Chapter seven: The bet
1338 Words
*Ariana's Pov*
Thirty minutes. That’s how long I lasted sitting in that booth pretending I wasn’t bored out of my mind.
The music was too loud, the air too hot, and Kian?
Kian was doing Kian things. Dancing with two different girls I didn’t know, laughing like he didn’t see me watching. Now he was over by the bar, talking to some guys, drink in hand, looking annoyingly unbothered.
Typical.
I downed the last of my drink and set the glass down harder than I meant to. If I was going to be stuck here, I might as well make it worth it.
Then I heard it.
“Challenge! Anyone! Anybody at all!”
Near the back, a guy was standing over the beer pong table, grinning like he owned the place. Cups cleared, ball in hand, and nobody stepping up.
I stood before I thought about it.
“Me.”
Heads turned.
I walked over, set my bag down on a chair, smirked at him.
“Let’s see if you’re as good as you sound.”
He looked at me as though I had made a big mistake walking up to the table, eyes lighting up like he’d just won already.
“Okay, beautiful,” he said, cracking his knuckles. “Don’t cry when I beat you.”
I just smiled back.
The game started fast.
First round, I missed. He cheered like he’d already won.
Second round, I sank two in a row. His grin dropped.
By the third, I’d cleared his side while he was still fumbling.
When the last cup went down, the table went quiet for half a second.
Then it exploded.
People were clapping, whistling, some guy cursing because he’d bet on him.
“Whoa, she smoked him!”
“No way, run it back!”
I handed my bag off to a girl next to me, rolling my shoulders.
“Who’s next?”
Another guy stepped up. Cocky, taller, tried to distract me with trash talk. Didn’t work. I won in four turns.
Then another. And another.
I wasn’t even trying that hard. It felt good. The noise, the lights, the way people started watching just to see if I’d lose.
By the fourth win, someone was chanting something. I didn’t even catch what it was, but I liked the sound of it.
When I drained the last cup against guy number five, I wiped my hands on my dress and looked around.
“Who’s next?”
The crowd went quiet.
For two seconds.
Then Kian’s voice cut through it, low and amused from behind me.
“Me.”
The place erupted. Cheering, laughing, someone yelling “finally!”
I turned around slow, and there he was, leaning against the table with that smirk I hated and wanted to wipe off at the same time.
He looked pleased. Like I’d just made his night more interesting.
I crossed my arms.
“You’re about to lose, Kian.”
His eyes dragged over me, slow and deliberate.
“We’ll see about that.”
“We’ll see about that,” I said, picking up the ball and giving it a little toss in my palm.
Kian just watched me, arms crossed, that infuriating smirk still there.
“You won’t beat me,” I said, louder this time, letting the crowd hear it. “I’ve been playing since you were over there flirting with the bar.”
I nodded toward where he’d been talking to those guys. “You don’t even know how to hold the ball right.”
His smirk twitched.
“What if I do?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Then I’ll let you buy me another drink. Big deal.”
He stepped closer, voice dropping just for me.
“Nah. Too small.”
The crowd was watching now, sensing it.
I wasn’t about to back down.
“Fine,” I said. “If I win, you owe me three favors. Anything I ask, no questions. You have to do it.”
Kian’s brows lifted, but he didn’t look worried.
“And if I win?” He asked instead
I opened my mouth to say _Then I'll owe you three favors. Anything you ask,no questions_, but he beat me to it.
“You’ll wear a vibrator for 24 hours,” he said casually, like he was ordering a drink. “And I get to turn it on whenever I want.”
The words hit, and for a second my brain stalled.
My face heated, and I definitely didn’t hide the shock fast enough. He said it for only me to hear but my reaction made others wonder what it was,I could see the curiosity on their faces.
Kian didn’t even flinch. He just adjusted his sleeve, like he hadn’t just dropped that. Like we were talking about the weather.
I recovered fast.
“24 hours?” I said, trying to keep my voice level. “Make it 12.”
He tilted his head, studying me.
“So you _do_ think you might lose.”
“Shut up,” I shot back. “Fine. 24 hours. But wipe that smirk off your face first.”
He didn’t.
If anything, it got worse. He just rolled his sleeve up slowly, eyes never leaving mine.
“Let’s start.”
We reset the cups.
First round, I sank two clean shots. The crowd cheered, and I felt that little rush of confidence. Kian missed both.
“See?” I said, smirking back at him.
Next round, he hit two in a row. My smirk dropped.
The table went from _she’s got this_ to _oh s**t_ in about five seconds.
We traded wins, back and forth. Every time I thought I had him, he’d land a shot that made the crowd roar. Every time he got ahead, I’d answer with two.
People were leaning over the table, betting on the side, shouting tips. Some were on my side, some were on his, but all of them were watching like this was the main event.
It came down to the last two cups.
Mine.
His.
My hand was steady when I threw.
Miss.
The groan from the crowd was instant.
Kian picked up the ball, slow. He didn’t rush. Didn’t gloat. Just looked at me once, that smirk still there, and tossed.
It dropped clean into the cup.
Silence.
Then the place exploded.
“NO WAY!”
“Kian! Kian!”
“She was so close!”
I stood there for a second, staring at the cup like it had personally betrayed me.
Kian didn’t gloat. Didn’t need to. He just set the ball down, stepped back, and said,
“Guess you’re getting that package tomorrow.”
The crowd lost it again, and I just crossed my arms, trying to keep my face neutral while my pulse was doing something ridiculous.
He didn’t wipe the smirk off.
He didn't have to.
The cheering didn’t stop, but Kian didn’t stick around to soak it in.
He clapped me once on the shoulder, all casual like we hadn’t just made me bet that....then turned and walked straight back into the crowd.
Within seconds he was laughing with those guys at the bar again, drink back in hand, acting like nothing happened.
The crowd was still talking about it though.
“She’s good!”
“Kian never loses!”
"I wonder what he made her bet on—”
I didn’t stick around to hear the rest.
I grabbed my bag, ignored the few people still looking my way, and headed to the bar. The music was louder over here, which was fine. I needed it to drown out the heat still sitting on my face.
I ordered something strong, didn’t even check what it was.
He wasn’t really going to do it, right?
Kian said stuff just to get under my skin.. Half the things that came out of his mouth were just to see me react. This had to be the same.
He couldn’t actually expect me to—
- Writer
