I'M NOT HERE | s.stan

025. hot tub

After a while, the others decided to join Tiff and I in the hot tub. We were all just awkwardly sitting in the tub, with our bathing suits. Tiffany was the only one who seemed to be enjoying herself. The rest of us looked tense.

"Soooo..." Josh said, trying to break the ice. But it didn't work. I sighed to myself, and looked outside to the snow that was gently falling. When it reached the ground, it disappeared. "Oh! Let's play truth or dare." Tiffany announced, her pink swimsuit looked purple under the blue light that the hot tub emitted.

"Truth or Dare? What are we? Five?" Joane teases. Tiffany pouts, "It's still fun to play. Plus, I'm really bored. Aren't you guys bored?"

Tiffany? Bored? She didn't seem like it. There were small mumbles of agreements in the group. Sebastian looked hesitant to play, but the majority of us wanted to anyways. "Sure, why not?" Josh says with a big smile. I could swoon just by looking at it.

"Okay. I think it could be entertaining." I agree. Tiffany lets out a small squeal of excitement. "I know you wanted to play, Katty!" I roll my eyes playfully yet again at her childish nickname.

Tiffany decided to go first and no one seemed to argue with that. "Joane! Truth or dare?" Joane snaps away from her daze, and blinks twice. "Um, dare, I guess." She replies, bored. "I dare you... "Tiff stops to think for a moment. "I dare you to lick Josh's foot!" Joane looked gobsmacked at her response. "Seriously? His foot?"

"Hey!" Josh interrupted, a playful smirk on his lips, "My foot is beautiful." He holds up his right arm high out of the water and pretends to stroke it. I laugh at his antics that I almost cried. Sebastian was quiet the whole time. I giggle slightly at the whole thing.

To my surprise, Joane actually did lick his foot, slightly. I didn't expect her to actually go through with it. "That was so gross!" Tiffany cackled, while Joane rushed out of the tub to go and wash her tongue. Josh's entire face was red and he was in hysterics. Seb, on the other hand, was laughing so hard he was silent. He held his stomach and with a big smile shook his body with giggles. Everyone was finally having a good time.

After Joane came back, the game continued on. "Josh!" She picked, I think she was plotting her revenge. Josh looked a bit nervous. I inched closer to Tiffany. "Truth...or dare?" She asked, mischief in her eyes and a wry smile on her lips.

"Truth?" He said, though it came out as more of a question.

"Okay. Have you ever had feelings for someone in this tub?" She asked. I raised my brows in surprise, wow. I didn't expect her to ask that. Josh looked shocked too, but stayed silent. "Umm...yeah. I have."

"Well that's not news." Sebastian deadpans, rolling his eyes. What's his problem? Josh ignores him and sends me a small smile. Or at least in my direction. "Kay." He says, "Truth or dare?" I swallow a lump in my throat that had been forming for a long time. So he picked me.

"Um. Dare?"

He looked taken aback, Josh was expecting me to pick truth. "Okay..." He trails off, but a mischievous smile forms on his face. "I dare you..."

"To kiss me."

My eyes widened. My throat went dry, it was as if I was hit my lightning. I was paralyzed with nerves all around my body. Kiss Josh?

"Wait, what?!" Joane exclaims in astonishment. I turn to Sebastian, who grips the hot tub's edges, turning his knuckles white. "It's just a dare." Josh shrugs assertively. "But you don't have to if you don't want to, although that's against the rules. Just saying." I see Sebastian locking his jaw tight, afraid that he might just explode. "Fuck." I see him mouth under his breath for no one to hear. Without a second thought, I slowly move across the tub to Josh, who licks his lips and waits for me. Here goes nothing. I find myself sitting on his lap, which was weird because we always did that before, but in a friendly way. This time, it wasn't friendly.

Before I knew it, I was kissing Josh! He tastes like cocoa butter from his lip balm. I could feel his lips moulding into mine and his tongue sliding over my lip. His arms carefully hovered above my waist, but settled there soon after. I thought that my heart was going to bounce out of my chest!

When we pulled away, Josh looked starstruck, literally. He had stars in his eyes and pink blushed on his cheeks.

Tiffany giggled in excitement, "Now it's starting to get fun!"

We continued the game as if nothing happened, but something did happen. Josh had shown romantic feelings for me! That meant our plan was working. "Okay, Sebastian, truth or dare?" Tiffany asks three rounds later. "Dare." He says simply. Now that I had noticed it, he hadn't been smiling at all.

"I dare you to chug this entire bottle." Tiffany says, excitement evidently bubbling in her. She passes his a bottle of Corona. I hated beer, it tasted like bitter water. Without another word, he brings the bottle to his pink lips and downs the entire thing within seconds, leaving us dumbfounded. "I needed this, thanks, Tiff." He says with a smile.

Alright then.