Chapter 344: House party XIV

Chapter 344: Chapter 344: House party XIV

Everyone waited.

William’s grin widened.

"You have to kiss the physical feature you just mentioned."

Silence.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Vivienne stared at him.

What?

She looked toward Christopher.

Then Damian.

Her eyes widened.

No.

Absolutely not.

Her mind immediately went back to Damian’s answer.

Your mouth.

She could still hear the way he had said it.

She had understood what he meant.

And now—

This?

She looked down at the table.

There was no way William could actually expect them to do this.

It was just a game.

It had to be.

Evelyn looked equally stunned.

Rhea’s mouth fell open.

Claire covered her face.

Eleanor stared at William in disbelief.

"You did not say that!"

William laughed.

"I said there was one more rule."

"You said there was one more rule," Claire protested, "not that it was going to be this!"

William looked extremely pleased with himself.

"Exactly."

A few people started laughing.

Someone groaned.

Someone else muttered that William was insane.

Vivienne glanced at Christopher.

He didn’t seem particularly bothered.

Maybe this was only a game.

Nobody was actually going to—

William suddenly clapped his hands once.

"All right."

Everyone looked at him.

He pointed toward Amelia.

"We’ll start with me."

Amelia’s eyes widened.

"Wait."

William smiled.

"Come on."

"William..."

"Can you please show me your beautiful smile?"

Amelia stared at him.

The whole table was watching.

She rolled her eyes.

"You’re ridiculous."

"Smile."

Amelia sighed.

Then, despite herself, she smiled.

William’s expression immediately brightened.

"There it is."

He leaned toward her.

And kissed one of her dimples.

Then the other.

The table erupted.

Amelia immediately covered her cheeks.

"Oh my God."

William leaned back, completely satisfied.

"See?"

He looked around the table.

"Perfectly harmless."

Scott laughed.

"That’s because you started with your date."

William shrugged.

"Someone had to demonstrate."

Claire shook her head, laughing.

Eleanor looked around the table.

"We are all mature adults."

Rhea nodded solemnly.

"Very mature."

Ronald gave her a look.

"You don’t sound convinced."

"No."

Everyone laughed again.

William spread his hands.

"Exactly."

He looked around the table.

"Now..."

His smile returned.

"Scott."

Scott raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn’t Amelia be next?"

William clicked his tongue.

"Right."

Amelia giggled, not really bothered.

She leaned forward and without much ado, kissed Scott’s left brow.

William clapped his hand again. "See? If you’re not attaching any meaning to the kiss, then it’s totally harmless."

Amelia gave him an eyeroll.

Scott shrugged and this time he faced Claire

Claire shook her head and just simply leaned forward.

Scott kissed her cheek.

"That was easy," William said.

Claire laughed and turned toward Leo.

She leaned over and kissed his ear.

Leo blinked.

"That was strange."

Claire laughed again.

"Your turn."

Leo looked at Evelyn.

And immediately became aware that everyone was watching.

Evelyn seemed nervous.

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

It was quick.

But Leo’s face had already turned slightly red by the time he sat back.

Evelyn touched her cheek looking unsure.

William noticed.

"Oh."

Leo looked away.

Evelyn took a deep breath.

Then it was her turn.

--

Evelyn looked at Damian.

His eyes.

She had chosen his eyes.

For a moment, she simply looked at him.

Up close, they were even more striking.

Then Evelyn leaned forward.

She pressed a quick kiss near the corner of his eye.

It was barely anything.

Just a peck.

But the moment she pulled back, her cheeks were already pink.

She had just kissed a boy.

Even if it was only his eye.

Evelyn quickly sat back down, trying to act as though nothing had happened.

Damian touched the corner of his eye for a moment.

It was strange.

He glanced at Evelyn.

Then turned toward Vivienne.

--

Damian’s eyes met Vivienne’s.

And for a moment, everything else seemed to disappear.

His gaze dropped to her mouth.

His heart started to beat fast.

He could kiss her.

Right there.

In front of everyone.

And strangely enough, despite his anger and hurt, he wanted to.

If the game gave him an excuse to do it, he certainly wasn’t going to complain.

Vivienne swallowed.

Oh God.

What was she supposed to do?

If she objected, wouldn’t that make it seem like there was something wrong with it?

It was only a game.

Just a peck.

If she didn’t object, then it meant nothing.

Right?

She glanced at Christopher.

He was already looking at her.

Their eyes met.

He didn’t say anything.

Vivienne wasn’t sure what that meant.

Then Damian shifted in his chair.

He leaned toward her.

Vivienne stayed still.

Then, she closed her eyes.

For a second, she thought this was really going to happen.

Until she felt a hand cover her mouth.

Vivienne’s eyes opened.

Christopher was leaning toward her and his hand was over her mouth, stopping Damian before he could get any closer.

Damian froze.

Christopher looked at William.

"I think that’s enough."

William blinked.

Then he looked between Christopher and Vivienne.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then he smiled.

"Ah."

Of course.

William nodded as though everything suddenly made perfect sense.

"Well, obviously."

He gestured toward Christopher, who was sitting beside Vivienne.

"They’re a couple."

Christopher removed his hand from Vivienne’s mouth.

Vivienne bit her lip.

She couldn’t help it.

A small, happy smile threatened to appear.

Christopher had stopped the kiss from happening.

He really didn’t want another man kissing her.

Oh God.

Was this him being possessive? She loves it!

William continued, looking around the table as if to convince everyone.

"I’m sure none of us would want our girlfriend kissed on the lips by another man."

Vivienne looked at Christopher.

Christopher looked back at her.

There was something quietly amused in his eyes.

William leaned back in his chair.

"But..."

His eyes moved around the table.

"Games have rules."

Everyone looked at him.

"And breaking the rules should have consequences."

Claire raised an eyebrow.

"Consequences?"

"Of course."

William nodded solemnly.

"Don’t you agree?"

A few people exchanged looks.

Then Scott shrugged.

"Sure."

William smiled.

"Good."

He turned toward Christopher.

"So, here’s the punishment."

Christopher looked at him.

"If someone stops another player from following the rule..."

William paused.

"They have to substitute themselves."

Christopher raised an eyebrow.

"Meaning?"

William grinned.

"You kiss the part he was supposed to kiss."

The table went silent.

Then someone laughed.

"Seriously?"

William nodded.

"For thirty seconds."

Vivienne’s eyes widened.

"Thirty seconds?"

"Exactly."

William looked very pleased with himself.

Christopher stared at him for a moment.

"Fair enough."

A few people laughed.

Anthony did not.

His expression had become noticeably darker.

William noticed.

And immediately looked delighted.

He had not planned the rule five minutes ago.

He had barely planned it five seconds ago.

But now that he had it, he couldn’t have asked for a better punishment.

Christopher got to kiss his girlfriend.

And Anthony had to watch.

Perfect.

Christopher shook his head, amused despite himself.

Then he turned toward Vivienne.

"Are you okay with this?"

Vivienne’s cheeks grew even warmer.

She nodded.

"Yeah."

She lifted her chin slightly.

Then, almost shyly, she fluttered her eyes and pursed her lips.

Christopher stared at her for a second.

Then his lips curved into a small smile.

She was being ridiculous.

But he liked it.

His hand moved to the back of her neck.

He gently pulled her toward him as he leaned in.

The table immediately grew louder.

Their lips pressed together.

Someone started counting.

"One!"

"Two!"

Vivienne went tense.

She hadn’t expected it to feel quite so real.

Christopher didn’t move.

His hand remained at the back of her neck, keeping her close.

Their lips simply remained pressed together.

"Three!"

Vivienne’s shoulders slowly relaxed.

She closed her eyes.

Once she stopped thinking about everyone watching them, it became easier.

Christopher shifted slightly, just enough to make the position more comfortable, but didn’t break the kiss.

The table erupted.

"Ooh!"

Someone laughed.

"Four!"

William was practically delighted.

The counting continued around the table.

Christopher kept her close.

And Vivienne stayed there, no longer tense, letting the ridiculous punishment continue.

By the time they finally reached thirty, her face was bright red.

Christopher pulled back.

The table erupted again.

Vivienne immediately covered her face with her hands, too embarrassed.

Christopher looked at her for a moment.

Then a small, amused smirk appeared on his lips.

Vivienne peeked at him through her fingers.

And somehow, that only made her blush harder.

Across the table, Anthony’s hand had curled into a fist.

His jaw tightened.

William noticed.

Of course he did.

His smile widened.

He had managed to turn one interrupted kiss into an even better game.

And, more importantly—

Anthony looked absolutely furious.

William smiled.

The game continued.

--

Tbc