Dare

"Ha! Finally! Okay, take out your phone… Then, take a selfie using the bunny filter and post it on your social media account. You cannot delete it until the end of our game."

With a blank expression on his face, he answered, "I don't have a social media account."

"Wha—What kind of... Why?! Not even one?" Angela stared at him like he was not from this planet. She never thought she would meet someone who didn't have a social media account. Even her father does and he's an old man!

"I don't see the benefit of it. I can talk to my family through calls and texts just fine." He shrugged. "It just doesn't appeal to me."

She snapped out of her trance, whipped up her phone, and handed it to him. "Okay, Grandpa. Here, use my phone and take three selfies with cute filters instead. Since you can't post one online. At least I get some leverage." She smiled and saw him instantly furrow his brows.

"Why three?"

"You can choose. Take one and post it online or take three and save it on my phone. I promise I won't upload any of it."

Having no choice, Gael received her phone, opened the camera app, and took three quick selfies from different angles, then returned her phone. "Here. If you wanted a photo of me, you could have just asked earlier. Why did this have to be a dare?"

Angela checked the photos and she was baffled that all three of them were normal selfies—very handsome selfies—but normal ones without the filters she asked for. She looked up at him and just accepted the fact that this man before her didn't really know what she was talking about. "This isn't right. Take new ones. Here, let me show you." Then, she showed him the many filters that one could choose.

Eventually, she got three selfies of Gael De Luca with bunny, dog, and butterfly crown filters. She cracked up and could not contain her laughter at the sight of this man, looking so manly but having such adorable design overlays. "Oh, this is gold. You are so pretty!" she exclaimed at the last picture of him with the butterfly crown. Her stomach hurt from laughing.

And Gael finally understood why this was a dare. Well, shît.

The next rounds involved more dares and he got his revenge when he made Angela bark like a dog as he made her sing the tune of 'Happy birthday'.

Being the sport that she was, she didn't back out of the dare and made a fool of herself. And because he decided to record a video of her while doing so, she made sure she looked cute. It only made them laugh even harder that she was tearing up. "Oh, my god. Please don't show that to anyone. I look stupid!"

He snorted and secured the video. "Now, we're even."

In the next hour, Gael balanced an oreo cookie on his cheek while walking around the room, and knocked on a random guest's door asking to be adopted. Angela did the chicken dance, and he made her call someone to ask: 'why did you call?' and then insist that the receiver was the one calling. She ended up calling her best friend Nina who thought she was being weird when she was the one who called.

"I can't… I can't laugh anymore. My jaw hurts. My stomach hurts." She bit her bottom lip as she massaged the sides of her face. They each took shots from time to time because they weren't avoiding anything for a while, so now, they were definitely buzzed.

He massaged his temples as he was getting a headache from laughing too much. It was her turn to ask him and this time, he picked "truth". He needed a break.

"Okay. Um… shoot… I can't think of anything to ask." She closed her eyes for a bit when she thought the room was spinning. That's the thing about bomb shots. Sometimes, one wouldn't realize the alcohol got to them until later. "How about… What's your ideal woman?"

Gael glanced at her and she seemed to just have thought of the question on a whim. "I don't have a list of criteria."

"You must have something…"

He let out a small sigh and blurted, "Someone who is daring enough to be with me." Meeting her gaze, he asked, "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Are you brave enough to take risks?"

Angela was drawn to his eyes and they locked stares as she answered. "Depends on what is at stake. If something or someone is worth it, then yes, definitely. Are you?" When he cocked a brow, she clarified, "Are you brave enough to take risks?"

"If she deserves it. Yes. I'd put my life on the line."

Without breaking their eye contact, she said, "Dare." The questions were getting a little too deep and the urge to protect herself suddenly appeared. However, she was unprepared for what he said next.

"I dare you to tell me the truth now." His tone was low and rough. He didn't know where the feeling came from but the feeling of needing to know about her past washed over him.

She didn't have to ask him to know that he was talking about Evan and her past. There was nothing else that he demanded from her since the start. But because she was weak, she grabbed a glass of beer and drank it, not willing to take his dare.

Seeing her reaction, he scoffed. It was just as he predicted. "Still such a scaredy-cat," he muttered under his breath.

Angela stilled at his words. Her hand gripped the glass before putting it back to the table. She looked at him so fiercely, partly hoping that he'd feel the weight of her stare. And because she was weak, she challenged, "I dare you to kiss me."

His eyes landed on her lips, and in a heartbeat, Gael swiftly reached and cupped the back of her head with both hands. Tilting his head to the side, he leaned in... and he crashed his lips to hers.