Kimmy leans over Nick, topping off Jamie’s glass. Her breasts spill over her dress. When she steps back toward her chair, a drop of Diet Coke dribbles onto her knee. “Don’t worry, there’s lots more where that came from,” she says.
“Lauren, dude,” Nick says, “why don’t you lick that up? You know you want to.”
Lauren punches him in the arm. “Don’t be a pig.”
“Hey, why not?” Kimmy asks. She sits down, crosses her legs and her dress hikes up her creamy thighs. “I’m offended. I’m not your type?”
“Too skinny,” Lauren says.
“You know who you look like?” Jamie says to Kimmy. “Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. The interrogation scene. Do you remember it? Are you wearing panties? No, don’t tell me. Let me imagine.”
She crosses her legs, then uncrosses them again. “You’ll never know.”
My curiosity has been piqued-along with the southern part of my anatomy. I wonder what her pubic hair looks like. Perfectly manicured? A strip. She seems like a groomer.
I down the glass as if it’s a shot. The wine floats through my chest, warming me. Must stop imagining Kimmy’s pubic hair. Brown pubic hair. Dark brown or chocolate brown? Stop. Can’t stop. If only I had X-ray vision so I could see through her dress. Or is it a skirt? Never remember the difference. Sharon tried to explain it, but I never remember. Sharon, Sharon, Sharon. Wish I had a superpower that could make me stop thinking about…about…Sharon.
One hour and seven glasses of wine later, I can definitely see through Kimmy’s dress. My X-ray vision might be alcohol induced, but it’s working. I watch her nipples as she bends over the picnic to spin a bottle. It whirls twice and hits the blue cheese. “Did you ever play spin the bottle when you were in grade school?” she asks.
“Does it count if it was with myself?” Jamie asks.
“Too much info,” Nick says. “Let’s play.”
Lauren groans. “What are you, ten?”
Jamie rubs his hands together as if they’re cold. “I’m in.”
“Of course, you’re in,” Lauren says. “As if you’d turn down a chance to stick your tongue into Kimmy’s mouth.”
“Again,” Nick adds.
Blushing, Kimmy looks at me. “I’m in if Russ is in.”
Everyone stares at me. It’s club-registration day all over again. How can I say no?
Spin the bottle isn’t cheating. It’s a game. Think basketball, I tell myself. “I’m in.”
Kimmy picks up one of the bottles, drinks the rest of it, and says, “Someone move the cheese so we can spin this baby.”
Nick and Jamie cheer.
“All right, here are the rules,” she says. “First time you land on someone, it’s a kiss on the cheek. Second it’s a kiss on the lips. Third time, there’s tongue. Fourth-”
“Blow job,” Nick says.
Lauren punches him again. “No blow jobs.”
“Don’t worry,” Jamie says. “We don’t mind if you’re inexperienced.”
Lauren rolls her eyes. “Ha-ha. Third is tongue, fourth you can use your hands, and fifth is seven minutes in the closet.”
Nick’s face lights up. “If you get Kimmy, can we all go into the closet and watch?”
Lauren threatens him with a nearby bottle. “Only if you get Jamie and we get to watch you.”
Nick seizes the bottle and gives it a twirl. “I’m starting. And the lucky winner is-”
The bottleneck points directly at me. Lauren, Kimmy and Jamie cheer.
“No way,” I say.
“Pucker up, Russ,” Jamie says.
Nick grabs the bottle and turns bright red. “I think I should spin again.”
“Don’t be so homophobic,” Lauren says. “People are just people. Everyone is a sexual being.”
“I have nothing against men kissing men,” Nick says. “I just don’t want to be on the giving end.”
I shake my head. “Or on the receiving end.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of the sliding scale of homosexuality?” Lauren says. “It seems unlikely that both of you are all the way on the hetero side.”
Nick ignores her. “I’m amending the rules. Whenever a guy gets another guy, it’s a truth or dare instead.”
“That’s such a rip,” Lauren says, stretching her long legs in front of her.
“We’ll vote,” Nick says. “All in favor?”
Jamie, Nick and I raise our hands.
“No fair,” Kimmy says. “We’re outnumbered.”
“So Nick-man, what will it be?” I ask. “Truth or dare?”
Nick flexes his muscles. “Dare.”
“I dare you to make out with Russ,” Lauren says.
“Quite the comedienne, aren’t you,” I say. “I’ll come up with a dare. I dare Nick to chug the rest of that bottle.” I point to a half-full bottle.
He picks up the bottle and gulps it down while we chant “Chug! Chug! Chug!”
When he’s done, he holds up the bottle as if it’s a trophy, then hands it to Lauren. “Your turn.”
“Why are we going counterclockwise?” Jamie asks.
Lauren spins the bottle. “Because we’re wild and crazy.” It rolls over a napkin and points to me.
What am I, a bottle magnet? She kisses me on the cheek.
Jamie snatches the bottle and spins. It lands on Kimmy.
He punches his arm in the air. “Wahoo! Come to Papa. Bend over, baby-you never specified which cheek.”
“Don’t get cheeky with me, or you’ll lose your turn.” She turns her face to him, and he kisses it, making a lurid slurping noise.
My turn. I spin the bottle. It lands on Nick.
“Truth or dare?” Kimmy says.
“Dare,” I say. I guess we’re not following any rules about who gets to give the dare.
“I dare you to remove one piece of clothing,” Kimmy says.
My face burns like I shaved too quickly, but that could be the booze. I unbutton my shirt. “It’s getting hot in here, anyway.”
Jamie hums porno music.
Three years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. I would have felt too stupid, with my concave chest. I would have come up with an excuse to leave the room. But now…I feel fine. Strong. Drunk.
Everyone stares at my chest when I take it off. “Stop flexing,” Jamie says.
“My turn,” Kimmy says, still staring at my chest. She spins the bottle and it lands on-
Me? Me? Will it be me? Let it be me.
– between Nick and Lauren. “It’s closer to Nick,” Kimmy says.
Nick taps his cheek, and she gives him a quick peck. I spin and it lands on Lauren. I peck her on the cheek. Then Lauren spins and it lands on Kimmy. Nick, Jamie and I cheer.
“Fine with me,” Lauren says.
“Fine with me, too,” Kimmy says. Lauren kisses her on the cheek.
Jamie’s turn. It lands on Kimmy. He cheers and tells her to pucker up.
Their lips touch and I feel a prick of jealousy in my spine. Why does he keep getting her?
My turn. Kimmy, Kimmy, Kimmy…it points to Lauren.
My superhero powers are not working. She taps her cheek and I kiss it. She smells clean, like Head & Shoulders.
Kimmy’s turn. Around and around and around and…me. Finally. She leans off her chair and her lips hit half on my cheek and half on my lips. I feel her breath on my mouth, and she smells sexy and spicy, and my whole body stiffens.
I finish the wine in my glass. And pour myself another.
Nick spins and lands on Jamie. “Truth,” he calls out.
“How many times did you jerk off today?” Lauren asks.
He ponders the question. “Twice.”
“Ew,” she groans, and rolls back onto the rug.
“You asked.”
She nods, suddenly intrigued. “Where do you do it?”
He shrugs. “Anywhere, dude. In my room. In the bathroom. In the bathroom in the Katz building, in-”
Lauren holds her hand up to stop him. “I was only supposed to ask you one question. My mistake. And my turn.” She spins and lands on Kimmy again.
Nick, Jamie and I cheer. The girls peck each other on the lips.
Jamie spins and the bottle points at Nick.