A Kissin' Dare

'There was no way in hell I'm going on a trip.'

Those were the words Lina had said to herself when her best friend, Sharon, called at six am this morning to invite her for a wedding.

But despite her insistence in declining the informal invitation she was handed, there she was seated in what seemed like a napkin.

A napkin in the form of a black shimmering sequence dress Sharon had gotten for her last Christmas — another one of her ways of saying she didn't trust her fashion sense.

Sharon had always been a fashionista — a fashion goddess, as they mostly called her. Some say she was that way because of her job, but she believed it was an innate thing for Sharon.

But for her, well, wasn't the idea of clothing solely meant to cover one's nakedness?

She had never understood the excessive fussiness of wearing specific clothes for certain occasions, and right now, she was barely covered, and her hands won't stop tugging at the helm of the piece of towel Sharon had draped her in.

"I don't feel comfortable in this dress." She leaned in and whispered to Sharon, who was sitting by her side, but her mind was long lost in the blonde-haired, blue-eyed waiter that had come to deliver another round of drinks.

Lina followed her gaze and hissed. "Will you stop being lecherous?" Lina nudged her by the arm, drawing Sharon's attention back to her.

With an irritable roll of her eyes, Sharon turned to her best friend, who was seconds away from being a spoilsport.

"You really know how to ruin the mood, Lina. And why the hell do you keep pulling on that dress?" She irritably asked and glared at Lina's hand still tugging at her dress.

Lina shifted uncomfortably as she pulled the dress up to hide whatever it could of her exposed chest.

Not only was it short, the dress also had no hand except the single strap that ran across her chest and over her right shoulder to her back. It could barely be counted as one.

"It won't stay up. My boobs are open, and my thighs-" She frustratedly sighed as she struggled with the dress.

Sharon frowned and smacked her hand off, causing Lina to look at her with a glare.

"Look around you, Lina," Sharon said, gesturing her eyes across the open bamboo bar, filled with different ladies Lina wasn't familiar with.

The only familiar faces was Sharon and her little cousin, who was the bride for the wedding they'd be attending tomorrow, and was currently sitting in the heart of the crowd with a white-bride-to-be-sash.

"All these ladies are either showing something or everything, but you don't see them fussing like you, do you?" She cocked a brow at her.

She looked at the mess Lina had made of her dress and she pulled it down, revealing all Lina had been desperately trying to hide.

"How many times do I have to tell you your boobs are amazing. Just flaunt them a little." Sharon said as she adjusted the dress till she was satisfied.

Lina looked around the small crowd of women gathered for the bachelorette party. Indeed they were barely covered, and though they might be comfortable in their clothes, she wasn't.

She preferred the faded denim jean and shirt she had initially wanted to wear, but Sharon had rudely snatched away.

She tried reaching for the dress again, but Sharon smacked her hand and darted a warning glare at her.

Lina scrunched her face in what seemed like a frown and picked up the only glass of non-alcoholic drink that had been served.

"I still don't like the dress." She grumbled, and neither did she like the lingerie Sharon had forced her to buy; it kept running into her ass crack, and she was tempted to take it off.

Sharon looked at her from the corner of her eyes as she kept moving uncomfortably. Her lips twitched amusedly, but she tried not chuckle.

"You're not going to get out of that dress till the party ends, Evelina." She told her matter of factly.

There was no need being subtle with Lina, because she would take advantage of it, and do as she pleased. And that wasn't the idea for bringing her on this trip.

She wanted Lina to have fun and be spontaneous, because she truly needed it, even though Lina was too stubborn to admit it.

She leaned closer to her ear and whispered. "Learn to live, Lina. Stop acting like a granny." She said and kissed her cheek.

Lina turned to her with hardened eyes, but unfortunately, Sharon was quick to look away.

She sent her a silent glare and shifted her gaze to the red-haired girl playing Emcee.

Her voice was sharp and tiny, and Lina thought she'd be perfect for singing the opera. But what she admired most about the girl was her blinding smile that revealed a pair of dimples.

She was beautiful. She summed up in her head.

"So, ladies, it's time to spice things up!" She said with a happy squeal, and the ladies cheered and clapped in anticipatory delight.

Lina looked about them as her curious mind wondered what the happiness was all about.

She watched as one of the ladies brought forward a transparent plastic bowl and within it were small sheets of paper nicely folded.

Was this a game? Lina wondered, and soon she got her answer as the Emcee spoke up again.

"Okay, ladies, you know how we roll. It's the truth or dare, bitches!" She happily announced, and Lina arched a brow.

Really? In this time and age? She asked herself with incredulity.

Who knew those were still done at parties these days? Talk more of a bachelorette party.

"You know the rules. Two streaks of truth and a dare follows. The dares are in the bowl, so whichever you pick, you must execute it to the latter." She announced.

"So, are you ready, ladies?!" She hyped, and the girls echoed back an eruptive 'yes'.

"Then let's go!!" She squealed, and they all cheered.

They looked too pumped for a game of truth or dare. Was there something else going on she didn't know about? She mused.

Lina tried not to think of it as she already knew she wouldn't go for a dare. She wouldn't be crazy to.

But Lina's dreams were soon dashed when the spinning bottle pointed at her on the third round, leaving her with no other option but a dare.

"What me?" She asked dumbfoundedly when all the ladies looked at her with gleaming eyes.

"Yes, you." Someone answered.

Lina looked over at Sharon, who had a mischievous smile on her face.

"Come on, go get your dare." Sharon urged her, tipping her chin towards the bowl.

Lina shifted her eyes towards it, and her heart skipped.

She didn't know why she felt nervous, but nothing good could come out of playing such a game with girls like this, right?

This was Sharon and her cousin, whom she knew to be downright crazy, and there was also the friends she didn't know but could imagine were just as crazy as Sharon.

Her eyes cautiously darted around as she slowly rose from her seat and walked towards the bowl.

She briefly glanced at Sharon before dipping her hands into it. She anxiously swirled her hand around and whispered a prayer before picking up a paper from the bowl.

Lina was about to open it when the Emcee came up and took the paper before she could see what was written on it.

"Allow me, beautiful." She said with a wink.

She made a show of holding the paper up so they could see before opening it, and the moment she did, Lina saw the glint of surprise and amusement that flickered in her eyes.

This couldn't be good.

"Ladies and ladies, she got..." The girl paused for effect. "A kissing dare!" She loudly announced, and the girls squealed and jerked to their feet and hurried towards Lina.

Lina looked around in shock and confusion, her eyes frantically darting around.

She got what? A kissing...what?

Lina didn't understand what was going on, nor was she given any time to comprehend what was happening when the ladies started propelling her outside the bar.

She looked around for Sharon as she couldn't wrap her head around the whole thing.

She swiveled her head to her right when someone placed an arm around her. It was a brunette-haired girl who had introduced herself as the bride's best friend and maid of honor, Lucy.

"We're going to choose for you a worthy lip. Something fancy and hopefully sweet. You must tell us all about it later." The girl said with a mischievous wink, and the girls around her giggled.

Tell them all about what?

Lina tried to push a mental break on the speeding event, but she was already being led across the resort ground and towards the pool where she saw some men seated — thanks to the warm light from the lamp post around the pool and the dim LED light within it.

They hid behind the hedge of flowers that separated the pool from the open bamboo bar they had just been seated.

"That's Tim, his cousin and his friends." Some of the girls whispered, but Lina could barely listen as she was trying to catch on to her dress which seemed like it was coming off.

She could hear them mumble among themselves, but she had her eyes darting in search of Sharon.

She was the one who had brought her into this mess, and she really needed to get her out of it, but Sharon was surprisingly nowhere to be seen.

"It's decided." Someone announced with a clap of hands.

"It's going to be Pete." She said while Lina wondered what she was saying. "Pete is the tall, handsome guy in a black ralph polo and nude khaki shorts."

"Hmm?" Lina mumbled confusedly.

"It's just a quick kiss. Nothing fancy except you want it to. And failure to execute means braless bikini at the beach for two hours tomorrow." Someone said above her head and suddenly pushed her out and towards the pool.

Lina staggered forward, almost losing her bearing, but she quickly gained balance thanks to sticking to her low heels. She had fought that one out with Sharon.

Her eyes quickly shifted toward the group of men sitting in a circle with drinks in hand, and she was surprised to find them all staring at her with curious looks.

She snapped her head away and looked at the girls, who were all signaling for her to go ahead.

Lina felt her head spin.

How was this happening right now?

All this was Sharon's fault! She had brought her here and put her through this.

She peeked to the side again. She was stunned to find the men still staring at her.

Her eyes quickly darted around the place in search of an escape, but the words the girl had said speared through her head.

Two hours at the beach with no bra? What sort of consequence was that?

When did the rules of the game change into this craziness? Lina wondered.

No one could force her into doing what she wasn't comfortable with, but who was this, Pete, anyway?

Surreptitiously wandering back to the group of men, she slowly scanned through them.

Brown shorts and a black ralph polo. She whispered in her mind as her eyes gazed around till they stopped short on a gray set of eyes staring right back at her.

A head of dark wavy hair hovers above his symmetrical angular face. Though it was dimly bright around where they were seated, she could make out the beard that coated his face.

Lina didn't know if a second had passed or a minute, but he was still staring at her, and so was she.

Her eyes shifted to his lips, but she quickly regretted it when she did so, and she hurriedly darted her eyes away.

She glanced back at the girls, and this time, she saw Sharon desperately urging her with her hands.

She peered back at him, and hell! he was still looking at her. His gray eyes had a glint about them that made them shine in a way she was sure she hadn't seen anyone else's before.

Maybe she could do it? After all, it was just a kiss.

She didn't know where that thought and courage came from, but she entertained them.

'It's just a kiss, Lina.' She muttered to herself. 'Just a kiss.'

Heaving deeply, she tugged one more time on the helm of her dress before taking a step.

Her heart skipped at the first move she had made, but then she took another and then another.

She listened to the sound of her heels as they clacked against the tiled floor to drown out the sound of her heart, but her eyes remained fixed on his till she found herself standing in front of him and his face coming into clear view.

Soft murmurs echoed around them, but Lina chose not to listen to them and kept her eyes focused on the goal.

From where she stood, she was towering above him, and he was looking right back at her.

"Nothing fancy." She whispered in her head before leaning towards him till her lips met his.