He led us out of the kitchen and toward an open door in the hallway. We descended the narrow, creaky stairs into the musty basement. A table was set up in the center of the room, with a small crowd of people around it. Everyone was at least a head taller than me, except for a pixielike girl with a waist as narrow as one of my thighs. Her bleached blond hair had black streaks underneath, and she wore a tiny stud in her nose. I wondered if she was pretty under all that makeup.

I saw Jay partnered on the other end of the long table with a very tall, lanky guy with a Mohawk and a shirt that said HAMMERED. Mohawk Guy had a white Ping-Pong ball in one hand and a joint in the other. Jay and Mohawk Guy had three plastic cups, each filled with a little bit of beer, in front of them, and the team they faced had two left. Mohawk Guy sank the ball into a cup and roared with victory. He spun to the side, and Jay took the second ball out of a water cup. He tossed the ball, and it swirled around the cup before hitting the beer. He swore at the top of his lungs and threw a fist in the air in the angriest happy cheer I’d ever seen. The crowd surrounding them cheered and hollered.

Mohawk Guy bobbed and shook his head with the beat of the music upstairs and did a little skip before slapping Jay gently in the chest. “I’d love to play again, but I promised Maggie I’d smoke her down.”

Jay nodded. “That’s cool. I’ll meet you up there in a bit.”

Mohawk Guy laid a hand on the tiny blond-and-black-haired girl’s back, and they disappeared upstairs.

“Sweet,” Brian said. “I’ve got next.” He turned to me and took up a lock of my hair with his hand to examine it curiously. The gesture was so Will-like that it startled me. “Be my partner, gorgeous?”

“Uh, yeah,” I said.

Jay playfully tugged on Kate’s shirt. “You game?”

She grinned. “Always.”

He laughed. “Be right back.” He waggled two empty cups in his hands, which I took to mean he was going to refill for the game. Brian grabbed a couple of our cups to do the same.

Kate slunk up to my side and shimmied her hip against mine. “So what do you think of Brian? He’s so cute, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, he is.” The guilty feeling in my gut kept me from elaborating. Brian was really cute, but he wasn’t who I wanted to be flirting with.

“Ell, get over him.”

I blinked at her in surprise.

“I don’t need to read your mind. Your face is always so black and white. Tonight isn’t about anything serious. Just have fun. Brian has gorgeous lips. I’ll bet he’s an amazing kisser.” She squeezed my hip, and I bounced away from her with a squeal.

“Who says I’m going to let him kiss me?” I teased.

“I do,” she said firmly. “Because I think you need to kiss someone else. Just a harmless, fun little kiss. Nothing serious.”

“Hmm.” I wasn’t sure if I was ready or even willing to kiss another boy. Not yet. I didn’t really know Brian, and while I knew one kiss wasn’t that big a deal, I just didn’t want to kiss anyone else.

The boys returned and arranged the game. They had filled up the cups with beer, and Brian tossed the balls to the other side of the table and turned to me.

“Okay, do you know how to play?” he asked.

“Get the ball in the cups, right?”

“Basically. It takes some technique, but that comes with practice.” He nodded to Jay and Kate. “They’ll go first because Jay won last round.”

Jay tossed his ball. It bounced off the rim of a cup. Kate’s ball ricocheted off the table without even touching a cup. Brian put both balls into the water cup to rinse off the linty floor nasties. He tossed one ball, and it dropped into the first cup.

I cheered and stuck out my tongue at Kate as I picked up the second ball. I straightened my arm and aimed. Brian stepped close to me and slid his hand slowly down my arm. His touch, coupled with the coolness of the basement air, sent a shiver through me. His other hand wrapped around my waist as he touched my wrist and guided my arm back.

“Line it up,” he said softly into my ear. He was extremely distracting.

I released. The ball tapped the rim of a cup in the back row before falling into the beer. I jumped and threw my hands up as I cheered and Brian scooped me into a hug.

Somehow, Brian and I miraculously won the game. That first cup was the only one I made the whole game, but that didn’t take away from the fun I had.

Brian linked his fingers through mine. “Wanna dance?”

“Yes!” I smiled hugely and followed him upstairs.

I was much more at ease with the thundering music after having a few beers, and Brian was a really good dancer. I swayed my hips and he followed me, running his hands down my arms and around my waist. I turned my back into him and his lips brushed against the bend of my neck as we danced, making me feel even hotter in the sultry heat of the house as the party raged all around us. To my frustration, I was reminded of every time I’d asked Will to dance with me. I didn’t want to think about him while I was having such a great time with Brian, but I couldn’t help it.

I spun my body around to face Brian so that it was his face that I saw, instead of Will’s that I imagined. My eyes locked with Brian’s, and I noticed for the first time their gorgeous brown color. Like pure, delicious milk chocolate. My world whirled around me as I danced through that alcohol haze. Brian wrapped a hand around my cheek and slid it to cradle the back of my head, his fingers twining through my hair. He lowered his face, and instinctively I withdrew before his lips touched mine. He looked puzzled a moment, but then he gave an apologetic smile and seemed okay that I’d pulled away from his kiss. Kate had told me to kiss someone else, but I still didn’t think I could. Will’s face was in my mind again, and I couldn’t drive it away. Brian didn’t try to kiss me again as his hands fell to my hips. We danced until I forgot that there were a hundred other people in that living room, and I completely lost track of time.