I initially squeed but, after reading the comments here, I have come to the conclusion that those suggesting it's a dream are partially right -- I think it is a dream but it's only the last two strips that are the dream. I suspect that, when she said, "Mistakes were made," she realised going back to Marten's was not something she wanted to do that night. She's either going to wake up in her own bed and wonder how much of the night was real or she's having this day dream in front of them and she's going to be brought back to reality when Faye or Marten asks her what she meant by "Don't ever stop."
There are two reasons why I think it's a dream:
- It's out of character for Marten.
- The colour of the walls is wrong.
Huh. Seriously? Wall coloring wrong? Check I must.
It is out of character for Marten, even if he's comfortable around Claire. Dude isn't that smooth or forward in anything. And after his reactions to Emily....I dunno. Hell, he seemed massively down when he realized Emily's "everyone got this" letter wasn't just for him. Then he mulled over a "kiss" forever.
Everything about this just screams friendship. And I like it that way actually. Everyone has a BFF. Not sure Steve is much of a BFF. Too much history with Dora for that. There's Faye, but prior romantic history there as well. Meh...
Bah, I'm just cranky because I want more Emily and I've been missing Pintsize.
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As for drunken Marten being "intimate" here with Claire, I have my own theories. The drunken socializer. When sober, I absolutely HATE being touched. Major pet-peeve. Also decently introverted. Get me drunk though, and I schmooze. And not just that, I get way super feely with people, even strangers, more so with friends. I basically become the hugging panda bear. Embarrassing really, but true.