Our little group meets twice a week. Our kids play and we drink and bitch about our kids. Or our exes, or our jobs, or whatever else we have to bitch about.
There are six of us here. Jackie, Jennifer, Maxine, Karen, Samantha, and me, Jonathan. When I found the craigslist ad I didn't realize I would be the only guy, and I'll be the first to admit that some days you can just choke on all the estrogen in the room, but we all get along. We share a common thread. We are all broken things that are attempting to appear whole for the sake of our children. And twice a week we can let go of that illusion for just a moment and try to feel something real.
It was Karen who started the game of Truth or Dare. It's her kind of thing. A "Trust Exercise" for the group, or maybe that's just how we justified it afterwards. I think at the time we were just a bit too drunk for our own good. Or just drunk enough for our general well being. Something like that. The kids were downstairs with a new video game and pretty much guaranteed not to come up unless someone lost an eye or something.
And Karen said "Lets play Truth or Dare!" And Maxine said "I think you're in the wrong part of the house, the pre-teens are downstairs." And we all laughed, but Karen rolled her eyes stood up to her full 5'6" and said "Don't be a bitch, it'll be fun. And we can all get to know each other better. Learn deep dark secrets, and bond and stuff."
"It won't be any fun." Maxine pouted, "Jonathan won't talk about his past, Jackie won't talk about anything but her kids, and Sam just lies about everything." The last got a pillow lobbed at her by the afore mentioned Samantha.
She had a point too. I don't talk about my past. My wife died, everything changed, and now I don't live that life anymore. The only thing I had left from that life was a ring and the two boys downstairs. Why bring it up if I can't bring it back?
"What if we could make sure everyone told the truth?" Karen asked. "What if we could be positive someone wouldn't hold out."
Maxine looked doubtful. She was the oldest in our group at 39 and tended to act like a mother hen. Not that she looked like one. Slim and muscular, she was a total gym rat that fed on nothing but red wine and a steady diet of 'make the ex sorry he ever left me for that 25 year old whore.'
"No really, give me two minutes alone with each of you and I guarantee you'll all be totally honest for the length of the game."
"Ooooh are you going to hypnotize us into telling the truth?" Jennifer asked
"Actually, yes. That was the plan."
"Sweet. I'm going first." and she jumped up and grabbed Karen's hand and dragged her to the other room before she could say anything else.
And that was Jennifer in a nutshell. Young and perky and ready to jump off any bridge you put in front of her.
"You guys aren't buying this are you?" Jackie asked once they were out of the room.
"I don't know," said Samantha, "it sounds interesting."
"I'll give it a try." I said, "What can it hurt?"
And then Jennifer was bouncing out and grabbing Maxine and dragging her into the other room. Chirping words of encouragement along the way. With Maxine safely delivered she came back to sit with us, fairly vibrating with energy. We all made small talk and drank as Karen worked her way through the lot of us.
When it was my turn Karen just poked her head out the door and called me back. The only light on was a small table lamp and Karen had me sit on the bed. She took my hand in hers and said "Jonathan, I'm going to hypnotize you now. It's going to happen very fast and you are going to feel incredibly relaxed and refreshed when I'm done, but you won't remember the middle bits. Are you Okay with that?"
"Yeah."
"Good, now I want you press down against my hand with yours, like you're trying to place your hand on your thigh, ok?" I nodded, my hand now against hers, palm to palm. "Now go ahead and close your eyes and just focus on your hand and know that as soon as you can touch your thigh you'll be completely hypnotized and totally relaxed. Are you ready? I'm going to start counting, and with each number you'll realize how much heavier your hand is and how much closer you are. " I nodded again and she said "One..." An then there was light and joy and a feeling of completion, and then my eyes opened and she was saying "...refreshed and full of energy." I blinked a few times and watched her stand up, my hand still in hers, and she pulled me up and led me back into the main room.
I felt alive. I felt a level of contentment I hadn't felt in years. And I heard Karen say "Jonathan, Truth or Dare?"
And I said "Truth."
"What was the last thing your wife said to you?" She asked.
I froze.
My contentment left me. I wanted to tell her it doesn't matter, but a pressure was building behind my eyes. My chest tightened and my mouth went dry. Every second I waited. Every moment I delayed, the pressure built. I started to sweat, but I knew there was only one way to make this go away. So finally I said "I love your cock. I love your cock and I wish you could fuck me into oblivion." It came out a giant jumble of words but it was like all of a sudden I was flying. My head was clear and I could breath again and every fiber of my being relaxed. "That's the last thing my wife said to me. In her hospital bed, so thin I was afraid she would break and her voice barely a whisper she said 'I love your cock and I wish you could fuck me into oblivion.' and then she laughed and passed out and didn't wake up again and I'm sure somewhere out there she's laughing her ass off because that's just not a story you can tell people and she thought that sort of thing was hilarious." I wanted to cry, but I just felt too good, like a small piece of misery had been burned away.
And that's how it went, every time I held back, there was the pressure in my head, Karen's little way to keep us honest. And I could see it on the others faces as well, the pain and then the release. And eventually no one was even trying to hold back. We shared deep dark secrets. We bonded and stuff. And eventually someone, Karen again, said Dare.
"Karen," Jennifer asked, "Truth or Dare?"
"Dare." Karen replied, a faint smile playing across her lips.
"Well finally somebody shows they've got a pair." Jennifer said, with maybe a bit too much enthusiasm. "I dare you to show us all your tattoos."
My eyebrows involuntarily went up. From earlier "Truths" we knew Karen had 5 tattoos, and that none of those were visible while she was wearing her jeans and tee shirt. And Karen was, in a word, hot. She was in her early 30's 5'6" brown hair, green eyes, d cups, and an ass that wouldn't quit.
And Karen didn't bat an eye. She stood up and stripped of her shirt and bra in a single motion.
"One" she said and pointed to the biohazard symbol on her right shoulder.
I'm glad she said something or I might have spent the whole time just staring at her beautiful breasts.
"Two" she pointed to her left collarbone where Mandy, her daughters name, was written in a cursive script.
She was doing a little twirl as she went, making sure we all got to see.
"Three" the large dragon started with it's tail between her breast, wrapped around her torso and disappeared into her jeans. Another smooth motion brought down her pants and panties. The dragon's jaws opened over her shaved pussy, it's tongue appearing to disappear inside her.
I was picking my jaw up off the floor when she said "Four" and pointed to the thick tribal band circling her left thigh.
And "Five" a small butterfly on her right calf.
And just like that everything went back on and she sat back down.
I looked around the room and everyone was as stunned as I was. Well, except maybe Jennifer. She looked rather pleased with herself.
