The gamble seemed like a good idea at the time. Qiu Tong was, if anything, confident in her own competitive nature when it came to playing games. And yet, look where that landed her! Flustered, mostly naked, sitting across an equally flushed Sun Jing who was also one item of clothing away from leading this birthday suit parade in Qiu Tong's apartment.

"Maybe strip poker wasn't the best idea," Qiu Tong squeaked, eyes trained firmly on her dealt hand.

Sun Jing jumped at the slight sign of weakness, voice a pitch higher than usual. "Hm, what was that? Are you admitting defeat? Prepared to throw in the towel? Or should I say your panties?"

"Never," Qiu Tong responded, trying to sound confident even with one arm covering her breasts. "I sense desperation, Sun Jing!"

"For you to throw in your panties? Yeah, I can admit to that." She could hear the cheeky grin in Sun Jing's voice and Qiu Tong would've been tempted to shoot the tall girl a warning look if she wasn't busy concentrating on avoiding staring at her taut abdomen on full display. Qiu Tong held her cards up a little higher in an attempt to cover her reddened face.

"How about we spice things up a bit? If I win, you give me a kiss!" Sun Jing proposed with too much enthusiasm. Qiu Tong felt her pulse skyrocket at the words.

"Eh? Quit playing around!"

"I'm not! Well, besides playing poker. But I'm serious."

Something in Sun Jing's tone made Qiu Tong forget herself and looked into her eyes for the first time since her shirt came off. She had that look on her face when she knocked on the threshold of Qiu Tong's boundaries, eager for Qiu Tong to finally let her in. And every time she knocked, Qiu Tong shuffled closer to the possibility until she could taste the invitation on her tongue. The smaller girl swallowed hard.

"Then, if I win, I get to punch you in the gut," Qiu Tong compromised, electing to stick with her confidence.

"Yeah, that's fair," Sun Jing chuckled before her eyes abruptly lit up with realization at Qiu Tong's agreement. "EH? For real?!"

The open earnesty on her face made Qiu Tong feel lightheaded, as if she were drunk. She averted her eyes down to her chest before realizing that was an even worse place to stare. (Not that it was bad, she noted.) "I'll take the bet. Now show me your cards already!"

Sun Jing's excitement quickly fell from her features, her poker face exposed from despair. "Dammit, I was bluffing," she mumbled, revealing her meager pair of hearts.

Qiu Tong stared at the hand for a few moments before sighing in resignation. She placed her cards face down on the ground and stood up. "Then I guess that settles it." She took a deep breath and slowly started to slide her panties down her legs.

Sun Jing jumped like a tiger would spring from between Qiu Tong's legs. "WHOA WHOA WHOA! Are you serious?!"

"Yep. I was bluffing too. I got nothing." Qiu Tong used her poker face to pull the rest of the action off, baring herself fully to Sun Jing, who was postured as if the tiger popping out was still a possibility. To her credit, Sun Jing kept her eyes on Qiu Tong's face, searching her eyes for any sign of uncomfortableness, of refusal. Qiu Tong could feel various small shudders travelling through her body, from her spine and the tips of her fingers - twitching - in Sun Jing's direction. Before she lost her nerve she was straddling Sun Jing, grabbing her by the ears and pulling her in for a kiss.

Sun Jing literally screamed into her mouth from surprise, making the blonde leap back and away, looking like a strawberry from head to toe. "What?!"

Sun Jing was sputtering. "What the heck was that?!"

"You won the bet!"

"G-Give me a little more warning next time! Oh my god, I think I'm having a heart attack…"

"What? Are you okay?"

"I dunno… I may need some serious mouth to mouth."

Qiu Tong was rapidly gathering her clothes, the last vestiges of confidence gambled away. "Forget it, the coupon has been stamped!"

Sun Jing slapped her palm against her forehead, growling in frustration with herself. "Aww, I blew it! Next time I'll be more prepared, I swear."

Qiu Tong was scrambling to get her pants back on, embarrassed at having the exact same thought as the other girl. She'd make sure to purposefully lose then as well.