The Study

Chapter 10: Truth or Dare

As we were watching the show, Ava suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, we should play a game!" Jessica paused the TV and turned to look at Ava. "What do you want to play?" she asked. "How about the classic game of truth or dare?" Ava suggested. I chimed in, "Isn't that a bit cliche?" Jessica shrugged and said, "Yeah, but I think it would be fun. Come on, Heather." I hesitated for a moment, but eventually gave in. "Okay, I guess we can play," I said reluctantly.

Jessica rushed into the kitchen to grab a bottle, "Fine, I'll go get a bottle," she called out to the group. We all sat in silence until she returned with half a bottle of wine. "Would you guys like to drink?" she asked, holding up the bottle. I had never tried alcohol in my life, but we all said sure in unison. Jessica poured us each a glass and gave us the empty bottle to use for the game.

Sarah looked hesitant and asked, "You sure your mom won't mind?"

Jessica just shrugged and replied, "Oh, she doesn't even notice when I'm gone. I don't think she'll know."

I took a sip of the wine, and it tasted much stronger than I anticipated. I could feel it warming my body, and it made me feel a bit dizzy. We started playing truth or dare, and things quickly got more interesting.

We sat in a circle on the living room floor, the empty wine bottle in the middle. Jessica spun the bottle and it landed on me. "Ok Heather, truth or dare?" she asked with a grin. I hesitated for a moment before deciding to go with dare. "I dare you to get in the pool," Emily said mischievously. I laughed nervously, "Seriously? It's freezing outside!" But I knew I couldn't back down now.

I stood up, feeling a bit self-conscious in my lingerie, and made my way to the backyard. The cold air hit me like a ton of bricks as I approached the pool. "Are you really going to do this?" Charlotte asked with a laugh. "I have to," I said determinedly as I took off my clothes and got into the water. I shivered and counted to ten before quickly getting out. "That was hell," I exclaimed as I wrapped a towel around myself.

We continued playing truth or dare, and it was now Jessica's turn. "Truth or dare, Jess?" Charlotte asked. "Dare, I guess," Jessica replied confidently. "Ok, I dare you to kiss someone," Charlotte said with a grin. "Kiss whom?" Jessica asked, looking around the room. "Oh, anyone's fine," Charlotte replied nonchalantly.

Before anyone could even react, Jessica pulled me in and kissed my cold wet lips. The kiss was nothing much, just a dare, but funny enough, this was my first kiss. I felt my cheeks turn bright red as the other girls whooped and hollered.

"Wow, Heather, you're a lucky girl," Ava teased, nudging me with her elbow. "I think she's blushing," Sarah added, laughing.

I couldn't believe what just happened. I had been trying to hide my true identity as Bryan, but now, being kissed by Jessica in front of the others, I felt like I had revealed more than I wanted to. I tried to compose myself and laughed it off.

After a while of drinking and playing Truth or Dare, we were all starting to feel the effects of the wine. Emily and Sarah were already dozing off on the couch, while Jessica was getting antsy.

"Alright, wake up bitches! It's time for spa night," Jessica exclaimed.

Ava groaned, "Really now, Jess?"

"Well, there's no time like now," she said, as she got up and made us all coffee.

As we sipped our coffee, Jessica gathered some spa supplies and laid them out on the coffee table. "Okay, let's get this shit started," she said.

I looked at the pile of beauty supplies in front of me and nervously chuckled. "I've never really done a spa night before," I admitted.

"No way, Heather! You've never had your nails done?" Jessica exclaimed.

I shook my head and smiled sheepishly.

"Okay, that settles it. We're calling the nail salon," Jessica declared, as she grabbed her phone.

We all giggled as Jessica dialled the number for the nail salon in the middle of the night. "Hey, do you guys happen to be open right now?" she asked.

We all watched as she conversed with the salon, and to our surprise, they were open! Jessica excitedly told them that we were coming over, and we all quickly got ready to go.