Betty slides the dress over her head and lets the skirt fall halfway down her thighs. She tilts her head, scrutinising herself in the mirror fixed to the back of the dorm room door. It's got to be the sexiest thing she's ever worn. Black, backless, it hugs her curves and displays her cleavage enticingly. It wouldn't be decent attire had she been going to a dinner with her parents, or a university function, but she's going to a frat party, and she bought the dress especially for the occasion.

She's also done her hair and make up differently, forgoing her signature ponytail for some loose curls, and her pink shade of lipstick has been replaced with deep red. She wonders as she looks at herself in the mirror if it's too much. Perhaps he'll laugh at her.

The door swings open, startling her, and Veronica barges into the room. She stops dead when she sees Betty, her mouth dropping open. Betty tugs on the hem of her dress uncomfortably.

"Holy fuck, Betty," Veronica says. "Is that new?"

"Yeah," Betty says. "Is it too much?"

"It's not if you're trying to get laid tonight," Veronica says. Betty tries unsuccessfully not to blush. "Oh my god. You are trying to get laid tonight!" Veronica says excitedly. "Who's the guy?"

Betty swallows. "Just… a guy from one of my classes. You don't know him," she says quickly. Veronica doesn't seem to notice her unease, or else just brushes it off as nerves about having sex with the mystery guy.

"Okay," Veronica says, intrigued. "Well, you'll definitely get lucky tonight. Unless he dies when he sees you in that dress, because to be honest that seems likely."

"Come on, it's not that sexy," Betty rolls her eyes.

"Believe me, it is," Veronica says. "Anyway, are you ready to go?"

Betty nods, slipping on her strappy heels and grabbing her purse before following Veronica out the door.


The party is already in full swing when the girls arrive, Betty scans the crowds of people as they walk into the house. Veronica smirks.

"Is he here?" she asks. Betty locks eyes with Archie across the room. Her stomach lurches. She doesn't miss the way his eyes drop for a moment. Betty quickly looks away.

"I'm not sure," she lies.

"Hey, there's Archie," Veronica says, weaving her way over to him, leaving Betty to follow. Betty swallows, her heat beating out of her chest as she follows Veronica to where Archie is standing with some of his friends, an open bottle of beer in his hand.

"Archiekins!" Veronica greets him, pulling him into a hug.

"Hey, Ronnie," he laughs. "Betty." Betty swears time stops for a moment when he says her name. She can feel her heart in her throat and her skin is buzzing with electricity. Archie's eyes drop again and his face is red as hell when he meets her eyes again. They don't move to hug each other. Just his presence is intoxicating enough, Betty isn't sure she could handle his touch right now.

Veronica hits Archie's arm, and he rubs at the sore spot, dragging his eyes from Betty to Veronica in confusion.

"Stop looking at her like that," Veronica scolds him.

"Like what?"

"You're objectifying her."

Archie blushes again. "Sorry." He gives Betty an amused look, and she ducks her head to hide a smile.

"Is Jughead here?" Veronica asks.

"Jughead at a frat party? Are you serious?" Betty scoffs.

"Yeah, there was no way I was ever going to get him here," Archie agrees. He looks to Betty again. "You want a drink?"

"Sure," she agrees.

"I'll have one too," Veronica says, and Archie disappears to find them some alcohol. Veronica grabs Betty's arm and surveys the room. "So, is he here?" she presses. Betty wishes she'd denied the whole thing, instead of inventing an imaginary guy.

"Uhh… nope," Betty says. "I don't even know if he's coming."

"Don't be like that," Veronica admonishes. "If he knows you're here, I'm sure he'll be here. And if not, it looks like you might have a shot with Archie," she laughs, obviously joking. "Did you see the way he was looking at you? Disgusting."

Betty laughs nervously. "Don't be ridiculous." She spots Archie weaving his way through the crowd towards them, a look of great concentration on his face as he carries three red cups, full of who knows what. She smiles, her heart full of affection for him. She's about to go over and help him when someone taps her on the shoulder. Betty turns to see a guy she sometimes sits with in psychology.

"Hey, Betty," he says, grinning.

"Hey, Daniel," Betty says, trying not to sound too resigned. Daniel's fine, but she didn't come to this party to see him. A fact which Veronica doesn't know.

"Who's this?" she asks. She's smirking, and Betty knows she's already decided that this is the guy Betty wants to sleep with.

"V, this is Daniel. He's in my psych class," Betty says. Veronica's eyes light up. She's convinced she's guessed correctly. "Daniel, my best friend, Veronica."

"Pleasure to meet you," Veronica holds out her hand, and Daniel places a kiss on it.

"Any friend of Betty's is a friend of mine," Daniel says. Betty does her best not to grimace.

Archie reaches them with the drinks, and Veronica grabs one for herself, and hands another to Betty.

"And this is my other best friend, Archie," Betty introduces. Daniel eyes Archie sceptically.

"This is Daniel," Veronica says. "A friend of Betty's." She's still smirking, and Archie gives her a quizzical look.

"Hi," Archie says to Daniel. Daniel just nods. The four of them stand in awkward silence for a moment before Veronica speaks again.

"Betty, why don't you and Daniel go and dance? I'll hold your drink if you like?"

"Uh, no, that's fine," Betty says. She glances at Archie. "Veronica, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Okay?" Veronica replies, and Betty grabs her hand and leads her across the room, where Daniel and Archie can't hear.

"Daniel is not the guy," Betty tells her. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd stay out of it, please?"

"Oh," Veronica says, looking a little sheepish. "Of course. Sorry."

Betty nods in relief.

"In that case, do you mind if I take him? He's pretty cute."

Betty grins. "Go for it."

It doesn't take Veronica long to make Daniel forget all about Betty, which might be insulting if Betty could be bothered to think about it. Veronica drags Daniel into the throng of other college students dancing, and Betty is left alone with Archie. She stands next to him, but she continues to look at Veronica and Daniel, though she's hyper aware of his presence. She doesn't trust her eyes not to betray her secret if she looks at Archie.

They're not really alone, of course, there are a hundred other people at this party. Betty doesn't notice any of them. She's standing inches away from Archie, and she can feel the heat radiating off his body. She looks at him. Bad idea. It takes everything in her not to just grab him and kiss him. She quickly looks away.

"You want to dance?" Archie asks. Betty shakes her head.

"I don't think I can do that," she says. "Just standing here is hard enough."

"Yeah, you're right," Archie swallows. "I don't know what I was thinking." He brushes up against her arm and it makes her whole body tingle. She has to lace her fingers together to stop her hands shaking.

"Arch," Betty says. "I know we said we'd take things slow. But I don't want to wait any longer."

He doesn't say anything, so she has to look at him again to gauge how he's feeling. He's staring straight ahead.

"Arch?"

"Yeah," he says, swallowing. "I just wish you wouldn't say things like that while we're standing in a crowded room and you're wearing a dress like that."

Betty blushes. "We can't leave now, I just got here. It will look suspicious," she says. "But after this…" she surreptitiously pulls a hotel room key card from her purse and presses it against Archie's palm, her pulse beating rapidly. Archie's fingers close around the key card. He looks at her, his gaze burning into her skin.

"How much longer do we have to stay here?" he asks.

"One hour."

One hour. She can do that. She's been waiting this long, what's one extra hour?

It's the most torturous hour of her life. They decide they shouldn't be around each other, so Betty joins Veronica and Daniel on the dance floor, and Archie goes back to talking to his friends. But she can't keep herself from looking over at him, all too often. He meets her eyes almost every time.

Thankfully, Veronica seems to be oblivious. After all, why would she suspect anything?

But finally, finally, after exactly an hour, Archie approaches them.

"I think I'm going to take off," he says. "This party kind of sucks."

"Suit yourself," Veronica says with a shrug. Betty realises in that moment that she can't leave with him. She can't even leave a couple of minutes after him. That's way too suspicious.

Archie gives her a longing glance as he leaves. Betty quickly takes out her phone and shoots him a message.

I'll be there as soon as I can.

The seconds tick by at half their usual speed. Betty is completely distracted and Veronica has to repeat everything she says twice. When Betty can finally stand it no longer, she pretends to get a text from her roommate.

"I have to go," she tells Veronica. "My roommate got locked out. I have to go and let her in."

"Can't someone else do it?" Veronica complains. Betty shakes her head.

"Besides, that guy I mentioned isn't coming. I think I just want to go to bed," she lies.

"Killjoy," Veronica pouts. Betty rolls her eyes. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Uh… Monday maybe. I've got studying to do tomorrow." She wants to wake up next to Archie tomorrow and spend the day lying around and making love. She does not want Veronica interrupting that.

"Lame. Alright, B. Go get in your carriage before it turns into a pumpkin!"


An Uber takes Betty to the hotel. The driver tries to talk to her but Betty can't concentrate on a word he says.

They pull up out the front of the hotel. She feels like she's in the climax of a movie as she walks through the revolving door and steps into the elevator. Her heart pounds as the elevator ascends to the fourth floor, and she steps out into an empty hallway. She approaches the room and presses her key card against the panel underneath the door handle, her hands shaking. The light blinks green, and Betty pushes the door open.

Archie turns from where he's standing by the window. Betty's heart stops. In an instant, Archie is across the room, and Betty reaches for him, fisting her hands in his shirt as she pulls him to her. Her bag and the key card fall to floor, forgotten. Archie presses her against the door as his lips meet hers. Betty flattens her hands against Archie's chest and smooths them over his shoulders, wrapping her arms around his neck, revelling in the feel of him against her. His hungry kiss is intoxicating.

Archie's rough hands move from her waist to her shoulders, sliding the straps of her dress down. He stops kissing her and looks down her body.

"God, Betty," Archie groans. "This dress."

"I bought it especially for you. For this," Betty murmurs.

"This dress almost killed me."

"Then take it off," Betty whispers. Archie swallows. He takes his time, slowly edging her dress down further until it falls from her chest to her waist, exposing her bare breasts. Betty watches him, her heart pounding. He gazes at her, his eyes full of want. He runs a thumb over one of her nipples gently. Betty wants him to keep touching her like that. She wants him to put his mouth on her. But instead he returns to her dress, pulling it over her hips and letting it fall to the floor, pooling around her feet, revealing the black thong she'd also bought especially for this occasion.

He kisses her again, slow at first, and then deeper, harder, like he can't hold himself back. Betty's kiss matches his, desperate for him, yearning for him. He lifts her from the ground and she gasps, wrapping her legs around him. He kisses her chest as he carries her to the enormous bed in the middle of the room. He drops her to the bed, and she bounces on the soft mattress, laughing. Archie pulls off his shirt and kicks off his shoes before joining her on the bed, crawling on top of her, covering her with his body.

Archie's lips skim over Betty's skin, and she's not laughing anymore. His kisses leave her tingling even after he's moved on, all over her body, her neck, her collarbone, her breasts. The smell of his cologne envelops her. He brings his hand between her legs and she opens them for him, letting him touch her there with his fingers. She knows she's wet for him, has been since she put the dress on.

Archie slowly inches the thong down her thighs and pulls it over her feet, still clad in the heels she hasn't bothered to take off. He tosses it aside, leaving her naked before him. He brings his lips back to hers, at the same time letting his fingers slide between her folds, gently rubbing her clit, making her insides tighten. Betty moans into his mouth as his fingers delve into her, arching against him.

"Archie," she pants, pulling away from his kiss. "I need you to fuck me," she says. She reaches for his belt buckle, and Archie pulls away from her to finish the job himself, pulling off his pants and throwing them to the floor. Betty's heartrate increases tenfold as he moves to remove his underwear. She bites her lip in anticipation, waiting to see his cock. He pulls his boxers down and his hard cock springs free. Betty's stomach fills with butterflies at the sight of it. She can't wait to have it inside her.

"Condoms?" Archie asks.

"In my purse," Betty says, her voice sounding hoarse. Archie walks naked to where Betty had previously discarded her purse. Betty admires his form from where she lies on the bed. Archie bends to pick up the purse and pulls out a handful of condoms.

"How long are we staying here?" Archie asks, teasing.

"Shut up," Betty says. "I got them for free at the on-campus clinic."

"Okay," Archie smiles fondly. He takes one of the condoms and leaves the rest. He tears open the packaging as he walks back over to the bed. He kneels on the bed and rolls the condom onto his cock. He crawls back over her, but Betty pushes him over, rolling him onto his back and straddling him in one swift motion, making him lose his breath.

She grins down at him, then leans down to kiss him, running her fingers down his chest as she does so.

"Ready?" she whispers. Archie nods, unable to speak. Betty positions herself over his cock, and gently lowers herself onto him. She bites her lip to stifle a whimper as he fills her. Archie grips her hips, closing his eyes with a soft moan.

"Betty," he murmurs. Betty tentatively rolls her hips towards him, feeling his cock inside her. She rocks her hips harder then, getting the friction she so desperately needs. Archie meets her thrusts with his own, and Betty can feel her pleasure coiling inside her, tighter and tighter with every motion, until she feels she's ready to burst.

"Oh my god, Archie," she pants desperately. Archie surges up, kissing her, then flips them around so he's the one on top. He drives into her furiously, and she snaps beneath him, crying out as she comes, her whole body shuddering.

Archie groans as he reaches his own release a moment later, thrusting into her one last time. He collapses on top of her, completely spent. She pushes him gently off her and they lie next to each other, breathing in sync. Archie disposes of the used condom and then Betty snuggles into his side, pressing her lips against his chest. She doesn't know if she's ever felt so content.

"This is so good," she murmurs, barely audible.

"Yeah," Archie agrees. "It was amazing."

Betty pushes herself up, leaning against his side, her fingers tracing circles on his chest. "I don't mean just the sex," she says. "Even though it was amazing. I mean us. This. We're so good together, Arch. I've never had something this good."

Archie smiles at her. "Me too, Betty." A pause. "I love you."

Her heart lurches. It's the first time he's said it. They've only been dating two weeks, and maybe it should be too soon, but they've known each other forever. She's been in love with him forever.

"I love you too, Arch." No hesitation, no doubt in her mind. Archie smiles happily.

"You know there's a huge bathtub in the bathroom?" he says.

"How long do you think it will take to fill?"

"I may have already filled it."

Betty shrieks as Archie scoops her up and carries her to the bathroom. He sets her on the floor and she dips her toe into the mountains of bubbles. The temperature is just right, and she climbs in.

"Wait, I forgot! There's wine in the mini fridge!" she exclaims. Archie runs to grab it and returns with two wine glasses as well. He clambers into the bath and hands Betty a glass before filling both glasses almost to the brim with Sauvignon Blanc. He puts the bottle down beside the bath and holds his glass out to Betty.

"To us finally figuring it out," he says. Betty clinks her glass with his, laughing. He leans over to kiss her gently. "Sorry it took me so long."

"We got here eventually," Betty smiles, sipping her wine. The glass is too full and she spills a little into the warm bath water. Archie laughs and takes a sip of his own wine.

"I love you," he tells her again. Betty doesn't think she'll ever tire of hearing it. "I thought you might say no when I asked you out," he admits. "I thought maybe I'd used up all my chances. That I was too late."

Betty smiles at him. "You were just in time."