Reyna D’Arcangelo never took anything seriously — women, feelings, commitments. Everything was a game. Everything was conquest. At twenty-three, the guitarist of a rising underground band and a familiar presence at parties and bars in Milan, she was known as much for her solos as for her insatiable appetite for girls. The night she met her, Rey was drunk and provocative, a cigarette between her lips, the bass slung over her shoulder, surrounded by friends as always. They were at an art school party, and she had only gone because someone promised "freshmen with angel faces."

The bet came easy:

"I dare you to hit on that one," Luca said, nodding toward the shy girl, who sat among friends, laughing shyly, her body curled inwards, her attention drifting between the conversation and the rim of the cup in her hands. She wore a simple pleated skirt, an oversized T-shirt, and worn sneakers — zero effort to stand out, and yet impossible to ignore. Rey glanced in the direction, lifting an eyebrow. The girl looked distracted, her curious eyes flitting across the room, avoiding direct eye contact with anyone who dared approach. Not the kind of girl who usually hung around the parties Rey ruled — which was maybe exactly why she caught her attention.

"Her?" Rey echoed, letting out a lazy, smoky laugh laced with mockery. "This won’t even be fun — it’s gonna feel like bullying."

She grabbed someone’s beer and crossed the crowd with that loose, swaggering walk — shoulders relaxed, steps deliberately lazy. Her dark hair fell messily over her eyes, piercings gleaming under the pulsing lights. She approached the girl like it meant nothing, asking something casual — maybe about the course, maybe the music. But she wasn’t impressed. She replied politely, eyes down, and turned back to her friends. Rey frowned, slightly surprised. Most girls looked away nervously, bit their lips, gave that anxious giggle. But not this one.

She didn’t run. She didn’t fall.

In the days that followed, Rey insisted. In the halls of the university, she left notes tucked into books she saw the girl reading. Commented ironically on her stories, sent songs with lyrics about touch, scent, addiction. Sometimes, she’d "accidentally" bump into her, just to hear that whispered "sorry." She began to memorize the girl’s schedule. Knew when her classes ended, where she liked to eat alone, which cafés she lingered in.

It was supposed to be just a bet. A dirty game like so many others she’d played.

But Rey didn’t expect to enjoy the sound of her laughter. Didn’t expect her to start responding more often, initiating conversations, holding eye contact longer. One day, she showed up at her band’s show. Leaning against the back wall, half-hidden, but Rey saw her. She played like she was making love to her bass — eyes locked on her the whole time.

That night, they kissed for the first time.

It happened in an alley behind the bar. She was trembling, her body pressed against the cold wall, hands clutching the sides of Rey’s jacket. The kiss was clumsy at first, then urgent, wet, desperate. Rey held her close with raw possessiveness, tongue exploring, dominating, tasting that sweet, insecure flavor that would haunt her for weeks. They had sex a few days later, in Rey’s small, cluttered apartment, reeking of cigarettes and stale coffee. She was nervous, and Rey was patient, though burning inside. She undressed her piece by piece like unwrapping something sacred. Touched her with reverence and hunger, knelt between her legs and licked her like a prayer.

The bet ended there. Or should’ve.

But Rey couldn’t shut it off.

Not after the way she arched beneath her touch, how she grabbed her hair with trembling fingers and tearful eyes. Not after she moaned her name in that high, pleading voice, then curled into Rey’s arms like nothing else in the world mattered. That wasn’t just sex. Never was. Even if Rey didn’t know how to say it out loud. In the days that followed, she tried pretending nothing had changed. Walked the same, smoked the same, joked the same. But at night, her body ached with longing. Worse: she started writing songs.

About her eyes. About the taste of her skin. About the fear of ruining everything. It was the kind of thing Rey hated to feel. Because she was never made to love anyone — and she was too sweet for the chaos Rey carried inside. Still, she gave in. They started sleeping together almost every week. Rey would wait after class with coffee and kisses to the neck. She’d rehearse and then rush to her apartment just to lie with her, get her hair stroked and pretend it was just another night. They’d have sex till dawn — slow, hungry, sweaty, undone — until she passed out in her arms and Rey stayed awake, staring, wondering how the hell she let this happen.

The truth — inevitable — pulsed quietly in the back of her mind: she never told her about the bet. She hesitated. So many times. Started the sentence — "I need to tell you something" — and stopped when faced with those trusting, sweet eyes. She was afraid. Afraid to destroy what she’d built by accident. Afraid to look in the mirror and see what she had been: a fucking coward.

Until she found out.

One morning, while Rey slept, she saw a notification pop up on the phone tossed beside the bed. A group message. The name: "D’Arcangelo’s Conquests." She clicked. And there it was. Screenshots of the bet. Jokes. Comments about the "shy freshman," sleazy guesses about how long she’d resist. A photo of Rey watching her from afar, captioned: "Next song’s getting a name, mark my words." The blood drained from her face. She just sat there, on the edge of the bed, phone still in hand, the sheets crumpled around her bare thighs, the room thick with their scent — sweat, smoke, and last night’s sex. Sunlight spilled through the open window. Everything looked normal. Except it wasn’t.

She didn’t cry.

She got up slowly, picked her clothes off the floor, and dressed in absolute silence. Rey slept on her stomach, lips parted, hair messy across half her face. There were fresh scratch marks down her back — left by her hours earlier during that slow, almost loving sex.

When she shut the door behind her, Rey didn’t even stir. Not until later, when she saw the ignored texts, the missed calls, did she feel the first stab. Tried to pretend it was just drama. That she needed space. That it was just one of her silences — shy, reserved, sensitive as she was. But when she went to her apartment and had the door shut in her face with an empty look, she knew.

She knew she knew. And Rey D’Arcangelo’s world collapsed in silence.