Page 95 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
“You’re wearing a ring on your finger.”
“It’s not an actual engagement ring,” I reminded her. I couldn’t help but look at the ring and wish it were real.
“I think you two will be married within the year.”
“Wanna bet?”
“I think he’s into you,” she said. “Like really into you. Play your cards right and you could be Mrs. Jones next year.”
“I’m not trying to pin him down,” I said. “I am, but I’m not. I want him to want me.”
“Can you believe this is the last time we’ll be out like this?” she said. “I know we don’t go out a lot and we can still go out, but I’ll be a married woman.”
“Are you going to miss it?”
“No. Not at all. I can’t wait to be married.”
“You guys have basically been married the last ten years,” I said.
“True,” she said.
After drinking until we were all drunk, it was time to load up and head back to the resort. Her party was not over. We had arranged for a bonfire on the beach.
Beach chairs and blankets had been set up around a neatly built fire on the sand. We had one waiter that was providing us with plenty of alcohol while making sure none of us fell into the fire.
“Who’s ready to play our old favorite?” Norah asked.
I inwardly groaned. The last thing I wanted to do was play Truth or Dare. It was not a game that brought up any good memories. It always ended up with me adding another tick mark to my journal of regrets. But this was Norah’s party.
We sat down in a circle on the beach with the fire beside us. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was in one hell of a predicament. My usual go-to in this game was truth. It always felt safer. But not tonight.
If I chose truth, these girls were going to pepper me with questions about Ryan. They were going to want to know all the dirty details. They would want to know about the proposal and our relationship. I couldn’t answer those questions because I didn’t have the answers. They would pick up on the fact I was lying.
That left dare. I had been on the giving end of this dare thing. We might be educated, grownup ladies but we could be dirty. We could be very cruel. And nasty. Listening to the questions they were asking each other confirmed that idea. These girls were nasty!
I was probably going to end up eating something gross from the ocean. “Let’s do it,” I said with a forced smile.
I sat quietly and tried to disappear into the sand as the girls took their turns. I laughed when appropriate. Then they looked at me. This was it. “Dare,” I said.
They all screamed. It was a drunk thing. I was the odd man out. The girls were all leaning in and whispering as they discussed what they were going to dare me to do. Just for good measure, I downed the fruity drink. I was going to need all the liquid courage I could get.
“Strip down and run into the ocean!” Norah announced like she was so proud of her dare.
I supposed it wasn’t the worst thing they could have come up with. But then I looked around at the faces and bodies of all the skinny girls. There was a moment of panic and fear. They would laugh at me. They were going to see my naked body and laugh their asses off. I would be the butt of jokes for the rest of my life.
And then I remembered what Ryan said to me. He made me feel beautiful. And confident. I didn’t care what any of these ladies thought about my body. I had a man that liked me just the way I was. “Okay,” I said.
“No way!” Norah giggled. “Are you really?”
“Shoo that waiter away or he’s going to get a lot more than he bargained for,” I said.
I walked to the water’s edge and stripped off my dress before tossing it on the beach. I stripped off my bra and panties and raced into the water. I didn’t realize it, but I was screaming the whole time.
I splashed around before diving under the water. I didn’t care about my makeup. I was so happy to just be free. I was actually free. I felt weightless as a waved carried me out and then pushed me toward the beach.
“You’re crazy!” Norah screamed from the beach.
“I don’t think I’m ever getting out,” I called out.
