She avoids my gaze.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun,” she says, batting her eyelashes. “And besides, I know you’re as competitive as I am.”
“Fine,” I say, leaning back. “But if we do this, we’re crushing them.”
She gives me a satisfied smile. “Naturally.”
A moment later, the waiter comes back with our drinks and a QR code. “You need to download the app and enter your team name. The MC will take it from there in a few minutes.”
Katherine raises her eyebrows at me. “Suggestions?”
“‘Casually Competitive’?”
She smiles. “Fitting.” After entering our team name on her phone, she places it between us.
“How was work today?”
She scrunches her face. “Quiet. No dramatic late-night traumas, no broken ribs, no ‘someone’s done something unbelievably stupid and is now stuck with something they shouldn’t be.’”
“That’s oddly specific.”
She nods. “Oh, you’d be surprised. Last week, one guy came in with a table leg stuck through his—actually, you know what? Enjoy your drink.”
I put my drink down. “That bad, huh?”
“You have no idea,” she says, her lips twitching with a grin. “But seriously, yesterday was boring. Which is good.”
The waiter returns with our food. Kat’s chicken burger is stacked almost too high to eat politely, and my plate of fish and chips is steaming like a dream.
“Wow,” I say after a few bites. “You weren’t lying about the food.”
“You really doubted my honesty?” she teases before taking a bite. “I’m hurt. Like I said, I’ve been here before, and it’s really good.”
I try not to wonder who she came here with and focus instead on her… and these incredible chips.
We chat about her job—still avoiding the gory details—and when she asks about my training, I keep it vague, not in the mood to admit I played like a hungover raccoon today. Luckily, a voice booms over the speakers, saving me.
“Ladies and gents!” A guy in a loud floral shirt steps up, a mic in one hand, a tablet in the other. “Welcome to Tuesday Night Trivia here at The Queen’s Pint! Tonight’s theme is ‘Totally Random,’ which means anything goes. History, movies, pop culture, science, royal scandals… we’re testing your knowledge of it all. So, log in, warm up those brain cells, and may the best team win! We’ve got six rounds—no cheating, no googling—and if you win this first round, there’s a £25 gift card with your name on it.”
Kat pops a chip in her mouth, then grins. “You ready?”
“I was born ready,” I say, cracking my knuckles.
A bell chimes, and the first question pops up on screen:
“What is the capital of Uganda?”
Kat’s eyebrows lift as she looks at me. “Well, if you get this one wrong, I’m walking out.”
I grin, rolling my eyes. “Please. Kampala.”
She taps it into her phone, her lips twitching. “That was just a warm-up, wasn’t it?”
“Better have been,” I say, glancing around, but the other teams seem to be struggling. “I told you the Universe was playing with us. First question is about Uganda, really?”
She chuckles. “You’re unbelievable. Can’t accept coincidences, can you?”
