Page 40 of The Hardest Fall

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but did you say I’m going to beg you?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.”

“I stand corrected—you are full of yourself,” she marveled.

“You don’t believe me? That’s fine—means you’ll win. Let’s make the bet.”

“Did you forget about the part where I told you I had a boyfriend?”

I hadn’t, and I didn’t like it, but I was still unsure about her dating situation. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if she was telling the truth or not, if I was being honest. She’d said it was complicated, and complicated never boded well for a relationship. He was probably a douchebag anyway. “You said it was complicated. Things change, and again, the worst that can happen is you’ll win the bet. What do you have to lose?”

“Not always. Sometimes things don’t change.”

“I have a feeling about this one.”

“Oh yeah?” She crossed her arms, making her oversized t-shirt hike up a few more inches on those smooth legs. If I looked long enough, hard enough, could I see that hint of soft blue again? “Care to share that feeling with the rest of us?”

My gaze snapped back up, and I lifted my shoulder in a half shrug. “Scared to lose? If you’re so sure of yourself, why not just take the bet?”

“I’m not gonna fall at your feet”—she wildly swung her hand in my direction—“just because I saw you half naked. A lot of guys work out. I’ve watched a lot of guys work out.”

One side of my mouth quirked up. “If you think that’s what makes me special—the fact that I have muscles—you’re definitely in for a surprise. Come on, what do you have to lose? I’m not gonna try to seduce you, I promise. In fact, I promise I’m not even gonna mention this bet again. Just an innocent game between friends. We’ll still be buddies, like you said.”

She started tugging on her lower lip with her fingers, thinking over everything I was saying. “Then why make the bet in the first place? I’m not saying I’d want you to seduce me or anything, not that you could anyway since I’m not even affected by half-naked bodies“—her hands moved in the air to indicate said half-naked body before going back to her pink lips—“and clearly, I wouldn’t want you to—”

“Clearly,” I repeated right after her.

“So, why?” she shot back, ignoring my amused words.

“Why not?”

She huffed. “That’s not an answer.”

I pushed away from the counter and she took a step back. “It’s okay. I understand if you don’t trust yourself around me.”

She raised her chin just a bit higher and gave me a flat look. “Cute. What do I get if I win?”

“Whatever you want?”

“That’s a lot of rein you’re giving me. What if I ask you to…okay forget about it, I’m not gonna give it away. I have to think about it some more.”

I nodded. That was fair.

“What are the rules?” she asked, her fingers finally leaving her lips alone. “The time frame?”

“No rules. Nothing changes. It’s just a harmless bet between two friends, nothing more, promise. As for the time frame…let’s say before I graduate. I don’t think you’ll take that long, but, just in case.”

A saccharine smile touched her lips, surprising a genuine grin out of me. I half expected her to flip me the bird while she was at it, but then she pressed her lips together, her expression turning serious. “What do you get out of this?”

Even though I hadn’t thought that far ahead since kissing her would be a win all on its own, I realized I didn’t even have to think about it. “If I win, I get to have a second kiss…and a third one. After all, three seems to be the magic number with us.”

Instead of making their way up to her lips, her fingers tugged and twisted the tiny charm hanging at the end of her silver necklace, just a little above her breasts. If the color of her bra straps were anything to go by, she was wearing matching underwear, which was a thing that got me going. A sexy set of matching underwear kicked everything up a notch for me.

She squared her shoulders, and I forced myself to snap out of imagining what kind of underwear she had underneath that faded t-shirt before my dick could salute her. “I’m really good at bets, just so you know,” she said eventually. “And I’ve never begged to kiss anyone in my life, Dylan.”

“Are you just as good with them as you are with impromptu staring contests?” I gave her a half shrug and tried to keep my smile at a minimum. “It doesn’t matter. I like the idea of being your first, Zoe.”

One side of her lip quirked up. “Make fun all you want. Better watch out—that’s all I’m saying.”

“See, then you have nothing to worry about. You’ll be safe from my lips.”