Trapped (Bullied Book 4) (Bullied Series) Vera Hollins (best large ereader txt) 📖

and yelped when he smacked her butt playfully. She smiled at him and linked her arm with mine, shaking her head.

I grinned and followed Mel out of the room, feeling Blake’s gaze on my back but never returning it.

Three hours and a couple more drinks later, I was a carefree bundle of joy. I’d danced my feet off to the music that made me high—or maybe that was the alcohol. Either way, it felt good, and I couldn’t stop smiling.

Sarah had gone somewhere with Hayden while Mel, Kevin, and I ended up playing truth or dare gathered around the kitchen island. Mel hadn’t wanted to play the game; she’d claimed it was stupid and would quit if she was asked to kiss someone, but Kev and I managed to convince her.

Masen and Blake were playing too, and I pretended I didn’t notice Blake’s continuous stares, looking at everything and everyone but him. The whole time my heartbeat refused to slow down.

The bottle had stopped on me only once so far, and I’d chosen truth, not brave enough to do a dare because most of the dares were about kissing someone or doing something horrifyingly embarrassing. A guy across from me had asked if I was a virgin, and I’d felt embarrassed by the question even with all the drinks in my system.

“No, I’m not,” I answered then, which was met with whistles. Blake’s eyes widened, followed by a glimpse of disappointment on his face before he put his neutral mask on. My mind fought to get to the bottom of that, but I was too drunk and distracted.

“Cucumber, right?” Masen added loudly, referring to one of the comments on that “Food Slut” Instagram photo that said I’d lost my virginity with a cucumber.

I blushed hard, but I met his amused eyes, speaking my mind before Mel could. “The only cucumber I know about is the one stuck in your butt.”

A few guys howled at this, and Mel grinned at me.

“That’s my girl,” she said, high-fiving me.

After that, Mel got dared twice and Blake once. He had to kiss the girl on his right, and my stomach twisted with something ugly as I watched him lean closer to her. I expected him to give her a long and deep kiss, however, he pulled away from the girl the moment their lips touched, his face expressionless.

A girl with purple hair on my right spun the bottle, and it stopped on the guy on Mel’s left. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” he said with no hesitation.

“I dare you to get on all fours and meow for the next two minutes.” We all burst into laughter.

The guy glared at her. “Really? Do you want me to purr too?”

The laughter around me grew louder. “If you want to.” The girl winked at him. Kev and I looked at each other, and our grins went wider.

“Bro, don’t make this harder on yourself,” his friend told him.

The guy groaned and went down on all fours. Masen pulled his phone out and directed it at him, ready to film.

“I feel s-sorry for him,” Kev told me.

I giggled. “Me too.”

The guy scowled at Masen over his shoulder. “Hey! Don’t record me!”

“Start meowing!” the purple-haired girl said, and the guy obeyed reluctantly.

“Meow. Meow. Meow,” he said, voice monotone as he crawled around the kitchen island.

“You sound like you’re on the verge of dying,” Masen told him, following him with his phone. “Louder! Embrace your inner cat!”

I doubled over with laughter, holding my stomach, which started to hurt. Masen and his antics.

I glanced over to Blake without thinking, and the laugh froze on my lips. He wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t even smiling as he observed no one else but me, his eyes strangely heated.

I couldn’t look away from him, not until the dare was over and the guy spun the bottle. It stopped on the blonde next to him, who chose dare and had to do a lap dance with him, but I couldn’t have cared less about it as Blake’s darkened eyes haunted me.

The bottle pointed at Mel next, and she chose dare. “I want you to kiss his neck,” the blonde said to Mel, motioning toward Masen. Oops. That wasn’t a good idea.

Mel’s jaw tightened. “Say what?”

“No way,” Masen said with a deep frown. “I refuse.”

The blonde looked at him like he’d said the earth was flat. “Why?” She cast a determined gaze at Melissa. “Come on. Don’t spoil the fun. Do it or you’re out.”

Mel crossed her arms over her chest; her eyes carried only contempt for Masen. “Then I’m out. There’s no way I’ll touch him.”

Masen sneered. “There’s no way I’ll let you touch me.”

“I’m glad the feeling is mutual, Barbie.” She stomped out of the kitchen before I could even say anything or stop her. I blinked a few times to clear my blurry vision.

“Do you think she’s going to be all right?” I asked Kevin.

He shrugged. “That’s Mel. You know she, she, she can handle herself.”

“What’s up with you and that girl?” the blonde asked Masen.

“Nothing. I just can’t stand that nutcase.”

“Don’t call her a nutcase,” I snapped. As much as I hated drawing attention to myself, I felt proud for finally standing up for my friends. Even if it did take a couple of drinks.

“All right, all right, all right,” the blonde said before Masen could answer. “Let’s not turn this into drama. I’ll spin the bottle again.”

This time, the bottle ended up on Kevin, and he surprisingly chose dare.

“Hmm. Let me think.” The blonde pressed her finger to her lips.

“You sure you want to do this?” I said into his ear, giggling. “Seeing the way they are, they will ask you to lick the floor.”

Kevin nudged my shoulder with a chuckle. “I’ll be fine.”

I could feel Blake observing my interaction with Kevin too carefully, and heat surged to my cheeks. The whole night he’d been staring at me, and I couldn’t figure out his deal. I expected him to bully me, but