The boys sat on the floor to start playing the game on the low table.
Emily lifted some chips in her hands.
—Choose your chips well because this game has challenges.
Dan grabbed a chip and looked at the number on one of its faces.
—Challenges?.
—Yep, you'll see.
Noemí grabbed chip 1, Dan 3, Emily 4, Jhonatan 2, Brandon 6, Sofía 5, Himari 7, and Josias 8.
—Now let's start,—said Emily.
Noemí shook the dice and threw them. The dice showed 5, and Noemí moved her chip 5 spaces forward.
Space 5 had the challenge "Say something you like to do in your free time."
Everyone looked up at her. Noemí got nervous but answered.
—I like... Cooking in my free time.
Sofía nodded with a smile.
—And she cooks very well, too.
(So far, she's the only one who's tried Noemí's food.)
—Really?, then someday we should try eating your food,—said Himari.
—Sure... Someday.
The game continued, Jhonatan grabbed the dice and threw them, showing 10.
Jhonatan moved forward the spaces, and his challenge was. "Kiss player 7." He blushed slightly and looked up, but Himari had already thrown herself at him to kiss him.
He caught her and fell to the floor from the push, Himari started kissing his face repeatedly.
—Hey. The one who was supposed to give the kiss was Jhonatan, not Himari,—said Josias.
Sofia laughed softly.
—I guess it counts as a challenge completed.
—Wait... What if we don't meet the challenges?—asked Brandon.
—If you don't, you'll get a turn blocked,—Emily answered.
—Okay! Okay, they completed the challenge! Hamari stop kissing him!—Dan exclaimed.
Himari reluctantly pulled away and returned to her spot, Jhonatan's face was completely red.
Emily's turn came, she rolled the dice, showing 7, she moved forward, and her challenge was "Tell a shameful secret of yours."
—Hmm... One day I fell down the school stairs because I was distracted.
—Huh? Why didn't I find out?—Dan asked.
—Because luckily no one was around, so I got up and acted like nothing happened.
Everyone had to hold back the laughter that wanted to come out, something Emily noticed.
—It's normal, it happens to everyone,—she said while rolling her eyes.
The game progressed, Dan was in the lead. He rolled the dice, and the number shown was 4. He moved 4 spaces, that space had a ladder where he could climb and gain an advantage if he completed the challenge. His challenge was "Hug player 1."
Player 1 was Noemí, when the two realized it, they blushed.
—W-we don't have to do this challenge, we can skip it if you want, Noemí—Dan said nervously, his voice was a bit shaky.
Emily smiled with a mischievous grin.
—Sorry, but I forgot to tell you that some challenges must be completed, and this is one of them.
Dan turned to look at her with anger.
—You're going to pay for this, Emily,—murmured.
Noemí couldn't make eye contact with Dan, she was too blushed.
—I-I'm okay... Y-you can do it...—Her voice showed her nervousness. Her ears were also red.
Dan was surprised to hear her.
—Really? Are you sure?.
She just nodded slowly. Everyone else looked at them with curiosity and some excitement.
He closed his eyes and lifted his trembling arms, slowly approaching Noemí's small body, who was also trembling slightly.
Dan's arms gently wrapped around Noemí's shoulders, she let out a small squeak of surprise. He hugged her for just a few seconds, but in that brief moment, Dan felt a beautiful, relaxing warmth.
The two still couldn't make eye contact, their faces burning with vengeance.
Emily clapped softly.
—How cute.
The game continued until Dan's revenge came.
Emily rolled the dice, moved forward, and her challenge was "Eat something super spicy."
—Huh?—Smiled with some nervousness knowing what's coming—But Dan doesn't have spicy food at his house, and the store is too far to go.
Dan quickly stood up and ran to his kitchen.
—I do have spicy food!.
Noemí's challenge was mandatory, so she had to complete it if she wanted to. Dan prepared a chili covered in super spicy salsa.
Emily stayed but in the end had to eat it, her face turned red from the spiciness and Dan smiled satisfied.
She quickly stood up to get water while the others laughed. The game progressed and ended after a few hours.
The party ended and they said goodbye at Dan's house.
—Thanks for inviting us, Dan,—Sofia said while leaving the house with Noemí.
She still couldn't look him in the eyes. Dan nodded.
—Sure. Be careful on your way.
When he was alone, he started cleaning the dishes, his mind only thinking about the moment he hugged Noemí and the warmth he felt.
After cleaning, he took a shower and went to bed to sleep, though he couldn't.