My Second kiss

Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Gemma!" Drew called and waved me over to the couch. "Come sit down! There's a spot next to J.R."

As I walked toward my assigned seat, I made eye contact with Trace. I lifted my chin toward him to which he lifted a couple of his fingers in a half wave. He looked exceptionally good in his midnight blue button-up shirt and some long, baggy, khaki pants. His hair was doing this kind of gelled, loopy thing on top, and he looked tanner than usual on his face and neck. He was just as good looking and witty as Jess. But he was also new and exciting.

"Let's play a game." It was J.R.'s cousin Danny who said it, but we were all relieved that he did.

"Let's play Pictionary," suggested Stella.

"No. I'm a terrible drawer," complained Carmen.

"I have a game," Drew said with mischievous eyes. Everyone looked at her and waited for the name of her game.

"It's called Kissing Rugby. My brother plays it with his friends all the time."

J.R. clapped his hands together. "I vote for Drew's game."

"What's Kissing Rugby?" Stephanie asked.

Drew pointed to the back of the basement, where there was no furniture. "Everyone needs to sit on the floor. Let's go over there; there will be more room."

One by one everyone started getting up from the couch and making their way to the other side of the basement as directed. As I made my way over, I felt warm hands on my shoulders. I turned around to see Trace standing so close to me that I could have counted his eyelashes. "Hey," he said softly.

I could feel my face turn a bright shade of red. The same butterflies that always fluttered in my stomach when Trace was around were going wild. "Hi!" I forced myself to sound as perky and unaffected by him as possible.

"I was worried that you weren't going to show."

I bit my bottom lip. "My sister told me I had to be a little late or else I'd look like an idiot. She read it in some book."

Trace squinted his eyes at me. "I'm pretty sure you would have looked as good fifteen minutes ago as you do now, but either way, I'm happy to see you."

The room spun around me as I took in what he had just said. Did he just tell me that I look good? And he's happy to see me? I obviously loved hearing that, but I couldn't help but think of Jess. There was something so different about the way I felt when Jess stood this close to me. Trace was lacking the protective influence that made me feel invincible when I was with Jess. And when Jess was standing that close to me, there was no way I was thinking about Trace. When Jess stood that close to me, the rest of the world went out of focus.

I shook my head at the thought of Jess and reminded myself that it didn't matter. He isn't that big of a deal, Gemma. Remember?

When we were all situated and sitting in a circle, Drew passed two bowls around while announcing that the girls should take one of the folded pieces of paper from the white bowl and the boys from the black bowl.

We all did what we were told. I unfolded my piece of paper to see the number nine written in Drew's handwriting. I leaned toward Trace, who was sitting between Drew and me, and he showed me that his paper had the letter Q. "What is this about?" he asked as he showed me his letter.

I shrugged, and we both looked to Drew for an explanation.

"Okay, does everyone have a number or a letter?" she asked the group. Everyone nodded. "Here's how it works," Drew continued, holding up two other bowls, one black, one white like the others. "Each of these bowls contains the same numbers and letters that I had you all pick. So for the first round I'll pick one letter