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Truth or Dare

  The ceremony was beautiful.  If she drank, she would drown her sorrows in a bottle of champagne.  But she didn't drink so she would have to endure the torment of yet another friend getting married before she did.  The reception would last for a couple of hours though and then it would be over.  Another month of freedom until the next wedding, planned in two weeks' time.  Julie was going about her duties as maid of honor, mingling with guests, seeing to the needs of the bride, etc.  Sarah, the bride, hugged Julie as Julie brought her a glass of water.

  "Sweetie, go sit down.  You deserve a rest.  There are some cute single guys here.  Who knows, in a couple months we could be doing all this for you."  She smiled at Julie who just rolled her eyes.

  "You know I dont move that fast."  They laughed and Julie made her way to a table somewhere near the middle of the crowd, hoping to disappear from watchful eyes for a while.  Unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky.  A man, probably some old high school buddy of the groom's, sidled up to her table and sat next to her.  He tried to act nonchalant, but it came across as nerdy and awkward.

  "Hi," he said.  Julie screwed on her best smile before responding.

  "Hi."

  "I'm Bob."

  "Julie."

  "So what do you say we go sample the Vegas nightlife?" he asked.  It was all Julie could do to keep the catty response from escaping her lips.  Instead she looked him dead in the eyes and replied with a friendly voice.

  "I'm sorry, but I can't get away right now."

  "Are you underage?" he asked, suspiciously.

  "No, I'm 21 today actually.  But I'm maid of honor and Sarah would know if I'd disappeared."  Julie didnt notice the man sitting a table away, watching her and listening to every word.  She didn't see him start when she said her age.  Had she been looking at him she may have seen the glimmer of fear cross his pale blue eyes. She may have noticed how gorgeous he was, however.  Man was he ever gorgeous.  Rugged facial expressions, sandy blonde hair, those beautiful blue eyes, and the dimple in his right cheek.  But Julie didn't notice any of this.  She sat there in her maid of honor dress, light green with a white sash just under the bust line, trying to avoid the advances of a man whom she really wasn't interested in.  Her salvation came when the DJ announced that Sarah was about to dance her father-daughter dance.  She rushed to Sarah's side to take her bouquet so her hands were free to dance.

  Sarah looked so happy.  Julie wanted to kill happiness right then.  Whoever invented the emotion should be shot.  That was her general opinion every time she attended the wedding and/or reception of a friend.  She vowed never to have dancing at her reception.  She just didn't see the need.  Half the time she had thoughts of just eloping one night and disappearing off the face of the Earth for a while.  But then she would realize that she would miss having her friends and family around her when she got married.  Actually, had Stephen not moved away she'd be the one getting married that day.

  "Dare."

  "Ok...hmmm...I got it.  I dare you to marry me on my 21^st birthday."

  "No way, you're a girl.  You've got cooties."

  "Fine.  Now it's your turn.  Truth or dare?"

  "I triple dog dare you to say yes to me on your 21^st birthday, no matter what."

  "Done."

  Julie watched as Sarah and her father finished their dance.  Now it was time for Sarah and Gary to dance.  There would definitely be no dancing at her own reception.  Eventually, the DJ called for all couples to join Gary and Sarah on the floor.  Julie sat and watched, daggers flying at all the happy couples, except Sarah and Gary.

 "Ladies and Gentlemen," the DJ said, "the bride and groom will now cut the cake."  And so Julie took her position near the bride and groom, with a delicate linen and lace napkin at the ready should Gary decide to pull some of his usual shenanigans when it came to feeding each other the cake.  It was a beautiful cake.  Too bad that it would taste as bad as most wedding cakes do.  "Oh well," Julie thought to herself as she watched Sarah and Gary feed each other as gently as you would a baby just learning to eat off a spoon.  "At least it looked great."  As Sarah and Gary cleaned up from the cake eating, the DJ asked all the young, single women to gather in the center of the dance floor and prepare for the bouquet toss.  With a groan, Julie did as she was told.  This was her third wedding reception in which she was involved in this humiliating ritual.  She had caught it the first two times; she was tempted to not even try this time.  It was no good, though.  The photographer was right there taking pictures of the group.  Sarah would be so upset to see Julie not enjoying herself.  So she put on a good face, screwed up her smile, reached to the ceiling, and waited.  Sarah stood there, back turned to the group, secretly praying that Julie would catch it and that this time the "magic" of the bouquet toss would work.  It hadn't before.  First they did the fake toss so the photographer could get the right angle of the bride and the bouquet.  Then the real one.  There was Julie's hand, in the middle of the crowd, half-heartedly reaching toward the bouquet.  All of Julie's prayers were disappointed as the bouquet landed perfectly in her palm.  Sarah turned in time to see Julie catch it and screamed "Yes!" as loud as she could, in her head.  The photographer pulled Julie out of the group and began taking calculated and staged pictures of the two together, Julie holding the bouquet to prove that she indeed had caught it.

            All the men gathered for the garter toss, that oft over-looked ritual that means the same for the one who catches it as for the one who catches the bouquet.  There were Gary's brothers, his best friends, and one man whom no one really knew.  That man was the best-looking male in the whole room.  Every woman was secretly imagining themselves engaged to that man.  Unlike Sarah, Gary didn't really care who caught the garter.  He was more interested in surviving the reception so that he could get on a much-needed vacation.  They were going to New York for their honeymoon and it would be his first vacation in nearly three years.  He threw the garter and that mystery man caught it.  This just made the women in the room go even more crazy for the guy, hoping that the magic of the garter would lasso them and they would be Mrs. Mystery Man.  After that, Sarah and Gary left the reception to the cheers and well-wishes of all their friends and family.  Julie stayed behind to oversee the last of the reception and take care of any problems that might come up.  She stepped outside to get some fresh air, still holding the bouquet.  It was a nice night, not too hot and not too cold, one which she wished could come all year round.