From Famine to Feast:

Chapter 15: Truth or Dare

The week passed uneventfully. I saw Chris a few times—once at the coffee shop where we first met and once at the gym where we decided to get together. This time, however, I behaved myself properly. He also spent a night in my dorm room. We weren't intimate; we just cuddled and fell asleep because we were both pretty tired. Ty slept over with Alexis a couple of nights, but they also just slept. After all our adventures recently, I guess we needed a normal week to recharge. We also all seemed to have a lot of school work to focus on. Papers were due and we all had tests to pass. I sat between Lefty and Righty in Art History again. They had saved me a seat between them, but even though we all were thinking about a repeat performance, the three of us also seemed to know that we had to pay attention to the lecture this time in order to be able to compose decent essays that were due soon. I did flash my boobs at them at the end of the class, just to keep them happy, but nothing else happened. I saw Tanya, Kelly, and Ali a few times in the hallway and in the dining hall. We smiled knowingly at each other, but without Lance around to instigate more craziness, we didn't get up to any risqué games. In short, it was a normal, calm week.

On Friday night, near the end of my shift at work, Lance and Yasmín came into From Famine to Feast for dessert. Yasmín was dressed in a very provocative outfit. She wore three-inch heels, a very short leather micro mini skirt, a sheer white blouse, and a lacy black bra, visible under her see-through top. She made every head in the restaurant turn and it was difficult for many of us to look away. Again, they ordered one crème brulé with two spoons, making a show of licking them clean.

"Yazmín, you look stunning," I complimented her as they ate.

"She will stun even more later tonight," answered Lance.

"What will you have me do later tonight?" she asked, tilting her head coquettishly and raising an eyebrow at him.

"I can't tell you now, because I want it to be a surprise for both of you later," he said, addressing, but not answering, her question.

"Both of us?" I asked.

"Yes, I want you to join us at Rendezvous when you get off work. Text Alexis, Ty, and Chris and tell them to meet us there later. Tell them to dress to impress."

"Alexis has some very alluring outfits to choose from. I'm not sure what Ty and Chris have in their wardrobe. They're college boys, after all."

"They must have at least one nice suit for interviews, graduations, and funerals. Tell them to wear that. If not, have them wear whatever they think girls will find attractive."

--.--

About an hour later, the six of us were squeezed in a booth at the bar. The boys had managed to find nice outfits, which was a pleasant surprise. Ty wore a navy suit and Chris wore a black one. They each had a white button-down shirt, but no tie. Chris wore black leather dress shoes. Ty had high tops, which looked out of place, but hip nevertheless. Alexis looked hot in a dark green mini-dress with spaghetti straps and black heels. Her bright red lipstick contrasted with the dress strikingly. The bar was noisier than usual because there was a band playing in the back, and many people were there to dance. Desiré brought us drinks, and we toasted our friendships.

"I have a game for us to play," announced Lance. While none of us were surprised at this point, we also had no idea what was coming next. "We are going to play Truth or Dare. Here are the rules. I will go first. Whoever I ask, must choose either to answer my question truthfully, or they must complete the dare I set for them. After they answer the question or complete the dare, it will be their turn to ask another person. If they don't answer or complete the dare successfully, then they are out of the game, and must go sit at the bar by themselves until the rest of us are finished playing without them. Everyone must get a turn before anyone is allowed to have a second turn. I will decide when the game is over. I expect everyone to participate."

"Intriguing." answered Yazmín quickly.

"I'm game," I added.

"Me too," chimed Alexis.

"I'll play," said Ty.

I looked at Chris. "We don't have to play if it makes you uncomfortable," I assured him. "We can just go back to my room, if you prefer."

"No, that's alright. I had fun the last time I played Lance's game. I'll give it another go." I smiled at Chris, and then looked expectantly at Lance.

"Excellent." Lance signaled Desiré for another round of drinks. She nodded and spoke with the bartender. "Let's begin. Yazmín, I know you're eager to play. Truth or dare?"

"Ooh. You know I want a dare," she said excitedly.

"Yes, I assumed that, which is why I have a dare all set for you. You see that handsome guy sitting alone at the bar with the black shirt?"

"Yes..."

"I dare you to get him to buy you a drink in under 2 minutes. You may use whatever powers of persuasion necessary."

"I'm up for the challenge." She stood up, took a few steps toward the bar, and then turned back to face us. "Who is going to time me?" Ty pulled out his phone. "Tell me when I'm on the clock and watch how fast I can work." Ty snapped his fingers and pointed at the man, and off she went. Our eyes followed her. She placed her hand on the man's shoulder, and he turned to look at her. She said something to him that we couldn't hear. Then, she slowly spun around for him as he looked her up and down. He nodded and said something to her. She leaned in close to him, rubbed one hand on his back and used her other hand to turn his head so she could whisper in his ear. Then she playfully kissed his ear lobe. He raised his hand and shouted to the bartender to get his attention. Soon, the bartender brought her a drink. She took a sip, but didn't swallow. She then placed both hands on his cheeks and tilted his head for a kiss. She squirted the sip in his mouth and he swallowed. One of her hands traced a line down his chest and found his crotch, where she briefly fondled him. She grabbed her drink, slapped his ass, and then sauntered back to our table. His eyes watched her walk away with hunger and desire.

"One minute fifty seconds!" exclaimed Ty.

"That was impressive! What did you say to him?" asked Alexis.

"I simply promised him that if he bought me a drink, I would make it worth his while—guaranteed. He believed me, and as you saw, I kept my promise."

"You sure did," Ty said. "He's still staring at you. I think he'll buy you as many drinks as you want!" She turned and waved at him. He gave a wishful wave back, and then seemed to resign himself to the fact that she was going to stay with her friends instead of with him.

"Your turn, Yasmín," said Lance. Then he leaned over and whispered something in her ear. She nodded.

"Ty, truth or dare?"

"Um, dare. No, truth. No, dare. Yes, dare." We all laughed at his nervous indecision.

"When Desiré brings us our drinks, tell her that you would really like to grab her ass and kiss her while your girlfriend watches."

"Oh my god! What?" Ty looked at Desiré at the bar, already placing our drinks on a tray. Then he looked at Alexis, whose mouth was agape.

Lance said, "You must complete the dare or else you will have to leave this booth to drink at the bar with Yasmín's wistful admirer while the rest of us play without you."

As Desiré began to walk to our table, Ty looked imploringly at Alexis. "What do you want me to do, babe?"

Desiré arrived at our table before Alexis could answer. "Here you are. For my favorite regulars." She distributed the drinks and stood up straight. "Anything else I can do for you guys?"

There was a pause while she waited. Finally, Alexis answered. "Yes, there is one more thing,"

"What can I do for you, sweetie?"

"Well, it isn't actually for me. It's for my boyfriend." We all looked at Ty expectantly.

Ty cleared his throat. "I, uh, well, I..."

"Yes?"

"I would really like to grab your ass and kiss you... while my girlfriend watches."

There was a long, awkward silence. Desiré stared at Ty coolly. Then she looked over at Lance. He smiled at her and winked. She smiled back at him, shook her head slowly, and rolled her eyes. She looked at Alexis, "Are you in a voyeuristic mood tonight, sweetie?" Alexis nodded. She set her tray down on the table. "Okay, stud, stand up. Let's see what you got."

Ty's eyes grew big. He looked at Desiré, who beckoned him to her. Then, he looked at Alexis, who nodded at him. He stood up and they faced each other. "Well?" she prompted. "I've got customers to serve. Are you going to man up or not?" Ty reached behind her, grabbed her ass, and pulled her in close for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and passionately kissed him back. His hands kneaded her fleshy globes with increasing enthusiasm. He even slipped his hands under her skirt, grasped her cheeks and pulled outward, separating her cheeks. His fingers worked their way into her crack. They engaged in a deep, sexy kiss for about a minute before she finally pulled her face back from his. He didn't let go of her ass. She looked him in the eyes with a mixture of surprise and want for a moment, and then turned her head to look at Alexis. "Sweetheart, you are one lucky girl. I didn't expect him to be so lustful... and so handsy too!" Then she turned back to Ty. "I regret having to say this big boy, but you have to let go of my ass now. I need to get back to work." Ty dropped his hands. She smoothed her skirt, picked up her tray, and called over her shoulder as she walked away, "Your games are always very interesting, Lance!"

Ty returned to his seat next to Alexis, with a far-away look on his face. Alexis looked a little unnerved. "Are you okay, babe?" I asked her as I held her hand.

"I wasn't ready for it to be that passionate. It caught me off guard, is all. I thought she would say 'no' or slap him or something. I didn't expect her to be so... into it."

"Oh, Desiré can get really passionate about games," said Lance. "She and I have played with each other before." I shot him a glare for his insensitive comment. He nodded at me, indicating that he understood. "For her, the passion is about the activity—not a romantic connection with the partner. That woman loves to play; she has no interest in stealing your boyfriend, Alexis. You have nothing to worry about." That seemed to reassure her; that, and Ty finally snapping out of his reverie. He grabbed her other hand to reassure her, and she let him hold it. "Your turn, Ty."

"Okay, let's see. Layla, truth or dare?"

I was feeling a bit hesitant about dares, after seeing the effect that Ty's dare had on Alexis. I thought it might be safer to risk answering a question truthfully—especially in front of people who already knew the juiciest details of my life. "Truth," I answered.

"Darn, I had a good dare ready for you." I was glad that I seemed to have dodged a bullet. "Okay, with whom, when, where, how, and why do you most want to have sex?"

"Can it be anyone in the world?"

"Anyone that you know. It can't be a celebrity crush, an imaginary billionaire, or a historical figure. It has to be someone you know personally, or have at least met briefly; someone with whom it could actually happen."

I thought about it for a while. They all looked at me, waiting patiently while I contemplated. Suddenly, I blushed.

"Oh, yeah, she's got an answer! Look at her turn red! Who is it?" Ty was giddy that his question was having such an effect on me.

"Does it have to be just one person?" I asked. Everyone laughed.

"Yes. You have to choose. 'Orgy' is a cop out answer. I'm not opposed to group sex, mind you, but it just isn't a specific enough answer to this particular question."

"I think 'orgy' is a great answer to any question!" interjected Yazmín. We all laughed again.

"Okay, well..." I looked down at my hands. "Truthfully, if I could have sex with just one person, I would like to be with..." I paused—not for dramatic effect, but rather just because I was so nervous. Finally, I blurted out, "With Chris!" They all cheered and teased me. I hid my face in my hands out of embarrassment.

Alexis came to my rescue. "Leave her alone, you guys! I think that's very sweet." She reached behind me and swatted Chris in the back of the head. He looked at her like 'what the hell'? She nodded her head at me and made her eyes big, silently trying to get him to react appropriately to what I had just confessed.

"Thank you," said Chris. Alexis rolled her eyes. "I would be honored." Alexis shook her head at him. Chris finally got the hint and wrapped his long arms around me and pulled me into his chest for a big bear hug. Suddenly, feelings overwhelmed me and I started to cry softly into his shoulder while he held me.

Finally, I sat up. "I'm sorry for getting emotional," I said, as Alexis wiped the tears from my cheeks, careful not to mess up my makeup. "I keep doing things that I'm worried are going to freak you out and make you leave me."

"I'm not freaked out. I like having sex with you too." He kissed me on the cheek.

"You still need to answer the rest of the question: what, when, where, how, why?"" Lance reminded me.

"What? Oh, yeah."

"Yeah," said Ty. "You only told us who."

"Okay, when? When we wake up in the morning, already snuggled up together, and don't have anywhere to be. I'd like to have all the time in the world. Where? Well, I am picturing my bed, because that is really the only place where he and I have had sex alone so far, but if I can choose any location where I have actually been, then I would like it to be... well, in my bed, I guess." They laughed. "How? All the positions in the Kama Sutra!" They cheered. "We would take all day long and do it in every possible way!" Everyone laughed. "When? Right before our graduation ceremony this Spring. We could hide the evidence under our robes!" Everyone laughed again. When the laughter died down, I said, "Okay, my turn."

"Not yet," said Ty.

"What do you mean? I answered your question truthfully, now I get to ask someone else. Those are the rules of the game."

"You didn't answer 'why'," he said.

"Why do I want to have sex all day long?" I asked incredulously. "That should be obvious. Sex is fun! It feels great!" There were nods and murmurs of agreement.

"No, why do you want to have sex with Chris? Is it because he is the best lover you've ever had? Is it because he knows all those positions you want to try? Is it because he can go all day long? Why?"

"Oh." I thought about it silently. Then, I blushed again. "Why Chris?" I repeated. I looked up at his face. He looked back at me. I was so nervous. I was sweating and my heart was pounding. I was scared to answer. "It's because I love you."

This time, Alexis didn't have to prompt him. Chris cupped my face in his hands, and kissed me softly on the mouth. He pulled back from the kiss and we stared at each other. "I love you too, Layla." We embraced tightly. I was so relieved and so happy that I started crying again.

Alexis and Yazmín simultaneously said, "Aww." Alexis hugged me from behind and Yazmín hugged Chris from behind.

"Congratulations, you two." Lance raised his glass in a toast. "That's wonderful news. I'm very happy for you two lovebirds. Just make sure that you don't conflate love with monogamy. I, for one, still want you available as my playmates."

"Me too!" added Yazmín.

Chris and I broke our embrace. I faced the others, and leaned into Chris' shoulder. He put his arm around me. "Well, obviously, this is very new, and we haven't discussed anything like boundaries yet, but given how our relationship has been so far, I'd venture to guess that exclusivity isn't very likely any time soon." I looked up at Chris to observe his reaction to what I had said, unsure of how he felt.

"I'm good with that. I've enjoyed playing games with y'all so far, and I don't see any harm in continuing to play." He kissed my forehead.

"Glad to hear it," said Lance. "Okay, Layla, now it is your turn."

"Whew. Okay. Man, I knew Lance's game would be intense, but I didn't expect that turn of events. Let's see. Okay, Chris, truth or dare?"

"Me? Uh oh. After that, I'm going to avoid telling the truth for now. I'll take a dare."

"Alright, chicken. You already answered the truth question anyway." I winked and we smiled at each other. "Just to show y'all that I meant what I said about polyamory, I dare you to try to pick up the hottest girl in the bar..."

He looked directly at me. "I already did!"

"Aww," said Yazmín and Alexis again.

"Good answer, dude. Major points for that," said Ty.

"I wasn't finished yet. Flattery won't get you out of this dare. But thank you. That's sweet. I dare you to pick up the hottest girl in this bar that isn't sitting at this table. You have one song's worth of time to chat her up, and one song's worth of time to feel her up on the dance floor. Let's see how much game you got, stud."

"Oh, man. I think it was easier for Yazmín than it is going to be for me."

"Yeah," Ty agreed. "Women can get pretty much any guy they want at any time they want. Men just get rejected all the time. He's more likely to get a hand slapped across his face than he is to get a hand up a skirt."

"You got a hand up a skirt just a few minutes ago," Alexis reminded him.

"I could do it. You just have to have the right approach," said Lance matter-of-factly. He wasn't bragging; he was simply stating a fact.

"Actually,

you

probably could do it," agreed Alexis.

"I've seen him do it," agreed Yazmín.

"Yeah, he pretty much did it with all three of us," I added. "Maybe not in just two songs' worth of time, but I bet he could. Anyway, Chris, this is your dare—not his. Pick your target, and go for it."

Chris searched the room. "Do I have to go for the hottest girl here, or can I go for whoever I think I might have a decent chance with?"

"Okay, I'll make it easier. The hottest might be too far of a reach for a guy. You can't pick the ugliest, but you can pick a likely target who's hot."

"Alright, wish me luck!" He stood up and walked over to a good-looking young woman. She had brunette hair and was about my height, with a large bust and a cute face. She was wearing a little black dress that highlighted her curves nicely. She had just come out of the bathroom and was by herself. She appeared to be looking around the room for someone but wasn't able to locate them. I couldn't tell if she had a ring on, and I hadn't paid attention earlier to see who she was with. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they shook hands, leaned in close to talk into each other's ears in order to be heard above the music. They appeared to be getting along fairly well. After a moment, the song ended. Chris gestured toward the dance floor. The woman looked around the room once more, shrugged her shoulders, and nodded her head.

Amazingly, the next song that the band started playing was a slow song. Without missing a beat, Chris encircled her waist with his arms, and pulled her in tight. Her face registered a little bit of surprise at how close they were dancing, but instead of pulling away, she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up into his eyes. We watched them slowly sway and turn. He kept bending his neck down to speak into her ear, and she would crane her neck up to reach his ear to answer. As they turned so her back was to us, he looked over to us and raised his eyebrows. Then he slowly slid his hand down to her round butt. She didn't react at first, so he gave it a little squeeze. She jumped slightly, and placed his hand up higher around her waist. He kept it there for a moment, then slowly slid it back down to her ass. This time, she didn't jump or remove it. Rather, she leaned her head into his chest, looking like she was enjoying what he was doing. Then, he slid one hand up her side, near her breast. He slid his hand over her boob and gently palmed it. Before she could react one way or another, the song ended and he removed his hands. When they finished dancing, he led her back toward our table.