This will be one of my first posts to Lit. Be gentle.
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Enjoy the read - I dare you!
-Wynter
*****
I feel like all great stories begin this way and yet there isn't another way to begin... It started with a dare.
The dare was announced loudly and gleefully after hours of raucous fun in the back room of the Mint 8 Ball - the pool hall/club where my birthday party was being held. It was my 30th birthday and my friends pulled out all the stops for the surprise outing. There were good eats making the rounds, liquor flowing freely and even a few different types of edible cannabis treats. The music was bumping out on the dance side of the club. In our room two different pool "tournaments" were being played on the two pool tables that split the back room in half.
In attendance were my two best friends Jazmine and Anitra, a few close family members, and an assortment of acquaintances that my friends knew would be pleasing to my eyes. Around hour three of the party is when the dare happened thanks to the adult games. You know -- adult games -- that time during most parties when someone brings up sex, people start flirting, and sexual innuendo is tossed around. Eventually the jokes and banter ensue and soon after things casually flow back to normal. Normalcy, however, was not destined to return on this particular night.
Instead, the evening found Marc asking, quite out of the blue, "Hey Jaz, does that door lock?"
Jazmine was seated next to the door and did a quick glance at the lock before returning to the attentions of Dirrick - her boyfriend- as he nuzzled behind her ear and down her neck. "Uh... I guess. There are a lot of people in here th - though..." her voice trailed off.
Marc laughed and leaned over to take his shot. He focused for a second as he stood back up. Looking at me - his only real competition in this tournament - I could tell he was struggling to look serious and sober, though he was neither of those things. At least, in sober hindsight I can see that. In the blurry haze of the reality of that moment, I wondered what had changed in the split second since he'd attempted to line up his shot.
"Yo Ry, I've got a proposition for you. It will help keep this interesting," he said with a smirk.
I tilted my head trying to bring Marc and the situation into focus. It didn't work. Stalling, I sat down on the stool closest to me and propped my feet up on the edge of the table just as Anitra - the Mint 8's owner and my oldest friend - came in with my next round of shots and drinks. She, Marc and I downed our double tequila shots. She sipped her wine, Marc returned to his beer and I nursed the Old Fashion on the table next to me.
My mind wandered off and I started wondering why I hadn't switched out my drink yet. I was not a Whiskey fan. I'd ordered it attempting to be grown, sexy and sophisticated with my drink - like only a newly 30-year-old could be. The truth was, I really just thought the huge ice cube was cool. I definitely needed to switch drinks. I just had to decide what my new taste would be. Maybe a...
"Hey, earth to Ry; are you down? Nitra said it's cool to lock the door."
I blinked, "Er... sure. It's a party. I'm down for anything." I stumbled along. Anitra looked at me with a raised eyebrow. That one look let me know several things immediately. One, apparently I had walked into something bad and two, she was judging me for it - the way only a true friend could.
She leaned in close to me, "This might get a little... private and fast. I'll usher out those who need to be ushered, do a last drink round and give the do not disturb order. Give me five minutes." Her wine glass came down gently on the table beside me and then she was gone.
My mind was twirling fast as I tried to piece together what the fuck I'd missed while I was in the la la land of the Old Fashioned. Marc was smiling as he racked the balls. I watched in confusion because we'd been in the middle of a game; I had no idea why he would be racking at that moment.
"Marc?"
"What? You thought I was going to give you the advantage? No ma'am. We are starting over. We just need to set the rules while Anitra does her thing up front."
Right... Right... "Sure, perfect," I offered with a confused mumble.
"Basically, since this will be truth or dare pool..." he started.
Pause.
I stood up so suddenly the stool scooted back, and my head started spinning.
"Truth or Dare pool?" was my questioning response, punctuated by nervous energy coursing through my veins that, unfortunately, released itself via a double hiccup that morphed into a stream of uncomfortable laughter.
"Ry, are you cool? You said you were down. I just thought it would be a fun twist, you know?" Briefly there was genuine concern plastered across that beautiful angular face of his before that devilish smirk presented again.
Marc was up to something, but I'd known him since my first year of grad school and trusted him immensely, so I let it go.
"Yeah, I'm down, that shot just hit me hard. Are you ready? That's the real question!"
"I am girlie. I think we should keep the tournie going with you and me playing first. The rules should be simple. Game starts with the break, as normal. Truth or Dare only comes in as extra chances to make a shot."
I nodded my head for him to continue. The remaining occupants of the room -we'll get to them later - surrounded us to listen in over the music.
Marc continued, "... you get one chance to sink your shot on your go. Afterwards, it switches to the other person - unless you answer a truth or do a dare. Answering a truth will get you another shot without handing over the table. Doing a dare gets you two additional chances. If you don't take or if you flake on a truth or dare you give the other person 2 tries. No point scoring, just whoever can get their balls in first wins the game."
"Yeah, I bet," came a raunchy yell from the back.
"That's what she said," came another.
Everyone laughed hysterically. Just then Anitra entered the room, locking the door behind her, as I downed the rest of her wine. She stopped and took up the spot where Jazmine and Dirrick had previously been located. Anitra looked amused, but protective and I found myself wondering what she knew that I didn't. Before I could walk over and ask her Marc pulled me back to the game with a simple, "Ladies break."
The first few minutes were simple; everybody was into it. Predictably, the room had split to the girls versus the guys dynamic. I had solids and Marc stripes. Between the bullshitting and the drinking neither of us had sunken a single ball yet other than the one I sunk at the break.