Page 42 of Taming Grumpy Dr. Beast

Ms. Ketill gasped. “I consider myself a superfan and even I wouldn’t be able to answer every question right.”

This was going to be easier than I expected. I rubbed my hands together. “And if you don’t?”

She tossed me a sly grin. “Then I pay you.”

“Deal.” I put my hand out for her to shake.

The moment her fingers touched mine that familiar zing whipped through me. Her pupils dilated as my thumb lightly rubbed against the back of her hand. The sound of our appetizer dishes being placed on the table broke the spell and I let go.

Soon after we started eating the emcee announced that the game was about to begin.

“We need a team name.” Paul reminded us as he grabbed the video screen.

“Rhody Rams,” Dean said.

“Rhode Island Reds,” I suggested. Why not if we were going with the animal theme.

“Nibbles Woodaway?” Lily suggested.

“Oh, what an adorable name!” Ms Ketill said. “What is it for?”

Lily let out a soft chuckle. “It’s the big blue bug you see when you drive by Providence on Route 95. They dress him up for all the holidays.”

“How can we be taken seriously with a name like that?” I scoffed.

“It sounds like you hate it?” Dean asked, a smirk lifting the corners of his mouth.

It was better to not respond to him.

“I also vote for Team Nibbles,” Dean said. I knew he picked it to bust my balls.

Paul groaned, but went along with the rest of the group.

The emcee stood on a low stage set up at the end of the room. “Welcome everyone to trivia night. We’ve had so much fun since we started this event three months ago, don’t forget at the end of the night we take suggestions for future trivia themes.” He paced the stage throwing us a friendly grin. “Let’s go over the rules ...”

I tuned out the emcee and watched Lily. She leaned in, paying close attention to the directions being spouted off. My thoughts drifted to our bet. From what I’d learned about Lily in the last few days, she was book smart, not pop culture smart. Yet she didn’t seem to be someone who took unnecessary chances. Not that I’d take her money when I won, but what was it about the Beatles that had her so confident she could beat me?

“Okay everyone, let’s start with question number one.” The emcee clicked a button and the question appeared on the large screen behind him and on the small screen at our table. “Who was the original drummer for the Beatles?”

“Pete Best,” Lily, Ms. Ketill, and I said at the same time.

Lily tossed me a sly smile.

I shrugged. It was only one question and it was rather easy.

The next questions stumped me. “How many movies were filmed of the Beatles in black and white?”

“One,” Lily whispered, looking around to make sure the other tables didn’t hear her.

“You didn’t even hear the options,” Paul said, in astonishment.

“I don’t need to. Come on, I know I’m right,” she insisted.

“Listen to her Paul,” Ms. Ketill demanded and looked at Lily with curious eyes.

The next question in this round, and all three of the second round, went the same way. Each one Lily answered within seconds of it flashing across our screen and she was right every time.

Lily was now clapping in delight as it was announced we had a perfect score in round three going into round four. Other tables were eyeing us and there seemed to be additional servers hovering nearby. I guessed it was to make sure we weren’t using an electronic device to help us win.