inside the limousine

"Okay, is everyone here?"

Staci stood at the front of the limo looking back along the length of it at all her friends. The vehicle was build more like an SUV than a sedan, and there was just enough room for Staci to stand, though she was bent over a bit. As she looked down at the group, about half sitting along one side, half on the other, she mumbled names and counted faces as she took attendance.

"Abbie, Jake, Melanie, Karl, Taylor, Rick ... Emily, Arthur, Ashley, Alicia, Danny, Phil. And me!" Staci was about to sit down, but then remembered one more thing she wanted. "Oh, Emily ... or Rick, someone down at that end, can you pop open a bottle of champagne and pour drinks for us? There's a fridge there under the bar."

Emily looked down and opened the mini refrigerator. Rick reached in and grabbed a bottle.

"Pour drinks?" Rick said. "We're just gonna spill everything. Is anyone creeped out by sharing the bottle itself?"

Staci laughed and sat next to Phil, cuddling up to him. "Not at all," she said. "Much easier."

Rick loosened the top of the bottle, tossing the foil and the wire cap into a small waste bin. He grabbed a small hand towel and, covering up the mouth of the bottle, popped the cork into the towel so it wouldn't go flying. He then took the first sip himself before looking down the line at everyone watching him.

"What?" Rick said, confused.

Taylor's melodious giggle echoed through the room as she reached for the bottle in Rick's hand. "Nothing, I was just admiring your attention to detail when opening the bottle."

Rick chuckled. "Yeah, I tend to be a bit particular about these things."

Taylor sipped from the bottle and passed it down the line to Karl. While the bottle made its way around the group, Ashley spoke up.

"It's about a thirty minute drive to the marina. But keep your energy up, because you are all in for a real treat on this boat."

"That's true," Alicia added with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It's maybe the best thing about being friends with the Reynolds family."

Phil laughed. "I don't know about that." He squeezed Staci's thigh, his fingers getting a little closer to her more intimate areas than either of them may have expected. "I can think of some other lovely benefits."

Staci playfully turned Phil's face towards hers and planted a kiss on his lips. "That's right, honey. You focus on the real benefits here."

"Wait," Danny said. "Do the rest of us all get those benefits from the Reynolds family?" He snickered as he looked over at Staci, a hint of fiery intensity in his eyes.

Alicia quickly tried to divert Danny's stare. "Maybe," she teased. "But you'll have to play your cards right."

A silence fell over the group in the car as several people suddenly had an eye on Alicia and Danny, wondering if there was more to their flirting than just ... flirting.

Breaking the lull, Ashley's voice rang out cheerfully. "Ooh, we could play a game!" she exclaimed. "Not cards, but ... something?"

Arthur muttered dismissively, "What, some kind of drinking game?"

Melanie's cackle echoed through the car. "Yeah, like Truth or Dare?"

"Yes, Mel. Exactly like Truth or Dare." Ashley's smile grew even wider.

"Oh come on," Melanie replied with a hint of sarcasm. "That's just a silly high school game to get people to loosen up and start kissing each other or something."

The others in the car shifted uncomfortably as they felt the tension rise. But then, they noticed how Karl, who sat next to Melanie, had become intrigued by the idea of a game. After a brief pause, Melanie also saw Karl staring at her and burst out laughing.

"Whoa!" she shouted with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Okay, you want to play some kind of teenage flirty kissy game? I mean, whatever." She turned towards Karl, her playful tone taking on a darker quality. "Down boy."