The Bet

By lunchtime, the entire university knew that Dante Cole had nearly started a fight over Ariana Vale, and whispers followed her through campus like smoke. Girls stared openly, football players smirked when she passed, and even professors seemed distracted during lectures. Ariana wanted to disappear. Instead, she sat in Advanced Media Studies trying not to throw her phone across the room as notifications exploded nonstop.

YOU AND DANTE?? girl are you alive he's insane for you omg what happened in the hallway??

Nothing had happened. That was the problem. Nothing had officially happened between her and Dante for months, but somehow he still moved through her life like a storm that refused to pass.

"Ariana?"

She looked up sharply. Professor Bennett stood beside her desk holding a clipboard. "You'll be covering the football fundraiser gala this Saturday."

Her stomach dropped instantly. "No."

The professor blinked. "No?"

"I mean…" Ariana forced a tight smile. "Sure. Sounds terrific."

"It's mandatory."

Of course it was. Westbridge worshipped football too much to let anyone escape it, especially anything connected to Dante Cole.

The bell rang a minute later and Ariana packed her things quickly, hoping to escape before anyone stopped her. No such luck.

"You dating Satan now?"

Ariana groaned as Zoe caught up beside her outside the classroom. "Please stop speaking."

"You didn't answer."

"Because I value my blood pressure."

Zoe grinned wickedly. "He looked ready to commit murder this morning."

"That's his resting personality."

They turned the corner toward the student courtyard and stopped immediately. A crowd of students had gathered near the campus fountain, loud and excited, and Westbridge crowds usually meant drama. Standing directly in the middle of it was Dante, leaning lazily against his black Aston Martin while several football players laughed nearby and girls circled around them shamelessly. Dante ignored every single one, until his eyes lifted straight to Ariana.

The crowd noticed immediately, which made everything even worse.

"Oh no," Zoe whispered. "He's looking at you."

"I can tell."

Dante pushed away from the car slowly, and the movement alone shifted the energy around him. Too much confidence, too much control, too much danger wrapped inside one person. Ariana hated how aware of him she became whenever he got close, like her body betrayed her before her mind could catch up.

He stopped in front of her. "You blocked me."

"You threatened someone before breakfast."

"You still blocked me."

Ariana crossed her arms. "You survived."

A football player behind Dante snorted, and another muttered, "Damn," because nobody spoke to Dante like this. Nobody except her.

Dante studied her face quietly for a moment. "You coming Saturday?"

Ariana frowned. "To the fundraiser?"

"Yeah, Unfortunately."

One corner of his mouth lifted slightly, not a real smile, because Dante rarely smiled like normal people. "You clean up nice," he said.

Ariana blinked. That caught her completely off guard, and judging by the stunned silence around them, it shocked everyone else too.

Before she could respond, a tall brunette appeared beside Dante and wrapped herself around his arm possessively. "Baby, are we leaving?"

Ariana stepped back emotionally. There it was, the reminder she needed,that Dante was still Dante. Campus king, professional flirt, walking disaster. The brunette looked Ariana up and down dismissively, and Dante noticed instantly.

"Go wait in the car, Serena."

The girl pouted. "But—"

"Now." Cold and sharp. Serena's expression fell before she walked away stiffly.

Ariana stared at him flatly. "You collect girlfriends the way serial killers collect evidence."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"how comforting."

Something unreadable flickered across Dante's face. Then one of the football players called out loudly from behind him: "Yo, Cole! Tell her about the bet!"

Dante went completely still, and Ariana noticed immediately. Her stomach sank slowly as she looked back at him.

"What bet?"

Nobody spoke. The players suddenly looked uncomfortable, and Ariana's pulse started climbing. "What. Bet."

Dante's jaw tightened. "Ariana—"

"No. Tell me."

The entire courtyard had gone awkwardly quiet, like everybody knew something she didn't. Finally, one drunk idiot near the fountain laughed nervously and muttered, "Just the one where Dante said he could make you fall for him before football season ends."

The world stopped completely. Ariana stared at Dante, waiting, praying that wasn't true. Dante didn't deny it, and somehow that hurt more than if he had laughed in her face.