Forehead Kisses (ONGOING)

Part Eighteen

     "Congratulations to the bride!" Retty yelled by the time Samantha entered the cafe. It was three days since we left Texas for Sam's wedding, which was yesterday. The groom offered to work on their reservations for the honeymoon lately. "Hey there, Gretchen." Sam opened her arms and hugged the ever enthusiastic Retty. I remained seated, sipping my coffee, greeting Sam with a warm smile. They both sat down. She's a great friend since high school. Her and Retty met in college.

     "I missed you, Liz," Sam said. We went on talking and talking until Retty had this bizarre idea of playing 'Truth or Dare'. There was a twist here though. She removed the 'Truth' in the phrase so it's just 'Dare'. Knowing Samantha was as crazy as this lunatic, she agreed.

     It was 2 against 1. How I wish someone as sane as me came along.

     Sam came first. I dared her to act like a very ignorant person fascinated by the very appearance of a chair. 

    3... 2... 1...

     And just like that, she stood up running around the cafe. Thank God, there were few people. She approached a teenager sitting in one corner and kept eyeing his chair. "Uhhh..." the teen started. "Can I help you?" He looked a little scared since Sam started lowering her head to his bottom. "What's this under your butt?" she asked. The teen stood.

     "What? Where?"

     "This." She knocked on the seat.

     "Uh? A chair?" giving a duh-ing look at Sam. 

     "Well... what do you do with it? Do you eat it?"

     "Why would you eat something you place your butt on?" Sam didn't talk back but cackled. The teen was still figuring out what's happening. He was barely laughing. "Time's up Sam. Sorry kid, it's a dare. We don't wanna eat you or anything." Retty waved and the boy sat back down.

     "You're not delicious anyway," she said under her breath.

     Oh Retty...

     "You're turn, Gretchen." Sam sat with a wild expression on her face. "Run ten rounds on that lamp post over there then grab the first person you see once you're done and bring 'em over here," she said, pointing at a lamp post across the street.

     "What the wallowing walrus! That was three dares. No fair!" Retty stood, hands on the table. "This is still my day, sweetie," Sam answered calmly. "Your day was yesterday!" Retty complained.

     They somehow reminded me of myself when I was a kid when Joshua and I were fighting over a dead cockroach. I didn't even know we did.

     "Okay." Sam crossed her arms, unusually relaxed. "I'll change my dare, then." She raised a brow. " Go fetch my husband." Her husband was a 6-footer. Big arms, big muscles, scary tattoos... It made Retty run away even in pictorials. Just seeing him made her hair turn white. Not her type.

     Retty just jetted outside without a word. Sam was always the sneakier one. Retty ran 10 rounds just as mentioned, grabbed a person, a guy to be exact, wearing shades and a cap. She came in. "Look who I got." she said, looking at me. 

     I looked closely at the guy beside him and my eyelids peeled themselves open. 

     No way.

     He removed his shades and his cap. "Hello, Elizabeth." My jaw just... dropped.

     "Sev." I said. "We meet again. Wow, you're everywhere." 

     "No. You are." He smiled.

     Sam cleared her throat. "Ehm. I think my husband needs me. Come, Retty. Let's go see him." She pulled Retty out of her seat. Retty, on the other hand, shot a desperate look at me. "Help," she whispered. I guess I was too surprised to even move a muscle or even speak a word. "But I don't wanna see your husband," she whimpered as they went out. Leaving me and Sev dumbfounded. 

     "What's with her?" he asked.

     "Period." I guessed.

     He chuckled, passed in front of me and pulled my chair, beckoning me to sit. So I did. He went to the counter and came back with two slices of carrot cake. He slid one to me. "Thanks." I said. He winked. 

     I like it when he winks.

     "Why is it that I always run into you or somebody associated to you?" he said, frowning. I didn't really have much appetite so I just watch him. He must've noticed since he stopped chewing his cake and put down his utensil. "So cute." he said.