Page 33 of Lonely Hearts Day

“She broke up with me, Scar. She’s my everything. What am I supposed to do?”

I wasn’t sure which I preferred, the casual attitude of before or the close-to-tears one now. Micah wasn’t my favorite person, not when he’d hurt my real favorite person, but like Jack had told me all those years ago,he’s just insecure; let it go.

I tried to channel Jack’s forgiving nature now as I took Micah’s hand and said, “You’ll be fine. Whatever happens, you can handle it.”

His eyes went to our hands, and his thumb traced a pattern across my knuckles. Was he flirting with me in the midst of his breakdown? Or was he a little tipsy and heartbroken and wasn’t thinking? I chose to believe the latter.

That’s probably not what Jack believed when, from behind me, I heard him say, “What are you doing here, Micah?”

I quickly took my hand back and turned in my seat. Jack and Sage stood there, staring. Sage curious, Jack fuming. I’d never really seen Jack fuming before, and it seemed to be directed at me, not Micah.

“Jack-Jack,” Micah said. “You actually speak. But you still haven’t locked this one down?” He put a hand on my knee.

I pushed it off. “That’s gross, Micah. Don’t say stuff like that.”

“The thought of being with Jack is gross?”

“You know what I meant,” I said. His word choice was gross, saying a person could belocked down.

“I don’t think I do.”

“I heard you and Cassidy broke up. Is that true?” Sage asked.

“It is. Which is why I’m here, right Scar?”

At that moment, Troy walked inside with a group of about fifteen people. He held up an empty two liter. “Hey, Scarlett. How about a game of spin the bottle?”

Chapter 13

“Seriously, Troy?” Jack said. “We’re not playing spin the bottle. How many times does she—”

“I’m game,” I blurted even though this had now probably become the worst idea ever. Apparently, there was still hope left somewhere in me that this could give me the answers I needed about me and Jack without ruining everything.

The look Jack shot me after my outburst made me think this was pointless, though.

The group Troy brought in—mostly people who had been coming to our party since the beginning—cheered.

“Good choice,” Troy said, shifting the coffee table in front of the couch so it was perfectly centered in the semicircle of seats. And then people sat. Too many for the space, smooshing me against Micah’s side. People even sat on the floor, in front of the television stand, to create a true circle.

Jack didn’t sit. His eyes shot between me and Micah and then he looked at Sage and they turned to walk away. I started to panic when Troy hopped up, grabbed Jack by the arm and directed him into the circle. “Oh no you don’t. You have to play.”

I could’ve hugged Troy right now. Sage followed. Not as ideal.

It wasn’t until Troy handed me the empty two-liter saying, “Host first,” that I really thought about the logistics of this game. What were the odds that this landed on Jack? What were the odds that it landed on me again after this first spin?

I should’ve told Troy to shove us in the closet again. But then the kiss would have to be purposeful; I couldn’t use the excuse that a game made me do it. I took a deep breath. This was still the best option.

I placed the bottle on the coffee table and spun. It turned quickly at first, nearly spinning off the table. Was there a way I could make it stop when I wanted it to without being obvious? My eyes darted to Jack who was sitting on the floor in front of the love seat. He was still fuming. I wanted to go hug him, tell him I was sorry for agreeing to this game. Tell himwhyI had agreed, but I was terrified. I’d already relied on him so much this year. Would this revelation be the one that drove him away?

The bottle slowed to a stop and I followed the line from the cap to the person. It was a girl I’d never met before.

She laughed. “Come get it.”

I chuckled and walked to her, placing a small peck on her lips, then went back to my empty seat. Micah pulled me down by the arm, like we were now a couple or something. I sat but tugged my arm away from him. “I know how to sit,” I said under my breath.

He laughed. “You always were stubborn.”

The girl I’d kissed got up and took her turn with the bottle. And so it went, on and on. Oohs and ahhs sounded after each bottle stop. More after each kiss. And the game became monotonous. Or maybe it just became that way to me because I wanted... needed... a certain outcome and it wasn’t happening. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves.