Page 110 of Take the Plunge

“The All-Stars.”

“Cheesy, but it’ll do.” Aria writes it down on the answer paper.

A bell rings, and the bartender announces a general knowledge round. Between us, we answer most of the questions in the first round, and I’m fairly certain we’ve got them correct. With no time to chat between questions, I observe Kian’s friends instead. Aria keeps glancing at me. She’s probably deciding whether I’m good enough for Kian. Hopefully, she decides I am. Nathan and Elouise are definitely a couple, and Olly and Klara have some serious sexual tension. Kian rests his hand on my thigh and leaves it there for the whole of the first round, slowly stroking his thumb over my jeans. I wrap my arm around his shoulders.

“What do you do?” Aria asks me when the round finishes.

“I work in IT.”

“Boring,” Nathan says. “I’d hate to be stuck in an office all day.”

“Nathan’s a gardener,” Kian says.

That explains his tanned skin.

Aria leans towards me. “Kian obviously thinks you’re cool, and you were pretty decent at answering questions, so I guess that makes you one of us now.” She wags her finger in front of my face. “Unless you hurt Kian. Then we’ll hunt you down.”

Kian laughs. “She’s joking.”

“I’m not. Hurt him, and you answer to all of us.”

Kian’s cheeks flush. I brush my knuckles over his hot skin. He smiles at me, his eyes turning into half moons.

“Understood,” I say in a solemn tone. “I don’t intend to hurt him.” I mean it with every fibre of my being. I kiss his hair and inhale his scent.

Kian knocks his shoulder against mine.

Aria folds her arms and raises her chin. “Good.”

“Can you turn your scary mode off now?” Olly asks. “You’re giving me the shivers.”

Aria gives him a death stare.

The next round is sports. I only know a couple of the answers, but Olly shines.

In the next break between rounds, Elouise shows us some of the nail designs she’s done this week. I know nothing about nail art and care about it even less, but even I’m impressed. Klara tells me about her pet tarantula, presumably to see if I’ll be freaked out. I’m pretty neutral when it comes to spiders. I’m not scared of them, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to be around them either.

As the evening progresses, I become more relaxed around Kian’s friends. They’re a fun bunch. At times, I feel a little on the outside of their banter, but they all do their best to involve me, and for the most part, they avoid topics I’ll have no clue about, like their shared past.

At the end of the quiz, we swap answer sheets with another table. Once all the answers have been read out and the sheets have been marked, each table has to call out the result of the team they marked.

“We won,” Aria squeals, jumping up and punching the air. She does a victory dance. “We won.” She gives the Hell’s Dancers team a smug smile and then sits. “You’re all right, Jett.”

“Because he helped us win?” Nathan asks.

“Yes.”

He rolls his eyes.

“You’re welcome.” I chuckle.

“Are you coming again next week?” Aria asks.

“No,” Kian says. “We’re going to Scotland next weekend.”

“The weekend after then?”

“I don’t see why not.”