‘How silver-sweet sound lovers’ tongues by night’

Laila’s POV

The first round of ‘Anglo-saxon Musical Spin the Bottle’ was some sort of warming up for everyone. Nothing huge happened, but I could tell Harry was the tough one to defeat… Not that I expected any other way. His choices were simply impossible: Some old rock’n roll from the ‘50s and a song that Sammy Davis Jr. used to sing. He was prepared. They all seemed suspiciously prepared, but, well, based on their prior comments, it was implied they played the game assiduously.

By the end of the round, almost all of the players lose their shoes except Louis, Harry and I. Everyone took them off happily. We were just starting, after all. Bernie also loose her pantyhose and Gemma her socks.

“Oh, how I love to underdress you, Gemma,” Louis said after he told correctly some lyrics from The Pixies. She rolled her eyes to him and Harry seemed a bit uncomfortable about the remark.

“Dude…” He muttered to Louis.

I was lucky. The bottle never pointed at me and I took Liam shoes with ‘Sputnik kiss’ from The Revillos. He has never heard of them. By the discreet grin on Harry’s face I could tell he would have answered it right. I wanted so badly to play against him but, at the same time, I was a bit afraid he’d be the one who unclothe me.

The warm up round was soon over and the second round was such a rush. After Louis’ spin and her own, Bernie was already in the lingerie hoping for the best. The boys were musicians and it was their game, so they owned it, and she was actually pretty clueless. Louis took Gemma’s leggings and Harry was so crossed. He is so protective of his sister, and, yes, Louis is such a savage. He was trying Harry’s nerves too much.

In the second round I finally had the chance to challenge Harry. I was so extremely anxious I couldn’t even look at him. I thought about my choice for a while and found some lyrics he might not know nor remember too well, because it was a rare song. I loved it, though. It was quite poetical and, most importantly, it was a bold move. But when I was about to speak I went shy. His eyes were piercing and his smirk was too much for me to manage.

“‘And if you say you will, I would love you still…’” I said almost regretting my choice. What if he knew it? What if I was saying those words to him just for nothing? But as he heard me Harry’s expression was vacant. He slightly shook his head ‘no,’ trying to react, looking me right into the eyes.

“He doesn’t know it!–––Louis snapped. Mates! Stan, Tom! Harry doesn’t know some lyrics!” He declared towards their friends, who cheered up.

“It’s unprecedented!” They shouted. All the boys seemed puzzled too.

“Oh, Harry, you met your maker, mate,” Louis told to Harry, tapping his shoulder. Harry was still in shock. “Laila, you are a goddess–––he carried on. Keep up with the good work and tonight he ends up butt-naked.” Everyone giggled and Harry was extremely serious.

“Little brother, she got you there.” Gemma said cheekily. Harry gasped.

“What song is it? I think I never heard it.” His expression was quizzical.

“‘Medellia of the Gray Skies’ by The Smashing Pumpkins,” I said with confidence and he raised his eyebrows.

“And how goes the lyrics?” He playfully asked after a second, returning to his usual mind games.

“‘And if I just could be anything for you, just anyone at all, anything that mattered…’” I mumbled not looking at him, biting my finger.

“Nice…” He said in a husky tone, smirking down, taking off his ankle boots.

But my victory didn’t last much. Soon after, Bernie lost her bra with plenty of dignity. I knew she was sort of thrill because she lose it to Zayn and she wasn’t especially the shy type. She had to stay in the circle until the end of the round and then she could leave and get dressed. I thought they boys would make a big deal about Bernie being half naked, but they behave very conspicuously. There were only few funny comments.

“Nice to meet you. How was your name, love?” Louis said sassily.

“We are sorry to have undressed you this fast,” Liam claimed too.

Bernie just sat there covering up a bit with her arm. She didn’t seem very troubled by her situation. I could notice Zayn was forcing himself not to stare at her, while she quite expected for him to do it. They were so silly.

Later after, when Harry spun the bottle, it pointed at me. Everyone acclaimed, but I needed to remain centred to face his revenge. It was a hard task because, besides the fact he was an expert at it, I was quite distracted by his handsomeness. He glanced at me mischievously and pronounced the words.

“‘Fools rush in where wise men never go. But wise men never fall in love, so how are they to know?’” He said and I just felt as if I was struck by a lightning bolt.

“Come on, Laila, don’t disappoint us,” Gemma joked to make me react. And I knew it. I just knew the lyrics. It was an old Johnny Mercer’s song. But I wanted to hear Harry finishing the verse…

“I’m sorry, guys,” I said trying to hide a smile. Harry glanced at me in some sort of surprise. Maybe he knew something wasn’t quite right. “Can you please tell me, Harry?” He grimaced.

“‘When we met, I felt my life begin. So open up your heart and let this fool rush in,’” He said slowly with his cheeky lop-sided smile.

“Thank you…”

“Oh, yeah, things are getting pretty serious around here… I can tell,” Louis claimed. Harry and I interchanged discreet glimpses. “Laila, you naughty girl! Don’t forget to take your shoes off, love.”

Bernie left the circle and started to dress herself a bit far away. Zayn glimpsed at her almost all of the time. I needed to remember to tell her that later. And that Louis and Liam also peeped at her. Harry quietly looked into my eyes trying not to break the contact. I was feeling a bit more relaxed than before, partly due to the beer we all continued drinking while playing and the joint Stan brought and almost everyone in the circle smoked.

The third round was quite extreme. Marianne soon lost her dress to Louis, who was absolutely thrilled about it. But they were respectful guys. They made a bigger deal about her than Bernie loosing her bra.

I had voluntarily lost my shoes to Harry and I needed to be careful from that moment on. But as soon as I thought of it I spun the bottle and got Harry again. In a second my mind went blank and I couldn’t think about any song. Again Harry was staring at me with his cheeky lop-sided smile and it didn’t help at all. I mumbled the only line that came to my mind.

“‘You touch me, I hear the sound of mandolins.’”

“Wrong choice, Laila. He loves that song,” Louis said. Well, didn’t he? Harry laughed hard. “At this rhythm you are going to be naked soon.” Everyone laughed at his prediction.

“‘You kiss me… With your kiss my life begins. You’re spring to me, all things to me. Don’t you know you’re life itself,’” Harry spoke huskily and I felt I was almost fainting. Losing was so worthy.

“One line was just enough, Harry–––Louis pointed out. Would you like to sing it too?” He ironised.

“I love the enthymeme of the first verse…” Harry told me ignoring Louis’ remark.

“I love it too…” I muttered.

“Something literary is happening between these two–––Louis chuckled. Don’t you get it? ‘Literally/literary,’ because they say this sort of strange things to one another,” he carried on. Everyone glanced at us knowingly.

“Only Harry has the prerogative to explain his own jokes, Louis,” Liam claimed.

“Laila, stockings off,” Zayn said, moving his hand over his shoulder, still giggling.

As I was working on it, Marianne spun the bottle and got Harry. I knew she wanted Liam, because she might loose her bra.

“Let’s cut the crap. I already lost. I’m taking it, anyway,” she joked.

“Don’t be a spoilsport, love!–––Louis claimed. Let Harry do his work properly…” Liam seemed a bit annoyed.

“Speaking King's English in quotation…” Harry said.

“He’s clever. Only Joe Strummer and him could pronounce the next line,” Zayn said. It was true. It was an authentic tongue-twister. Neither I could quote that line. Why hasn’t Harry used it with me when he could or keep it to use it in the future? My only guess was, those lyrics haven’t a single romantic fibre on them.

“So, as I was saying…” And without dramatising the situation she took her bra off. Liam quickly looked away.

And then was Gemma. She played plenty of times and was doing quite well until Zayn, but she lost and reluctantly took her shirt off. Harry was not very happy about it, but they had a special rule for her: As soon as she lost the shirt, she was out of the game. Lucky Gemma.

Harry was not pleased either when Liam spun the bottle and it pointed at me. It wasn’t our first challenge and felt quite secure about myself, but it was a serious maçtter: I might lose my blouse or my trousers. Marianne was covering her bosom right next to me. Liam gave me the strangest look and spoke.

“‘I know that she knows that I'm not fond of asking…’” He said. Harry glimpsed at me. His face was a riddle.

“‘True or false, it may be. She’s still out to get me.’” Harry smiled released, but there was something else in his eyes that didn’t go away.

“Well, Liam, lose that shirt, mate,” Louis said. I saw Harry glaring at Liam. Actually, he has a very beautiful torso. Finally, it was Harry’s turn to spin the bottle. I was hoping he got somebody else, but he got me again.

“What’s wrong with this?” Louis grumbled grabbing the bottle from the floor. Harry laughed. “How do you do it, mate? Are you so determinate to get her naked you mentally control the thing?” He joked. Harry pouted. My palms were sweating as I was feeling extremely nervous.

“So, here he goes again,” Zayn told and Harry pushed both of his hands through his hair. Was he nervous too? Why was he nervous? Was he afraid to lose? He was fully clothed and in clear advantage. If I loose I would be quite naked in front of everyone.

“When you kissed my lips, with my mouth so full of questions, it's my worried mind that you quiet,” he suggestively said.

“Please, Laila, tell us you know it,” Liam said.

“I’m sorry. I recall the song, but I don’t think I know the lyrics,” I mumbled in frustration.

“Again, Laila? You are a bluff!” Louis declared.

“So, Harry, why don’t you tell Laila how it carries on?” Zayn asked playfully.

“‘Place your hands on my face, close my eyes and say love is a poor man’s food,’” Harry said gazing at me.

“Oh, it’s so romantic. Isn’t it?” They all joked. Harry’s attitude was expectant, his arms crossed over his chest. I had to think fast.

“So, love, what would it be?” Louis asked.

“Blouse is gone,” I blurted and took it off trying not to mess my hair too much. I couldn’t look at anybody after that gesture for quite a while.

For the fourth round I was the only girl in the circle. Zayn explained to me it was already some sort of victory because, usually, at that point, there’s only them left to play and they quit the game. It wasn’t very relevant because all I truly wanted was not to show them my bum and, even less, my breast. I didn’t even want to think about the possibility of Harry seeing me almost naked when we hadn’t even kissed yet. I was in such distress. But the round four turned out quite well to me and Harry, obviously. Zayn and I made Louis unclothe pretty quickly. He was very mad about it. He took his trousers off and sat glaring at us.

“My funny remarks are done too, you know,” he claimed.

“Thanks to the Lord,” Liam said rolling his eyes and everyone burst into a gigantic laugh.

“You’re going to miss me, you know it,” Louis carried on under his breath.

“Get over yourself, ‘Sun King,’” Harry said. I seemed to be the only one who got the joke and instinctively giggled; Harry looked at me kindly. Oh, my, he is so brutally clever.

For the fifth round they were only four of us: Zayn, Liam, Harry and I. We were facing each other with the bottle in the centre. Things were about to be decided. Liam and Zayn only had their trousers on and Harry was almost fully dressed. I had still my jeans and my bra on their place and planning to keep it that way. I had very low chances to finally beat Harry but my mind was working on the task, thinking about impossible lyrics. But first, we needed to get rid of that two.

With an old song from Beck I took Liam trousers off and a minute later Zayn lost theirs when Harry completed the lyrics of some New York Dolls’ song. Then it was only the two of us. We didn’t even need the bottle anymore.

“Get naked already! We are bored to death over here!” Louis snapped, pretending to be annoyed.

“No, no, Louis–––Bernie interrupted him. We didn’t get this far to quit it without actually seeing how it happens,” she said.

“‘I do admit to myself that if I hurt someone else…’” Harry spoke when I was distracted by my friend’s remark.

“Oh, no, that’s a New Order’s song!–––I exclaimed in despair. But I can’t remember the lyrics!” I looked down, my temples between my hands, trying to concentrate. It was so simple he got me.

“You can do it! Come on, Laila,” the girls cheered me up.

“Come on, Laila–––Louis repeated. You just have a few more seconds to complete it or, otherwise, you show us more skin.” He was evil. All he wanted was to increase my anxiousness and my mental block. Harry was already smiling victoriously.

“‘Then I’ll never see just what we're meant to be,’” he said huskily when he considered my time had expired.

“You loose, little clever clogs!–––Louis shouted at me. What would it be? Trousers or bra?”

“Trousers, of course,” I muttered, pretty crossed. Georgiana had done so right. That entire game was such a bad idea, but I needed to maintain my serenity.

“Come on, Laila. It’s now or never! Choose wisely,” Bernie said to me.

–.–.–

Harry’s POV

One more and she’s almost naked. At this moment, I’m so arouse by her whole attitude I can’t even think of getting up from the floor. She’s so shy but has that serenity. She is magnificent. I know she will forgive me if I win, but I’m not sure I want the boys to see her breast. But I got this far… And I don’t want to lose either. I have a reputation to maintain.

Well, she’s speaking. Let’s see what she chooses and then I’ll decide.

“‘I want you. It doesn't hurt to say I want you. I need you. I never thought I’d say I need you. I’ll keep you. Oh, yes, I’ll keep you and I’ll throw myself away.’” She pouts as she finishes. I know it’s because she’s containing a giggle. I can’t take my eyes off of her.

She is all innocence but I see that flame deep inside her eyes. She is half naked telling me those words. Her choice is so appropriate. She is teasing me so. I love this song and I loved this game we played. God, she blows my mind. Her breast already looks perfect in that beige mesh bra. Could it be more majestic? So, it’s a sentence.

“‘And I’ll break you. Because I lose myself inside you. I’ll make you fit in the space that I provide you. I’ll take you. Oh, yes, I'll take you just to push you far away.’” I can see her expression slowly transmute from impassive to desperate. The girls seem alarmed by her side.

“Naked Laila!” Louis shouts.

“Come on, mate! We said we’d be discreet,” Liam says to him. She glances up at me with a look I cannot read.

“It is fine, Laila. You can keep it. The game has ended anyway…” I say to her, letting it go. It’s the proper thing to do.

“But Harry, the rules…”

“What rules, Louis?–––I blurt. We never get this far. So I’m making the rules and the bra is on.”

“See? As I told you the other day: You are not fun at parties…” He says playing the offended.

Laila glimpses at me while grabbing her clothes from the floor and quietly she stands up in the middle of her friends, who are probably saying I’m a true gentleman. She is like a Venus in some Botticelli’s painting. For God’s sake, I sound just like Swann.

–.–.–

Notes

Anglo-saxon Musical Spin the Bottle, you should definitely try it at home.

Harry, a true gentleman, but when will they kiss? Come on, you guys!

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