Imperfect Desires

Seeing the nonchalance as ease on Darren's face, Dylan was exasperated. "Oi! Why are you using your poisonous tongue on me?"

Darren calmly sat down on the chair and looked through the menu while saying, "Dylan, I'm not a snake. I certainly can't have a poisonous tongue. If I did, you'd be the first one to die." Taking a pause, he added, "Also, it was your own wild fantasy to have a threesome in high school."

"You don't need to remind me of my dark history." Dylan retorted.

"Well, I wasn't the one who read that wish before the whole class." Darren was pursing his lips to stifle his laughter. That reminder from Dylan's rebellious phase was such a sore spot for Dylan that no one dared to voice it out again. Well, with the exception of Darren.

Dylan stared at him in disbelief as his temper was about to flare up. But something caught his attention. He came close to Darren and sniffed with suspicion. "You were with a woman." It wasn't a question. He seemed certain with his statement.

Darren pushed him away saying, "What the hell! What dog nose you have?" Darren was really sure that this friend's nose was better than military dogs. He didn't even touch Xiu earlier, how could Dylan still catch a whiff of her scent on him? Even he didn't smell anything.

"Ahan!" Dylan immediately perked up as he said, "I'm not wrong. Tell me, who's the girl?"

Darren took a sip of water and asked, "Even if I tell you who she is, would you really know her?"

Dylan found the answer almost immediately. Nope! He wouldn't know at all. "Of course I won't." He sat back at his own chair like a defeated man and continued, "After all, you have a weird personality. You always date women from a humble background."

"Well, not everyone can endure socialites like you." Darren retorted almost immediately.

"Let's not delve into this topic anymore. We both have our own reasons." Dylan tried to stir the conversation to a different route as he asked, "So, mind sharing what was she like? Because if she's the one who made you laugh like that... Then we have a lot to look out for." He suddenly felt apprehensive for some reason.

Darren didn't speak for a while, he languidly skimmed through the menu and ordered a couple of dishes along with wine. Then propping his chin on his intertwined fingers, he said, "Do you think women are eccentric?"

"Think?" Dylan snorted and added, "I know women are eccentric. I find them outlandish and sometimes they even give me outré feelings." He noted Darren's odd silence and asked, "Why are you asking this suddenly?"

"In a matter of five minutes, I saw that woman changing her fifty shades."

"Huh?" Dylan looked dumbfounded.

With a sigh, Darren explained, "I met a damsel in distress with tears streaked face," Xiu's crying face flashed before his eyes. "Then she turned into a self-loathing dove; fragile but pure." He remembered the way she kept condemning her own reflection as if she had let herself down. "Within a split-second, she seemed like a vulnerable little lamb." He was referring to when he saw her breaking down as she fell on her knees. His eyes flickered at the memory as he thought she must have hurt her knees badly.

Dylan was listening attentively to his best friend without even trying to cut in which was so not like him at all. But they both were acting out of their norm. When did Darren turn this talkative? He wondered to himself.

After a long uninterrupted silence, Darren continued, "Moving on, I saw her turning into a feisty wild kitten ready to claw like I've stolen her toy or something." He couldn't forget the way she accused him of being a pervert. But what amused him back then was her defiant nature. She was trying to hide her vulnerability behind her sharp words. "Soon, she became like a red rose; preciously delving in her embarrassment." He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped from his mouth as he remembered her flushed face and closed eyes.

"What happened next?" By this point, Dylan was too invested in this tale. It was intriguing since he had never seen his best friend elaborating a woman like this.

Right when Darren opened his mouth to speak, the door opened and the serves brought in their dishes along with the special wine. Dylan was getting impatient and when the waiter asked, "Do you need anything else?"

"No, we don't." Dylan waved him off and the servers got his hint, leaving them alone in the room. Dylan shifted back his attention to Darren, "Go on, tell me what happened next?"

"Next..." Darren picked up his wine glass and swirled the crimson red liquid before taking a sniff. "Next, she became a runaway princess."

"You mean she ran away?" Dylan asked with a disbelieving look as if saying, 'Do you think I'll believe this sh*t?'

"Mhmm." Darren made a sound of affirmation.

"How is that possible? I have never seen girls running away from you. At least not at the first meeting." Dylan was mumbling to himself.

"And I haven't seen a girl kicking your ass at the first meeting either." Darren's reply reminded Dylan of the most embarrassing moment of his life. "Later on, they sure try to beat you. After all, you're the biggest jerk for them."

Dylan wasn't offended by the latter part of his speech but he sure felt a jab because of the former reminder. His hands curled up into fists as he said, "I'll not let her off if I met her again. She called me an uncle again."

Bouts of laughter could be heard in the initially silent room as Darren was really feeling like this was the best thing he had heard. Someone dared to not just kick Dylan but also called him old. Oh, he was certainly going to be entertained for a long time. How he wished he had seen the scene first hand. It was such a pity for Darren that he missed this chance.

'I should ask someone to retrieve the CCTV footage from the convenience store.' Darren came to that conclusion when his curiosity piqued.