Truth or Dare

by Dwayne S. Joseph

  She moved slowly along the carpet and made her way down the lobby to the lounge. People were inside, sitting on plush beige and light red-colored chairs and love seats around small round tables with candles placed in the middle. Some sat at the bar, sipping mixed drinks and beers, engaged in conversations. As she made her way to an empty chair, she couldn’t help but feel as though any second, one, or all of them, was going to turn around and level scrutinizing eyes on her that questioned just what she was doing there. But, as she sat down, the conversations around her continued without a pause or a dip in volume. She crossed her legs, took a short breath, and let it out slowly in an attempt to ease the excited tension, and then pulled her cell out of her small purse and typed a simple message to Jayson. I’m here.

  A minute later, Jayson responded. Coming now!

  The pace of Jess’s heartbeat quickened. He was coming. There was no turning back now.

  Or was there?

  Her voice of reason began to yell, began to plead for her to get up before it was too late.

  Instead, she took in a breath, looked at the people around her, and wondered how many of them had just sent text messages announcing their arrival.

  Her conscience screamed!

  Jess exhaled, tightened her hand around her purse, uncrossed her legs, and prepared to stand, prepared to finally listen, to run away.

  “Jess?”

  Jess paused. Both feet were down, one flat, the other on its toes, preparing to propel her to an upright position. The voice she’d never heard—she’d wanted to, but had never made that dare—but she knew to whom it belonged. Her heart pounded. Everything seemed to slow down; people around her disappeared. A chill ran through her.

  She looked up slowly. Standing a few feet in front of her was the man from the pictures. The man with the deep-set eyes, the full lips, the muscular jaw, the well-defined shoulders, the sculpted chest, the penis with girth—that man stood before her, looking all too sexy in a pair of dark blue jeans, a form-fitting baby-blue T-shirt with a stylish, black blazer on. “Jayson,” she said in a whisper.

  She smiled.

  Jayson smiled back. “You’re here.”

  Jess gave a nod. “I’m here.”

  Jayson held out his hand. Jess took it and was surprised by how cold it was. Cold hands, warm heart, she thought. She stood up.

  “You look amazing,” Jayson said. “In pictures you’re stunning, but in person ... you’re without equal.”

  Jess felt her cheeks redden. She was glad she’d taken on her father’s darker shade. “Thank you,” she said. “You look very handsome as well.”

  Jayson flashed a sly smile and said quietly, “You’re lucky there are people around.”

  Jess chuckled. “So ... does that mean I’ll be unlucky later on?”

  “Very unlucky, Jess. Very.”

  She laughed.

  So did Jayson, before he unexpectedly enveloped her in his arms. “I’m sorry,” he said, holding her firmly. “But I couldn’t fight it anymore. I needed to hold you.”

  Jess flattened her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. “Don’t apologize. I wanted to be held. You smell good. I love a man that smells good.”

  “In that case, let me go upstairs and take a quick bath in my cologne.”

  Jess laughed. “Overkill is a turnoff.”

  “I’ll stay just the way I am then.”

  “Wise decision.”

  Jayson tightened his hold on her.

  Jess welcomed it and pressed her body into his even more.

  They stood firmly against each other, unmoving, un-speaking for several seconds before Jayson said, “Jess?”

  “Yes, Jayson?”

  “I know there are people around, but can I kiss you?”

  Jess took in a slow breath of air. This is so wrong, she thought. I have no right being there. On exhale, she said, “Please do.”

  Jayson took his hand, put it beneath her chin, and tilted her head upward as he angled his down. For the briefest of moments, he looked into her eyes, and when he did, Jess saw a desire, a need in them that she hadn’t seen in a man’s eyes in a very long time.

  “You’re beautiful, Jess,” he said. And then he pressed his lips against hers.

  Jess felt the ground move beneath her feet as her body swooned. Eagerly, she parted her lips to receive his tongue, which had been asking to be let inside. Like familiar lovers on the dance floor, their tongues moved to a sensuous rhythm.

  Wrong, Jess thought as she became lost in the kiss. Wrong, but so deliciously right.

  A few more passionate seconds passed before Jayson pulled himself away and let out a whoosh of air. “OK ... before I really say to hell with the people around, I better stop.”

  Jess wiped her lips with her fingers and smiled.

  “You’re an amazing kisser,” he said.

  “Thank you. You use your lips well too.” Just like I knew you would.

  “How your husband lets your lips go to waste I don’t understand.”

  Jess shrugged, but didn’t say anything, hoping that would be the last time Esias was brought up.

  “So ... are you hungry?”

  Jess gave a nod. Nerves had kept her from eating much throughout the day. “I am.”

  “Do you like Italian?”

  “I do.”

  “The restaurant here, Maialino, has great Italian cuisine.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  Jayson smiled, leaned forward, kissed her deeply again, and then pulled back, grabbed hold of her hand, and led the way.

  Chapter 25

  “Wait! We ... I ... I can’t. We need to stop.”

  Jess flattened her palms against Jayson’s chest. They were in his hotel suite. Naked on the bed. Their bodies covered with a light sheen of perspiration—the result of the partial fulfillment of the truth or dare they had been playing.

  I dare u 2 let me devour u whn I see u, Jess. I dare u 2 lay back and let go.

  Let go.

  After Mojitos, chicken penne, and easy, flirtatious conversation at Maialino’s. After the ride in the elevator up to Jayson’s floor, a ride dominated by groping, kissing, moaning, growling. After bursting into Jayson’s room and removing their clothing frantically as though they had a timer to beat and doing it before the timer buzzed would win them the million-dollar prize. After throwing pillows to the floor and tossing the spread and sheet aside—

  Jess had let go and let Jayson.

  Let him kiss the nape of her neck. Let him trail his way down to her breasts. Let him circle her erect nipples with his tongue. Let him suck and nibble on them. Let him take as much of them in his mouth as he could.

  Breathing heavily with eyes closed, Jess let Jayson run his hands down her sides, to her legs. She let him follow behind his hands with his tongue and lips, licking and kissing. And when his hands eased her legs apart, his fingers worked their way up the inside of her thighs and slid into her incredibly moist vagina where they did two steps and pirouettes before his tongue followed after to pop-lock, rumba, and fox trot deeply between her walls, Jess continued to let go. She took the oral pleasure Esias wouldn’t give, the pleasure that had her biting down on her lip, moaning loudly. She took it all selfishly. And after she erupted with Jayson’s thick tongue inside of her, she fulfilled another dare and took all of Jayson’s length and girth inside of her mouth, stroking him as she did, making him moan, curse, and call her name until he made her stop, rushed to slip on a condom, and positioned himself above her, the tip of his penis poised to part the lips of her pussy.

  Jess had let go.

  And now her hands were flat against his slick chest, pushing him back, keeping his dick at her door.

  Jayson looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes dark with disbelief, confusion, and maybe even a touch of anger. “Stop? What do you mean, ‘stop’?”

  Jess shook her head. “I ... can’t do this, Jayson. This . . . this is wrong.”

  Still above her, his
palms pressed flat on the mattress beside her shoulders, Jayson said, “This isn’t wrong, Jess. This is right. You know it. That’s why you want to stop. Because you know how right this is.”

  Jess shook her head again, but hadn’t pushed him back any farther, nor had she moved away. “I shouldn’t be here,” she said, the strength in her voice weaker than before. “I ... I’m married.”

  “Unhappily, yes, you are.”

  “No ... I’m not.”

  Slowly, Jayson applied pressure against her arms. “Yes, you are, Jess. You’re unhappy, unfulfilled, and neglected.” Each word brought with it increased pressure.

  “My husband is just busy,” Jess said. Her conscience was yelling, its voice at its highest pitch, begging her to straighten her arms, to not let her legs part slowly the way they were, allowing the top of his penis entrance into her shaved wonderland.

  “I would never be too busy for you,” Jayson said, the tone of his voice deepening. “Every night would be like this night, this moment.”

  Jess exhaled. She wanted to stop him. She wanted to stop herself. But as much as she didn’t want it to, everything felt so, so good. The passion, the intensity, the attention—it had been so long. Too long.

  “I’m going to make love to you, Jess,” Jayson said softly. “I’m going to fulfill you. I’m going to show you what you can have. I’m going to show you what is yours.”

  As he talked his chest inched closer to hers, and while that happened, his throbbing member slid farther inside of her.

  “I’ve thought of nothing but being inside of you, Jess. I’ve dreamed of this moment.”

  Jess gasped as he pressed his lips against her and plunged deep inside. Jayson moved his waistline to all of the rhythms his tongue had performed to, but with more skill, more passion, and more desire.

  Jess dug her fingers into the muscles of his back, and then pulled him down closer, making him go deeper. She moaned as he moved, moving in opposite unison with him, pulling her hips down when he rose up; thrusting upward when he came down.

  “Take it, Jess,” he said. “It’s yours.”

  “Mine,” Jess whispered.

  “Yours. All yours.”

  Jess moaned again.

  Jayson thrust in and out harder. “Now ... tell me, Jess. Is it mine?” He pulled out, then drove back in. “Tell me, Jess. Tell me. Whose is it?” Another pull back, another forceful push back in. “Tell me,” he said again. “Whose is it?”

  Jess ooh’d. “It ... it—”

  Jayson pulled out, thrust forward, ramming his pelvic bone into hers. “Whose, Jess?” He palmed her ass and held her close as he worked his waistline clockwise.

  Jess bit down on her lip and dug her fingers deeper into the crevices of his muscles. “It ... it’s yours,” she said, lost in the sex, the fucking that she was experiencing. She pulled Jayson closer and bit harder down on her lip as her waters rose. “Jayson ... Oh, Jayson!”

  Jayson plunged deeper, harder. Jess called his name again. Called out to God. And then her levees broke, and as she called out his name again, an eruption with the force of a tidal wave came crashing down.

  “Mine!” Jayson said giving it to her harder, making her orgasm that much more powerful.

  He pulled out to his tip. “It’s.”

  He thrust back in as far as she could take him. “All.”

  He pulled out to his tip again. “Mine!”

  He let out a growl, dove back into her, and kept himself deep as he erupted into his condom. He bucked against her as he released himself, and as he did, Jess tried to shed tears. Heavy, fast tears for the breaking of her vows. But while Jayson jerked slowly above her, she couldn’t because the regret that she’d felt before Jayson had slid inside of her was gone. Try as she might, there would be no tears.

  Seconds later, Jayson rolled off of her and lay on his back, breathing heavily for several seconds. “Wow.” He took a few more deep, long inhalations and exhalations to catch his breath before he turned on to his side and faced her. He looked at her, his gaze probing, and said, “Do you want to leave?”

  Jess took a slow breath and thought about his question.

  Did she want to leave? Did she want to get up, grab her clothes, and run out of there as fast as she could? Did she want to go home and stand beneath a stream of scalding hot water, trying desperately to wash away the shame she should have felt for what she’d done? The right answer had required no words. Just action.

  Get up, get her clothes, get dressed, and walk away without looking back.

  That was what her answer needed to be. But as right and necessary an answer as it was, it wasn’t what she wanted to do.

  “I shouldn’t be here,” she said, her eyes on Jayson. “I’m married. I have a family. I have girls, and it’s my job to raise them to never do something like this.”

  Jayson started to respond, but before he could, she cut him off.

  “I shouldn’t be here, but I am because I want to be. It’s wrong, and I’m probably going to go to hell for it, but denying it would just be a waste of time. I said it before ... I’m grown.”

  “Yes, you are. And you have more dares to fulfill.”

  Jess laughed. Jayson continued to stare at her with intense eyes. It gave her the chills. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, then said, “Have you ever been fucked on a balcony overlooking the city?”

  Jess turned her head. Outside of the room, to the right, just past a small sitting area, was a small balcony. She’d noticed it briefly when they were tearing each other’s clothes off. She turned back to Jayson and stared at him as he stared back at her with predatory eyes. “Never,” she said.

  Jayson smiled.

  A few minutes later, Jess leaned against the waist-high ledge and admired the view of the city as Jayson took her from behind.

  Chapter 26

  Jess was grown. She’d said it and meant it. She’d made the decision. It had been wrong, but for a few intense, unforgettable hours, it had been a decision she had needed to make. She’d heard women who’d become caught up in adulterous affairs explain how and why it happened. She’d heard them talk about the need factor. The need to be desired. The need to feel beautiful. The need to release. The need to feel like a woman and to be treated as though they were the only woman.

  Before Jayson slid inside of her, she had come to fully understand that need because, for so long, she hadn’t felt desired, hadn’t felt beautiful, and she hadn’t had a release. And so when she had her palms flat against Jayson’s chest and had told him that she couldn’t go any further than they had gone, she’d done so knowing in her heart that she was willingly going to cross the line and let the moment be. It was a choice. A grown-up decision. And she wasn’t going to regret it.

  But...

  As she rode the elevator down from Jayson’s floor and made her way to her car, regret, guilt, and self-disgust settled down on her so heavily that when she finally made it to her car, got in, and closed the door, she broke down into an uncontrollable fit of tears.

  From the moment Jayson slid inside of her, all doubt and apprehension had gone away, but when the elevator doors closed and she found herself alone, the voice of her conscience spoke up and, this time, refused to be silenced.

  How could you? You promised him you would always be faithful. You looked into Esias’s eyes and vowed the same thing. How are you going to look him in the eye now? How are you going to look your girls in their eyes? Esias is a good man who has always been there for you. He was imperfect when you said “I do.” How could you expect him to be perfect now? I tried to warn you. I tried to keep you from doing this, from making this mistake. But you were too selfish to listen. Too caught up in your silly, childish game. Truth or dare. Pathetic!

  For nearly an hour, Jess sat behind her steering wheel, crying a waterfall of painful tears as her conscience continued to berate her.

  How dare you cry! You talked shit online, and then made a “grown-up” decision to d
o the wrong thing. No regrets. Remember, you decided that. You decided that being unfaithful was what you wanted to be. No one else. So how dare you sit there and shed tears!

  How dare she?

  The choice had been hers.

  At some point during the chastisement, Jess’s well ran dry and the tears ceased to flow. How dare she? It was a valid question. One that she asked herself when she forced herself to stare at her reflection in the rearview mirror.

  “You decided,” she whispered. “You decided!”

  Seconds of silence passed without a reply from her reflection.

  “Damn you,” she said, slamming her palm against the steering wheel. “Damn you.” Her reflection looked back at her, its gaze unapologetic. Jess frowned, said, “Go to hell,” and then started her car.

  She took a final glance in her rearview mirror, and when she did, her reflection whispered, “You’re a hypocrite.”

  Jess drove in silence, agreeing wholeheartedly.

  Chapter 27

  Jayson had to have Jess again. And again. And again.

  Being with her had been perfect, just like he knew it would be. They were kindred spirits. He was hers. She was his. He had known it before their consummation. He was sure Jess knew it now. “Jess,” he whispered.

  He breathed in deeply through his nostrils, taking in the scent of her, enjoying the smell of their passion that filled the room.

  “Jess.”

  He hated letting her go, hated giving in when she said that she couldn’t stay because she had to get her girls. He wanted to grab hold of her and make her stay with him forever. He almost did. He almost tightened the hold he’d had around her waist when they had been kissing good-bye, and pulled her back into the room. In his mind, he had done that. In his mind, he had pulled her in, pushed her to the bed, locked the door behind him, and then proceeded to ravage her over and over and over again. He wanted to hear her call out his name the way she had when he’d been inside of her. It had sounded so perfect coming from her lips. His name that didn’t belong to him.