The Fractured Mage

Chapter 22 - Age-Restricted(Part 2)

"..."

"..."

"..."

"S-so...shall we, uh, continue the game?" Stuttered Lilac quietly, breaking the silence.

After, uh, you know, THAT happened, I lifted her off my lap and turned away, feeling absolutely mortified as I calmed myself down. She was pretty quiet too, which means she probably realized what it was that, uh...p-poked her.

"I-I think we should just stop already, I told you it had to be age-restricted for a reason...," I muttered, my gaze fixed downwards, as I was unable to look her in the eye.

"Wh-what, are you chicken? Come on, you aren't scared, a-are you?" She taunted me, poking my shoulder a couple of times...but her taunts are definitely a lot less spirited than usual.

This is painfully awkward.

"You should be more worried about it than me...I-I mean, I bet that was a super unpleasant experience for you, and it might get even worse from here, s-so...," I trailed off.

"Well, um...I guess it was kinda awkward, b-but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was unpleasant. Wh-what about you? Was it unpleasant for you?" She asked me quietly.

"N-no, that's not the word I'd use to describe it..."

"H-heh, yeah, I bet! I-I mean, that reaction meant that you were feeling good, r-right?" She pointed out, her taunts once again weaker than usual.

"I'm sorry...I was trying hard not to notice, but I could help it...," I muttered awkwardly in response.

Kill me...

"N-no, you don't need to apologize! It was at least half my fault too...I didn't get why you told me to stop moving around until it was too late, so that's my bad. A-and besides, um...you didn't do anything wrong. It's just, like, a natural reaction, right? Wait...does this mean you find me attractive? You do, don't you!?" She grinned, poking my cheek playfully.

Damn it, this time she sounds a lot closer to how she normally is...she's recovered already? Her mental strength is no joke, I still feel like I want to disappear over here...

"N-no, I don't..."

"Real convincing, To...your mouth may lie, but your body definitely didn't!" She laughed in response.

Yeah, she's definitely over it...

"L-let's just forget that happened, okay? And quit this game while we're at it. You can take the win, I'll gladly-..."

"No way! I earn my wins, I don't want them just handed to me!" She huffed indignantly.

"I mean, this is a game of luck, there's no real skill involved, so...," I pointed out.

"Doesn't matter! Whether it's luck or skill, either way, I wanna win fair and square!" She insisted firmly.

"...alright, fine. Don't say I didn't warn you...," I sighed, relenting as I reluctantly drew another card from the the deck, as she did the same.

Let's see here, it's another rock card, and the dare is...'give the other player a foot massage'. Oh. Nice, this one's super innocuous, at least in comparison to the others we've seen so far.

Hm? Lilac's staring at the card she just drew, and she has a look of slight relief on her face...good, looks like she drew something that isn't too problematic as well.

"Okay, you ready? On three...one, two, three!" She counted down, before we both played the cards we'd just drawn.

And the sign on her card is...scissors!

"Sweet, I win again."

"Oh, come on! Why'd you have to play rock again!?" She groaned in dismay, before warily reading the dare on my card.

"Gotta say, I'm looking forward to this," I smirked teasingly, as I stretched my legs out towards her.

"Well, I lost, so I can't complain...I guess this isn't so bad," She sighed, as she began rubbing my feet, pressing her thumbs into my skin.

Huh, she's pretty good at this.

"You missed a spot, you better not be half-assing this," I grinned smugly.

"You're enjoying this way too much...alright, I think I've done enough to clear the dare. And now...take this!" She exclaimed, as she began tickling me.

"N-no, don't-...hahahaha...-stop it, y-you little-...! Hahaha!" I burst out laughing, trying to pull my feet away before she swiftly grabbed my right ankle and continuing tickling the bottom of my right foot.

"Don't wanna be a sore loser, so I won't go too hard on you," She smirked, as she finally let go my foot.

"You're so gonna pay for that...," I muttered saltily, before reaching for the deck and drawing out another card, "Please give me something I can work with-...nope."

'Pleasure the other player orally'...yeah, that's not happening. We really shouldn't be playing this game...

"What's the matter? Your expression is funny," She responded curiously.

"We're done here. The two cards I already had in hand are definite no-gos, and the one I just drew is an absolute 'hell no'. See for yourself," I sighed, showing her the card.

"Uh...I don't get it? Orally...what, does that mean, like, talking dirty?" She replied with a confused tilt of her head, adding, "I mean, that'd be awkward, sure, but it's not as bad as-..."

"No, that's not what it means."

"Huh? Then, what does it mean?"

"U-uh...I'd rather not say," I responded as I averted my gaze.

"Come on, tell me! I'm super curious now!"

"...o-okay, fine," I relented, before leaning over and whispering quietly into her ear, feeling my face heat up as I explained what it means.

"Wh-wha...!? W-with my mouth!?" She blurted out in disbelief, her face turning bright red.

With how overprotective Ifeus can be, it's no surprise that she doesn't know much about this stuff...

"Like I said...let's stop," I repeated myself with a strained sigh.

"C-come on, don't let one card ruin it for you, I'm sure there are plenty of other cards in the deck with dares that are more feasible for us! Let's see here...," She replied, as she drew out a card and glanced at it...before letting out a slight gasp and then quietly showing it to me as she averted her gaze, her face turning red.

"O-oh, my God, that's just-...yeah, you made a mistake buying this game..."

"U-uh-huh. I-I think you're right...w-we should stop playing," She gave in with a look of disappointment, putting the cards back into the pack and hopping off the bed, "I'll go put these away."

"Maybe you could return that pack, get a refund and buy something that's, you know, more appropriate?" I suggested, as she headed for the door.

"Nah, that's okay. It's a bit much now, but...maybe we can play it again once we're older," She replied with a shrug, as she opened the door and headed out.

Wait, what?