Dare You!

/ roughwighting

https://pixabay.com/photos/dare-word-letters-boggle-game-1945682/WOKANDAPIX“So, it’s your fault he did that?” Debbie asked.

“Well, it was a dare. I didn’t think he’d actually do it,” Judith said.

“What did you think he’d do?” Debbie stared, perplexed, at her best friend. Judith was a scientist, gorgeous, and somehow successful despite being a scatterbrain.

Judith pondered Debbie’s question. “We’ve been dating for 101 days.”

“Not that anyone’s counting,” Debbie rejoined, bemused.

“That’s the problem,” Judith said. “Chris obviously hasn’t been counting at all. I think he’s taken our relationship for granted.”

“So, you invite him over for dinner and open the door naked?” Debbie asked. “By the way, whose dare was it?” Bing Co-pilot Design, Dare

“Oh, way back when we began seeing each other, Chris told me that he had dared his ex-girlfriend to surprise him sometime by picking him up at the airport naked. Before he became chair of the neurology department, he used to travel a lot.”

Debbie shook her head, her dark curls bouncing in disbelief. “I don’t know which is worse, that Chris told you about his ex-girlfriend early in your relationship, or that he told you about that dare.” Bing co-pilot design, woman researcher, Dare

Judith stood up, pacing in her office, white lab coat floating around her. As a molecular physicist, she had her own space at MIT. She’d invited her friend to visit and tour the lab, but her ulterior motive was to discuss the newest development in her life.

“I thought it was endearing. The girlfriend was an introvert, and Chris explained that he’d hoped she’d open up to him, but never did. Thus, they broke up.”

“Because she never got naked at the airport?” Debbie couldn’t stop her sarcasm.

Judith shrugged. “Whatever, I thought it would be fun to see how he reacted when I opened the door to my condo buck naked.”

“And then he did what he did,” Debbie said, searching her friend’s face to try and fathom Judith’s reaction.

“Yup, right there in the hallway. He got down on one knee and proposed.”

The two friends grew silent for a minute. Debbie broke the quiet and asked, “What did you say?” Bing co-pilot design, proposal

Judith’s expression changed from pensive to shock at Debbie’s question. “I said no, of course. We hardly know each other!”

https://pixabay.com/photos/dare-wallpapers-iphonewallpapers-5304420/thephotographyguy

Have YOU ever responded to a dare?

 

88 thoughts on “Dare You!”

  1. I said I would never take a dare because it’s irrational. She dared me to look it up on Google. I said it’s usually stupid and unreliable. But I took the dare and asked why anyone would do such a thing. Geez it did an AI search… people do it because:

    “Risk-taking: People may accept dares to take a risk.
    Loyalty: People may accept dares to show their loyalty to a group.
    Courage: People may accept dares to prove their courage.
    Fear of mockery: People may accept dares to avoid facing mockery or name-calling if they refuse.
    Bonding: People may accept dares to bond with friends.
    Validation: People may accept dares to seek validation from peers.
    Sense of belonging: People may accept dares to find a sense of belonging.
    Status: People may accept dares to cement their status within a group”

    I said it says that it’s dangerous and silly(I said in extrapolation). She persisted: she dared me to turn her into a frog. So I did but she hopped away before I could change her back. Then she kissed the Frog Prince and you know the rest of the story.

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  5. Of course I have, many times! I got dared to skydive and did, dared to swim in the ocean off of Maine in early May and did. But I now have to consider my physical abilities, so swimming the English Channel is out!

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    • Wow! You are a DAREdevil! (Remember that word, daredevil? Haven’t heard it in a long time.) The nice thing is that your dares were all ‘sports’ related, in a sense, and you obviously were up to the dare. Me? Uh, noooo, no sky diving please. :-0

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      • Not many people would care to skydive but it was a massively exciting experience! We left the plane at around 13000 feet. When I told my son, who was 82nd Airborne that I’d jumped from higher than he had, his response was “Why’d you want to do that?”

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  7. Have YOU ever responded to a dare? Yes, a few times. As a teenager I was dared to soap a cute boy’s house’s windows and I did. As an adult I was dared to eat a raw oyster and I did. As for recently, no I have not.

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    • Readers want to know: did you end up going on a date with “cute boy” who lived (because of you) in a soaped-up house? The oyster was a scary dare. Glad you weren’t allergic. My son dared me to try an oyster when we went out together to a fish place a couple of months ago. (I’ve always said I’ll never eat an oyster.) It was surprisingly good!

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  8. What a fun story! I think Judith was right to reject the proposal, at least for now—they really do need to have a chat first.

    I don’t recall ever taking a dare, but maybe I did and have just blocked out the memory. 😉 Last night I met an author who wrote a covid romance on a dare. Now THAT’s a dare I would take! Except maybe not a romance … maybe a mystery.

    Happy Halloween, my friend! ❤

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    • Hmmm, interesting answer, Jacqui. I wonder if our ancestors from waaaaaay back when (in the ages that you write about) answered to dares. That’s why they moved to different continents. Hey, maybe we just found the answer to that mysterious question!

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      • I don’t have my characters responding to dares–never thought about that plot twist. I suppose the answer lies somewhere between what Great Apes would do (like the wily Chimpanzees) and modern hunter-gatherer-nomads.

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  11. Somehow I thought the fact Judith was a molecular physicist and Chris a neurologist would figure more into the story. But maybe not. I do think the fact that you created two main characters as scientists makes the yarn even more ludicrous. (It helps to suspend disbelief, Pam.) Haha!

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    • But I sweetly disagree, Marian. I believe in the adage the smarter the person (almost genius level) the less common sense they have. 🙂 Chris and Judith may still yet find that they are match made in …. the lab.

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  15. That was fun!

    I don’t think I’ve every responded to a dare. In fact, I don’t think anyone dared me to do something. Maybe that’s not my crowd. Or maybe I’ve just forgotten.

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  18. I don’t do dares! But I challenge myself to the fullest as long as there is thoughtful benefit to the challenge. I did accept a challenge that the first one of three ladies that lost 50 pounds got $50. I won. Now I need to do it again.:( I think dares are made by people who want to make someone else look as dumb as they appear to be. Loved the story and that she turned down the proposal.

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    • Oh, what a dare, Marlene! I guess the incentive was enough to lose the weight. I agree, dares are generally made to make someone look silly or do something that they shouldn’t. I think Judith made a smart decision holding off on Chris. But she must have looked quite remarkable ‘buck naked’ for him to suddenly propose. 🙂

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    • I remember those ‘double dares,’ whatever they meant. If you dare someone why do you have to double dare them? I never figured that out (and I never responded to the dare). Boring am I. Except when I write. Glad you enjoyed my little flash romance. ❤

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