Do you have to put so much gold on your face?

After Jeremy left, Frank and Sarah walked into the box. Dana felt it was inappropriate for her to stay; she muttered "Bastard" as she walked out fuming at his insolence.

“Give me a call when you have decided on a place for dinner” Ben added, as she reached the door, crossing the stunned Sarah.

Ben looked at the departing figure with an amused smile. He picked up his phone "Shadow, I want all the details of the person who just left the box."

"Male or female Boss?"

"What do you think?" Ben retorted with a laugh in his voice.

"Right away."

Ben looked at Frank's and Sarah's imploring gazes without any intention of quelling their curiosity as he disconnected the call.

"Why do I feel she was annoyed with you although you helped her?" Frank asked tactfully when he could no longer hold it in...

Ben didn't take the bait... he flashed one of his 'none of your business' smile, swirling the red wine in his cup. He didn't want to take a sip...he didn't want to lose the sweet taste of the kiss. This thought confused him 'what the hell was he thinking?' In an attempt to drive all the crazy thoughts away, he downed the cup in a gulp.

'That didn't seem to work... maybe a bottle'. Thinking this way, Ben stretched his hand to grab the bottle with a twisted look. Before his hand reached the bottle, Sarah's sizing gaze from before flashed past his mind 'maybe he could be enlightened'.

"What do you think of her?" He looked towards Sarah.

Sarah was sitting starry eyed, still processing the scene she had witnessed. 

"Uh?" Sarah jolted from her stupor after being elbowed by Frank "Not your type."

"Oh??" Ben dragged the syllable 

"You know... 6 inches …35/25/35 long slender legs ...10 point socialite etiquette" Sarah rolled her eyes

"I do have good taste" Ben chuckled shamelessly. 

"She's plainer than plain Jane... doesn’t look pretentious .... In short, not your cup of tea." Sarah humphed and added in a thoughtful manner “However, I would love to be friends with her.”

"That's a good angle too... keep working” Ben chuckled.

Sarah " "

Frank " "  

"Are you serious?" Frank asked curiously.

What followed was a long silence. Just when Frank thought he was being ignored and was about to change the topic…

"I don't know" Ben shook his head in confusion "I wasn't planning on helping, you know me. I can't be bothered with other people, but when she got up to leave … I felt lost… I don't know how to explain... I don't even know why I held her hand or what followed." Ben never lied nor did he ever hide anything from Frank and Ed; they had been best mates and sworn brothers since they were in diapers…

"What do you mean you don't know... weren't you following the script she gave?" Sarah gave him a way out.

"...Hehhehe..." Ben shook his head, smiling stupidly "I'm sure there must have been lines she prepared...but she didn't get the chance."

"Then...." Sarah waved her hands around,g implicating the scene they walked into…

"My machinations.” Ben had a silly face “The only thing I knew at that moment was I didn’t want to let go…I didn’t feel comfortable when she was outside talking with that guy. I wanted to tease her when I said kiss and dinner… don’t know why … but when she was about to touch my cheeks, I wanted to know how it felt to touch her lips.” He touched his lips mesmerized “when I touched, I wanted more..” he looked at Frank “do I sound like an idiot?” 

Frank couldn't remember Ben like this in the last fifty years he'd known him.

"So, what's next?" Sarah asked the obvious 

"Dinner …. I have to see what her intentions are!"

"When" Sarah pressed. 

"She'll call for a booking... Fuck!" Ben slapped the table in sudden realization. 

Frank and Sarah raised their eyebrows.

"She didn’t take my number nor did she give me hers."

"That's it" Sarah smirked. 

It was Ben's and Frank's turn to stare 

"When you said call to discuss dinner, she walked out with a 'dream on' look. I didn't get it then." Sarah beamed.

“You mean...” Ben asked cautiously.

Sarah nodded with a perceptive smile.

“If it wasn’t intentional, why me?” Ben was not convinced. Although he was aware of the way his feelings were disturbed, he was sure that she had approached him as part of a conspiracy. Even so, for some unexplainable reason, he was willing to be schemed against.

“Don’t know” Sarah shrugged “but I am positive that she has no intention of keeping the dinner appointment”.

“Let’s see” Ben drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully.

“I’ll need to use the restroom” Sarah left the box while the two men were analyzing the plot.

Dana walked towards the restroom, annoyed with herself. Who else could she blame for her own stupidity?

“Dana…DANA…” Lara yelled as she rushed towards her. She was anxiously waiting a few tables away for her.

She pulled Dana towards the quiet corridor behind the stairs.

“I think you did it…” she clapped her hands and looked at Dana's face, not hearing her enthusiasm. Actually, her mind was already in turmoil after she overheard a few things. She was trying to cheer herself up thinking this was what Dana wanted anyway… but looking at Dana’s face she was conflicted ‘wasn’t this what Dana wanted? Did Dana actually like Jeremy? Why did she never feel this when she saw them interacting?’

“Dana” Lara shook her shoulders gently “Talk to me. Why are you upset? Is this not what you wanted?” She looked at Dana imploringly “Don’t worry. I will fix this for you. Let’s go find Jeremy.” She pulled Dana, turning to head towards the exit. This successfully woke Dana from her stupor.

“Eh? What?" Dana pulled back.

“Aren’t you upset that Jeremy walked away?” Lara was totally confused.

“No… no... God no!” Dana shook her head. Lara could see the determination in her eyes and knew she wasn’t lying.

“Then, why do you seem upset?”

“Oh!” Not knowing how to explain, Dana gritted her teeth. “Bastard"

“Eh!”

“Never mind, it’s done” Dana tried to shake off the experience in her head.

“So, no regrets about Jeremy?” Lara quizzed again, hearing Dana’s response.

“No. Whatever gave you that idea?” Dana looked at Lara in confusion.

“You’ve been acting weird ever since you came back from this charade.” Lara explained while searching Dana’s face for clues.

“I don’t want to talk about it yet, but it has nothing to do with Jeremy. I am happy that he is able to let go!” Dana explained helplessly. She knew Lara would keep pestering her if she didn’t explain.

“Then, is it the fellow in the box? Did he make things difficult?”

Dana nodded “Can you please let this go?”

“Will you tell me when you are comfortable?” Lara would pay him back if he dared to hurt Dana. With Dana nodding acquiesce, she decided not to pursue it for now.

“Let’s hurry back, Therese will be waiting for us” Dana urged, as she saw Lara standing without any intention of moving.

“About that…” Lara looked at Dana with a face full of hesitation and then decided “Let’s go.”

Although they had only been friends for less than a year, they knew each other very well. Sometimes one would know what the other person was thinking without having to verbalize it.

“You don’t want to go?” Dana raised her eyebrows. ‘What happened in the 10 mins that she walked away? Wasn’t she the one who insisted on cherishing this night with Therese?’

Lara did not know what to do… she did not want to lie to Dana, but she also didn’t want to spoil the image in Dana’s head. She knew that Dana would be hurt if she told her what she overheard, but she also didn’t want Dana’s feelings to be perceived as a fool.

“Spit it out” Dana twisted her lips with her hands on her hips.

 Lara’s face turned green with literal regurgitation. Dana realized that Lara’s conflicted appearance was not a trivial issue. “Let’s bid farewell to Therese and head back. We will talk when we get back to our apartment.”

Lara nodded and smiled as she made the decision in her mind.

They made their way to the table reserved for them and spotted Therese, who was enjoying all the attention in the middle.

“Therese” Dana called out from the side without breaking into the inner circle.

“Dana… my dear friend… where were you? I have been looking everywhere” Therese sulked as she reached out to pull Dana. Lara stepped back, bringing Dana back with her. Therese walked towards them with a blissful smile without taking note of Lara’s actions. Dana gave Lara a curious gaze before turning back to Therese, who pulled her into an embrace.

“Dana, I will miss you. Why don’t you come with me?” Therese hugged her tightly and started sobbing. “I don’t even know how to survive without you.”

“Weren’t you fine all these years?” Lara smirked.

“You’re jealous.” Therese pouted and turned to Dana “Let’s get drunk tonight.”

“We have another appointment” Lara rudely interrupted. This pretense was making her sick.

Dana felt confused as she felt Lara’s hostility towards Therese. ‘Lara usually got along well with Therese. Why the sudden hostility?’ Since they had decided to head back, Dana looked apologetically at Therese “Something has come up… we really have to go.”

“Oh…this is my last chance to spend time with you” Therese sobbed pitifully.

“Not really, we will come over to send you off” Dana pacified gently before heading out with Lara.

At the exit, the bouncers stopped Dana and Lara. “Miss, do you have your ID’s on you? We will have to register as we have been notified by management that all entries have to be logged in. Since you entered before the notification came, we have to log it before you leave.” One of the bouncers explained with an unnatural expression. Neither Dana nor Lara thought much of it and handed their ID cards innocently. The bouncer ran into the office and quickly photocopied Dana’s ID before returning it. After watching the ladies wander off, he picked up his phone, dialed the number “Boss, it’s done. The copy of the requested ID is in your mailbox.”

Sarah walked into the restroom just in time to overhear the chatter between two young lasses.

“I know… wonder what her intentions are!”

“My sister was in another box with her boyfriend and his friends and she was there too!”

“Wonder if she found someone without a partner… how desperate.” They laughed contemptuously.

A third person came out of the cubicle and chimed in with an innocent expression “Why are you two being mean… she didn’t hurt anyone or flirt with your men. Wasn’t it just innocently asking if there was anyone free?”

“You mean she asked your group as well?? Tsk… Tsk”

“Actually, she asked most of the people in the boxes.” The third person covered her mouth as if she was trying to suppress her laughter and added in mockery, “maybe you get lonely after a certain age or you just want a free drink.”

They saw Sarah waiting for them to finish before entering the cubicle as they turned to dry their hands.

“Are you waiting? The last cubicle is free.” One of them generously pointed at the cubicle at the far end.

Sarah walked past the arrogant ladies and went into the cubicle. They had no intention of stopping and continued to mock Dana.

“Did she really think that she could pick someone with the caliber to afford to play in the box with her looks?”

“Ambition has no awareness… Tsk...Tsk”

“Shameless to the extent”

Sarah felt quite uncomfortable listening to the mockery of the youngsters even if she didn’t know Dana. She felt indignant at the thought of her being slandered despite her innocent intentions. She had heard Ben’s explanation for Dana’s request and also seen Jeremy, which was proof of Dana’s intent.

Coming out of the cubicle, Sarah arched her brows as she washed her hands. “Is it fun to slander someone these days? Is that the trend?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Were you eavesdropping? Is that the trend in your days?”

“Who the hell are you?”

All three retorted differently in unison.

Sarah smiled sinisterly and responded to each one of their questions facing them-

“You must be really silly if you didn’t understand me.”

“You don’t need to eavesdrop on a conversation that is being broadcast in the open and the trends from my days are way beyond your comprehension, lassie.”

“Someone you cannot afford to offend”

Satisfied with their ugly expressions, Sarah left the restroom.

Back in the box, Ben and Frank were discussing Dana’s intention as they were informed by Shadow that she had left the club soon after coming out of their box.

“It’s hard to say that the encounter was not designed considering they left soon after” Frank thought out loud.

Sarah walked in hearing Frank’s remark and was instantly annoyed.

“Do you have to put so much gold on your face?”

“Darling, what’s wrong?” Frank asked in concern, as Sarah’s outburst was contrary to her normal self.

“Oh … nothing you guys continue. Don’t mind me” Sarah smiled awkwardly as she realized that her outburst was uncalled for.

Frank looked at Ben “What do you think?”

“I am inclined to think so too!” Ben nodded.

“Why do you two think so?” Sarah asked.

“Darling, she came, flirted with Ben with a pretense of innocence and left soon after she left the box. What do you think?” Frank asked.

“What if I told you that this was not the only box she approached?” Sarah asked another question instead of answering.

“What do you mean?” Ben and Frank asked in unison.

Sarah told them that she overhead the gossipers in the restroom and that Dana had asked the same question systematically in all the boxes up till their box, which was 15 in the row from the entrance lounge area.

“That changes things” Frank stated without hesitation. “It must be a chance encounter.”

Although this should have made him feel better, Ben suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. Thinking that Dana would have acted out with someone else and would be kissed by someone else made his chest feel stuffy. He conveniently ignored the fact that he had forcefully kissed Dana and this was not part of the act.

Looking at the ugly expression on Ben’s face, Sarah teased “What’s with the long face?”

“Let’s call it a day” Ben walked out, ignoring the two annoying people in the room.