Roommates With Benefits [BL] Chapter 29: To Spin The Cursed Bottle

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The party was already pretty wild before the ga even started, but it sohow cranked up a notch when this clearly drunk frat guy decided to climb onto the coffee table, clutching a half-empty vodka bottle like he was about to make a big announcent.

He had that reckless energy of soone who had made a handful of questionable choices that night and was fully committed to making a lot more.

The music was blasting so loudly that it felt like the floor was vibrating, with people packed into the living room, drinks in hand, laughing a bit too loudly and nearly tripping over each other every few monts.

The whole place reeked of booze, perfu, sweat, and expensive cologne, all swirling together in the air like so kind of fog that had given up trying to be anything else. Honestly, if soone lit a match in there, the entire building would probably go up in flas before anyone even had a chance to react.

I was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, carefully balancing my drink, while lanie was beside , close enough that our shoulders brushed now and then whenever soone bumped into the circle around us.

The carpet felt questionable under my jeans, but I didn’t bother to investigate. The Christmas lights strung around the room, for reasons that made no sense for the season, cast a warm, slightly surreal glow over everything.

But honestly? I wasn’t really focused on that.

All I could think about was lanie. And that felt right, given the mood and the conversation we were having. She kept smiling at in a way that clearly showed she was having a good ti, which was more than I could say about most of my recent social exchanges.

Alright, fine. I was noticing both things.

The frat guy was waving the vodka bottle around, pointing him at everyone like he was so kind of royalty, and for a brief mont I really worried about the coffee table’s structural integrity.

"Alright, listen up!" he shouted over the music, his voice practiced and loud enough to grab everyone’s attention.

Instantly, the room erupted, as if a switch had been flipped. People scread. Soone next to nearly spilled their drink but saved it at the last second.

The frat guy grinned, looking like a guy who had just found his calling. "Alright, here’s how it works for the people who live under a rock!" he proclaid, gesturing dramatically toward a nearby closet, which soone had sohow decorated with more Christmas lights, for reasons that were lost on everyone. "You spin the bottle, and two people go into the closet. You do whatever you want in there for seven minutes!"

The crowd cheered wildly, clearly invested in this.

"No backing out, no chickening out," he continued, waving the bottle around while I watched with genuine concern for anyone standing too close. "Rules are rules!"

He threw his arms up like a champion who had just won a title.

"LET’S GET SPICY!"

The room erupted again in noise, screams, whistles, and soone in the back banging an empty cup like they were in a marching band. I laughed nervously into my drink along with everyone else, trying to convince myself I wasn’t worried.

What if I have to make up with a girl I barely knew? That’d be pretty fucking awkward.

This was just another of those ridiculous college gas people survived. Slightly embarrassing, but harmless. A normal part of college life that I had sohow skipped by spending my Friday nights cleaning tables and crunching numbers.

It was probably fine.

Hopefully fine.

I decided to stop thinking about it, believing it would all turn out okay.

The ga progressed quickly. Soone spun the bottle first, and the whole circle leaned in, shouting at the spinning glass as if their enthusiasm could sway the outco.

The bottle landed on a brunette girl and a tall guy, who looked like he could easily play a sport at a pro level. The crowd went wild, and the pair laughed as they headed toward the closet, bombarded with cheers and advice that ranged from encouraging to downright alarming.

"DON’T WASTE THE SEVEN MINUTES!"

"MAKE GOOD DECISIONS!"

"OR BAD ONES!"

"IF YOU CUM IN THERE, YOU BETTER CLEAN IT UP!"

Seven minutes later, they erged giggling looking like they just escaped a tornado, the girl leaning on the guy for support, and the room welcod them back like heroes.

"Oh my God," I muttered under my breath.

lanie, sitting beside , laughed easily. "You’re scared."

"I’m observant," I shot back, trying to keep my dignity intact. "Completely different thing."

Another round kicked off with heavily two blushing girls, and this pair ca out of the closet looking like they had just shared an intense discussion about agricultural economics, avoiding eye contact as the crowd passed judgnt rcilessly.

"BORING!"

"Y’ALL DIDN’T EVEN KISS?"

"WHAT A WASTE OF ELECTRICITY!"

I couldn’t help but laugh despite myself, while Joey, who had taken to sitting on the floor almost toppled over, laughing so hard. He was having the ti of his life, while I was struggling to navigate my own feelings.

Honestly, the alcohol was helping, creating a buffer between and everything I was usually aware of. The music, the noise, the strange calm the Christmas lights brought, and lanie’s occasional glances my way and all of it was persuading my nerves to settle down.

I glanced at lanie again.

She caught my eye and smiled at with a light blush on her cheeks making her look ten tis more beautiful, relaxed and direct, not pretending she hadn’t noticed.

This was a dangerous mont, I realized. I was fully aware of it and still choosing to be close, which spoke volus about my emotional state tonight.

A small, selfish part of was quietly hoping the bottle would land on us. Not for anything complicated, but because she was warm, funny, and looking at like I mattered, which was more than I could say for any other interaction I’d had recently.

Then, of course, fate...always a joker when it ca to my life, decided to intervene.

"Oliver! Your turn!"

Soone shoved the bottle toward with a flourish I certainly hadn’t asked for. My stomach flipped involuntarily. "Oh shit."

The crowd cheered louder, leaning in as if they could sll the drama brewing.

"DO IT!"

"SPIN IT!"

"GET SO, BARISTA BOY!"

I scanned the circle, trying to find a way out, but everyone was just too excited. "First of all," I called out while waving my drink around, "I hate every single one of you equally. I want that on the record!"

That only made them laugh harder, just as I had predicted. No relief there.

lanie leaned closer. I caught the faint scent of vanilla again. "You’ll survive," she said, cheerfully, clearly enjoying my discomfort.

"Famous last words," I replied, rolling my eyes.

I picked up the bottle and gave it a long, skeptical look, as if trying to communicate with it. It seed to understand our unspoken agreent:

Please land on lanie. Please, please, please, please! I’m asking sincerely.

I spun the bottle. It twirled under the shifting lights, while the room leaned in, collectively shouting, as if they had collectively decided this was the most important event happening anywhere in the universe.

Round and round it went, catching the light each ti it turned, and my heart raced in a way I was choosing to bla on the alcohol.

The bottle slowed, turned once more, twice. And then it finally stopped.

Right in front of Damien Lockwood.