turn.”

“Yay for me.” Reeve rubs his hands together and spins the bottle. Part of me hopes the bottle will land on Rennie so I can get out of here faster, but another part hopes it won’t, so she doesn’t get what she wants. The bottle doesn’t land on her. It lands on Josh Fletcher, and everyone busts up laughing. “Come on, Fletch. Don’t be scared,” Reeve says. “I’ll do you like I did Lillia.”

“You’d better spin again, man,” Josh warns. “I don’t know where your lips have been.”

Reeve ends up spinning again, and this time it does land on Rennie. Grinning, he leans forward for a quick kiss. But Rennie has other ideas. She gets on her knees and inches across the circle until she’s right in front of him. She grabs a wad of his T-shirt and pulls him toward her. Then she kisses him like she wants to eat his face off. It starts close-mouthed, but a second later they are actually kissing kissing. She even puts her arms around his neck.

Everyone starts whooping and screaming and freaking out. It’s so sad and gross. Rennie’s making a total fool of herself in front of everybody. Especially Reeve. He already let her down easy. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to date her, but it only makes Rennie want him more. It’s pathetic.