“How was it?” The voices piled up immediately, laughter rippling through the group as they tried to picture Lavender, the high school sweetheart bisexual, and me, the tall and sharp-tongued lesbian, tangled up in a steamy make-out session.

“I didn’t get to kiss her! She told me some dumb fuck lie about being in love with my girlfriend! Are you seriously in love with Lily?” Lavender snapped, stepping out of the closet with her fists clenched, looking like she wanted to strangle me.

“Chill. I just said that to keep your slimy tongue out of my mouth, okay? Relax, woman.” I leaned back against the couch, arms behind my head, smirking as she groaned and rubbed her temples, finally flopping down beside Nicolette.

“WHAT? So you mean you girls didn’t kiss?” Nicolette pouted, looking genuinely disappointed.

I raised an eyebrow, letting my smirk deepen. “Honey, do you wanna take her place? I’ll do you any day.”

“Fuck off!” Nicolette burst out laughing, but I caught the faint blush creeping across her cheeks.

“Next, please,” Sarah’s voice rang out, smoothly redirecting the group’s attention back to the game.

Lily reached out and spun the bottle, the glass neck rattling as it twirled. The game carried on, but my focus drifted.

It was no secret that I was gay—and that I liked to play. My reputation preceded me, but even now, as I leaned back pretending to be carefree, my gaze kept pulling toward the one person I could never have.

Sarah.

She was magnetic, witty, and quick with her words, always drawing a crowd without even trying. Tonight, her hair was swept up in a loose bun, strands falling around her face in a way that made my stomach tighten. She was straight—or at least, as far as I could tell—but damn, did she have a pull on me.

Her place was packed tonight, a testament to her social prowess, and yet there she was, laughing and tossing her hair, completely unaware that I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

But no matter how much I wanted her, she was my best friend. Untouchable. And even worse—straight.

Touching her, or even hinting at how I felt, would be the fastest way to destroy everything we had. And I wasn’t ready to lose her.

So instead, I let my attention drift back to the circle, flashing grins and throwing out flirty comments, pretending I was fine.

But even as I flirted and laughed, I knew the truth.

I was already in too deep.