“I dare you to get handsy with me”

“I dare you to get handsy with me,” you say braggadociously.

Mars stares back at you and slowly raises an eyebrow.

“Real smooth, Alex,” she says. “If you wanted to go there tonight, you should have gone to New York with Val. Or you could have gone to the Theta fundraiser.”

“Sure, but then it wouldn’t be with you,” you say. “The finer things in life, remember?”

“You’re a cute guy Alex, but there’s a time and place for everything,” she says. “I’ve got a buttload of work due tomorrow. It was fun hanging out tonight, but I think I’ve got to call it here.”

You briefly consider trying to find an angle to keep the night going longer, but a second of thought leads you to the conclusion that nothing more will come from pushing the matter tonight. You nod.

“Fair point,” you say. “One last game of darts to close out the night?”

“I’m down,” Mars smiles.

She lines up at the dart board and throws her three darts in quick succession, scoring 74 points. She whips her head around at you, pointing at the board, mouthing see that?

“Confidence kills,” you say. “Remember what score you had the last time I took you down?”

“You just got lucky,” Mars says.

You shake your head, picking up your darts. You stand back and shoot your shot. But much like your attempt with Mars earlier, it falls flat. Your final score is a modest 56.

“Not bad,” she says. “But I do think that I’ve won again.”

You deflate further than you already have, masking a sigh with a glance to the side.

“What have you got planned for me now?” you ask, silently dreading what form of further **** she has in store for you. Isn’t it bad enough that she rejected you? You await your next humiliation with a flat stare back at her.

Mars sidles up to you, pausing. A soft smile spreads across her face.

“Come on, it’s not going to be that bad,” she says. She drops her voice to a whisper. “I dare you to kiss me.”

Oh.

Oh, that is very different from what you expected.

A smile cracks across your lips, and you lean down the inch or two needed to meet her lips. Just like the last kiss, all thought evacuates from your head the moment her lips meet you, leaving nothing but the heat and soft sensation of her pressed against you swirling up in your gray matter. If only you could record this feeling and play it back on repeat. Mars is pressed up against you, this kiss drawing into something longer than chaste, far longer than the terms of any dare would require.

Mars breaks away, tapping your chest.

“Just because we’re not doing more, doesn’t mean I hate you,” she says. “But now I really should get back to my homework. Tonight was fun!”

Mars +5