Challenge accepted…

Sorry for making you guys wait so long but my Haven followers knew I wasn't posting until the new year. But I'm back and will be more frequent. Thank you for all the reviews and favs, I really wasn't sure about this concept but you guys eased my doubts. Here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it.

Chapter 2

Early light crept between a small gap in the blinds, gradually streaming over oak floors, conquering mountainous sheets that were tossed over one side of the bed and glared right into Jade's eyes. The raven haired woman shifted slightly as consciousness seeped in. Her body was wrapped tightly around Tori as usual, their legs tangled. She buried her nose into her lover's neck, letting her intoxicating scent fill her. In response, her hand that draped over the brunette's waist possessively began moving, slipping under the brunette's sleep shirt, caressing warm skin beneath. Nuzzling, her lips tasted the first bit of flesh causing Tori to rouse from her sleep as wonderful sensations took over. Jade's reign of kisses continued, her weight moving atop, fitting together like they've done thousands of times.

The first sound to escape Tori's mouth was a moan, her fingers getting lost in luscious raven hair as the feel of teeth grazed an ardent path down her neck. Her breath caught when Jade's hands flitted around the curves of her breast. "Gave up already?" she husked, her voice still thick from sleep.

That halted the raven haired woman in her tracks, her lips stilling and hands going slack. Reality smacking her right between the eyes. "Damn that wasn't a dream," she muttered, her forehead resting against Tori's shoulder in annoyance. That stupid bet. God, only knew what possessed her to agree to it.

Tori laughed sleepily, kissing the side of her dejected lover's head. "It wasn't a dream yesterday or the day before that either," she gently reminded.

It had been three days since they had created the no sex policy. None of them had broken their resolve as yet. Each of them headstrong to become victor of this little challenge. However, they could feel the edginess build up during the weekend when their usual routine of mind-blowing sex was replaced by more mundane type activities. Their competitive snipes becoming more heated.

Jade picked her head up, sulking as she stared into amused chocolate eyes. "Yeah, yeah… I'm still going to win."

"You think so, huh?" Tori challenged with a raised eyebrow, painfully aware that their lips were a breath away.

Jade's gaze trailed down to the brunette's mouth then back to her eyes. "I know so," she purred, rising to the response with a confident smirk.

"Yet, you're the one who has me pinned to the bed?" The brunette pointed out, smugly.

Jade simply chuckled, her hands grazing back down Tori's sides. "That didn't sound like a complaint." She placed a wet kiss on the brunette's chin as one hand continued until she reached the juncture between Tori's legs. Her lips curling when she found the wet spot on Tori's panties with two fingers. "Definitely, not a complaint," she murmured, pulling her hand away.

Tori groaned squirming beneath her girlfriend at the fleeting touch. She didn't know what made her grumpier, that Jade was playing dirty or that she removed her hand. "That was just mean." She sulked.

Jade blinked, innocently, her mouth hovering over the brunette's succulent pouty lips. "Me, mean? Surely you jest." She nipped her lover's bottom lip.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Bitch."

The writer chuckled. "That's more like it." Giving into both of their needs, she captured Tori's lips in a slow teasing kiss.

"Mmm," Tori moaned into the kiss, her mouth opening slightly in invitation, her hands increasing the pressure to the raven haired woman's scalp to deepen the kiss. Which Jade did, her dominant tongue sweeping through every crevice of Tori's mouth but still she kept it unhurried.

It always drove the brunette absolutely nuts when her lover took the leisurely and patient route, enflaming her body with the barest of touches, the lightest of kisses. She felt like a painful wind-up toy ready to release if given the chance. What fueled her annoyance and desire even more was the fact that Jade knew this. Her lover knew all of her weaknesses and never failed to exploit them.

Jade smirked, feeling Tori's heated body writhe beneath hers. "Give up, baby…" She lowered her mouth to that delicious neck.

"No, you give up." Tori countered even as her neck arched to grant better access. Her own nails clawing down the flesh of Jade's back.

The writer's eyes squeezing together at the pain that soon turned into pleasure. "C'mon, you know you want to…" she panted, her voice rough and full of need. One finger slipping into the waistband of Tori's panties, not touching anything yet.

"Oh, and you don't?" Tori copied Jade's move, her finger also resting just under the waistband of Jade's panties, causing her lover to jerk her hips.

"Shit." The raven haired woman grunted, her ocean eyes storming with need and frustration. She almost mortified herself by giving up so easily when a ringing startled them.

Both looked at the dresser where Tori's phone vibrated noisily against the dark stained wood. Tori pulled her hands out, grinning. "Looks like you were saved by the phone, baby."

"No, you were saved." Jade retorted weakly and flipped on her back, releasing her lover. "What time is it?" she asked needlessly, glancing at their wall clock. It was almost six-thirty. "Who could be calling you so early?" She watched Tori get up and grab her phone.

Tori frowned at the caller I.D before turning her professional persona on. "Good morning, Tori Vega speaking."

Jade inferred it was a work related call, just by the tone of her lover's voice. She quickly turned the alarm clock off that was set to exactly six-thirty, not wanting to disturb Tori's call. She got a grateful smile from the brunette in return as she grabbed a towel from the cupboard and headed into the bathroom.

Five minutes into Jade's shower, the bathroom door opened and Tori stepped in. The writer continued to hum and massage the herbal shampoo into her thick, black as night hair. Smiling when she could hear the interrupted humming of her girlfriend who was brushing her teeth at the time. It was their standard morning routine –minus the sex of course, she thought ruefully.

Moving under the hot sprays, she let the soap wash away completely. Then soon she switched off the shower, opening the door slightly and reaching for the towel on the rack. After drying, she stepped out of the stall with the white material wrapped snug around her body. She moved beside Tori who gargled and spat mouthwash into the sink. Tori wiped her mouth as Jade ran a brush through her hair, untangling the knots.

"Mmm, you smell nice," Tori commented, kissing the bare shoulder next to her.

"I always do…" The raven haired women smirked at the hot picture they made in the mirror. But she held down on her desires not wanting to be perceived as pathetic. "Who was on the phone?" she asked.

"Well…Miss. Fischer." Tori shrugged casually and started undressing in hope of not alarming Jade.

The brush froze as the raven haired woman, stiffened. Gently, she put the object down. "Miss. Fischer," Jade repeated, cool and calculated. She turned to face her lover, an eyebrow raised ever so elegantly. "As in Anna Fischer?"

Tori nodded, warily. "Yep…"

"What did she want?" the writer asked, her face placid not giving any emotions away.

"She asked if I was free on Friday."

"And that would be any of her business because?"

"Well, she wants to have a meeting during lunch."

Jade could feel her anger and loathe at the woman, she now considered a foe, shoot to the top. "She wants to have a lunch date with you even though she knows you're clearly involved with someone," she said through gritted teeth.

"No… that's not it." Tori defended, switching on the shower. "It's a lunch meeting for work."

Jade just chuckled at the sheer audacity of Anna even after their blow out only a few days. Her composure was blasted out of the window. "For work, my ass! You don't even fucking report to her, Vega!" She snorted, her brush running roughly through her hair again.

Tori sighed. "Jade –"

"What did you say?" The raven haired woman interrupted, sharply.

"What?"

"What. Did. You. Say." She iterated each word with a slight pause.

"Jade, she is head of our European division. What the hell did you expect me to say?" The brunette rolled her eyes, arms crossed over her chest, adamantly.

"No," Jade answered simply.

Tori's ire began to rise at how childish and stupid her girlfriend was behaving. "For God's sake, Jade! I can't say no just because you don't like it. She is ranked way higher than me. Not everyone can be you, okay!" She burst back into the room, naked because she forgot to get a goddamned towel for herself.

Jade followed, a little befuddled. "Me?"

Tori yanked a towel out of cupboard, chuckling sarcastically. "Yes you!" She whirled around, fury burning in her eyes. "Be our own boss! Not do something because we don't like it! Your dad founded West Studios, Jade. You can tell people to go fuck themselves if you want. I don't have that luxury!" She waved her hands in the air in frustration. "Some of us actually have to work hard and keep in people's good books to keep the job that we love!"

Jade's eyes widened at her lover's outburst, considering its content carefully. She always detested when people inferred that just because her father was an exceptionally wealthy businessman, she had gotten to where she was now because of him. "Luxury? So, you're saying because I own half of my father's company, I don't work hard as the rest of the world." She felt the sting of the words even as she said them. But maybe it was true if her lover thought so. She released her towel and decided to get dressed.

Tori's anger drained completely at the flash of hurt that crossed her lover's face for a second. It was an emotion that she rarely ever portrayed. "No, that's not what I'm saying," she explained, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm just saying I can't not do things because I don't want to."

After a silent moment, Jade nodded. "I see," she said quietly, her back to the brunette as she started to button up her shirt.

Shit.

Tori knew that was Jade's emotional wall talking. Her tone appearing neutral behind her strong front. She despised it. That her girlfriend felt the need to be guarded from her. Walking up behind Jade, Tori slid her arms around the raven haired woman's waist, burying her nose into a slightly damp neck and hugging her from behind. "Hey…" she cooed trying to get Jade's tense body to relax into hers. "I didn't mean it that way, Jade."

"It doesn't matter." Jade shrugged it off.

"Yes, it does." Tori sighed squeezing harder, when the writer tried to pry out of her arms. "I'm sorry, baby. You know I don't think that, right?" Knowing that this was less about the petty issue at hand and more about her girlfriend's less blatant insecurities about herself.

"I know, it's okay…"

"No, it's not. I hurt you."

"You didn't." Jade denied half-heartedly, feeling her resolve slowly melt. She hated being seen as all emotional and weak. The no sex policy was killing her. Usually, this was the point where she would turn around and fuck her girlfriend on the spot, stupid emotions forgotten. "Vega, you're creasing my shirt." She said instead, deliberately added annoyance in her tone.

"I don't care…" Tori smiled, nuzzling into Jade's neck. "I'm not letting go until you believe me."

The raven haired woman sighing dramatically conforming into the body behind hers, a small smile ghosting around her lips. "Even if I said I believe you now, you wouldn't believe me."

"That is true." The brunette giggled lightly. Then her voice became sober. "Jade, I want you to listen to me." She turned her lover of four years until she was looking into deep blue eyes. "You, personally are one of the most hard-working people I know. Yes, you've had privileges most of us didn't get. But that doesn't take anything away from you effort-wise. You created and continue to write two TV series Golden Globe nominees already! Not your dad! You! And I'm positive the next one is going to be a winner. Yes, you don't have to work as hard as some of us. But the fact that you do, even harder than most people… well, that just makes it more incredible."

There was a silent pause as Jade processed everything. Looking into Tori's sincere eyes, a sheepish grin formed on her lips. "So, basically, I'm incredible?"

The brunette laughed burying her face in the writer's chest, glad her girlfriend bounced back. "Yes… An incredible pain in the ass. But incredible nevertheless."

Jade smirked leeringly, her hands giving Tori's bare butt a generous squeeze. "I could be pain in your ass, if you give up."

Tori yelped, dragging her lover's hands away. "Nice try." She leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on Jade's lips. "But I'm going to be late for work. Enjoy your day." She said then headed back into the bathroom.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Tori arrived at the Musi-tech offices with five minutes to spare for a cup of coffee. She walked into the office kitchen spotting her older sister, Trina in a trivial argument with her friend and co- junior producer, Andre Harris.

"I'm just saying the higher your heels are in this industry the more people notice you," Trina declared with conviction.

"And here I thought it was all about producing good music." The African American sipped his coffee and nodded in his co-worker's direction. "Hey, Tor…"

"Hey guys… God, I need a cup of that," she groaned, the strong aroma of coffee attacking her senses.

"Tori! Just the person I was looking for!" Trina beamed.

"No Trina… I'm not signing your petition to allow ten inch heels at work." She deadpanned, pouring a generous amount into her huge mug and brought the steaming liquid to her lips.

"Why not?" The shorter brunette whined. Trina Vega was slightly shorter than her sister and her brunette hair was a shade lighter. Whereas Tori inherited her mother's high cheek bones that brought her features out more, Trina didn't. Yet there were slight visible similarities between the two.

"Because if I wanted people to commit suicide, I'd direct them to the rooftop."

"But these are back in fashion!" Trina pointed to the article in a very popular fashion magazine.

"Didn't she go through this phase in school?" Andre asked, tiredly, referring to the same high school they all went to. Musi-tech usually offered internships to Hollywood Arts best students, paying for their college education as well. Tori and Andre were selected together and have been progressing together for six years becoming co- junior producers of the New Young Talent Department or as they called it NYTD.

"I thought so too…" The younger Vega sighed.

"Well, fine!" Trina sulked. "Who needs you guys, anyway?" She was about to stalk off when her eye caught a certain man pass the doorway. She screamed causing both producers to flinch and then she hid behind the refrigerator.

After a minute, Tori looked at Andre. "Should we ask?"

"I vote no. But she's your sister." The darker man shrugged.

Tori sighed again. "Trina? Um, why are you hiding behind the refrigerator?"

"Didn't you see him!" the older Vega hissed from her hiding spot.

"Who?"

"Him! The guy who went passed!"

"Who Bill?" Tori asked, only recalling Bill, a six foot, half balding and chubby man walking passed.

"Yes! He's stalking me!" She said in a loud whisper.

"What?" Tori frowned, confused.

Trina looked around suspiciously, before stepping out. Deciding the coast was clear, she moved closer to huddle in front of Andre and her sister. "Well, he's been following me. It happened last week, when you kept sending me on errands to different floors of the building. At first I didn't notice because well you don't think stalkers would be so open about their preys," she said offhandedly, waving her hand. "But then I kept seeing him. When I went to the first floor. Then again later at the tenth floor and so forth. He just walks around doing nothing." She let out a shudder. "It's as if he's patrolling and surveying me! And some days when I leave work, he is there lingering in the car park! Just looking around, watching for something and being odd!" She looked around again once more. "I should go before he comes back this way." She dashed out of the kitchen, leaving Tori and Andre with matching, awkward grimaces.

"Do you think we should tell her that Bill is one of the company's security guards?" Andre wondered.

Tori thought about it and shook her head. "Naaah… I really think she enjoys the attention that she's not really getting."

He nodded, putting his mug in the sink. "Well, okay then… I'll catch you later after my meeting with Robbie."

"Right, tell him I say hi." Tori also disposed her mug in the sink as they parted ways. She headed towards her office on the other end of the floor, smiling and chatting with a few colleagues on the way. She just finished having a delightful chat with Colleen, one of their department's accountants when Trina caught up to her again.

"Whoosh… I finally lost him." The older Vega panted with a hand on her knee.

"Probably because he's patrolling another floor," Tori mumbled under her breath as they walked towards her office together. Suddenly, her phone vibrated. She pulled it out of her pocket seeing a text message from Anna Fischer. Opening it, she figured it was probably the reservation details for Friday's meeting. "Oh shit…" She stopped dead, her stomach plummeting when she realized what restaurant it was. It was Pino's, a little exclusive Italian restaurant on the edge of town. Jade's favorite one! She whimpered knowing her girlfriend was going to have a cow. Scratch that, if this morning was any yardstick, she was going to have the whole farm! If they were at least having sex, maybe she could have worn her girlfriend out before telling her. But they weren't! Nice going Tori. "Fuck…"

"Whoa, what's up with you?" Trina's eyes enlarged not used to hearing her sister swear in the work place

"Nothing," Tori said curtly as she swiftly starting moving again.

"Doesn't sound like nothing." Her sister pointed out when she caught up to her.

"Well, it is okay!" She snapped, feeling a headache coming on.

"Hey, don't snap at me just because your underwear is in a twist." Trina's brow drew as she held up a defensive hand. "But it must be good if it's got you this wound up and now I really want to know." She nudged her sister's shoulder. "Tell me." When she got no response she did it again and again until Tori got fed up.

Tori ground her teeth together before whispering, "Jade and I are just not having sex right now, okay."

"Why?" Trina considered this, thoughtfully. "Does she have a yeast infection?" she whispered.

Tori scowled, incredulously. "What? Gross, no!"

"Ohhh, so you're the one with the yeast infection." Trina nodded in understanding. "You should definitely get it treated right away. Because it can be very itchy and sore. And sometimes you get this burning sensation when you pee –"

"Trina! I don't have a yeast infection!" She yelled as they reached her office door, frustration of the past few days boiling over. Everyone in the office froze in whatever they were doing. The silence that spread the through the floor was deafening. Tori's face was flaming red as her wide eyes scanned the office where everyone seemed to be staring at her in shocked silence. "Well, I don't," she announced quickly before they escaped behind her door.

"Well, that was embarrassing…" Trina let out a nervous chuckle when they in the comfort of Tori's office. Tori shot a dangerous glare at her sister as she sat at her desk. "So why aren't you guys having sex?"

Tori sighed as she started up her laptop. "We have a bet going on who can last the longest without initiating it…" She put her glasses on and then typed in her password.

"No sex? Why? " Trina wrinkled her nose, putting her handbag on her smaller desk in the corner.

"It doesn't matter why…" Tori flicked a warning glance at her sister. "Just don't tell anyone, okay."

Trina waved her off as she headed for the door again. "Yeah, yeah, sure… Whatever."

"Hey where are you going?"

"On my break, duh." The older Vega shrugged.

"B-but we just started!"

"So what? Who do you think you are? My boss?" Trina strolled out, rolling her eyes.

"Um, kind of!" She sighed into an empty office. "Honey, she's your sister, you have to hire her." She mocked her mother's concerned voice. "No one else wants to and didn't you say that your assistant was gone." She groaned again burying her face in her hand. "Damn you, Mildred… why did you have to die!"

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Hey, why aren't you and Tori having sex?"

Jade jolted and looked up from laptop at the tall actor that stormed into her office. Beck was wearing his usual denim jacket and faded blue jeans. His brunette hair just as thick and luxurious as it was in high school. He leaned back against the door, arms folded over her chest, staring at her expectantly.

"What? Do I have it tattooed on my forehead or something?" Jade frowned.

He couldn't help but gape at her. "So, it's true?"

"Maybe…" She gauged him. "How did you find out so fast?"

"Cat told me."

"Cat? How the hell does Cat know!"

"Well, she had a meeting with Robbie this morning. He heard from Andre who heard from Trina."

Jade simply shook her head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"So, are you going to tell me?" he prodded.

The writer grumbled and then began to tell her best friend the whole sordid tale of how she went from a life of sexual bliss to absolutely dreadful abstinence. "So, that's it…" She dropped her gaze back to her laptop and started typing again.

He nodded in understanding. "Ohhh… that makes sense, I guess."

"What?" Jade's head shot back up at that. "How the hell does that make sense?"

He just shrugged, matter of fact. "Well you guys have been fighting since you met and you do have sex an awful lot."

She rolled her eyes. "You're just jealous because you don't have sex as much as we do."

Beck merely laughed. "Sweetheart… the twenty dollar hookers on Beach Boulevard don't have as much sex as you guys do."

"Do I even want to know how you know how much they cost?" She cocked her head resting it on an upturned hand.

"I, um, well, that's not the point, here." He rushed on. "Point is, I can't believe you agreed to that."

She sighed dejectedly. "You know how Vega is when she gets a crazy idea in her head."

"I know…" He smiled, knowing Jade didn't have a chance. "So, you really think you can win?"

This time she scoffed. "You realize who you are talking to, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, the woman who doesn't do losing." He rolled his eyes and perched his hip on her desk. "I just want you to remember something though. Someone did beat you once though. Need I remind you who that was?"

"This is not a stupid drama part in high school –that I didn't even want, anyway." Jade clearly remembering the time that Tori beat her out for the lead in a play that she really wanted.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm just saying that you love her because she is the only one who can challenge you to the point where it's heads or tails." His grin was the perfect picture of smug. "But in this case… my money is on her."

"Oh well, thank you best friend of mine." She sang, her eyes animated in sarcasm.

He laughed. "I'm sorry, Jade, but you love sex too much. I give you a week at most before you go crawling on your knees, butt-naked, begging her to let you tear her clothes off."

"You're enjoying this visual, aren't you?" she asked wryly.

"You begging on your knees and two beautiful naked women, what's not to like?" He wriggled his brows, lewdly.

"Out!" Her arm shot towards the exit. "Get out of my office, I've got work to do."

He chuckled. "I'm going, I'm going…" Stopping at the door, he shot a devilish look over his shoulder. "Hey Jade?" Jade picked her head up from her laptop, raising her brow. "Good luck, you're going to need it." He winked and left…

She rolled her eyes, picking up the receiver and calling one on speed dial. She heard it ring twice before it was accepted on speaker phone.

"Musi-tech, junior-producer, Tori Vega speaking."

Jade always smiled at Tori's greeting which implied she was deep in work at the time. "Guess who just came into my office asking me if I recently purchased a chastity-belt?"

Tori stared at her phone funny. "Wha-oooh." She slapped her forehead with a thud. "She didn't."

"Oh but she did. You told your sister!"

"Yes, I did. But I didn't expect her to tell Beck," Tori whined pitifully.

"You mean, to tell Andre who told Robbie who told Cat who told Beck."

"Oh God." The brunette's face fell into her hands.

"Really? You didn't expect this from her?" Jade shook her head, her tone incredulous. "The woman who came out to your parents for you, during Thanksgiving in front of all your relatives in our second year of college?"

"I know, I know…" Tori sighed, knowing she never learnt when it came to giving people the benefit of the doubt. Especially, her sister. "But she kept bugging me about what was bugging me. And you know I'm a terrible liar. I mean, seriously Jade, you try working with her."

"I'd rather be an unemployed hobo."

"Exactly…" The brunette hedged. "So what did he say?"

"He'll, probably tell you at lunch."

"Right, should I be afraid?"

"Probably…" Jade smirked, checking her clock. "Anyway, I have a meeting in ten minutes with one of the assistant directors to implement changes on the set."

"Okay, babe… I won't keep you." Tori said resigned. "I love you."

"I'd ask you to prove it when we get home, but …" The writer deliberately trailed off.

Tori pouted. "This is me sticking my tongue out at you."

"And this is me, catching it with my teeth, dragging it into my mouth and sucking on it, exactly how you like it." She purred, grinning at the muffled whimper on the other end of the line. "Baby, you there?"

"Uh-huh, I'll see you at lunch." Tori snapped the phone off.

The raven haired woman chuckled, deviously. "Piece of cake…"

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

The lunch rendezvous spot was the same every work day at the Emporium. It was an enormous food court that had around fifteen restaurants that catered for most of the any type of craving one had. It was ideally centralized for all the companies in the more corporate part of LA. Also, it was situated with-in walking distance from both Musi-Tech and West Studios that lie on opposite ends.

Tori, Andre, Robbie and Trina, all Musi-Tech employees, walked in to the large warehouse type building together in the throes of conversation. Tori smiled when she saw Beck and Cat laughing at something Jade said, at their usual table. Making their way through the slowly, building, lunch crowd, they finally reached their spot. Tori immediately dropped down beside her lover with a huff whereas the rest of them filled places on the other side.

Beck grin was so mischievous, you expected him to be curling the ends of an imaginary moustache. "Well, well, well… If it isn't Sexless in the City?" he quipped.

Tori groaned. "Can't you give me fifteen minutes to get some food in my belly before you start with me?"

"Fine, fifteen minutes…" he agreed for now. "But don't think I'll forget."

"Never…" She shook her head, playfully.

"Hi Tori." Cat greeted, beaming at her.

Tori smiled at the petite redhead, who was also an actress in one of Jade's series. "At least someone's not rude." She glared at Beck, then returned her attention to the redhead again. "Hello Cat."

"Do you really have a yeast infection?" the redhead asked, innocently.

"Oh God, I give up!" she yelled to the ceiling and then buried her face into Jade's neck in defeat.

"What? Are you sick?" Jade asked, alarm in her voice.

"No, no, I'm fine." She stifled into the soft skin. "Just having a bad day. And mostly all of it involves Trina."

"Figures…" the writer said dryly.

"What did I do?" Trina put a hand to her chest in disbelief. When Tori just glared at her, she rose with a grump. "You know what, you're just ungrateful. And for everything I do for you! C'mon Robbie, you're buying me lunch."

"I am?" The sound tech manager looked confused.

"Well, of course… I'm not buying it!" She huffed, grabbing him by the back of his collar and dragging him away.

After the awkward silence, Andre spoke. "So… Are you sure you two are related?"

"Sometimes I wonder if my mother really had an affair with Gary…" Tori admitted in a daze, referring to her father's thirty year partner on the police force. She looked at her girlfriend. "Can we get food now?"

The raven haired woman nodded. "Yep, I'm starving."

Fifteen minutes, later, Tori had finished her beef schwarma starting on the piece of apple crumble she ordered. She figured she deserved it after the rotten day, she'd been having. Just as she dug her plastic fork into the cloud of cream, Beck cleared his throat.

"Okay, guys, fifteen minutes are up," he announced, polishing the last of his fries. "Time to sort out the ground rules."

"Ground rules?" Jade looked up from her chicken noodles.

"For the bet," he clarified. "We can't have a bet going on if we don't have all the ground rules, you know."

Jade scowled. "How did us –" she said indicating to Tori and herself. "–become we?" She gestured to the rest of the group.

Beck simply gave his boyish smile. "Us is always we, Jade." Everyone nodded in agreement. "And we're willing to help because it's not just about a bet." His face abruptly grew serious and his golden brown eyes became sincere. Reaching over, he laid his hand gently on top of Tori's as he looked into her chocolate eyes. "It's about two of our best friends trying to overcome a tough patch in their lives."

"Don't fall for it," Jade advised, witnessing her girlfriend melt a little.

Beck continued. "We just want to be there and support you guys. We care and want to be involved, just like I know you guys would be if it was one of us. We want to make sure you get the best out of this situation to gain some perspective in your lives. Isn't that what you were hoping for, Tori?" His soothing tone and compassionate eyes sucking her in.

Tori nodded slowly. "Uh-huh…"

The writer shook her head, gravely. "And you fell for it."

Beck reframed from grinning, keeping a straight face like his acting career depended on it. "We want to help, Tori."

Tori took another bite of her cake. "Okay, so what do you want to know? First one to initiate it loses and gets punished. As simple as that."

Beck only released a full-blown grin now. "Au contraire, my lovely young producer but it's not simple at all," he contradicted in a French accent. "What happens if you both decide to give up at the same time?"

Tori's brows were drawn. "Nothing, I guess."

"But then doesn't that defeat the purpose of this whole challenge in the first place?" Andre asked.

Robbie, who returned after Trina took his money and left, nodded. "Because you could just have sex tomorrow if you both agree."

"Exactly!" Beck said smugly. "There's not really an incentive then. We can't have that."

"So then what do you suppose we do?" Jade enquired in a monotone.

"I say, if you both agree to it, you both should get punished," the actor stated reasonably.

"What!" Tori and Jade shouted in unison.

"It's fair that way. You throw alcohol in her face and you apologize to her on your knees." Beck grinned. "In either order is fine."

Cat giggled and nodded, "I agree to that."

"Agree." Andre and Robbie said together.

"Yeah, but we not done. We need a time limit." The actor said deep in thought. "It's not like you guys are going to carry on indefinitely, right?"

"Yep, I vote one week." Jade added, getting a swat on the arm from Tori. "What? It's long enough!" she whined.

The brunette rolled her eyes. It was her idea and she wanted to make sure wasn't a failed one or Jade wouldn't let her hear the end of it. One month seemed stretched to her but it could be manageable.

"No we need a time frame that's reasonable and gets the results that you want," Beck mumbled. "Man, this is hard… Since you guys go at it like bunnies. And I don't want to think of a period where you won't agree or is too farfetched for you guys." He looked at the other three people at the table hoping for ideas. "I mean, how they last four days when it's that time of the month is beyond me. And it's not even fair too because they cycle at the same time." There were a few more nods and grumbles among themselves.

"How does he know that?" Tori squealed, her face resembling a beet.

"I don't know." The writer shrugged as she watched her friends and colleagues discuss their sex lives like it was a story on the news.

"Okay, so, then it's settled," Andre declared. "Sixty days."

"What!" Jade and Tori yelled in unison.

Robbie wrinkled his nose, uncertain. "But isn't sixty days too short though?" He cringed almost falling back off his chair at two life-threatening glares aimed in his direction.

"Not everyone can go one year without sex, Robbie." Andre pointed out.

"Hey! It hasn't b-been one year!" The sound tech manager sputtered, defensively.

"Okay, two then," Cat suggested cheerily.

"Yeah…" He blew out a defeated breath, sinking deeper into his chair.

"Don't we have a say?" Jade growled grabbing everyone's attention.

Beck being the only one –apart from Tori –who was not afraid of the writer, smiled. "Of course, you can vote for sixty days or two months, your choice?"

"I kill him now, don't I?" she asked her girlfriend through gritted teeth.

Tori's brows were knitted as she scowled at him too. "I vote, yes."

He laughed, holding out a hand. "Okay, okay, just hear me out. You guys want to work out whatever issues you have without always going with the fuck-me-till-I-forget option. Am I right, Tori?"

Tori blushed but nodded. "Yeah…"

"You want to see what's underneath all that unresolved issues and at the same time solve the Anna problem between you guys. So, I say sixty days is reasonable because normal people should be able to do that. If you two can last that long, neither of you loses and it's becomes null and void. You pass the test... And if not, accept your punishment and move on with your lives."

"You're not seriously considering this Vega, are you?" Jade chuckled incredulously.

"It makes sense, Jade." Tori mulled it over.

"Sixty days, Vega!"

Tori sighed. "You can avoid this and just apologize to Anna right now."

"Yeah and hell freezes over." The raven haired woman rolled her eyes.

"Then, that's the terms, Jade. And we can't cheat because the whole gang is involved."

"I… wha." Jade blew out a frustrated breath. "Okay, fine! Sixty days!" she grumped. "I'm going to use the bathroom."

Tori watched her lover sulk all the way to the bathroom before disappearing inside. She knew they had to overcome this. Feeling the vibration in her pocket, she pulled out her phone.

"I have to take this, it's the Kline Bro's," she told Andre, mentioning a new band they were planning on signing. She journeyed through the sea of people towards the exit.

"Hey guys, I just had a thought." Robbie spoke up, a finger tapping his lip.

"Yeah?" Andre asked slurping his milkshake.

"Well, wouldn't it be easier if they just went for couples counseling instead of this whole abstinence challenge thing." Robbie shared.

Andre pointed at him, his eyes lighting up as if an idea just went off. "Hey… yeah."

Beck nodded slowly, entertaining the idea. "That's actually a really good idea, Robbie."

Robbie blushed and smiled bashfully. "Yeah, it just came to me. So, we'll tell them that when they come back, right?"

"Nope." The actor shook his head once.

Andre looked at him funny. "Hell no! Why spoil our fun?"

"Open pot!" Beck shouted as he slammed a bill on the table. "I put twenty that Jade breaks the challenge on day seventeen."

Andre shook his head pulling out his wallet. "No way man, twenty on Tori, day twenty-five."

Two men that were walking passed their table, suddenly stopped. One of them leaned over. "Hey, are you guys having a pot on Jade and Tori and who will crack first with the whole abstinence thing?"

The actor frowned up at the unknown men, who had Musi-Tech badges on their shirt pocket. "Eh… yeah. How did you know?"

"What are you kidding? Everybody knows about that." The graying man laughed.

"Trina." Andre and Beck came to the conclusion together.

"So can anyone join in on this pot?" The Musi-Tech employee asked.

"I guess so." Andre shrugged.

The man grinned and turned around, making his hands into a microphone in front of his mouth. "Hey everybody!" he shouted into the Emporium waiting for commotion to calm down. "Open pot on Jade West and Tori Vega!"

Before they could all blink, their table was surrounded by almost a hundred people, mostly Musi-Tech and West Studios employees, each of them throwing money into the pot. The gang turning their heads left and right watching the pile of money grow and grow and grow.

Finally, Cat who had been mostly quiet through lunch, threw a bill into the pot. "I say a hundred, they have a threesome with Anna." Everyone stopped, dead silence spreading, outstretched money frozen as everybody looked at the little redhead. "What?" she asked with an innocent giggle.

"Can she do that?" Robbie wondered out loud.

"Eh… Why not? More money in the pot." Beck shrugged his shoulders, indifferently. Everyone else also shrugged as the pot started to grow again...

Will there be a chapter 3?

Suspense… Suspense…

Hahaha I'm just messing with you. There will… probably (Evil grin)

Penny for your thoughts?

Review! ;)