"Rose, truth or dare?" asked Rory.
"Rose always picks truth, she's too afraid to pick dare," replied Candace, teasing.
It was true; I did always pick truth because I was afraid of a dare.
But today I was feeling adventurous. It was probably the beer. I was tired of being the boring one and I wanted to prove it to my friends.
"Dare," I said.
Rory and Candace stared at me.
"What? I'm tired of being so predictable," I told them. They didn't know what I had gone through this school year and how much more liberated I had become.
"Well, if you're picking dare, Candace and I need to consult because I want this to be a good one," said Rory.
"C'mon guys, don't be mean," I protested.
Rory and Candace had been my two best friends since grade four. Now the three of us were studying at different colleges and had just finished for the semester.
Rory lived about an hour away and Candace was going to university nearby. I had moved out of my parents' house into a sweet little apartment downtown. I only went to school part time, because I had to work to afford both my apartment and school.
Candace and I didn't even see each other that much over the school year.
It was the middle of a weekday and we were all over at my un-air-conditioned apartment, drinking cold beers and half naked due to a monster heat wave that was baking the city. And playing truth or dare.
Rory and Candace whispered to each other until finally Rory stared over at me from across the table.
"Rose, I dare you to walk from one side of the mall to the other...completely naked," Rory said.
My mouth dropped. Rory and Candace had always come up with awesome dares, but this one was too much.
"Fuck that."
Candace rolled her eyes, "it figures, I knew you'd never do it."
She had no idea what I would or wouldn't do these days.
Rory shook her head in disappointment and then began to discuss other, more tame things they could dare me to do.
I stared down at my empty beer bottle. It was only my second but I was already feeling light-headed. Maybe if I had another...
"Fine, I'll do it." I said. I already knew I would, I just wanted them to sweat it a little.
Candace and Rory stopped talking and stared at me.
"Bullshit," Candace said, trying to call my bluff.
"I need another beer or three, but I'll do it."
I suddenly felt exhilarated. I was finally going to do something crazy and fun and I was going to do it on a dare with my friends. I had come a long way in the liberation front and it was all thanks to my boyfriend. He had opened me up to ideas I didn't even know existed.
Rory handed me the last half of her first beer.
"Can't keep drinking if I'm driving," she said.
I agreed by accepting her beer and downing it in a few swigs.
When it was finished it, Rory had pulled another beer out of the fridge for me.
By the time I was done the beer I was feeling more than a little tipsy.
"Let's do this before I lose my nerve," I said, getting up.
We left the apartment and hopped into Rory's car.
During the car ride to the mall, I could feel the beer weakening my already lowered self-restraint.
I wasn't feeling apprehensive anymore; I was actually starting to feel excited.
The three of us giggled the whole car ride to the mall.
Rory pulled up in front of the mall, and waited for me to get out.
There were some mall employees standing in a small group having a cigarette.
I got out of the car and whatever had been so interesting had suddenly seemed much less so when I began to undress.
I felt the blush rise to my face, which was already glowing from the beer. I took off my shirt and handed it to Candace, who laughed. I peeled off my jeans and thong in one smooth motion and threw them through the window at Rory. Then I reached my hand up my back and undid my bra, tossing it into Candace's lap.
Then I bent over, making sure that the smoker crowd got a nice view and picked up my sandals and threw on the floor of the front seat.
Even though I was feeling tipsy, there was some reserved part of me that was mortified and demanded that I stop this foolishness before I got myself into real trouble.
I ignored it, and the gaping stares from the smokers, and walked over to the door to the mall.
"We'll meet you around at the other side," Rory called.
"And no running!" Candace chimed in.
I turned around and gave them the finger. Rory honked the horn and they sped off, leaving me alone in my nudity to walk through the mall.
When I opened the door, the first thing that hit me was a blast of cold air that sent ripples of goose bumps over my skin and perked up my nipples.
My mind was having a hard time processing the full effect of what I was doing.
I couldn't possibly be walking naked through one of the most public places in our city, could I? Why was I doing this? At this point, I didn't care, I just wanted to make it to the other side so I could put my clothes on and not feel so exposed.
The first few people I walked by did double takes.
When I had walked about a quarter of the way through the mall, most of the people from the shops had walked to the edge of the stores to get a better look at the crazy girl who was naked in the mall.
As I was about half way through the mall, I had seen lots of mother's cover their children's eyes, and more than a few people called out, "slut" or "whore", but more than that were the gawking stares from the teenage boys.
I also had a small crowd following behind me.
"Someone should call security,"
"Damn hippies,"
"Is this a protest?"
"Check out her ass, hey baby, want my number?
The adrenaline and beer that had so fed my willingness earlier began to abandon me and suddenly I was acutely aware of how very naked and vulnerable I was.
Every step I took on that cold floor encouraged my breasts to bounce and sway.
I could feel every ripple from my feet up through my thighs to my ass, reminding me just how silly I probably looked and how fast I wanted to get out of there.
I kept my head high and walked with determination to the other side of the mall.
The only thing audible other than my feet slapping on the chilly floor was the bad elevator music that was playing through the overhead mall speakers and the faint whispers that were still trailing behind me.
"What is she doing?"
"I don't know,"
