Chapter 27

Emily

I can't stop the giddy feeling in my stomach when we get inside my car. Or when Logan plugs the AUX into his phone and blasts some stupid Drake song. Or when my hand accidentally brushes against his, but he doesn't bulge.

After our heavy conversation earlier, I feel so much closer to him. It's the scariest yet most freeing feeling I have experienced in a while. And as a drive to the liquor store, I can't help but steal glances at him as he stares outside the window, with his hands out and hair slicked back. My lips tug upwards as he misses some of the rap lyrics.

When I park next to the liquor store, I turn to face him. "You're buying the alcohol."

He smirks. "Why? Is princess Em afraid of ruining her reputation by walking inside a liquor store?"

I low key like it when he calls me Em. But of course, I don't show him that. "You have ten seconds to walk out of the car before I take a U-turn back home, Peter Pan."

He pouts like a five-years old kid before succumbing to the pressure and going inside the store. It takes him about ten minutes and my jaw drops as I watch him struggle to hold the five six-packs and three bottles of liquor in two hands.

My hand finds its way to the steering wheel before I beep at him.

"Fuck off," He mouthes.

As I drive back home, I can't shake the smile off of my face. Or so I thought, until I saw a bunch of teenage boys standing outside our home.

I gulp, avoiding Logan's gaze. "You do realize that Adam is going to kill us. Right?"

He shrugs. "At least they bought pizza."

"You literally just had pizza for dinner."

He frowns. "So? There's no such thing as enough pizza, Em."

He slams the door behind him before going to greet the boys.

As for me, I give the boys a tight smile while walking towards the front door to unlock it.

I walk towards the living room, trying not to think about the number of felonies we're committing right now. I mean, yes, sure, we're in Lebanon but the boys are still underage.

That and the fact that they all kind of smell. "Did they have a game or something?" I whisper to Logan.

"Don't be such a princess, Em." He rolls his eyes at me.

That explains the unbearable smell of sweat.

I walk over the living room and open the windows, along with the balcony door. As I turn back, I feel someone's body pressed behind me- Logan's. I hold to my breath as his chest vibrates against my back. "You need to chill, honey."

My heart races quickly at the huskiness of his voice, at our proximity. I gulp, trying to hide how much my body craves him. I take a deep breath to compose my thoughts before slowly turning around. My nose is inches a part from his, and it's really fucking difficult not to look at his lips.

Instead, I lean into his ear. I notice that the rhythm of his breathing is slightly heavier. It sends my stomach into knots. "I think that you need to chill, honey," I whisper in his ear before giving him a sweet smile.

His eyes are fixated on me as if I'm the only one in this room, in this universe. "Wanna play a round of spin the bottle with me and the boys?"

I raise an eyebrow at him. "What are we, twelve?"

He shrugs. "Not, but they are."

To be fair, they're like sixteen but Logan thinks that anyone that younger than him by more than a day is twelve.

Before I could say anything, he shakes his head. "Never mind, you wouldn't last for two rounds."

My jaw drops. "You wish. Actually, wanna bet?"

"I have nothing to lose. But if you lose, you're giving me a raise. I want triple what I'm getting paid."

"That's illegal. I can't do that."

"Yes, you can. But I get it, I mean I genuinely don't think you're going to last anyway-"

Fuck it. I can mentally hear Josh screaming at me, but I'm doing anything to win, so it's not like the scenario of me losing is probable in this lifetime.

"Fine. But if you lose, you sell your motorcycle."

His eyes widen at my words. I hide my smile by pressing a small peck on his cheeks. "May the best one win."

With that, I walk away, feeling extra-grateful that I have my yoga pants on – the ones that make my butt look fantastic. I'm dying to look back to see his reaction, but I have too much pride.

Instead, I look at the twenty-something boys in the living room. "Do you want a beer?" The one with glasses and red hair asks.

Oh boy, I'm going to need something stronger. "I'm good, thanks. Why don't you join your friends while I bring some junk food?"

He nods and joins them in the living room. I turn back to my vodka. I feel the acidic taste in my throat as I gulp it down. Then, I take a deep breath.

The boys in the living room are a bit surprised that I'm joining them. I mean, I don't blame them. I'm like the school principal that everyone hates.

"Relax, boys. I'm your friend here, just like Coach. Now, let's get this party started with a round of spin the bottle!" I internally cringe at my high-pitched voice. They all shout a 'Hell, yeah!' in union.

Logan is watching me with an amused smirk.

"Lets get this party started? I never thought I'd say this, but you would have made a great cheerleader," Logan whispers as he sits beside me. I ignore the touch of brush of our shoulders or the proximity of our thighs.

The first round, the guy with the glasses, Gary, asks Reed, the goal-keeper, if he's a virgin. Of course, Reed lies and says that he's not.

Then, Reed dares the two twins to make out with each other. That's when things start to get interesting. And I would never, in a million years, admit it, but I was actually having so much fun.

After the second rounds, the bottle lands on me. At first, I choose Truth, but Logan lets out a smirk, muttering 'Typical' under his breath that was loud enough for me to hear. So, I end up going for Dare.

God knows that I'm going to regret this. I'm the only female among hormonal teenage boys.

"This is going to be fun. I dare you to drink raw eggs."

Uh oh.

Raw eggs.

No, there's no way I'm drinking raw eggs so that Logan loses his motorcycle. But then I look at him, I look at his smug smirk, the way he thinks that I would never do this in a gazillion light years, and I swallow my pride aside.

"Looks like you're going to be paying me so much money, honey."

"Bring me the eggs."

And they do. They crack them open inside my mug, and I pinch my eyes closed. I can just pretend this is my hot chocolate and I'm somewhere – I gulp the cup down. The smell of eggs hits my nostrils until I'm suffocating. But I hear the cheers behind me, and I force myself to finish the cup.

Oh my God.

I just drank raw eggs.

The boys whistle and clap their hearts out, and Logan's jaw is ten feet down. The look on his face is worth drinking raw eggs for.

"Go wash your mouth and brush your teeth before you speak one word to me," He breathes out, and I'm halfway towards the bathroom anyway.

For the next round, I find myself drinking beer and cheering on to the next crazy things. But then it's Logan's turn, and one of the guys dares Logan to wax his back.

"I already shave my back."

"Fine, your thighs then. We know you don't shave them from practice!"

"We don't have wax here," Logan says.

I frown. "Excuse you, I am a lady. Of course, I have wax in my bedroom!" Of course, I don't have wax in my bedroom, I was just going to steal it from Adam's. "I'll be right back."

After quickly getting the equipment from Adam's bedroom, I find the boys cheering on him, as if they can't believe that he's going to do this.

They battle over who's going to do it, but I stop them. "Boys, I'll volunteer to do it."

I can't stop grinning at Logan who's white as a sheet. "You can stop this Logan. A motorcycle is not worth all of this," I coo him as I place the hot wax on the sheet.

He grits his teeth. "Just get over with it already."

He pulls his short up, and I try not to overthink about how awkward our position is as I place the sheet of people on his back thigh. Then, the count down begins. When the boys behind me shout "three", I tear the paper up, and Logan's scream fill the room.

I can't help but burst out laughing at his face. "Oh my God, this hurts so fucking much! Gary, you're getting extra laps tomorrow for this! I swear!"

He runs to the bathroom to wash the skin from the wax. The game continues but Logan is still in the bathroom. I excuse myself to check on him.

I knock on the door before opening, only to find Logan rubbing his thigh heavily with the loofah.

"You need to use oil to get rid of the wax."

He glares. "And you just remembered to tell me this now?"

I grin. "Come on, don't be a sore loser. That was fun."

"That is going to leave a blue mark."

I cringe at the bruise starting to form.

"Have you ever even used wax before?" He asks.

"Nope, this was my first time. I got it from Adam's room."

He lets out a long exhale. "Fine, I give up. You win. Just kick them out of here and for God's sake, get me some oil."