The Bet

Chapter 6

"You kissed?!" I'd unintentionally raised my voice, but Killian wasn't affected by it. He stirred the whiskey in his glass and smirked as he shot Peter and Ruby a glance. Though they didn't want to admit it, I could see they were curious to see how this bet would end.

"With tongue and all. We may have fondled a bit here and there. Regina, you don't stand a chance. Emma is falling for me so hard," Killian said.

I squinted my eyes and sipped my beer. Emma and he had had their second date yesterday and Emma and my second "date" was tomorrow. "You know, Killian, that doesn't matter," I said, "because I've kissed and fondled tons of girls without having feelings for them. Emma is actually falling in love with me, because we're focusing on an emotional bond and a deep, meaningful, though one sided relationship."

"Have you guys considered," Ruby started and eyed her boyfriend, "that maybe in the end, she'll fall in love with both of you? What are you going to do then? Become a throuple? Because I don't see you two in a relationship just yet."

I gagged at the idea of being in a relationship with Killian. He was my best friend and I loved him with all that I had, but a romantic relationship might just be the worst possible idea anyone could ever have.

"Ruby, you're getting this all wrong," Killian replied. "She can't tell us both at the same time she loves us and when she says the words to either of us, we're immediately gonna dump her. It's that simple."

Peter and Ruby shared a gaze. "That's so evil," Peter said. "And really low. I genuinely expected better from both of you."

"You've always had high expectations of us," I remarked and Peter rolled his eyes at me.

"Remind me why we're friends with you two again?" Ruby said and Killian looked at me with a smile.

"Beats me," he said with a shrug and I nodded. We'd met Ruby and Peter in college. They'd already been in a relationship back then and they were still surprisingly happy together. Killian and I had both been friends but horrible at making new friends and because no one liked being friends with a couple as clingy as Peter and Ruby, except for us, we became a group of friends. It worked out very well.

"Because you love us and we love you," I said and kissed Ruby on the cheek. "Let me get another round." I got up and when I did, the door to the bar opened and Emma entered.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I invited her here," Killian said with a sly grin and if I hadn't been so busy running away, to make sure she didn't notice us together, I would've slapped him.

I leaned against the bar and saw Killian waving at Emma, she saw him and walked closer to my usual booth, but I approached her meanwhile. "Emma?"

Emma turned towards me and I shot Killian a quick glance. He looked disappointed, what made me even happier. She greeted me with an embrace. We'd never hugged before, but it felt nice and comforting.

"The man in the first booth on your left is him," she whispered in my ear and I felt her breaths tingling my skin. "Killian, the guy I went out with. He suggested I come to the bar and I didn't have anything else to do, but he's with his friends and I have no clue what to do. Can you come with me?"

She kept hugging me to subtly tell me what was going on, but the long hug was more suspicious than her talking to me like usual. I didn't mind though, I liked having her in my arms.

Emma slightly pulled away to look at my face and see what I was thinking of her plan. There was just no way I could pull this off without her finding out about the bet, so I apologetically shook my head.

"I'm sorry, Em, but if you want things to work out between you and Killian, it's best if he doesn't meet me. I make really bad first impressions, I wouldn't be of any help." I put my hand on her shoulder and caressed her neck with my thumb. I tried to do these kind of small, affectionate gestures, to make her someday realize how much she likes my touch and how much she loves me.