Chapter 4 The dare

Why did Camila have to bring her ex into the discussion? Why did she have to mention Henry?

It had already been over a year since Ria and Henry had been done, but the pain was still fresh in her heart. She never really healed.

Henry was her first love. He was her first go at a relationship and her first everything. She had been so deeply in love with him.

It had been all rosy from the start, but suddenly, Henry changed, and Ria still couldn't figure out what she had done wrong or where things had come undone.

Now, Camila had to bring him up like that.

Ria reached for the bottle of wine which Camila was still holding, but the latter pulled it away, out of her reach.

"See? At the mention of his name, you're reaching for the wine you think is too strong." Camila said. "You're still hurting."

"You didn't have to bring him up like that, Camila. Give me some wine." Ria begged.

"This wine is too weak to dull the pain. Nothing you've tried so far has dulled the pain. Nothing works. Nothing. Not the flings, not the alcohol. Nothing." Camila said.

"Just give me some wine, please." Ria begged.

"That wine is too weak to dull your pain girlie." Sonia said. "You know what would do the trick? Some freaking wild night!" She cried, and the rest of the girls cried supportively.

"And where's the perfect place to have a fulfilling wild night if not in Vegas?" Keisha called.

"Las Vegas baby!" Some of the girls whooped.

"See, we are supposed to be celebrating tonight. But, we can dedicate it all to you, to your healing. Our friend." Helena said, and the other girls murmured in agreement.

"I don't want to go out. I just want to drink some wine and sleep." Ria begged.

"Not on my watch." Camila said.

"Please." Ria begged, but the girls would not listen. They began to pull her away from the couch, but Ria held back, begging them to let her be.

"Okay! I have an idea." Keisha called for the attention of the girls. "As an act of women supporting women, Ria, we will contribute all our earnings from this job to you on one condition." Keisha said. Ria looked up at her with surprise and expectation. "You'll be having all our money on the condition that you go out with us tonight, have one hell-of-ah wild night, and then, a one night stand." Keisha said.

"What?" Ria cried.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh!" The girls chorused in excitement.

"Oh! I'm so in." Camila said, putting her hands up in total surrender.

"Yeah, I'm down for this one!" Sonia agreed.

"What is you girls says?" Keisha cried, and the shout of,

"Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!" Rent the air.

"No way! There's just no way I'm..." Ria was saying, but none of them were listening to her. They went on to plan out the wild night and one night stand which she was yet to agree to.

"I'll pick the spot! I know a good spot around the corner. I've been there once before. There are easy targets there too." Kris, one of the girls who Ria wasn't so acquainted with, said. Her grey eyes bounced with excitement.

"No, we don't want an easy target. No male whore. I want a location not so shabby, so that she doesn't end up with some cheap hook up looser who just wants to get lucky. And not so classy that we can't even get in. An average, where she has to put in some work and try out some feminine charms to get attention. If she's getting our money, then she has to put in some work for it. We are talking about thousands of dollars here bitches!" Keisha said.

"Hello! I'm talking here!" Ria cried out, but no one paid her any mind.

"I know just the perfect spot." Helena said. "A good lounge with plenty of gentlemen just down the road. They wouldn't touch you without consent." She said. "And a fine bar too." She winked.

"That's more like it." Keisha said.

"All booze on me!" Camila offered and the girls went wild again with cheer.

"Georgia would definitely kill us!" Sonia laughed. "One day away from her and we are sending her baby into the big bad world." She said.

"We are doing this for Ria." Kris assured her. "She should be thanking us. No one lives like this in this century." She said.

"Explain that to Georgia. Around Ria, she is overly protective. Even Ria's mum wouldn't be that protective. If she were, Ria would be taking the buses from Downtown to school everyday. She wouldn't let her live so faraway." Sonia said. Ria didn't even know her well, yet, she spoke as if she knew Ria inside out.

"Ladies, really..." Ria was saying again, but no one still listened.

"It's like she's living in a cocoon." Camila said.

"Well, tonight, she becomes a butterfly and we teach her how to spread her wings and fly away!" Keisha said and the other girls cheered in agreement. Finally, turning to Ria, she said. "Tonight, we take you out of childhood and welcome you into womanhood."

"I'm not doing any bet!" Ria cried out, now that she finally had their attention. "You girls, keep your money. I'm not serving as your circus tonight." She said vehemently.

The girls stood quietly for a moment, then as if on cue, Helena moved in and sat on her one side and Camila sat on the other.

"Here. Have some." Camila said, offering Ria the wine she had earlier denied her.

"I don't want it anymore." Ria said, refusing the offer.

"Listen to me Ria." Camila said, speaking gently. "You know why you still hurt when you think about Henry? Why you still haven't gotten over him and why all your flings has never and may never work? It's because you've still got Henry in your system. You need to get him out of your system." Camila said.

"When my highschool sweetheart broke my heart, I hooked up with a guest at his birthday party. Turns out the stranger was my exes cousin, but whatever. It worked. It helped me get over him." Helena said. "One nighters always work!"

"I have one night stands from time to time for no reason at all. Just because." Kris shrugged.

"One night stands are a pill every woman should have every now and then, to boost their feminine charm and self ego." Sonia said.

"Until they go wanton!" Ria said.

"Yes, Ria. Until we go wanton. We are wanton in nature Ria, we just have to accept it. You shouldn't keep yourself caged in like this." Camila begged.

"Look Ria. We are giving you an opportunity to heal and discover your true self while at it. And we are paying for it, even though it's all for your good. We are willing to make this sacrifice, but are you willing to take the opportunity?" Keisha asked.

"You'll never understand we are doing this for you, until you do understand." Camila said.