Truth or Dare

Despite my confident assertions that I adore the beach, there's a lot about it I don't like. For one, it's bloody hot, in a way that stings the skin and draws out sweat even when you're in the shade. Back home the heat is tempered by wetter days and colder mornings, but out here it's an oppressive constant. Add to that the necessity for sunscreen, which I hate. I'm used to donning long sleeves and pants while working outside, but with swimwear that isn't really an option, so I'm stuck with the slick, oily, chemical-smelling sunscreen that gets on everything. And it picks up the sand, catches it from the wind, leaving the hairs on your arms dotted with the stuff.

But perhaps even more irritating than sunscreen and the heat is that on the beach, wearing your swimwear, you're constantly having to worry that the guy you like is getting tempted by others. And sure, in this case that guy is my brother, and the woman he's being 'tempted' by is a local we're never going to see again after the weekend, but till. My point stands. We should never have agreed to come out here.

I shift uncomfortably on the towel and pull at my bikini bottom. I've never worn anything so scant; even my underwear covers more. Part of me wants to go and get my camisole from the car, but the other part wants to flaunt myself a bit for my brother.

While I'm inwardly monologuing, Sophie is looking back at Dion sceptically. "...Truth or dare?"

"Yeah. It's a game where you--" he starts saying, but she uncharacteristically cuts him off.

"I've played it before, it's just... I dunno if it's the kind of game I'd usually play with a, um... sibling."

My leg's still stinging a bit from where the caper thorns scratched me, and I'm trying to brush some errant sand away with the back of my wrist, only partially tuned-in to the conversation.

"We play it sometimes, don't we Ash?" Dion asks.

"Hm?" I glance up, and find Dion giving me a hopefully look, eyebrows tilted and lips pursed.

I hesitate. I don't want to play truth or dare with Sophie; it's our game, one that's led us a little further down the path of taboo each time we've played it. It's been the easiest medium to admit my feeling for him, and the smoothest way to convey it.

Isn't that a good reason to let them play? You're not

supposed

to be crushing on him. You're blood related.

I sigh. "Yeah, we do play it. It's not weird."

Sophie glances between us. "Well... alright then. You first, Dion. Truth or dare?"

He sits up straight on his towel. "Truth!"

"What's... um..." She tilts her head. "What's your favourite colour."

I feel a little smug as I watch Dion's face fall slightly. Clearly not what he was hoping for. "Uh... blue? No, green. Or black. I dunno... I'll say yellow." He continues quickly; "Sophie, truth or dare."

"Truth."

"Got a boyfriend?"

She tilts her head again, then hums. "No I do not. Ashley, truth or dare."

I slump my shoulders, hoping to stay out of it. "I dunno..."

"Come on, it's no fun with just two people," she says. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth, I guess."

"What about you?" she asks. "Any boyfriend, girlfriend, anything?"

I find my eyes drifting toward Dion, and force them back down to the ground. "Nope. No one. Uh... Dion, truth or dare."

"Dare!" he grins.

"Go stick your head in the water."

He laughs, and I raise an eyebrow at him. He stops laughing. "For real?"

I shrug, and now it's Sophie's turn to laugh. My brother hauls himself to his feet with a grumble and jogs down to the water. We both watch him wade in knee-deep, then dramatically dunk his head down into it.

He's coughing and raking his tongue against his arm by the time he gets back. "Salty?" I ask.

"Super salty," he splutters. "Sophie, Tee or Dee."

"After seeing that I think I'll pick truth again."

"Have you ever actually worn that bikini?" He waves a hand toward me, or more specifically the skimpy white-and-pink bikini currently on my person.

"Yeah, but only for a short while," she says. "I used to be into tanning and stuff, figured it'd minimise lines."

"I know another way you could minimise lines," Dion starts. " You could just--"

I cut him off. "Why only a short while?"

"My mother got skin cancer," she says.

"Oh, shit. Sorry."

"Yeah, well. Figured I'd go hard on the sunscreen and buy myself some bikinis I could actually swim in. Now I'm pretty sure that should count as two truths, but... Dion, truth or dare."

"Dare," he says. "A good one this time."

"Go dunk your head in the water again."

"Come on!"

We continue playing for a while, and it mostly stays innocent, thankfully. Dion tries to throw in a few questionable truths, but he doesn't push it beyond comfort. I get slightly annoyed by the way Sophie teases him--obviously she's flirting--but at least she's not too overt.

They both include me in the game; Dion because he's my brother, and Sophie because she either feels pity or wants to show me up. Some of the questions she asks me--"ever won any awards?" or, "how flexible are you?" seem only to serve as bait for Dion to ask her the same thing later on. Which lets us learn that yes, she has won many awards, and in fact she can get her hands flat on the ground while keeping her legs straight and back gracefully bent over like some kind of bendy witch. Worst of all, she follows up her demonstration of it by saying, "I reckon keeping myself limber will come in handy one day", and promptly glancing over to me with a calculating look that I translate to mean;

I'm going to use that technique on your brother later tonight.

I figure I have to up the stakes slightly after that. "How long can you hold your breath?" I ask her when she takes a truth.

"Oh, gosh, not very long at all."

"So you'd need to come up for air lots."

"While swimming? I guess so. I don't really go down much though, I prefer competitive strokes."

"She doesn't go down much," I repeat to Dion, raising my eyebrows. I, on the other hand, have great lungs. It's the one thing I've got going for me, apparently; I expect to one day give great blowjobs. That's all it is, right? Breath-holding?

"Dion, truth or dare?" Sophie asks him.

"Truth," he says, tone slightly resigned. He hasn't said dare since Sophie made him go for a swim a second time.

"What's the best prank you've played on your sister?"

Dion grins, and I groan. "It was a Saturday evening," he begins, hands splayed out for dramatic effect. "A week after Ash's eighteenth. I'd bought her dress for the school ball--it was about a month away, I think?--and a few other things."

"You bought your sister a ballgown?"

"I mean she'd already picked it out, so she knew it'd fit..."

"Oh, no, it's not that, just... that's a pretty cool present. Wow." Sophie shakes her head in bemusement. "My brothers got me a stick blender. Anyway, keep going."

"Right, well, while I was out doing some shopping I came across one of those dumb fake spiders. You know the things, totally unrealistic, black, rubbery. Ash hates spiders, but I figured even she would find it just a little bit funny if I put it on top of the dress. She'd open the box when I gave it to her, see the spider, get a little fright, and that'd be that. Funny."

"Not funny," I say.

"Especially not when she didn't open the box when I gave it to her. I guess we all got distracted at her party, I forgot about it, and she'd already seen the dress so..."

Sophie leans forward, eyes wide. "When did she finally see it?"

"A couple days before the ball. Dad was working late, so it was just us at home, and I'm in my room, reading a book. Ashley's just gotten out of the shower, I think, and for whatever reason decides only now to try on the dress."

"Just wanted to make sure it fit," I say. "And I felt kind of bad for leaving it in there so long. I thought I'd show it to Dion." I glare at him. "Wish I hadn't."

"She was keeping the box on top of her wardrobe, right? And she hadn't even started getting dressed yet, so she's totally naked when she reaches up to get it. And of course, she tilts it toward her and what comes tumbling out?"

"The spider!" Sophie gasps, a hand at her mouth in a dramatic display of surprise.

"The spider," Dion nods. "The big, rubbery, obviously-fake spider."

"It basically pounced on me!" I protest. "I didn't check to see if it was fake. Why would it be!?"

"Now all I hear is a crash and a shriek of absolute terror, so being the good brother I am I rush in to see what's wrong. And there's Ashley, stark naked, beating this poor rubber spider to a pulp with a guitar case."

Sophie bursts out laughing. Between gasps, she manages, "I hope the case was empty."

She laughs even harder when I reveal it was not.

"So yeah, it

was

a good prank, but thanks to Ashley's rudeness ignoring my wonderful gift for months, it became a prank for the ages."

"It was the worst prank ever," I huff, folding my arms. "It was super mean. And you didn't even help beat it up, you just stood there and watched."

Sophie wipes her eyes. "Ah, so not the first time you've seen your sister in a compromising position. I guess it explains why you were so cool about the mishap back there."

"Uh... yeah," Dion says. "Anyway... um... Sophie, truth or dare."

"Dare."

"When did you last--hang on, what? Dare?"

Sophie shrugs. "Yeah?"

Dion's eyes light up. I internally groan.

Don't you dare say anything lewd.

"I dare you... hmm..." He looks around for inspiration. "Well, I could dare you to dunk your head in the ocean. But it'd take someone really mean to do that, so... I dare you to kiss me."

I snap my head up, try to catch Dion's eye, but he's not looking at me. He's looking at Sophie. "Oh, um..." she says, "Isn't that a bit... I'm not sure..."

I can't believe he said that. Right in front of me.

"Dion..." I say, but it comes out as a croak. They both look at me, and I clear my throat.

"What do you think?" she asks me. How polite. Asking me if it's okay to make out with my brother. As if she'd listen if I said no.

Feeling cold toward my brother, I do my best to seem nonchalant. I shrug, ungrit my teeth, and manage; "I don't care. He's my brother, not my boyfriend."

Dion looks away when I say that. Good. Sophie, wilfully ignorant of my iciness, carefully turns to my brother and scoots over across the sand on her knees. She leans forward, lips puckered... and I look away before they make contact.

Sophie calls for a break to the game afterward, thank god. Producing a bottle of sunscreen from somewhere behind her, she brightly says, "Okay! It's been a couple hours, time to get SunSmart." She chucks the bottle to Dion first, and he obediently starts slapping it about himself.

Sophie's expression turns aghast. "What are you doing!?"

Dion pauses, hand against his calf, midway through dragging it downward. "I'm not hugely sure how to answer that..."

"You're missing most of your leg! And what about your... have you never put on sunscreen before?"

"I mean... not often," he grumbles. "We've got a spray at home. What does it matter?"

Sophie shakes her head and snatches the bottle from him. "It totally does matter. And a spray!? Dude, throw that out when you get home, unless you're using it for your hair."

"You have to sunscreen your hair!?"

"Yes? The hairline, and the part. This bit." She stands on tiptoe, squirts a tiny bit of sunscreen on two fingers and then runs them through the middle of Dion's hair, from forehead to back. I realise how close they're standing right now, and my chest twinges. "This is SPF one hundred, so it's a little gluggy for it, but you can cope. And then just the sides... right, let's do your body next." She crouches down, right in front of Dion's crotch. My chest tightens further. It's getting hard to breathe.

"Woah, how much are you squirting out?" Dion asks, pushing one side of her curly hair out the way. "Is that for my whole body?"

"What? No, just your legs. You're supposed to use a shot glass of sunscreen each time, which... uh..." She pauses, then estimates a glass with her thumb and forefinger. "About that much for you non-drinkers. Now here, stand still."

She runs her oiled-up hands along Dion's leg, from his ankles to his thighs, right where the hem of his tight boardshorts end. Her hand is dangerously close to his groin.

"You've got nice legs," she observes as she does his other one. "Don't meet many guys that shave. It's quite nice."

"Thanks," Dion gulps. There's a slight strain in his voice. When she gets back up to his thigh, she hesitates, then quicky looks down at the sand and turns him around by spinning his hips. Facing me as he is now, I can see the outline of his semi-hard cock in his tight swimming shorts. He sees me looking, and when ours eyes meet, his gaze is apologetic. Then it shifts to something more... nervous, and I realise I'm glaring at him.

"So, um... now your back," Sophie continues. "Contrary to every romance novel, it's pretty easy to do yourself, but... since you've got a rashie, we can skip it. So...we'll just do your arms." She encircles his right with both hands and slides up and down once, then runs her fingers through his to get them covered as well.

As she does his other arm, Dion squints his eyes slightly at me. "Nadja?"

What.

"Hm?" Sophie says, pausing for a moment to look at him, before realising his gaze is at my own.

"Nganang," I mutter back, though I'm well aware my expression is conveying a lot more than

"nothing."

Sophie realises we're talking in language, and awkwardly goes back to covering Dion in sunscreen, though I can tell she's still listening keenly.

"Kaat darabiny?"

What are you thinking?

"Nganang," I say again. Then, because I can't help myself, I add, "Noonook don--uh..."

What's the word for 'seduce?'

"Noonook mardong."

Close enough.

"Noongka", he says firmly. Sophie's doing his neck now, her long, delicate fingers caressing his skin. She's trying not to look at us as we argue. "Nganop nookang."

I'm not "enjoying" it, stop being a fool.

'Nookang' is a name we call each other a lot, in jest. But it doesn't feel like a jest now.

"Karnarn?"

You're being truthful?

Dion hesitates. Sophie's hands are on his cheek now, and he closes his eyes and shuts up while she does his face. Then she steps back, wiping her hands on her legs. Dion sighs at me. "Koord manga, Ash."

I love you, Ashley.

Another thing he's said to be before, but usually with 'mangook,' for sister. Without... it's a whole different kind of love. I dare to feel hopeful before he continues; "Kooron baal noon djook."

My throat clenches.

But she's not my sister.

There's no hope with you, he means. Anything you have... it could never truly lead to anything. Your love for him is... pointless. What you want is unachievable.

"So, um," Sophie starts hesitantly. "You're all finished, Dion. Can I do you now Ashley?" She's holding the sunscreen bottle hopefully in her hand.

I stand up. Stand strong. "Truth or dare?" I ask her. She looks confused, so I repeat it, more intensely. It seems like this is the best way to do things. It worked for Dion, I figure. Briefly, anyway.

"Um... dare."

She was meant to say truth. And you could ask her if she wanted to fuck Dion, and then she'd say she would, and you'd be out of the equation and this whole sordid affair could finally be over. And it'd suck for you, but that's just how it needs to go.

I sniff. "Fuckin'... I dunno. Take him to your place, and then whatever. I'll make me own way back."

I turn and leave.

Things don't quite pan out how I expect. I've only just taken a seat on the rocks at the edge of the beach--careful to avoid the thorny capers this time--when I hear the gentle

crunch crunch

of sand underfoot as someone approaches.

"Go away," I tell Dion.

The footsteps pause for only a second before continuing. "Can we talk?"

I look up in surprise to see Sophie, a worried expression on her big dumb pretty friendly face. I don't reply, but she sits down next to me anyway.

"You seem a bit... upset."

I snort. "He's a good kisser, isn't he?"

"Pardon?" Sophie leans forward, trying to get into my peripheral vision while I stare down at the sand. "I wouldn't know, Ashley, I kissed him on the cheek. Didn't you see?"

"It's got nothing to do with me," I tell her. "If you want to, just do it."

"I don't want to kiss your brother."

Huh? Then why...?

"You don't like him?"

"I mean... he's fun. But no, ew. No offense," she adds. Then, after a moment; "Can I ask what you were talking about back there?"

"Just that," I say. "You, him, liking each other. I'm not jealous, I just... or maybe I am, I dunno."

Why are you telling her this? Shut up, Ashley, shut up!

"You're jealous?" Sophie asks. Something in her voice sounds different. "Of... Dion?"

"No... no. I don't..." If I keep talking, it'll quickly become clear just how messed up I am. I try and change the subject. "If you weren't trying to get his attention, what's with all... this stuff? Inviting us places, the bikinis, the flirting..."

There's a pause. A thick, heavy pause, that settles between us like gritty sand between winds. Then, her voice cracking, a far cry from her usual confidence, she says, "it wasn't your brother I was flirting with."

"Huh?" I finally lift my head up, meet her gaze. Her eyes are a little bit watery, and that surprises me, and I say "then who were you--" before she moves forward and presses her lips against mine.

My first thought is that her lips taste like chip. Flakes of earthy, fried potato from Albert's, salt from the sea breeze, a hint of residue sunscreen. Her lips are bigger than Dion's, softer. They don't have his taste, or his firmness, but they're still... nice.

I'm too surprised to pull away, so it's Sophie that finally ends it, averting her gaze to her hands which wring together. "Um... yeah... sorry, I should've asked. I just... I wasn't sure, but when I was doing your bikini, I saw you were..." She gestures vaguely to my crotch.

Wet, she means. From Dion, but obviously she wouldn't have considered that.

"And your teasing of me, and the fact that it's just been you and your bro, I thought... I hoped maybe... you were into girls. You... you are, right?"

I blink. And think. "I... um..." I'm not, am I? Or maybe I am... Dion's bi, right? Maybe I could be too...

My mind is a jumbled mess right now, and my mouth can't seem to form any words.

"Ash?" Sophie's sounding a little desperate. "Did I just make a massive misjudgement?"

"I liked it," I say, "As much as kissing a guy. I think. Maybe."

"Right. Cool. That's good, I suppose?" She lets out a relieved huff and sits back against the rock. Then I see her brow furrow, and her head tilt, as a slow realisation comes over her. My chest tightens. "Hang on..." she says. "How do you know Dion's a good kisser?"

I open my mouth.

Then close it.

There, you've done it now. She's going to know you're the freak that you are, and she's going to tell everyone, and--

I tell the voice in my head to shut up. I'm so tired... I just want to have a good time on holiday, and it seems like every turn I make ends up at some new drama. I'm pent up as hell, I haven't had an orgasm in weeks, I've been angry and hopeful and jealous and elated and everything between, and I've sliced my leg up so I can't even swim and I've made an ass of myself so many times. So fuck it.

I take a deep breath. "It's like this..." I tell her.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Hello everyone! I've never done an author's note before, but I just wanted to apologise for leaving such a massive gap between these last couple chapters and the first three. Uni's very busy for me, so with less time I've been focusing mostly on writing commissions over stories for myself (though of course, thanks to everyone that's got one! I hope to start posting some of them soon~) The next chapter's already started, so hopefully it won't be as long of a gap :)