Keeping the Secret

9: The Dispute

The three of them, Tom, Dan, and Phil, got back together for their last day in Florida. They were hanging out in the outside pool area of their hotel. After swimming for a bit, they got bored and decided to just hang out on the deck area.

There were quite a few people outside with them, but there wasn't anybody within 20 yards of their current location. Tom came up with the game to play, "We should play Truth or Dare."

Dan shook his head. "No, that game never ends well," Dan said. Phil nodded in agreement.

"Oh, come on!" Tom argued, "We're all friends here, nobody's going to get violated or anything!"

Dan made an unsure noise, but Phil spoke, "Well, why not then?"

"Really?" Dan asked Phil.

Phil shrugged, "I guess. I mean, I don't have any better ideas of what to do. Do you?"

Dan shook his head, "No... I guess we're playing Truth or Dare then."

Tom cleared his throat, "Excellent! Okay, so who wants to go first?" Tom paused and looked at Dan and Phil to see if either of them would speak up. When neither of them did, he continued, "Okay, so I guess I'm first!"

"Truth or Dare, Tom?" Dan asked. He leaned over on the table next to him, putting his elbow on the table and resting his head on a closed fist, bored.

"Hmmmm, I'd have to go with TRUTH!" Dan rolled his eyes at Tom's childish behavior, but he decided to humour him anyways.

"Are you still a virgin?" Dan asked. He already knew the answer to this question, but he wanted to make Tom uncomfortable so they could stop playing this game. Dan knew that this question was linked with a particularly strange story that Tom didn't like to tell, so hopefully it'd throw him off.

"Well yes and no..." Tom began. "I mean, well no. Not technically." Tom paused and looked pointedly at Dan, "There, I answered your question, you didn't ask for details, so I don't have to provide any - Phil's turn!"

Dan shrugged as Tom continued to ask Phil, "Truth or Dare?" Phil picked dare and was then dared to go try to catch a pigeon that was waddling nearby.

Dan laughed as Phil attempted to creep up behind the pigeon, but it just kept walking further away from him. "Why'd you ask me that, Dan?" Tom asked after Phil was out of earshot.

"Hmm?" Dan asked.

"You already know that story, so why'd you ask me that question?" Tom repeated.

"You're the one who wanted to play this game, and you picked truth," Dan replied without interest.

"Yeah, but I thought we had understood terms that we wouldn't make each other do or say anything that we know the other person is uncomfortable with!" Tom argued.

"I was unaware of these terms," Dan said making air-quotes around the word "terms." Just then, Phil lunged forward towards the pigeon. It was quite a sight, as Phil landed face first in some sand as the pigeon simply flew away. Dan tried his best not to laugh as he noticed people around were staring and he didn't want to associate himself with Phil.

Phil returned to them with a slightly embarrassed look on his face, "I touched it! Did you see?" After he calmed down about the pigeon, Phil spoke again, "So, it's Dan's turn right? Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," Dan said smartly. He knew that somehow Tom would try to make him say something he didn't want to say, so dare would be his best option for now.

Except he was wrong because the second Dan picked dare, Tom spoke up without hesitation, "Kiss me." Dan's eyes bulged out of his head as he looked at Tom incredulously. Phil reddened and looked towards the ground, as he had no idea what to do or say.