Page 9 of The Bet
The next morning, the Century College cafeteria is a dry run for Hell: fluorescent lighting, scorched coffee smell, the drip-drip-drip of some eternal air handler, and the wall-to-wall chorus of hungover voices. I walk in with a bruise on my neck (hickey, actually), a fresh ache in my asshole, and the tentative steps of a girl who’s limping from deep, yet satisfying anal sex.
It takes thirty seconds to spot the girls. They’re at the northeast window table, three golden heads gleaming in the morning sun, like a toothpaste commercial. Stella sits with her back ramrod-straight, spooning Chobani into her mouth in demure little swipes. Kayleigh sprawls on two chairs, leggings painted to her calves, eating a breakfast burrito like it’s payback for a war crime. Mary Kate, in a pink cable-knit sweater, sips her latte and scrolls her phone, hair tucked behind one ear like she’s auditioning for a Target ad.
I limp over, tray in hand, my own breakfast untouched and only for show. My stomach is still doing flips from last night, and my brain can barely keep up with the present. I slide into the empty chair at the table’s edge.
“Hey bitches,” I say, voice only a little raspy.
Kayleigh grins. “Someone’s walking like she got hit by a freight train.”
Stella drops her spoon, eyes wide. “Did you stay out all night?”
Mary Kate gives me the side-eye, not unkindly. “Did you even sleep? You look rough, girlfriend. No offense.”
I place my phone on the table, screen-down, and fold my hands like I’m about to pray. “Ladies,” I say, channeling my inner Bond villain, “I have an announcement.”
Stella leans forward, eyes wide. “Did you?—?”
Kayleigh interrupts, shrill: “Did you get laid?”
Mary Kate claps a hand to her mouth, gasping. “Oh my god. Andie. Did youwin?”
I tap my nails against the table, savoring the build. “Well,” I purr, “I’m prepared to claim victory, but there are some extenuating circumstances.”
Kayleigh’s burrito freezes midair. “Spill. All of it. Now.”
Stella’s eyes bug out. “Wait. Who was it? Was it Jake Namors? Please say it wasn’t my hot T.A. because I was going to try and bag him?—”
I flip my phone over, unlock it, and thumb to the single photo I managed to snap last night. The picture is nothing but a handand a cock—no face, no clues—just the monster shaft itself, glistening with what can only be described as a gorgeous mix of bodily fluids, the head thick and swollen, a pearly trail beading along the underside.
“Ladies,” I say, “please admire the single greatest achievement of my life.”
Stella lets out a high whine and covers her face. Kayleigh is speechless, which is new; she just gapes, then lets out a breathy, “No. Fucking. Way.” Mary Kate leans in, then recoils, blushing so hard her ears turn magenta.
Kayleigh’s voice comes back online. “I feel like that’s against the Geneva Convention because it’s so big. It’s a missile. No, it’s a warhead.”
I cackle. “Right? The thing is, it looks even bigger in person. Like I was scared for my literal health.”
Mary Kate peers closer, whispering: “Did it even fit?”
Stella, peeking between her fingers, finally manages, “Oh my god, how long did it take him to work it inside you? Hours, right?”
Kayleigh: “Wait, whose is it?”
I shrug like it’s no big deal. “Never got a name. Never saw a face. He was just there. I ran into him outside the Faculty Club at 11 p.m. last night. Literally, because he has a chest like a wall, and I thought I broke my nose at first.”
Mary Kate chews her lip. “Oh my god, you hooked up with a stranger? Like is that safe?”
“He was wearing an expensive suit,” I say gamely, “so I don’t think he was some random homeless person. But you guys, he was so fucking hot. Like, mind-erasingly hot. The whole thing was so fast, I barely had time to process.”
Kayleigh: “I need every single detail. Did he at least buy you dinner first?”
I shake my head, grinning. “Nope. I was walking, he was lurking. Next thing I knew, I was up against the wall. He just took control.”
Stella pauses delicately: “Was it consensual?”
“God, yes,” I say, my face heating. “I wanted it so bad. Like, I didn’t even know I wanted it until he touched me. My whole body just completely flipped and I was moaning for it like a whore.”
Kayleigh: “I’m so jealous I could cry.”
