C H A P T E R S I X T E E N

R I L E Y A D A M S

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SMILING AT THE sight before me, a laugh escaped my lips, my eyes wandering over Caden's hunched over figure as he argued with Jake, a determined look lingering on his face as he shook his head furiously.

"No. No. No. You've got it all wrong. You put the cereal in the bowl then you pour the milk in. Not the other way round!" Throwing his arms up into the air, his eyes held a look of sheer seriousness.

'God, he was so silly.' I thought, grinning at the way he scrunched his nose up and with the most determination I'd ever seen, he continued to argue.

"Guys. Stop! This is a pointless debate!" Will butted in, pushing his glasses further up his nose as he rolled his eyes at the antics of Jake and Caden.

"I agree." Jo nodded, smiling at Will as she looked away after she'd been caught. The minute she smiled, a faint blush began to spread across Will's cheeks, his head tilting downwards as a small smile curling onto his lips. This alone made me grin even more.

Almost as if Lola had sensed the way I gushed over Will and Jo, she nudged me with her elbow, smirking and wiggling her eyes in a suggestive way.

I knew what she hinting at and so with a persistent nod, I winked back at her.

Matchmaking Will and Jo would be easy. It was clear that they both seemed to be attracted to one another, so all they needed was a little push and hey-presto, there would be a new adorable couple wandering around school together.

"I disagree. Why don't we ask for an opinion then. Idiot." Jake muttered bitterly. Crossing his arms over his chest as Caden agreed. "Fine."

Just as I was about to take a bite of the warm slice of pizza that lay before me, the cheese oozing off the edges causing my mouth to water in hunger- I felt a pair of intense eyes stare right at me, causing me to pull my mouth away from the slice of goodness.

"Uhm. Can I help you guys?" I asked, rather annoyed with the sudden intrusion caused by their stupid argument.

"Babe." Caden grinned, shuffling closer to me as he snaked his arm around me, pulling me close to him as he placed a lingering kiss onto my cheek, causing my neck to burn up as I blushed furiously. "U-uh. Yes?" I asked, shocked by his actions.

It wasn't fair that somehow, he'd managed to make me feel all weird inside anytime he'd touch me or come close. Or even say my name for gods sake! It just wasn't fair!

"Oh, come on!" Jake groaned, face palming as he banged his head against the table. "Of course she's going to agree with you after pulling that move on her." Jake grumbled away like a child, earning an eye roll from me as I ignored the two and went on with eating my lunch.

"Both of you guys need to grow up." Lola piped up, wagging an accusing finger at both Caden and Jake.

Grinning like a maniac. Lola raised her bottle of water at Jake as she opened her mouth to speak, earning her a fiery glare from him and a cocky smirk from Caden.

"Besides. Everyone knows you put the cereal in before the milk."

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"No way. Uh uh. I'm not doing it." I squirmed under Caden's iron grip as he pulled me from the front door of Lola's house, my feet refusing to move as I stubbornly resisted from his pulls and persistent pleas.

"Come on!" Caden groaned for the hundredth and one time. "It's just a game." He continued.

Shaking my head with a sigh, I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yes. A drinking game. That's only going to end badly! I'm absolutely terrible at holding down my alcohol." I muttered, rolling my eyes in annoyance.

"Oh come on. I'm sure you're not that bad." Caden laughed as I finally gave into his demands and so with a sigh, I followed him through the house and into the living room.

"Hey guys." I Smiled, planking my butt down next to Jo as she smiled back at me, nodding in reply.

Placing a large glass bottle down, Jake smirked, his eyes wandering around the circle that was made up of Caden, Jo, Lola, Will, myself and Jake too, of course.

Groaning before we'd even begun, I dramatically threw my head back. "This is so not going to end well." I cried out, receiving a few laughs from around the circle.

"Alright. Rules." Jake began, sucking in a puff of air as he sat cross legged. "We drink every time either of us have done what has been said. Got it?" Receiving understanding nods. The game had begun.

Clearing his throat, Jake started. "Never have I ever-" he smirked and then continued. "-kissed someone of the same sex." As soon as the words had escaped his lips, his eyes wandered to Jo, Lola and I, receiving eye rolls from all of us.

Just as I'd expected, none of the boys took a sip. Neither did Lola and I, but not to my surprise, Jo did. She just seemed liked the out going kind who liked to try new things. Which wasn't always a bad thing.

"No way!" Jake gasped, begging for her to explain. "Nope. That's not apart of the game." Jo laughed, much to Jake's annoyance.

"Alright. Never have I ever gotten into a fight and slapped, kicked and/or punched someone during it." Taking a sip, all of us apart from Will drank. Earning a smile from Jo's end.

The alcohol had ran down my throat, the bronze liquid burning as I shut my eyes and forced it down. It was pretty clear that I did not like it at all.

"Never have I ever had a near death experience." Lola spoke up. Jake drank and so did Caden, but the rest of us curiously looked at them, wondering what on earth they did to have a near death experience.

But, just like Jo had said, explaining wasn't apart of the game and so we continued. It was now Will's turn.

"Never have I ever left a party completely sober." All of us drunk to this, a series of laughs erupting as we all shared knowing looks with each other.

"Never have I ever-" Caden paused, thinking for a mere second as he grinned in my direction and spoke up. "-had a threesome." Wiggling his eyebrows, I sent him a challenging look, moving to raise my cup, causing his eyes to widen in shock and his jaw to drop to the ground.

Shaking my head I pulled the cup away, laughing at his sobered up expression. "Jesus, you got me thinking you really did for a moment." Caden breathed out, running a hand through his dark hair as he sighed in relief.

"I may not be a virgin, but I'm not that daring." I laughed causing the rest of them to join in.

Thinking carefully, I spoke up. "Never have I ever had my heart broken." As soon as the words had escaped my lips, everyone went silent.

The laughter that was once prominent was no longer surrounding my ears but instead, a deafening silence did.

With a puzzled look, I peered round at everyone's lowered gazes, spotting how neither of them had dared to look up.

Shifting my gaze to Lola, I picked up on the small glance she took at Caden, causing my head to whip round to face him.

Lips slightly parted, my eyes locked with his, only to find that he was staring right at me, dead on in the eye. After what felt like hours of staring at him, I pushed down the warm feeling within as I watched his every move. Starting from the minute he raised his cup and took a long, never ending, sip.

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