Truth or Dare by Peg Cochran Read Free Book Online Page A

went back toward the pool. 
    Rivka felt triumphant.  She put both hands around the bottle and raised it toward her mouth while Pamela watched with this strange half-smile on her lips.
    “Come on.  I want some, too.”  Mary had her legs in the water again and was swishing them back and forth.  She kicked at a leaf that had fallen into the pool and watched as it went swirling toward the other end.
    Rivka thought she would join her.  The water looked so cool.  It was still hot and humid although the sun was slowly sinking behind the trees.  
    She put the bottle on a small table next to the chair where Pamela was sprawled and walked toward the pool.  Walking felt strange—as if the ground were undulating beneath her feet.  She had to concentrate and put one foot carefully in front of the other. 
    It seemed to take an eternity, and by the time she got to the edge of the pool, she was sweating.  It would be bliss to dangle her legs in the cool water.   
    She bent her knees and started to lower herself toward the edge of the pool. The movement felt very complicated and strangely treacherous—as if she were performing some weird gymnastic maneuver she’d never attempted before.  She had to concentrate really hard on what she was doing.  She knew she didn’t look very graceful, but she didn’t care.  All she could think about was cooling down with her feet immersed in the pale blue water.
    Her long, silk dress wasn’t making it any easier, nor the backless high-heeled sandals Pamela had loaned her for the event.
    The pool looked strange with the water flickering in the light from the moon.  Rivka felt a wave of dizziness and lost  her balance.  She put out a hand, and grabbed frantically at… nothing.
    And fell face first into the pool, her silk dress fanning out around her, one sandal coming loose and sinking slowly to the bottom.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
    Rivka heard the others laughing as her head broke the surface of the water.  She flailed her arms left and right but couldn’t reach the sides of the pool.  She’d never gotten much past the doggie paddle stage—there weren’t a lot of opportunities to swim in the neighborhood she’d grown up in in New York City. 
    The others kept laughing.  Rivka felt water go up her nose, and she coughed and choked.  “Help,” she managed to gasp out.  She felt frantically for the bottom of the pool with her toes, but her feet swished back and forth in the water without touching anything solid.
    Mary and Pamela continued to laugh.
    “Help.”  Rivka tried to shout, but water filled her mouth and trickled down the back of her throat.
    “I don’t think she’s kidding.”  She heard Mary say.
    “Don’t be ridiculous.”  Pamela drained the last of the champagne from the bottle.  “She’s trying to make us feel guilty.”
    “I’m not so sure about that.”  Mary stretched out flat alongside the edge of the pool and reached out an arm.  “Take my hand.”
    Rivka tried to open her eyes, but the chlorine made them sting, and she shut them again.  She splashed around blindly trying to find Mary’s hand.
    “Grab my hand.”  Mary crept forward and waved her hand in front of Rivka.  "I can't go in after you.  I have to return this dress after tonight."
    Rivka forced her eyes open.  Water went up her nose, and she coughed.  She saw Mary’s fingers waggling tantalizingly in front of her.  She lunged forward.
    “Relax.  I’ve got you.”  Mary’s fingers brushed Rivka’s.  She inched forward and got a hand around Rivka’s wrist.  “Help me,” she looked over her shoulder at Pamela as she tried to pull Rivka to the side of the pool.
    Pamela sat unmoving with her back against one of the lamp posts, her legs sprawled in front of her, the empty champagne bottle cradled in her lap.
         Mary turned back toward the pool, got both hands around Rivka’s wrist and tugged.
    She dragged Rivka over the side of the