Anne made a brief appearance in the basement to let us know she was about to leave. She wished Niall a happy birthday and gave the top of his head a motherly kiss before ruffling his blonde locks. The action caused Louis to remind Anne adamantly that his birthday was coming up next and that he hoped to get some kisses as well. To which Anne just told him, only if he behaved, and gave a wink before leaving. Once the click of the front door upstairs was heard, signaling her departure, Louis continued his inappropriate thought process aloud.

"The joys of being a Christmas baby, instead of milk and cookies, I'll be getting some milf and nookies!"

Harry glared disapprovingly at Louis while Niall looked confused. Louis took notice of Niall and decided to elaborate.

"You see Niall, lovely Anne is a milf," Harry's glare hardened further and I put a hand over my mouth in a sore attempt to keep from laughing as Louis continues, "which means she's a mum I'd like to fu-"

"Okay!" Brandi interrupted, "Maybe it's time for a group activity?"

"Spin the bottle!" Louis cheered.

Brandi laughed and looked to Niall.

"Any qualms from the birthday boy? It's up to you." He shrugged with a small smile.

"Sure, I guess."

"YES!" Louis jumped up and did a victory dance.

Soon we were all sitting in a small circle on the floor. An empty wine bottle, snatched from the recycling bin, sat in the middle. Liam, Kara, Niall and Rees all sat to my left, and Zayn, Gemma, Louis and Brandi were to my right. Harry sat directly across the circle from me. There was a bit of a debate between Louis and the rest of the group about the rules. Louis was obviously pulling for more action while everyone else was trying to convince him this was supposed to be fun, and not so dirty. In the end we all managed to agree on 3 rules.

No pecks. It had to be a real kiss.

Both hands must be on the other person, placement is up to the discretion of the players.

The kiss must last at least 30 seconds.

Even though it was Niall's party, we all agreed to let Louis spin first since it was his marvelous idea. He knelt forward to give the bottle a spin then sat back with hardly contained glee. We all watched as the bottle began to slow. When it finally stopped, everyone burst out laughing. Everyone except two people. Louis had a look of cheated horror on his face, while Liam sat with wide eyes and a slacked jaw.

"I get a re-spin!" Louis shouted and Liam looked hopeful.

"Oh no you don't!" Gemma countered through her fit of laughter. "You wanted to play this, this is what you get. Now pucker up Payne, you're about to get some Tommo lovin'!"

Gemma set her timer on her phone as the two boys slowly stood. It was possibly the funniest kiss I had ever seen. Attempting to stay true to the rules, they both rested their hands on the others arms and both grimaced as they leaned in. As soon as their lips touched the group cheered with applause and whistles.

As soon as the timer went off they both sprang apart and dramatically wiped off their mouths. Once everyone had calmed themselves from the first extremely entertaining kiss, Gemma reached forward to take her spin. There were hoots of approval from the guys when it landed on Brandi. Gemma shrugged it off easily.

"Hey, I'm just glad it didn't stop on Harry. No offense baby brother, but I really don't need to know what your kissing style is."

We all laughed some more at Gemma teasing Harry before she and Brandi stood. Next it was Zayn, who landed on Rees. I could have been wrong, but I thought I saw a little something when they kissed. And I was almost certain Zayn had some extra color in his cheeks when he went to sit back down.

I was up next. I leaned forward and gave the bottle a spin. I was a little nervous to be kissing someone in front of a group of people, but we were all friends and everyone else was doing it so what could it hurt, right? I found myself holding my breath as the bottle began to slow. When it finally came to a stop, I looked up to see where the tip was pointed and found Niall with a sheepish look on his face. We had almost kissed that day after their band practice, if Harry hadn't walked in. Now, I guess, was our second chance. We both stood and walked toward each other a little uneasily. He reached his hands out slowly toward me and rested them on my waist.

"Is this alright?" He asked quietly as I nodded and placed my hands on his shoulders. It was strange knowing we had so many eyes on us, but when Niall's eyes connected with mine, I was catapulted back to that day in Louis's garage. I let my eyes drift shut as Niall closed the distance between us. His lips moved softly and carefully over my own. I felt his tongue graze my bottom lip just barely, but never pushing any further. Before I knew it, the timer went off and we separated with shy smiles. Niall was a good kisser. Very gentle and sweet.

What I wasn't prepared for was when I sat back down and looked across at Harry, his eyes looked darker and he was glaring at Niall. His hands were clenched into fists on his knees. When he looked back and caught me watching him he quickly looked away and ran his hand through his hair then carefully clasped his hands in front of him. I glanced over at Kara who had also caught his apparent glare. She looked at me with a knowing smile and raised her brows, shielding her face from Harry as she mouthed to me, Jealous.

Maybe Kara was right about Harry. Maybe he was jealous. I tried not to entertain the thought for too long though. As much as I liked Harry, and the feelings I always seemed to get while near him, it just didn't seem like a good idea. With our parents dating, things could get messy. So, reluctantly, I pushed any non-platonic thoughts of Harry to the back of my mind and turned my attention back to the game that had Liam kissing Brandi.

Next up was Kara. When the bottle stopped and pointed at Louis, he jumped to his feet.

"Alright lucky lady, step right up! I know you're with Liam, and now that I know what that's like," He looked pointedly at Liam, "I'll show you what it's like to kiss a real man."

Liam began to protest, but not fast enough. Louis swiftly took Kara in his arms and laid one on her. I looked to Liam and his jaw was on the floor. They were only about half way through when Liam started to yell.

"Time! Time! Come on, what kind of timer are you using?"

The timer finally buzzed and Louis decided to dip Kara for one last flourish. As he dipped her, with their lips still attached, he looked over her and winked at Liam before letting her go.

"That's quite enough Lou." Liam scolded him as Kara made her way back to sit beside Liam.

The game continued with Niall kissing Gemma and Rees kissing Liam. Then Harry leaned over and gave the bottle a spin. I wasn't too fond of the idea of watching Harry kiss someone. But it was just a game after all. As the bottle spun I became increasingly jealous of whoever it was about to land on. That person was going to get to feel Harry's lips on theirs. I thought back to when he kissed my fingers after bandaging them and instantly wanted to feel his lips again.

My heart began to beat faster as the bottle slowed. I all but forgot how to breath when it stopped and pointed straight to me. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of Harry. I didn't even remember getting up. My heart was pounding in my chest as Harry moved closer. I moved my hands to his shoulders instinctively, like I had with Niall. Harry placed his left hand on my waist and pulled me even closer. He lifted his right hand and with his thumb resting on my cheek he curled his fingertips around the nape of my neck, similar to the way he held me at the airport. He leaned down to me, his eyelids lowering.

This was it.

The moment our lips connected, everything else seemed to slip away. In that instant, I forgot about everyone else. It was as if we were the only two people left in the room. It was only us in this moment. It felt like a bolt of energy had surged between us. There was almost a slight possessiveness to the way Harry kissed, like he was somehow marking his territory. His strong hands pulled me flush against his body, leaving no room for escape. As if I'd want to. He sucked my bottom lip between his teeth, causing me to gasp. He took the opportunity to slip his tongue past mine and we were soon enthralled in a battle for dominance.

I could hear my heart beat pounding in my ears, as well as a faint sound of buzzing. In my mind, I hoped it was just a bee and if I ignored it long enough it would surely fly away. However, it was when someone cleared their throat that I was pulled ungraciously back to reality. We were both breathing heavily as Harry pulled back. It was then that I noticed my hands. They were fisted into Harry's shirt at his chest as if I had been drowning and I had clung to him as if he were my only hope for survival. I loosened my grip and tried to smooth out the wrinkles I had just caused. Once I realized I was basically just petting his chest, I quickly lowered my hands, earning a crooked smirk from Harry.

I did my best to avoid everyone's eyes as I sat back in my spot. As I willed my breathing to return to normal, I had to remind myself not to put too much thought into what just happened. I had to remember that this was all just part of the game. No matter how amazing that kiss was, it didn't mean Harry had feelings for me. Or that he was jealous of Niall. It was all just for fun.

It was just a game.

But the way Harry was looking at me now, didn't feel like a game. And I liked the way it felt.

A/N: So sorry it's been a month since I updated. Hopefully this made up for the wait. When I write, it's like planning a road trip. I know all the stops I want to make, I just need to decide which roads I want to take to get me there. So please bare with me. =] 

Also, I started a one shot Larry book called Love Bites. Check it out if you're hot for Larry!

I hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. 

Merry Christmas and be safe!

x

DCMurphy