Andmaybeshe wanted to be.
Across the table,Penny and Dan were chaos in motion.
Penny whispered wrong answers just loud enough to draw amused glances from nearby tables, her grin unapologetic. Dan played along with exaggerated disapproval, shaking his head like he hadn’t surrendered to her brand of mayhem.
The host’s voice cut through the chatter, booming with theatrical flair.
“All right, everyone! The next category is… Science!”
A collective roar of“SCIENCE!”erupted across the brewery, part inside joke, part battle cry.
Penny sprang to her feet, fists raised. “Finally! All those hours of science podcasts are about to pay off.”
Dan leaned back, arms crossed. “Sure. You probably think Schrödinger’s cat is a meme.”
Penny gasped, wounded. “Excuse me, Daniel—I’ll have you know I wasthis closeto becoming a mad scientist in another life.”
Arden snorted. “You’d be more mad than scientist.”
“Semantics,” Penny said breezily, twirling a strand of lavender hair.
When the host asked, “What iconic structure was completed in 1889?” Arden didn’t hesitate.
“Eiffel Tower,” she said, scribbling the answer. “Took just over two years to build. Everyone hated it at first.”
Gideon’s voice cut in, lower, thoughtful. “Most great things are hated at first. People fear what they don’t understand.”
She glanced at him, catching the quiet weight behind his words. “You’re not wrong. Funny thing is, now they can’t imagine the skyline without it.”
He didn’t waver. “Kind of like you here.”
Her pen stilled; her pulse skipped.
“I don’t think I’m exactly Eiffel Tower material,” she said lightly. “Bit too blunt for that.”
Gideon’s smirk was slow, but his eyes held steady. “Maybe. But you’re hard to miss.”
The air between them shifted again. Charged.
Penny shouted, “See? Eiffel Tower! That’s what I said!”
Dan groaned. “You said ‘Big Ben.’”
“Close enough,” she replied, unfazed.
The night stretchedin a blur of laughter, drinks, and banter. Questions came and went. Arden and Gideon leaned in closer with each round, their jabs turning quieter, sharper—skirting the edge of something else entirely. Across from them, Penny and Dan escalated into full-blown performance art, drawing attention from half the room.
By the final round, anticipation pulsed through the crowd.
The host stepped up to the mic, dragging out the reveal.
“And the winners are?—”
Penny shot up, arms raised like she’d just snatched the trophy herself.
“That’s right! Bow to your trivia queen!”
Dan buried his face in his hands. “Beginner’s luck is not a personality trait.”
