<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Standing a distance from the dart board, behind the worn line on the scuffed floor, she held her hand out and proudly accepted the darts he retrieved. Her other hand lifted the beer to her lips, the rim tasting of citrus as she took another quick pull from the bottle. She set it down on a nearby pub table behind them, freeing up her hands so that she could be unburdened by the drink physically. Returning to the line, she made sure her toe was just before it. Ava lifted the dart, her eye on the target while she perfected her aim. She pulled her arm back, ready to let it soar with every intention of striking the bullseye. Just as it was about to release from her fingertips a noise tweaked the dart’s direction, making it veer to the right to land just inside the outermost ring on the board. She spun around, beholding the shameless grin that hung on his lips. Though she was instantaneously annoyed, she was equal parts amused. There were so many words on the tip of her tongue, so many ways in which she could admonish him for being a poor sport, but she refrained. The flicker of irritation came and went, fading as she nodded finally. “Okay . . .” She muttered as though it was more a comment to herself. “Okay, I was thinking since it’s such a distracting environment-- bless you, by the way-- we should raise the stakes.”<br/>
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Ava moved over to him, folding her arms across her chest when they were toe to toe.  “I think it would be fun if the person who is not picking the song, has to <i>dance</i> to the song of the successful person’s choosing. It’s only fair.” She shrugged, an almost devious smile upon her lips as she explained. “I mean, ‘fair’ would be asking for a do-over since you decided to recreate every 70 year old man’s sneeze. But, I’ll let you go ahead and take your turn.” Stepping aside she allowed him to take his position, waiting patiently while he prepared himself to take his best shot. For a moment she thought about being a prime example of a mature, well-mannered player; that she would exact her revenge by adhering to the unspoken rules of fairness they both should have been abiding by. She would show him that his underhanded tactics were useless and childish, and no matter how hard he tried she was going to eventually hit that target. But, what desire she possessed to maintain her integrity seemed to vanish the very second she recalled that fake, over-exaggerated sneeze. While it would have been satisfying to earn a victory fair and square, it didn’t seem like the most fun route.<br/>
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Much like it had been a long while since she enjoyed the touch of another, it had been a long time since she could say she had fun. Ava spent her most of her time alone. An introvert by nature she liked to read and paint, listen to music and occasionally bake. On rare instances she would cave to Scarlett’s begging, accompany her for a night out on the town with to drink and dance until they stumbled out of a cab in the wee hours of the morning. She didn’t let her guard down like that with everyone, always maintaining a modicum of restraint and control even when it would have been understandable not to. Perhaps it was how similar Wes and her sister were, how they shared that same charisma and charm, able to easily draw people in without saying or do much at all. Ava tried to fight that pull of his, resist succumbing to the undeniable appeal of a mischievous grin or the magnetism of his eyes. There was a very disarming quality about him, one that made her want to cast aside her judgments and forget about all her reservations and just . . . be herself. While she still wanted to keep things platonic, and their relationship as nothing more than two people with the same goal, she struggled in that as well-- finding that she seemed to admire the same qualities and traits she deemed so infuriating, though she wouldn’t readily admit it.<br/>
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Ava went about her sabotage, waiting patiently while he took his place behind the line and began to prepare to take his shot. As he aligned the dart in his hand, positioning it just right, she watched as he brought his arm back. Just as he was about to release it from his hold, she pretended as though she were reaching for her drink, pushing herself onto her toes so that she was right at the back his neck. She pushed a concentrated gust of air between her lips, blowing against his skin as he let the dart fly. Stepping back quickly, she snatched up her drink, leaning against the wall casually. </span>