A bet that changed their lives

Part 22 - Getting to Know Her

"You should eat something. I don't think that iced tea did you any good," Arya tried to be polite as she was munching on her fries, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Uh huh, I mean order something else if you want. Fries, maybe?" She let out a small laugh as she moved the fries away from Derek, who was again about to pick a few from her plate.

"Remind me to never agree to such impromptu junk food plans with you," Derek played along as he pretended to be upset. He was really liking this Arya - free-spirited, talkative, witty, and playful. And boy was he glad to have got this chance to know her! Now, he could say for sure that he was developing a crush on her, maybe something more. This Arya was the one that appealed to him the most, made him feel more like her friend than her boss. Who knew what all layers to her personality were still left buried deep down? That was a challenge he was willing to accept, if she allowed him.

They spend quite some time talking about random things, their guilty pleasures, their weird likes and dislikes, effortlessly avoiding any office talks. Before they knew it, they were sitting at the diner and chatting with each other for almost two hours. Giving in to Derek's persistence, Arya had lots of fluids to drink. She could feel her senses being 'normal' again, the alcohol in her system diminishing, and with it her courage and her free-spiritedness. She didn't know if she should be thankful or complain.

"Umm... I think we should leave. My friends must be waiting for me. I didn't even give them a heads-up that I would disappear," Arya nervously giggled as she tucked in a stray lock of hair that was messing with her vision.

"Uh yeah, Mark must be waiting for me too," Derek nodded, controlling himself from reaching out to tuck that stray lock behind her ear.

They were still seated at the diner, engulfed in a comfortable silence as no one made a move to leave. While Derek knew why he didn't feel like moving just yet, it was Arya's inaction that made him pleasantly surprised. What exavtly was going on in her mind? Was she feeling something for him too? Did he have a chance?

***

"Where the hell are you, Arya! Answer your bloody phone, damn it!" Mason was getting impatient by the second. He had planned to get to know more about her, spend some time with her alone, in a crowded place so that she wouldn't feel the need to take off in a haste. But that bloody ass of a man who was dancing and flirting with her stole that opportunity from him. Arya didn't seem to be the type to go to a club to get together with someone. Or had he been wrong in understanding her? She had clearly and frequently stated that she wasn't looking for a relationship, when he had tried to kind of pursue her. Had he missed reading between the lines? Did she mean she wasn't looking for a relationship but was open to short flings? Or did she mean that she was open to relationships and flings but just not with him? He was going crazy and he needed something to distract him, something to calm him down so he wouldn't end up doing something he would regret, which mainly meant accosting her and confessing what he truly felt for her.

***

"Here we are," Derek stated the obvious in a dry tone. He didn't want to part with Arya, not yet. The night was still young and the beautiful mystery before him was still unsolved. He knew better than to force her to be with him. After all, he didn't want her to think of him as clingy or too desperate for her attention. Add to it the thought that he didn't want her to regret ever going out with the boss when all tipsy. That's why he had insisted she drink a lot of fluids. He wanted her to be in her senses, to remember this cute diner date. If he could call it a date, even though it felt like that to him, an intimate dinner with someone he more than liked.

"Thank you so much... for saving me in there, and for accompanying me, and for putting up with my nonsense, " Arya smiled before adding, "And sorry for not sharing those fries. I hope I'm still the best PA anyone could ever have, Sir," and Derek could see the mischievous glint in her eyes, a full blown smile on her lips, making him chuckle.

"Oh no doubt about that. But you're a terrible friend to have at a diner, Ms. Davis. Either you change that or you remind me to never agree to go out with you again."

"Better luck next time," she innocently added before entering McLaren's and waving him goodbye as she went her way, a silly smile on her lips that she was trying to hide from her boss.

"I do hope it's soon," Derek softly whispered to himself as he looked at her retreating figure at leisure, in no hurry to go search for Mark as he could see Arya trying to search for her friends amidst the crowd.

Letting out a sigh, he made his way to the bar, trying hard to avoid searching for Arya and going after her again. He hadn't got enough of her, but at the same time, he knew he couldn't be greedy.

"About time you came back." Derek didn't have to turn around to look at whom the voice belonged to. He could smell jealousy and couldn't help the smirk that now appeared on his face.

"You shouldn't have made the bet. Told you," Derek smugly replied as he slowly turned around. That outing with Arya had now added some much needed spunk in his overall demeanour, something that didn'y go unnoticed by Mark.