"... Yeah, few months now." Taryn paused slightly before giving her reply...
It was the hesitation in her voice to admit she had a partner that made Mark's ears prickle. He had to restrain himself from grinning at hearing it.
"Congratulations." Mark gave her a smile as he let go of her hand, letting it drop against his thigh. He kept his gaze on her when she didn't move it.
"He's not here tonight."Taryn replied shyly, ignoring what Mark had said. Her cheeks went red as she looked away from him, gazing aimlessly toward a spot on the floor a few feet in front of her.
"Well yeah, but you've got your friends here." Mark spoke casually, though a little shocked at how open Taryn was being. Mark hadn't even addressed where her fiance was, so she had made good effort to let him know he wasn't with her, as if she wanted him to know she was unrestrained tonight. Mark knew Taryn was being a bit shy at that moment, but her response only further reiterated her intent.
"... yeah, but he's not here." Taryn spoke quietly again, as if only to herself. Her eyes still hadn't moved from the spot where she stared, her hand was still on the inside of Mark's thigh as the party raged around them.
"That's a shame." Mark spoke to break her stare.
"A shame he isn't here?" Taryn asked quizzically, a little confused by his response.
"Shame you're engaged." Mark lied with a calm smile.
"Ah... yeah." Taryn spoke awkwardly, unsure how to explain the openness of her flirting.
"Another drink?" Mark nodded towards the kitchen, changing the conversation casually.
"No more shots, though." Taryn smiled, a little more relaxed knowing Mark wasn't deterred by the fact that she had a fiance.
He certainly wasn't deterred by this, if anything this was the most motivated the 20-year-old could be...
It was going on 3am and the party was just as strong as it had ever been. Admittedly the alcohol was a lot more scarce meaning drinks were being shared and god awful (even worse than before) combination of cocktails were being made. Mark and Taryn stood side by side at the kitchen counter, laughing to themselves as a very drunk blonde poured them a mix of drinks that were apparently 'approved nightclub cocktails'. The pair took this as a challenge and were onto their fifth Cowboy Butterscotch Creme shot with orange juice chaser. Sadly enough, this was by far the best mix she had come up with so far.
"Alright, fuck it, I'm done." Mark held up his hands as the nameless blonde pulled out the remainder of what appeared to be an absinthe bottle and a carton of blueberry juice. There was no way he could stomach any more of these hideous creations.
"Win!" Taryn slammed her hand down on the counter.
The pair were kind of drunk at this point. This wasn't to Mark's plan, rather the fortunate by-product of spending time around so many keen drinkers. But hell, they were finally getting into the swing of the party.
"Draw." Mark corrected her. "We had the same amount of drinks."
"Pour me one." Taryn gestured to the ditsy blonde who looked happy that someone was actually keen to enjoy her combinations.
"It's absinthe though, love." Mark jeered the make-shift bartender to make the challenge harder. "Gotta be at least half and half."
"Fuck off." Taryn hit Mark on the chest playfully, though still quite hard. She probably didn't realise how drunk she was at this point. "That stuff's like 60%."
"I don't make the rules." Mark shrugged before gesturing that the blonde poured the glass deep.
"No, you don't, asshole." Taryn spoke with a smile and a little more venom before telling the blonde to stop. The glass was still deeply filled, so much so that the deep blue mixture of blueberry juice was diluted heavily by the time the glass was filled. The short haired brunette took the glass and inspected it hesitantly before biting her lip and looking up to Mark. She offered the glass to him. "... if you drink it you'll win."
