Double Dog
Dare From Toy Box: Flogger
By Chris Owen
Rex was trying to decide if it was time to head
home or if he really wanted to grab another bag of chips and
a beer. The party had reached that odd turning point where it
was going to crash out or get cranked up, and Rex had to weigh
his options carefully. There were people all over the place,
inside and out, sprawling or dancing or just goofing off. The
voices were loud, the music was louder, and he was pretty sure
some of the girls were trying to psych each other up to get
into the hot tub naked.
If there were naked girls out back, he was going to stay inside,
thanks.
He spotted a bowl of chips on a table near the front door and
headed that way, but got pressed into the wall by the kitchen
for a minute by someone who was stumbling around. By the time
Rex had pushed the body away, feeling oddly like the bumpers
in a pinball machine, he'd lost sight of the chip bowl.
Rex stood there, hoping another one would appear, when a voice
laughed louder and sharper than the rest. "Right, like
you would. Don't bullshit me, man."
The living room filled with mock gasps of outrage and horror,
some guys laughing, some already reaching for their wallets
to make their bets. If there was one thing that everyone other
than the obviously clueless guest knew, it was that Dog never
turned down a dare. Ever.
Rex watched as a space formed around Dog, a ring of grinning
fools who held onto their drinks and gleefully called out how
much they were betting that Dog did or didn't do the dare. There
was so much joy at watching a fool doing something stupid for
their entertainment that it made Rex shake his head and turn
away. He really was getting too old for these parties. But he
thought better of skipping the whole show and turned once more,
an idea starting to take shape at the back of his mind. Dog,
after all, was worth looking at, and he certainly didn't back
down from an adventure.
Dog looked around, holding his place, king of the castle. "No
bullshit." He grinned, rocking back and forth on his heels
with the loose-limbed grace that only the very drunk can attain.
"Give it to me. This stuff is easy; eating gross shit is
a specialty of mine."
The hooting picked up and the most sober of the crowd headed
to another room, probably unwilling to watch the demise of a
poor goldfish. Not that Rex could blame them for that part,
but they didn't have to worry. "It's already dead!"
Dog called as Jeff and Mark vanished into the kitchen. |
