The Challenge (11 page)

"Very carefully." Darla winked and we laughed.

I danced with everyone from the group at one time or another, even though I was around Henry over half the night. Lena made no mention of our little tradition, so as the night wore on, I was becoming more and more confident that it wouldn't happen. But I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. While all of us were outside, things started to go oddly quiet and I knew what was coming.

"Oh no...come on..." I whined. Everyone laughed as Darla cranked up the disco music.

"Come on, Krissy!" Lena said.

"I'll do it if you do it," Henry cajoled me.

"You know how to dance to this?" I asked.

Henry nodded extravagantly, in tune with the music. "Uh-huh! Uh-huh!"

"Oh God...fine!"

We joined the group and, laughing the whole time, danced to
That's the Way
by KC and the Sunshine Band. Okay, so I admit it was fun in a crazy way. The disco dance was all Lena's idea. Six years ago, we were going through a bunch of old songs to play at our first Halloween party, and we found
That's the Way
. So we downloaded the song and spent hours learning to disco dance. I thought she was originally joking when she said we should do it every year, but so far we have.

A few minutes later, I heard Amanda shout, "Spin The Bottle!"

"Oh no," I groaned.

"What?" Henry asked.

"Well, we have a couple of traditions," I said. "There is disco dancing with everyone...and Spin the Bottle."

"Blimey! Are you guys thirteen...is this a joke?" Henry asked.

I laughed, unsure if my blushing cheeks were showing through the white makeup I had on. "Well, we were when we started these traditions," I said. "But sadly, no. And we have to play."

"Just brilliant..." Henry said to himself.

Henry looked slightly nervous when we went inside, where there were now fewer people. Several people, knowing of the traditions to come, had bailed early on the party. The rest of them were already sitting in a circle as Henry and I joined them, including David and Lauren. Everyone else in that circle I generally had no real problem with.

And so the game began. Person after person got picked. We would chime together with laughter when a guy spun and it landed in front of a guy-of course, a re-spin was allowed in that situation. However, the girls were a different story, most my friends were so used to each other that they just went through with it as a big joke. I had to kiss Lukas, Amanda, Erin and some guy named Jesse. If you refused to kiss someone, you had to remove an article of clothing.

By the time we had been playing for an hour, everyone had taken at least two things off. I was still relatively safe, with having to take just my stockings off and the cuffs, which I counted as clothing much to Henry's chagrin. I was thinking of what I'd take off next, when I noticed the bottle was pointed at me.

"Oh...who spun it?" I asked and looked up laughing. Lena was giving me a look of dread as she pointed at David. "Oh...come on." The person who spun the bottle had the right to refuse, but the person it landed in front of didn't.

"Come on Krissy, just think of the old times," David said and gave me a slow, sinister smirk. He crawled across the circle and was now kneeling in front of me.

"Just do it," someone said.

"You don't have to tell me twice," David said. He leaned in and kissed me, while I clamped my mouth shut. It probably only lasted eight or nine seconds, but his cold, dry lips felt like they lingered for minutes. I heard Henry mutter something and then David backed away from me.

"Don't spin it too much, love," Henry whispered to me.

I nodded a little bit, grabbed the bottle and spun it. I smiled when it slowed down and pointed at Henry.

"Well, looky there. Fancy a snog, love?" he said.

I laughed at his cute British lingo. "Duh," I said, grabbing his head and forcing his lips unto mine. We weren't just kissing; we were playing tonsil hockey in front of the whole circle. I wouldn't doubt that we went way over the required seven seconds.

"Jeez, get a room," someone finally said. Henry pulled away from me but his taste lingered on my tongue.

"Okay, it's your turn," I said, trying not to laugh. Henry spun the bottle and...it landed in front of me. "Okay, we're out of the game."

"Why?" Lena asked.

"Because we're gonna take up everyone's fun," I said, picking up my stockings and cuffs.

We said goodnight to everyone, then Henry and I went upstairs to the room Darla gave us. I flopped down on the bed and put my arm over my eyes. "I can't believe I had to kiss David...bleh!"

"Rescued you though, didn't I?" Henry boasted.

"Hello...I spun the bottle," I said.

"You deprived me of a kiss, love," complained Henry, lying on his side next to me. I looked down to where his hand was moving on my stomach. "I think you owe me one," he hinted.

"In the morning," I responded. "I'm too tired now." I closed my eyes. Henry pinched me and I opened one eye. "Leave me alone, you maniac." I smiled at him and gave him a peck on the forehead before Henry lay down on his back. I fell asleep before him, I think.

HENRY

I WOKE UP when the sun hit my face. Then I heard a grumble and remembered I was at Darla's. I opened my eyes and looked down at Kris's reddish-blonde head on my chest. I couldn't see her face, but I knew she was asleep. She had nodded off before me last night and I watched her for a while before falling asleep myself.

Now I was watching her again. Her hand moved and brushed over one of my bruises. I flinched, which I guess woke her up, because she lifted her head off my chest and blinked at me with her bright blue eyes.

"Mornin', love," I greeted her.

"What time is it?"

I spotted a clock. "Eleven thirty."

"Oh...got half an hour," Kris said.

"Well," I said, smirking, "you still owe me a kiss, miss."

"I do?" Kris asked.

"Indeed," I said.

Next thing I knew, she was pressing her lips against mine. God, how I loved the feel of that! Lauren was good, but there was no comparison to Kris-these Americans could snog! I put my hands on her hips and she got on top of me. This girl was brilliant, even though she had no idea what she was doing to my bollocks. I felt the now all too familiar ache in my groin. I had kept myself in control for as long as possible, but if she didn't stop soon, I was going to lose it. My grip on her waist tightened and she wiggled slightly, making me even more uncomfortable. Then she started moving against me and I realized Kris knew
exactly
what she was doing. I decided to tease the little minx right back by leaning down to kiss her neck. Kris moaned and arched her back, pressing her chest and stomach against me.

"Kris, Henry! Are you two awake yet, or just messing around?" Lena's voice came through the door. Kris jumped off me and leaned her head back against the pillow.

"We're awake," she said.

"Ok. Well hurry up if you wanna come out for lunch with us," Lena called.

"Right, will do," I replied. While I was listening to Lena's footsteps fade from the door, I was aware of Kris' hand playing with my hair.

"Think we should go?" Kris asked.

"Might as well," I said, climbing out of bed.

Kris looked at me, confused, but got off the bed as well. I watched her run her fingers through her hair and straighten out her clothes before opening the door and leaving. Then I followed her out of the room, doing up the buttons on my shirt.

After having lunch with the group, I had to get home, so I drove Kris back to her place and told her that I'd see her later. When I walked into my own house, it was to Dad and Rachel fighting.

"Oh, come on! It's not that bad," Dad said.

"What's it now, then?" I asked.

"Rachel doesn't want to go to the cottage for Thanksgiving," Dad said.

"What cottage?" I asked.

"Diane and I purchased one at Severn Lake," Dad said. "We wanted to have a place where we could have fun as a family."

"I already told Mom that I have plans," Rachel said. "
She
is totally fine with it!"

"Don't try forcing her, Dad," I said. "She's a girl, so she could go absolutely mental at any minute."

"If I had something to throw, I'd be throwing it at you right now," Rachel said.

"Oh, I think I weed myself a bit, Rachy," I retorted.

I didn't even wait for a reply before going up the stairs to my room. I threw my shirt off and lay down on my bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about what Kris said before I left her.

After a while, someone rang the doorbell and I heard Rachel talking with someone whose familiar laugh I knew all too well.

"Oh, no!" I shouted, jumped off the bed and bolted down the stairs to see Kris sitting in the living room with Rachel laughing about something.

"She wasn't telling me about you," Kris reassured me after seeing my horrified face.

"I was telling her what my friends and I do," Rachel said.

"We have a lot in common, actually," Kris observed.

"Oh, bloody hell!" I cried.

Kris laughed and stood up. She walked over and put her arms around my neck. Instantly my hands went onto her hips.

She explained to me, "You're probably wondering why I'm here. Well, I got bored at home by myself, so I thought I'd come over."

I looked over her shoulder at Rachel. "How bout we go somewhere where my sister won't be?" I said, sticking my tongue out at Rachel.

Kris giggled and nodded. I thought about bringing her upstairs, but then suggested the games room in our lower level. We were playing a game of billiards and Kris looked at me seductively as she bent over to line up the cue ball. I tried to resist looking down her shirt, but my eyes disobeyed me and I looked anyway.

I honestly hadn't a clue if Kris was doing all this just to drive me mental, or not. I was amazed at how much self-control I had, though. The entire time I craved throwing my cue down and laying her on the table. I was leaning against the wall behind her as she bent over to line up a shot. It was the first time I noticed a scar that went nearly from hip to hip. Frowning, I stepped over to her to get a better look.

"What happened here, love?" I asked, gently tracing the scar. I felt her shiver as she stood up.

"Oh that? I got into a fight a while back with some jerk who wouldn't leave Lena and me alone. He dragged me along a brick wall and I wound up with that. It could have been worse, but we kicked his ass and sent him home crying to his mommy." She smiled triumphantly, while I just laughed-I figured she was full of it but decided not to ask her again.

Sometime during the game, Rachel yelled down that she was leaving. My dad and step-mum were out for the night, so Kris and I were the only ones left. Feeling hot, I took off my shirt and threw it over a chair in the corner. Kris stared at me in what looked like repressed anger.

"Well, go on, then," I pleaded.

"Am I ever going to find out how you got these?" Kris asked, running a finger over my scratches and bruises.

I might have answered if her mobile hadn't rung. Kris answered it and chatted for a while before she hung up and said she had to go home. I sighed, put my shirt back on and drove her home. She gave me a quick kiss, told me that she'd see me tomorrow and ran quickly into her house.

I wasn't positive, but I thought she appeared to be on about something.

KRIS

I SAT AT the table between Megan and our cousin, Stephanie. Friday we had found out Grandma had a bad fall and was in the hospital, which was the reason I had to leave Henry's early. I didn't tell him because I didn't want him to worry about me more than I knew he already did. Besides, he'd probably go and try to beat up the staircase she fell down and I didn't want him anymore bruised up than he was.

On Sunday, we visited Grandma in the hospital and discovered that she had improved since we last saw her. Today, Monday, I got called out of school and now we were sitting in the hospital cafeteria. Uncle Ethan, Stephanie's mom-my Aunt Joan, as well as our great aunt and uncle, were with Grandma right now. Something wasn't right. I just knew it.