Lana was much better now, though not completely sober. At least it was better than her drunk self who was hellbent on hooking up Mason with any and everyone she saw on the way to her apartment, yelling like a crazy person to draw attention of people walking on the streets. While Mason tried hard to ignore, Arya was having the time of her life. Her wholehearted laughs were enough to warm Mason's heart, though the nagging feeling that she was hiding things from him and that she hadn't been completely honest with him refused to leave him.
They reached Lana's apartment quite late. They showered and changed into something comfortable before settling in the living room to play a game of truth or dare. Lana had stocked quite some chips, cheese sticks and a lot of stuff to munch on, along with a few bottles of red wine. The game was in progress, with two bottles of wine already empty.
"I choose... dare!" Arya tried hard to speak coherently, the slight buzz of alcohol making her feel brave.
"I have the perfect dare for her!" Lana butted in before Mason could even respond. He inwardly cursed himself for his slow reflexes as he begrudgingly agreed.
"You have to peck Mason on the lips," Lana giggled as she saw the horrified look that Arya had while Mason was just left gawking at her.
"No!" They responded in unison.
"Oh come on! Stop being such spoilsports! It's just a light peck! Arya, I am not even asking you to give Mason a full-blown kiss, you can save that for your special someone. And you, Mason, just shut it. The same thing applies to you. Now you both, stop behaving like prudes and complete the dare."
The slight buzz of alcohol was no longer enough to make Arya feel brave. She regretted having chosen dare, cursing herself for not opting for truth again. She looked at Mason, who looked distant to even react to the situation. Mason, on the other hand, was lost in his thoughts. Yes, he wanted to feel her lips against his, but due to her own free will and not as a part of some dare. He snapped out of his daze and looked at Arya, noticing that she was fidgeting with the helm of her flannel pajamas. He wanted to put her out of her misery, but at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if it was the ridiculous situation itself or if Arya truly didn't find him appealing enough to kiss him. Shaking those thoughts away, he said, "Two skips per player is permitted in the game, girls. Arya, if you want, you c..."
"I am going to skip this dare!" Arya immediately said it out loud, not allowing Mason to complete his sentence.
"You guys suck! Let it be, let's continue this game with you two boring souls," Lana pouted as they continued with the game, with the trio sometimes arguing over the rules and Lana reprimanding them again and again for being spoilsports.
***
"About time you both reached home," Deborah complained as Mark and Derek reached home. "Do you guys want to eat or are you going to crash?"
"I am going to crash. Bye," Derek blandly responded as he made his way to his room, making Deborah give a questioning look to Mark. "Girl problems, nothing much," Mark shrugged and tried to escape when Deborah asked him to stop. "What do you mean by girl problems? Since when did Derek start having girl problems?"
"Umm... it's nothing, actually. Just some girl he is infatuated with," Mark blurted out, before realising what he had done. "s**t!" He mumbled.
"Care to elaborate on this? And Mark, mind your language," Deborah reprimanded, curiosity getting the better of her with each passing moment.
Maybe it was the copious amount of alcohol in his system, but Mark felt like he had no option but to narrate everything that had transpired since the day Arya had joined and the changes he had been observing in Derek. He also opened his heart out to her, the alcohol making it easy, confessing that he felt something for Arya too but it could be just a mere liking and nothing more. Of course, he left out the details of their bet, else Deborah would have flipped out. She despised this kind of behaviour and she had no idea that her son and his best friend had the tendency to indulge in such behaviour sometimes. Even in a slight tipsy state, he hoped that she would never know of this, refusing to think how she would react if she were to know.
"So this girl has been occupying your thoughts and Derek's too. Hmm... I want to meet her, discreetly of course. Is that possible?"
They discussed this situation for quite sometime before they retired for the day. Deborah's mind was filled with a lot of questions. She knew the boys thought that they were pretty good at keeping secrets from her. What they did not know was that she was somewhat aware that they had the tendency to compete with each other for the affections of the same girl. And this was the behaviour she disapproved of and wanted to talk to them about it. She had foreseen that such unhealthy habit would somewhere lead to heartbreaks and bitterness between the two friends and she feared that this was the moment where it would all begin. After all, hadn't Mark just confessed that they both felt something for her? She simply hoped that their friendship could withstand whatever this situation would throw their way. Not to forget the plight of the girl who would be stuck in this crossfire, just because these two friends had their massive egos to nurse. Unless she was as vicious and shrewd as Derek's previous secretary. Irrespective of the scenario, this situation had to be dealt with immediately before things got out of hand - either on their end or the girl's end.