"Well, that was easy," Gigi said with a smirk as Shu returned to her seat, looking far too pleased with herself after nearly squeezing the life out of me.
Shu just giggled in response, definitely tipsy already for Pete's sakes. "Yuu is just too adorable," she cooed, sending another wave of secondhand embarrassment crashing over me.
I'm used to my two best friends smothering me with their relentless affection, but what I'm not used to is them doing it so blatantly in front of strangers.
Y'know, I've worked hard to build my reputation as someone who shouldn't be underestimated just because I'm a girl—or gay. But it's hard to maintain that image when I have two overbearing, ridiculously affectionate best friends constantly babying me like I'm their personal pet project.
It's exhausting. Truly.
Not that I'd ever admit this to anyone, but... I secretly don't mind their attention. Maybe I even like it. A little. Everyone likes to be pampered. Stop judging me. But I would die before admitting that to Gigi or Shu—not when they live to embarrass me in front of others. Nope. Not happening.
There's definitely something wrong with me. I'm not even going to deny that.
Shu's comment earned a round of giggles from the circle, which only made my embarrassment worse.
"Are we playing or not?" I snapped, my annoyance slipping through.
In typical Shu fashion, she blew me a dramatic flying kiss in response, which only succeeded in irritating me further.
"Alright, alright, relax," Gigi chimed in, her tone teasing. "You know, for someone who didn't want to play, you're awfully eager."
I rolled my eyes and smacked her arm in retaliation, making her yelp—and earning another laugh from the group.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop," she said, smirking despite her mock surrender. She turned to Shu. "Alright, your turn to spin the bottle."
Shu spun the bottle, and it landed on some random guy I didn't recognize. Not that I cared much—I was starting to zone out anyway. Sleepiness was kicking in hard, and staying out this late past my usual bedtime was proving to be a struggle.
I rubbed my eyes subtly, trying to shake off the drowsiness, when I noticed Ari looking at me with a soft smile.
That woke me up a little.
Why was she looking at me like that? My heart started hammering against my ribs, and I quickly averted my gaze, hoping she hadn't noticed.
"Do you have someone you're crushing on in this circle?"
I forced myself to tune back into the conversation, but since I was only half-listening, I missed some of the words Shu had asked the guy.
"Yes," he replied confidently, and the entire group erupted in cheers and playful howls, jolting me fully awake.
Whoever this guy was, he clearly had some level of popularity. Judging by the reactions and the way a few of the girls in the circle were shamelessly flaunting themselves at him—it seemed like he wasn't just some random face.
"Who is it, Minho?" Shu pressed, practically vibrating with curiosity.
The person in question, Minho, smirked. "You're asking two questions in a row," he said, arching a brow. "That's not how the game works."
His response earned a collective groan of disappointment from the group. Beside me, I could feel Gigi practically bursting at the seams, dying to know who it was.
What is with these people? I don't even understand why this is such a big deal. What even is happening?
Ignoring everyone's pleas, Minho spun the bottle, and the whole circle was buzzing with anticipation—everyone except me, of course. I was too busy trying not to close my eyes out of sheer exhaustion, all in the name of social courtesy.
Still slightly dazed, I didn't even notice at first that the bottle had stopped, pointing squarely at me.
Blinking in mild disinterest, I turned my gaze to Minho, who was now looking at me with a smile.
"Truth or dare?" he asked.
I didn't give it much thought and replied in a slightly tired voice, "Truth."
"So," he began, his tone casual but curious, "are you dating someone right now?"