CHAPTER SEVEN: THE KISS

While everyone served themselves, Lydia served the director and Tryton respectively which both of them were grateful for. This was the first time Tryton ate human food, and he was pleased by its taste and savored every bite he took. One of his best meals that night was the chicken wings, he ate a lot of them than the others that night,

" You love chicken a lot, don't you?" Lydia asked Tryton, smiling.

" Yeah it tastes great" Tryton replied,

" You can have some more if you like!" Lydia said 

She went ahead and added more chicken to his plate.

" So Tryton, before you came in, the director didn't have the means to get to you, do you have a phone maybe?" Lydia asked.

Thanatos hesitated for a moment, knowing about phones but not entirely sure how they worked. He didn't want to look weird, so he quickly responded, 

"My phone got stolen."

Thanatos couldn't help but feel embarrassed about his lie. He had always prided himself on his honesty and integrity, but in this moment, he had chosen deception instead.

" Oh! Sorry about that, you can get a new one then, right?" Lydia asked

"Yeah, I will" Tryton responded,

Lydia, who was friendly to everyone, had a brilliant idea. With a mischievous gleam in her eyes, she turned to Riona and suggested, 

"Hey, Riona! How about we accompany Tryton to get a new phone? It could be fun, and besides we are both free tomorrow, it's our off day tomorrow, what do you think huh!?"

Riona's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She had always found Tryton to be intolerably rude, and she couldn't understand why Lydia would want her to spend time with him, let alone help him.

Riona hesitated, trying to come up with a polite excuse. But before she could utter a word, Lydia added, 

"Come on, Riona! You know what they say; keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Riona was surprised at what she just said, so she whispered to Lydia,

" Are you mad? can't you see he is also here listening?"

Lydia laughed it off and also replied,

"Common, he is not that bad"

" You are crazy, really! really! crazy"

They both giggled and Riona couldn't help but laugh at Lydia's enthusiasm. 

"Alright, let's do it," Riona said, 

" Yes! So is it okay with you Tryton?"

Tryton who heard everything they discussed, but never uttered a word to them, responded,

"Okay".

Riona was thinking to herself, while he answered so calmly,

" Omg! This is a big mistake".

********

Tryton sat in silence, His eyes fixed on the glass of drink in front of him. He enjoyed the taste of every sip, but the truth was, no matter how much he had, he could not get drunk.

The director got up, drawing all the attention of everyone to himself,

" let's all test our drinking abilities, let's have a drinking competition" he said,

Everyone was excited, they all agreed,

"So who is going first?" the director asked,

Lydia immediately started a chant,

"Riona and Tryton" 

Everyone joined in on the chant, accepting they both did the challenge first.

Riona's eyes gleamed with a mischievous spark, as she saw this as the perfect opportunity to teach Tryton a lesson for being rude to her, by making him feel shame after she had won the drinking contest.

Little did Riona know who Tryton really was, he was a god who could never get drunk from alcohol. He was immune to the earthly pleasures that mere mortals indulged in.

Driven by her thoughts, Riona boldly accepted the challenge. With a playful smile on her lips, she raised her glass, in acceptance. Tryton sat there silently, nonchalant about the whole contest, but he also raised his glass in acceptance.

Round after round, Riona drank over and over again, her mouth filled with alcohol, each drink merely found a way down her throat. Everyone at the table cheered for her while Tryton, in his ever-stoic attitude, drank every alcohol more calmly and was not getting drunk, which surprised everyone because they had never seen someone that had such a high metabolism.

As the night got darker, the room was filled with cheers and laughter, Riona's laughter grew louder, and her steps became more unsteady. A twinge of pride swelled within her, believing that victory was within her grasp. However, fate had other plans.

With a wobbly sway, Riona stumbled and collapsed onto the table, passing out into a drunken slumber. The gathering gasped, unsure how to respond to this unexpected turn of events. Tryton, without knowing it, smiled after Riona collapsed.

Gently, he caught Riona by her shoulder, for her safety because she was slightly falling to the side. He couldn't help but feel a tinge of sympathy for her, she had a lot of courage challenging her limits, unaware of who he really was.

Everyone was tired and they all had to retire back home to rest up, Lydia who was slightly wasted from drinking so little alcohol got up, still unsteady she managed to stand upright and whispered in Tryton's ear,

" Could you take her home? I have to get home myself, and you also look alright unaffected by the alcohol. So pleaseee?"

Tryton who had pitied Riona earlier, agreed to it and Lydia and the others including Jonathan left, leaving both Tryton and Riona behind.

Tryton sat on his chair and watched Riona sleep until she tried getting up.

As Riona gradually regained her senses, Tryton extended his hand to help her gain balance. She looked up at him and said, still in her drunken state,

" Oh it's you, my handsome but rude vice director"

Still very drunk and not in her right senses, she accepted his assistance and stood up but fell into his body. They slowly left the restaurant, but gladly she knew the direction to her place, which Tryton never thought of, but was amazed she still knew the directions in that state.

Tryton took Riona home, on getting to the front door, she turned around and looked directly at Tryton's eyes, drew his cheeks playfully and said,

" You have such beautiful eyes, so I am going to give you a prize for bringing me home safely"

After saying that, she leaned closer, raising her heels and her lips touched with Tryton's. Tryton's eyes gleamed with excitement, his chest, beating fast, he could feel her breath upon his face. They kissed for a while, then slowly and unsteadily she pulled away and tried to open her door, after she opened it she said,

"good night" while getting inside.

The door closed behind her, but Tryton still stood there confused, his heart beating really fast,

" What's this?" he said to himself.

After a while, he tapped out of his thoughts, turned around and left, slowly disappearing into the darkness.