Chapter 15: The Ultimate Gamble

Briar paced back and forth in their living room, a storm of thoughts raging in her mind. She had tried everything to get out of this, to end things with Cassie before she fell even harder than she already had. The over-the-top breakup scene had failed. The sabotage attempts were laughably transparent. And now… now she was at the point of no return.

There was only one thing left to try.

The kiss.

It was supposed to be simple. She’d kiss Cassie, and Cassie would be horrified. Sure, they kissed while playing that dumb bottle game…but that wasn’t intimate like this would be. She’d recoil in disgust or confusion, and Briar could finally claim she’d done everything in her power to end it. This whole thing was a bad idea, right? They were worlds apart, so why was she letting herself get wrapped up in these feelings?

Briar growled under her breath, her tail flicking back and forth behind her. She didn’t even know why she was doing this anymore. Cassie didn’t care about the fact that she was a demon. Cassie didn’t care about anything except the fact that Briar was there, and the more time Briar spent with her, the more she realized—despite her best efforts—that she didn’t mind.

That’s why you need to stop it before it gets worse, Briar thought. She was so close to just giving in and letting things happen, but she couldn’t let that happen. She had to end this. She had to make Cassie hate her, if only to keep herself from falling off this cliff of emotions.

So, tonight was the night.

Briar took one last deep breath and checked the clock. Cassie was in the kitchen, putting away some leftovers. Briar gritted her teeth, moving quickly, gathering all her resolve.

She waited until Cassie turned away for just a second—her back to Briar—and that’s when Briar made her move.

Without another thought, she crossed the room in a few quick strides, her tail swishing behind her with an almost mindless urgency. Cassie didn’t see her coming, but before she could turn around, Briar grabbed her face—firmly, forcefully.

“Cassie,” she whispered in a tone that was almost too calm. “This has to end.”

Before Cassie could even react, Briar pressed her lips to hers. The kiss was far too aggressive, almost violent, like a character straight out of one of those over-the-top anime where the protagonist kisses their love interest in a way that definitely doesn’t work in real life. Briar had no idea what she was trying to prove—if she even was trying to prove anything at all. But she wanted it to be jarring. She wanted Cassie to freak out.

Her tail, of course, had a mind of its own. It wrapped around Cassie’s waist, pulling her closer, tightening its grip around her as though to trap her in this moment. Briar felt it, the warmth of Cassie against her, the softness of her lips, and immediately regretted everything.

Why did I do this? Briar thought, her body frozen in a mix of panic and something far more dangerous that made her chest tighten. She’s going to hate me now. She has to hate me now.

And then, something unexpected happened.

Instead of pulling away, Cassie kissed her back. Gently. Softly. Like she meant it.

Briar’s mind blanked. Her heart skipped a beat. Her whole body froze in shock as Cassie’s lips moved against hers with surprising tenderness. There was no panic, no recoil, just the slow, deliberate press of Cassie’s kiss as though she was savoring it.

Cassie wasn’t disgusted. She wasn’t running away.

In fact, she was kissing back.

Briar’s brain could not process this. Every inch of her body screamed at her to pull away, to break the kiss, but she couldn’t. Her tail, as if in direct defiance of her mental panic, tightened even more around Cassie’s waist. The unexpected warmth and pressure shot straight through Briar’s chest, making her heart race faster.

Cassie’s hands slid up to Briar’s shoulders, drawing her in closer, and just as Briar’s thoughts turned into static, Cassie pulled away. Slowly. Gently.

Briar stood there, absolutely dumbstruck. Her breath was shallow, her mind an utter mess of confusion and heat, and she had no idea how to react.

Cassie pulled back, looking at her with an eyebrow arched in that teasing way Briar had learned to recognize.

“That all you got, demon girl?” Cassie asked, her voice playful, but there was an undeniable spark in her eyes—one that made Briar’s heart feel like it was about to explode out of her chest.

Briar blinked, utterly flustered. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Cassie grinned wider, and Briar’s thoughts scattered like a storm. How was she supposed to deal with this? How was she supposed to explain away this… this situation?

“Uh…” Briar tried to speak, but she couldn’t even form a coherent sentence. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to scream or kiss Cassie again. Maybe both. “I—I didn’t—this was supposed to be a—uh… a thing—like, to freak you out, you know? Not, uh, not this.”

Cassie laughed softly, and for a moment, Briar was sure she was going to combust from the pressure of trying to make sense of what was happening.

“You didn’t freak me out, Briar,” Cassie said with a smile that was both soft and knowing, as if she saw right through the panic in Briar’s eyes. “I think you just made things a little more complicated for yourself.”

Briar’s blush deepened, and she groaned, covering her face with her hands. “I’m an idiot.”

“Yup, but you’re my idiot,” Cassie said teasingly, reaching out to gently pull Briar’s hands away from her face.

Briar looked at her in disbelief. “You don’t want me to leave? You don’t want me to stop being around you? After that?”

Cassie shrugged with that carefree smile that made Briar feel like she was losing her mind. “Nah. I’m kind of into you, demon girl. That kiss? Definitely not the worst thing you’ve done.”

“Why... why are you so—” Briar began, but her words faltered. She didn’t know what to say. She wanted to scream, to demand to know how Cassie could be so nonchalant, so unbothered by this whole chaotic mess.

But then Cassie leaned in, brushing a hand gently against Briar’s cheek, and Briar stopped thinking entirely.

“I’m not going anywhere, Briar,” Cassie whispered softly, her voice a calming balm against Briar’s frantic mind. “You’re stuck with me. And you might want to stop running from this.”

Briar’s heart raced as she processed the words, her mind still a jumble of conflicting emotions.

She was stuck. She had kissed Cassie, and Cassie had kissed her back. And now there was no way out.