With the Spin of a Bottle

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Reed P.O.V.

I had spent as much time as I could with Leena since asking her to the ball. She was a bit leery around me, at first, but the more time we spent together the more she seemed to let her guard down. I was going to do everything I could to alleviate whatever fears she had, but I needed to learn what those fears were before I could do that. I tried getting that information directly from Leena, but she wasn't very forthcoming, so I found myself seeking out her friends for advice. Blake and Josh were zero help, which I hadn't really expected them to be. They were dudes, after all, and we weren't great at reading feelings. So then I'd tried Josie, but she was pretty tight-lipped. She'd given me hell for going behind Leena's back about it and wouldn't listen to me trying to explain that I'd tried to talk to Leena about it first. For being such a tiny thing, Josie scared the daylights out of me.

Then there was Maddie. Madeline Davis and I had a tiny history and I mean tiny. It wasn't much and I doubted that it was even memorable for Maddie. We were in eighth grade and were playing spin the bottle at Chase's house. There was a large group of us and my bottle landed on Maddie. I'd always thought of her as just a friend, so I was a bit horrified to have to kiss her. As my lips neared hers, Maddie had turned her head and I'd caught her cheek instead. I was grateful and we'd never talked about it again. We'd partied together, a lot over the years, because I was sorry to say that Chase used to be a friend of mine. We'd never been best friends, but we'd bonded through basketball. I'd never fully understood what Maddie saw in him, but it hadn't been my business, so I'd let it go.

Now I found myself knocking on the girl's apartment door during a time when I knew Maddie would be alone, so that I could grill her about Leena. The ball was tonight and I wanted the evening to be perfect. I knocked on the door a second time when I didn't receive an answer and finally Maddie opened the door. She wore an outfit somewhere between what the old Maddie would wear and what hobo-Maddie wore the other day.

She frowned, "What are you doing here? Leena is in class."

I nodded, "I know. I came to see you."

Her eyes widened, "Why?

I chuckled, "Yes, it's good to see you too, Mads and, yes, I would love to come inside."

She rolled her eyes and opened the door further, "I'll have you know that a few days ago I wouldn't even have opened the door to you."

"Because it was me or because I'm a dude?" I frowned.

"You're a dude." She admitted, taking a seat on one end of the couch, while I took a seat on the other end.

I nodded, "So, I take it that guy Josh is the reason you're...getting better."

She smiled and nodded, "Yes."

"Good, I'm glad for you. He seems decent, from what little I've been around him and Leena has good things to say about him."

She nodded and asked curiously, "Are we done with the small talk, so you can tell me why you're here? It can't be because of that spin the bottle game all of those years ago. If you've been pining for me this whole time because of a simple kiss on the cheek, then you've got problems."

I laughed, "So you do remember that! No, I'm not pining for you. I'm pining for your cousin, actually. I'm here, because I need to know why she seems so unsure and reserved around me. I've been trying everything to break her down, but she hasn't been the most cooperative. I mean, we haven't even kissed since that night in my closet, back home."

Maddie rolled her eyes, "Reed, Leena is different than any other girl you've ever been involved with. You were her first kiss...during a silly game...in a closet! I know you're used to girls who are touchy feely and all over you, but Leena isn't like that. Well, actually I don't know if Leena even knows what she's like. Look...I'm going to tell you something that I know I shouldn't, but I think it will end up helping you in the long run and I'm only telling you because you guys are great together. Leena has had a crush on you for years."