Truth or Dare [18+]

Three friends--Lina, Bella, and Edie--set out on a hiking trip. The girls had been preparing for this event for a long time. As college students who couldn't work full-time yet, they saved money for the trip by working part-time jobs as waitresses at a local café, handing out flyers around campus, or walking other people's dogs.

Despite the challenges, they achieved their goal. With the money they earned, they bought a large camping tent with enough space for everyone, a thermos for each of them, special rustling material clothing to avoid tick bites, several gallons of water, canned food, and grains.

One of the girls' father allowed them to borrow his pickup truck and meticulously explained how to behave properly in the forest: the importance of watching the campfire, grabbing sticks and spray cans at any suspicious sounds, and other essential rules for forest behavior.

The idea to go on a girls' hiking trip came spontaneously during a sleepover at Lina's place. They were watching a movie where teenagers went into the forest only to encounter a monster. Despite the movie's sad ending, all three of them decided to go to the forest.

"Girls, look what else I bought." Bella rushed into the room carrying large, heavy bags.

Lina's house traditionally became the meeting point for gathering and accounting for their things. Her parents worked a lot, which made sense--medical professionals had to save lives around the clock. Therefore, the girls often took advantage of the empty living space. Lina herself decided to follow in her parents' footsteps, so she studied at the local medical college. She already imagined wearing a graduate's cap on her blonde hair, seeing her parents' joyful faces, knowing that their dynasty of doctors would continue for another generation.

"Bella, why are you carrying such heavy things?" exclaimed Edie, grabbing the bags and starting to unpack the contents.

Besides the standard dry snacks that the girls ate almost every day, she discovered three bottles of wine. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she looked questioningly at the brunette with piercing, mischievous green eyes.

"Is this a hiking trip or a drinking party?"

"Edie, don't be a bore. We're all 18 already, and Lina and I have tried alcohol before. You're the only virgin in this regard." Bella laughed heartily, while Lina only smiled slightly--she didn't want to mock her friend, but such a comparison was quite amusing.

Edie just tossed back her mane of curly red hair and narrowed her eyes.

"Bella, are you not a virgin in any sense?"

Despite her innocent appearance of a small blue-eyed girl, deep inside she was a real beast, especially when she felt injustice toward herself or others. That's why she enrolled in the journalism department. She wasn't afraid of living away from her parents and sharing a dorm with other newcomers, as she spent almost all her time outside of studying with her friends.

"Are you really that interested, Edie? I didn't think you were such a pervert," the girl dodged like a true strategist.

The brunette always quickly and skillfully found logical paths and causal connections, which helped her feel comfortable in her technical specialty. She also had to live in a dormitory, but her parents at least lived not too far away, and the girl had the opportunity to visit every weekend, except for the upcoming one, of course.

"Girls, stop it. Let's finish packing peacefully, change into pajamas, and watch a movie before bed. Remember, we have to get up early and drive far," Lina always sensed the rising tension at the right time and tried to defuse it, because despite their common interests, the three of them were very different.

"Lina's right, although it annoys me that you're always teasing me," the redhead finished folding clothes and food into backpacks and stood up from the carpet-covered floor.

"Sorry, Edie, your face turns so funny red when you're embarrassed that I can't help myself. I don't mean any harm, I just want to have fun," the brunette spread her arms and shrugged as if to say, "Well, that's the kind of person I am." She decided to do what always helps at the end of their arguments--she hugged the girl by the shoulders.

"Oh, Bella, you're completely incorrigible as always!" Although Edie pretended to still be angry, she hugged the girl back. "One more joke like that and I'll throw something at you," the girl falsely promised. Everyone knew that such a pacifist and protector of all living things simply wouldn't stoop to basic violence.

"So, we've already loaded all the heavy and necessary stuff into the pickup, we'll take the things and snacks to the car tomorrow, we've prepared the clothes we'll wear, which means we can choose a movie," Lina summed up ceremoniously and put the list of all items and preparation points in her pocket.

"Always precise as a clock," Bella admired and, taking the remote for the smart TV, began scrolling through the list of popular movies. "Maybe today we'll watch a comedy, I don't want to have a nightmare before going to the forest."

"I think you're right, I vote for a rom-com!" exclaimed Edie, pointing to a typical cover with a couple.

"You're always for that, which is why you rarely get to choose what we all watch. However, today I'll agree. What do you think, Lin?" the girl raised her green-eyed gaze to her friend.

"I don't mind. After the horror movie last week, I still go to the bathroom with a flashlight," the girl said and started opening a bag of popcorn, pouring it into a plate she had brought in advance.

"Then it's decided," Bella turned on the movie.

Settling between Lina and Edie under a blanket after they changed into sleepwear, the girls prepared to watch the movie.

The evening gradually turned into night. The soda was drunk, the corn snack was eaten, and the girls fell asleep on the large bed together, completely forgetting about the mattresses laid out on the floor. In the morning, they got up to an alarm clock and, taking turns getting ready in the bathroom, left the house fully prepared for adventure.

They drove along a long highway in a red pickup truck. Bella confidently held the wheel and watched the road attentively. Among the three of them, only she managed to get a driver's license, and her father would have entrusted the car only to her, so it was immediately decided who would drive them to the forest. Unobtrusive but danceable music played, making everyone except the driver sing along enthusiastically and wave their arms.

"I love this song, I could listen to it for hours," said Edie and turned it up a bit. "I hope you don't mind."

She looked at everyone with a charming smile on her face.

"I won't even argue with the navigator," the brunette smirked, meeting Lina's gaze through the rearview mirror.

"Neither will I," confirmed the girl, lying on the back seat. She didn't handle long journeys well, but for this trip, she was ready to endure, popping another mint candy into her mouth.

The highway seemed endless. Highway number signs changed with monotonous regularity, interrupted only by rare stops at gas stations, where the girls stretched their legs, used the restrooms, and eagerly devoured sandwiches while sitting on the warm hood of the car.

Early autumn gave the journey a special mood. The air was filled with the last warmth of the departing summer, while occasional cool gusts of wind only invigorated, adding freshness. With open windows, the girls eagerly absorbed the changing landscape--city buildings gradually receded, giving way to taller and denser trees.

By the time they reached the forest area permitted for hiking, the midday sun had turned the car's interior into a real sauna. Large drops of sweat ran down their heated faces and necks. Finally finding themselves under the saving shade of tree crowns, all three friends simultaneously exhaled with relief. After a short search, they managed to find a spacious clearing, perfectly suitable for parking.

"Alright, girls, let's change into tracksuits in the car. Down with glamour, bring on practicality!" Edie cheerfully exclaimed and began pulling off her pink top.

The red-haired girl's movements were quick and confident. Instead of city clothes, she donned a snow-white cotton T-shirt and put on a shiny nylon jacket in an ash-gray shade over it. Sports pants of identical material completed her hiking ensemble, which, despite the claimed practicality, looked unexpectedly stylish.

"You know, I'd argue about glamour looking at your outfit. It looks absolutely superb and fits your figure, but mine is no worse," Bella said contentedly and put on a bright red suit made of smooth fabric.

The brunette's sportswear indeed looked impressive. Snow-white stripes contrasted effectively with the scarlet fabric, stretching from wrists to elbows and from feet to knees, creating a geometric pattern emphasizing the girl's slender silhouette.

"We're in the forest, and you're having a fashion show," Lina laughed, comfortably settled in the back seat in a bright yellow tracksuit, hugging her knees and leaning her back against the car door.

"And why not? I want to look good even in the forest," Bella parried, walking around the back of the car. "Get your skinny butt up and help unpack the trunk!"

Without warning, the brunette abruptly opened the back door that was serving as support for Lina. Losing her balance point, the blonde girl swayed and nearly fell out of the car. Her eyes immediately filled with righteous indignation.

"Hey, what if I had fallen? Out of the three of us, only I know how to provide medical care, and you don't appreciate me at all," she playfully took offense but still gracefully got out. "First, we need to get and set up the tent; it's so big that one person could never assemble it alone."

"I agree, it cost us quite a bit," Edie smiled, pulling a voluminous case with fasteners and folding poles out of the trunk.

"And it was worth it," the tech maniac, as her friends sometimes called her, said instructively, proudly surveying the impressive tent case.

"Definitely, but now we need your puzzle-solving skills, oh great tech wizard," the medic put on a submissive face and folded her hands in a prayer gesture.

"Hah, it'll be done soon. Otherwise, we'll be looking at the beautiful night sky. See, not a cloud in sight, so we'll definitely see the stars," she replied with a slight smirk.

After spreading the tent on the grass, Bella began to figure out its construction. She carefully studied the assembly diagram, sorting the parts and occasionally looking at the components with a concentrated expression. Despite her friends' joking taunts, she really had good spatial logic, which came in handy now.

"Bella, this isn't funny. Without a tent, we'll just be eaten alive, and not by bears, but by small gnats, ants, and mosquitoes," Edie crossed her arms over her not-small chest and cast a suspicious glance at the anthill blackening a couple of meters from the car.

"Don't worry, pacifist, none of the small pests will encroach on your porcelain skin," the brunette said thoughtfully, finishing with all the preparatory structures. "Lina, you're the tallest among us. Can you get into the tent and lift it as high as possible while we hammer in the stakes?"

"Sure, it's so huge, takes up half the clearing, cool," the medic said enthusiastically, examining the large burgundy fabric.

Following her role in this teamwork, Lina deftly ducked inside the tent and began to raise its central part until the fabric spread out like a dome above her head. Meanwhile, Bella and Edie energetically circled the perimeter, hammering stakes into the resilient forest ground. Thin guy ropes ran from the base of the tent, which the girls also securely fastened, giving the structure additional stability.

"How beautiful," the future journalist admired, looking at their temporary dwelling with undisguised pleasure.

"I agree. Let's move the sleeping bags, backpacks, and whatever else we have," Lina put her hands on her hips and proudly looked around the resulting shelter from the inside, mentally figuring out how to arrange their things for the night.

"By 'whatever else' do you mean the wine?" Bella playfully asked, pulling out precisely the backpack in which the drink was stored.

"Considering that instead of glasses we'll be using thermos caps, drinking alcohol will look completely unaesthetic," the redhead teased her, bringing in her sleeping bag.

Inside the tent, coziness already reigned thanks to Lina's efforts. She had laid out a large and thick alpaca wool blanket in advance, turning the uneven ground into a relatively comfortable surface. Among the brought items, three sleeping bags were found, identical in shape but different in details. Despite the common gray color, each was decorated with stripes perfectly matching the shades of their tracksuits--red, yellow, and silver. Obviously, the friends had taken advantage of some strange promotion like "buy a suit, get a sleeping bag at half price." Well, gift horses should not be looked in the mouth.

Around the conventional corners of the tent, they strategically placed backpacks, after which they proceeded to the next task. Leaving the shelter, the girls spread out across the clearing in search of suitable kindling and stones for setting up a fire pit. Fortunately, they had thoughtfully brought along a bag of firewood and a bottle of lighter fluid, understanding that lighting a wet log is much more difficult than dry branches.

Lina, armed with a sapper shovel, moved to a safe distance from the tent and began methodically digging a small depression for the fire. As the pit acquired the desired shape, she surrounded it with a ring of large stones, and then carefully placed the prepared logs inside.

"The fire preparation is ready, how are you doing?" they had a clear division of responsibilities, and each approached the task with full responsibility.

"Great, the meat and porridge are ready for cooking," replied Bella, sitting on a camping chair.

Her fingers deftly threaded the last juicy piece of marinated meat onto a skewer. Next to her on an improvised table already lay skewers ready for grilling and a pot with washed and cold water-soaked grains. The porridge only waited for the addition of salt and aromatic herbs to turn into a fragrant forest treat.

"Yes, I'm almost done too," said Edie, cutting vegetables for a salad on a folding table.

Under the skillful movements of the knife, juicy tomatoes turned into neat slices. They were so ripe and juicy that the red juice quickly covered the entire cutting board, forming small puddles. Looking up, Edie noticed Bella watching the process with interest, and suddenly remembered her special love for tomato juice. Driven by a sudden impulse, the girl chose an especially juicy tomato, the size resembling a ripe berry, and extended it toward her friend, almost touching her lips.

The brunette without hesitation leaned forward and captured the offered treat whole. In the process, her lips momentarily contacted Edie's fingers, leaving on them a barely noticeable imprint of pink lipstick.

"Mmm, they're so juicy, I'm delighted," Bella closed her eyes with pleasure and looked gratefully at Edie, whose cheeks immediately flushed crimson.

Meanwhile, the fire, kindled by Lina's caring hands, blazed up with bright flashes of flame. Showing ingenuity, the medic constructed a stable structure of three thick sticks connected like a tripod. On the crossbar secured at the very top, the girls suspended a pot with the prepared porridge. The flame was still too intense for grilling meat but perfect for cooking grains--so not a drop of precious heat was wasted.

"The grains are still raw, but I'm already salivating from how they smell," Edie said dreamily, finishing with the cutting and rinsing the cutting board with water from a bottle.

"It's all because of the spices. However, there's even a whole study on why you feel hungrier in nature and are constantly in search of food, so with all reasonableness, we're still not that far from primates."

"Millions of years of evolution all for nothing," Bella summed up with a philosophical smile and shrugged. "We still have the same needs."

"Well, why? We have culture, humanity, and consciousness. Definitely more than primates," the redhead parried, elegantly brushing aside an unruly strand of hair from her face.

In the thickening twilight, her fiery locks, gathered in a lush bun resembling a delicate bow in shape, reflected with copper highlights in the light of the flame. Edie looked both cozy and attractive in her hiking clothes.

"Yes, but to grow to such a level, you need food, sex, and safety. And not everyone has all of these, even among those present," the brunette smiled and looked meaningfully toward the journalist.

Bella's eyes sparkled with a special fire, and the corners of her lips curved into a barely perceptible provocative smirk. Edie caught this look, and her face reflected a whole range of emotions--from initial surprise to a wary squint, as if she was trying to decipher the true meaning of this meaningful remark.

"Bella, again?" the girl hissed at her and clenched her fists.

Despite her external fragility, at this moment Edie looked truly warlike. Of course, as a convinced pacifist, she would never cause physical harm, but her eyes clearly revealed intense mental work searching for a way to put the offender in her place.

"Sorry, you always blush at the word sex, even when we discuss it solely as a concept. It's too provocative not to use it," admitted the tech lady, as she jokingly called herself.

Assessing the situation and the degree of her friend's indignation, Bella strategically moved a few steps to the side so that the pot with skewers was between her and the irritated Edie--a perfect barrier in case the redhead might forget about her peaceful beliefs.

"Well, the porridge seems to be cooked, and the coals have formed. We can set up the grill and put the meat on, and meanwhile, I'll open the soda, if you don't mind," Lina diplomatically intervened.

She didn't like these moments of tension between her friends. Between Bella and Edie, invisible sparks literally flew--even in complete silence, the air around them became so electrified that it seemed it could raise the hair on the head and arms, just like Spider-Man.

When Lina returned, holding a grill grate and several connected soda cans in her hands, the atmosphere between the girls remained tense. They demonstratively avoided looking at each other: Edie thoughtfully chewed on a freshly plucked bunch of dill, while Bella concentrated on drawing an intricate scheme of squares and arrows on the ground with a stick.

"Now we'll grill the most delicious meat, and this will be our first meal in the wilderness. It's quite thrilling," Lina tried her best to defuse the situation, hoping to shift her friends' attention from mutual grievances to something more down-to-earth.

She handed each girl a cool can of soda and, carefully arranging the pieces of marinated meat on the grate, settled onto a folding chair. Sipping the drink, Lina periodically turned the skewers, monitoring the even cooking. The silence became increasingly tense. The brunette and the redhead, as if by tacit agreement, didn't utter a word, only furtively casting awkward glances at each other.

"Edie, forgive me, I crossed the line and shouldn't have done that," after the first sip of soda, Bella dared to break the silence.

Her gaze was fixed on the coals, reddening from the dripping meat juice. Nervously biting her lower lip, the girl was clearly gathering her thoughts to say something else.

"Okay, although I don't see anything shameful about being a virgin at eighteen, from your lips it sounds like it's an insult and I'm the only one who's somehow different," Edie pulled her leg to her chest, resting her chin on her knee.

She also preferred to look at the dancing tongues of flame rather than at her interlocutor--it was easier to speak sincerely this way, without embarrassment and defensive barriers.

"Actually, I'm a virgin myself," Bella unexpectedly said.

The words hung in the air, producing the effect of an exploding bomb.

"But when you joke about it, you don't feel like there's something wrong with you. Although, many have offered, but no one really appealed to me."

The girl's gaze was still fixed on the coals, where the flickering warmth created bizarre waves of heated air. Bella always loved such optical illusions; they gave an opportunity to look at the world differently.

Edie's face expressed unconcealed amazement. She even forgot about her decision not to look at her friend, her eyes wide open from the unexpected confession. Lina also didn't hide her surprise--from all of Bella's ambiguous hints, it always appeared that she had some experience, or she deliberately created such an illusion.

The medic just understandingly hmm-ed, turned the sizzling pieces of meat once more, and with a satisfied look assessed the appetizing golden crust.

"I haven't been with anyone either. I've seen a penis, though, but in anatomy class and in cross-section," the girl laughed, taking a sip from the can.

Edie and Bella couldn't hold back either and burst into pealing laughter, shedding the remnants of tension. The ice was broken--the girls no longer averted their gazes but openly looked at each other.

Dinner under the open sky turned into a real feast. Succulent shashlik, aromatic porridge, fresh salad, and hot tea from thermoses perfectly complemented each other. It seemed that nature itself added special flavors to the dishes, or perhaps it was all about the restored atmosphere of friendship and trust. The girls chatted casually, exchanged glances sweetly, shared impressions of recently watched movies, and funny stories from their student life.

"Can you imagine, a girl in our class recently caught her lab coat on Petri dishes where we grow different cultures for study, and one of them fell to the floor. She was punished for a month by having to wash flasks after all laboratory work," the blonde shared as she finished her meal.

Her blonde hair reflected gold in the flickering light of the fire, making Lina look like a fairy-tale forest fairy.

"Well, big deal, some dish, why such a harsh punishment anyway?" exclaimed Edie, immediately standing up for a student she didn't know.

Bella, threading a juicy tomato onto a fork, only quietly hmm-ed, understanding what dish it was about and why the teacher was so angry.

"In a Petri dish, Edie, a culture can grow for a very long time," Lina explained in an even and confident voice. "This particular one, although not especially valuable or dangerous, still took a month to grow mold. By the way, besides washing flasks, she also had to grow exactly the same one."

The journalist just shrugged in response and demonstratively crossed her arms over her chest, showing with her whole appearance that she was still not on the side of severe academic rules.

"If it makes you feel better, her punishment was canceled early because her mold turned out well," Lina added with a gentle smile. "She may be clumsy, but she's quite capable."

"You know, we had a guy who, on an assignment to find and describe some shocking sensation, instead of really looking for something, just made up stories and asked friends to act out what happened for photos," Edie shared, tossing a twig into the fire. "The teacher immediately realized it was nonsense, but it was so interesting and captivating that she didn't even scold him. On the contrary, she directed him to a literary elective, saying such talents need to be developed."

"I think your storyteller would come in handy for the tabloids," the brunette noted, washing dishes with fresh water.

"Well, you're not far from the truth, but his articles were almost bordering on fantasy and mysticism, even the tabloids don't go that far," the girl laughed, remembering this story, and her friends easily joined in her laughter. The fire crackled, creating a cozy background for their evening conversations.

"In our class, one hapless engineer managed to burn out a whole row of LEDs," Bella joined in the exchange of stories, looking up from the dishes. "He assembled the circuit without a resistor and connected it directly to the power source. It was impressive--first a bright flash, then the smell of burning plastic, and then a minute of complete silence while the teacher tried to comprehend what had happened."

"I can imagine," Lina giggled. "And what happened to him?"

"Nothing serious, he just had to compensate for the cost of the parts and write an essay on safety rules when working with electrical circuits," Bella grinned. "Although judging by his face when everything exploded, he learned his lesson anyway." Edie suddenly slapped a persistent mosquito on her arm that was already sizing up dinner.

Frowning, she stood up from her chair and shook her hands.

"You know, I think it's time to clean up and get into the tent. The night predators have started flying."

The twilight was indeed thickening with each minute, and with it, the forest bloodsuckers activated, unerringly choosing the most tender skin.

"Yes, you're right. We need to pack everything into bags and put them in the car. I'll completely extinguish the fire," Lina said, also standing up.

She was already mentally sorting the leftover food: nothing remained of the salad, but they would have enough shashlik for breakfast, even if they took some to the tent for night gatherings.

"We're not going to sleep yet, so I'll set aside some meat for the gathering."

The girls nodded in agreement. Bella, getting up from her seat, headed not to the garbage bags as might be expected, but to the car. Opening the door, she extracted something from the glove compartment with a mysterious look, and without showing it to her friends, disappeared in the direction of the tent.

"Girls, can you manage here on your own? I want to do something in the tent," she inquired and unzipped the fabric door, diving inside after an approving nod from her friends.

Edie and Lina methodically finished collecting the food leftovers, packed the garbage, and finally extinguished the fire, carefully covering it with earth and pouring water over it. By that time, the evening had enveloped the forest with a special charm. The sun slowly descended behind the horizon, painting the treetops in warm orange tones. The sky changed color before their eyes, transforming from clear blue to a delicate pink-violet watercolor.

"We've checked everything, right?" clarified Lina, surveying the clearing and the parked pickup with the attentive gaze of a responsible person.

"I think you've already reviewed all the blades of grass twice. Don't worry, everything's fine," Edie gently squeezed her friend's shoulder and nodded toward the tent, from which mysterious flickering was already emanating.

Intrigued, the girls headed to their temporary dwelling. Pulling back the flap, they discovered Bella inside, sitting on a sleeping bag with her legs folded under her, smiling slyly, clearly pleased with the effect produced.

"You took quite a while. We didn't have that many things outside," she said and, with undisguised pride, pointed to an improvised table.

On a wooden board set up between the sleeping bags, a bottle of wine and several thermoses, prepared instead of glasses, were already standing. Lina, assessing the situation, added to the setting a plate of meat and sliced cheese that she had brought. Foresight didn't fail her--she had taken cheese from home in advance, reasoning that wine requires appropriate snacks.

"We would have managed faster if there were three of us," Edie put her hand on her hip and looked at her friend with slight reproach, but there was no real offense in her voice.

"Sit down, now you'll see something and instantly forgive me," Bella promised with a mysterious smile.

She reached toward her sleeping bag as if looking for something in its folds. A moment later, a quiet click was heard, and the space around transformed. The entire tent suddenly filled with a soft, flickering light. Around the perimeter in two rows stretched the finest string of lights--so inconspicuous when turned off that the girls hadn't noticed it earlier. Now the fragile lights created a truly magical atmosphere, transforming an ordinary tent into a fairy-tale pavilion.

"Wow, you've done a good job. I like it," Lina smiled, settling into her sleeping bag and admiringly examining the transformed space.

Edie, meanwhile, froze in the doorway for a moment, enchanted by the view that opened up. The fairy lights reflected in her wide-open eyes, creating a whole constellation of sparkles in them. It was so beautiful and cozy around that she literally lost the power of speech. It was precisely at this moment that the girl felt truly happy--here were her closest friends, here peace and tranquility reigned, and how she wanted to stop time to stay in this moment longer.

"Hey, Edie, are you okay?" Bella worried, looking at her frozen friend.

"Sit down, we're only waiting for you," Lina, sitting closer to the entrance, gently pulled the red-haired girl by the hand.

Edie's gaze finally cleared, and only then did she notice that tears were running down her cheeks, glistening in the flickering light of the string lights.

"Everything's fine, I'm just happy to be here with close ones," she said quietly, trying to smile through tears. "My younger sister also used to decorate everything with fairy lights when she was alive."

The tent plunged into silence. The girls silently looked at their friend, stunned by the unexpected confession. In all the time of their friendship, Edie had never mentioned the loss of her sister. This revelation, sounding so spontaneously, momentarily knocked everyone off balance.

Lina was the first to regain her composure. Without saying a word, she got out of her sleeping bag and hugged her friend. A second later, Bella joined them too. The three girls stood in the middle of the tent, connected in a silent embrace that spoke more than any words.

"Well, enough, enough, you'll completely suffocate me," Edie tried to defuse the situation, gently extracting herself from the ring of arms.

"Are you sure you're okay?" looking directly into her eyes, the brunette asked, still keeping her hand on her shoulder.

"Completely," the journalist nodded decisively. "Let's continue the girls' night, play games, drink wine, or whatever else you suggested when planning the trip."

She raised her hands to chest level, as if putting up a protective barrier against further questioning. Understanding this gesture, her friends silently returned to their places, but continued to furtively cast worried glances at her.

"Yes, we planned to play truth or dare with an app," said Bella, taking out her phone for the first time in a day.

In this wilderness, there was neither network nor internet, which made the smartphone practically useless. However, the prudent girl had installed an offline version of the popular game in advance that didn't require a connection.

"I love this game, especially the moment when people start making up questions themselves, without looking at the app," Lina smirked, settling more comfortably in her sleeping bag.

She reached for a piece of cheese and began to nibble it little by little, enjoying the delicate taste and anticipating the evening entertainment.

"Well, let's begin," Bella slid her finger across the screen. "I'll enter the players' names now, and the program will randomly select each of us."

After a short pause, filled with quiet tapping on the display, she solemnly announced:

"Edie, truth or dare?"

Her name was the first to light up on the screen, along with two interactive buttons.

"Hmm, well, let's start with truth," after a little thought, the red-haired girl decided, also breaking off a piece of cheese.

"What prohibitions or taboos do you have?" the brunette voiced the text that appeared on the screen.

"Of course, violence, injustice, and indifference," Edie answered clearly, without even thinking.

"That was easy," Lina smiled and turned the phone in her direction.

Bella suggested that each person should press the choice herself when her name appeared. Lina also chose "truth" and began to read the question:

"'What was the last movie you watched that made you cry?' Hmm, it wasn't a movie but an animated film, 'Soul.' It really impressed me."

"You're capable of crying over movies?" Bella raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I always thought it was hard to move you to tears. You medics are usually emotionally tough."

"Ha, I'm just a normal person. Why wouldn't I cry at a touching moment?" Lina parried with a slight smile.

She shrugged as if surprised that someone might think otherwise.

"Now me," Bella looked at the screen. "The app is asking what my favorite games are. Probably either strategy or open world, where I can literally walk around, collect resources, maybe craft something, and when I'm completely bored--fight monsters."

She paused for a minute, mentally going through the games she most often played on her console. The reflections were interrupted when her attention was drawn to her friends, enthusiastically destroying the cheese plate.

"I think we can now dilute the game with action," she decisively stated. "By the way, I see how you're methodically eating the cheese. Edie, can you unscrew the thermos caps, and I'll open the wine."

The journalist obediently fulfilled the request, preparing improvised glasses. Bella poured the ruby liquid into the thermoses, trying to distribute the drink equally among the three friends.

"This is how childhood ends and female alcoholism begins," the redhead said with an ironic smile, cautiously taking the first sip.

The wine turned out to be sweet, with a light tartness, leaving a pleasant aftertaste.

"But the fun begins," Bella retorted and took a more confident sip.

Unlike her friend, she was already familiar with this drink--her mother preferred the same wine, sometimes allowing her daughter to taste a glass during family dinners.

"Edie, truth or dare?" after slightly sipping the grape drink, Lina asked, returning to the game.

"Ah, well, it's dare then," the girl answered somewhat uncertainly and, as if gathering courage, took another, more decisive sip.

"Kiss somewhere of your choice the player to your right," she read the text, holding the phone in her hands, and raised a surprised gaze at the girl.

Her cheeks noticeably reddened--either from embarrassment or from the wine consumed. Edie slowly raised her gaze to Bella, sitting to her right, and noticed that she too had slightly blushed, which was completely uncharacteristic for the usually imperturbable brunette.

"Didn't the game understand that we're all girls?" Bella muttered, looking bewildered in front of her.

"Well, it says here that it can be anywhere, so a friendly kiss is probably acceptable too," Lina reasoned sensibly, although there was a slight tension in her voice.

While her friends were reasoning about the logic of the application, Edie, suddenly even for herself, decisively clenched her hands into fists and rose from her sleeping place. As if in slow motion, she approached Bella and sat down next to her. Her heart was beating so loudly that it seemed its pounding spread throughout the entire tent.

Gathering all her courage, the red-haired girl carefully cupped Bella's face in her hands and uncertainly touched her lips with her own, freezing in anticipation of a reaction.

The answer didn't take long to come. The brunette closed her eyes and slightly parted her lips--a silent invitation that was impossible to refuse. Edie, feeling a wave of warmth spreading through her body, carefully deepened the kiss. She ran her tongue over Bella's upper lip, then along the edge of her teeth, and finally met her tongue.

The sensations proved incredibly pleasant and exciting. On her lips, there was still a sweet aftertaste of wine, now mixed with something elusive and special, unique to Bella. Edie suddenly discovered that she absolutely didn't want to stop.

Lina couldn't tear her gaze away. In the confined space of the tent, it suddenly became unbearably hot. She swallowed sticky saliva and reached for the wooden board that served as their table. Carefully moving the improvised tabletop aside, she crawled on her hands and knees toward her friends.

Their kiss had long crossed the boundary of an innocent touch, transforming into a passionate flame. The girls touched each other with their hands, instinctively trying to overcome the barrier of clothing, impatiently feeling for zippers on jackets, striving to get as close as possible to each other.

Lina acted with extreme caution. With a light, almost imperceptible movement, like the touch of a feather, she touched Edie's cheek, and then slid her fingers along her neck. Her hands slowly and carefully pulled the silver jacket off the girl's shoulders, leaving only the white cotton T-shirt on her body.

Edie, completely captivated by the kiss, didn't even notice these manipulations. Bella, however, instantly realized what was happening. She moved away from the red-haired girl's lips and looked at Lina with wide-open eyes. In her gaze, there was a strange mixture of desire and uncertainty.

Meeting her eyes, the medic merely nodded understandingly. This silent approval was enough. Without wasting a second, the brunette with a decisive movement pulled her jacket along with her T-shirt over her head, remaining in a simple red bra. It wasn't adorned with intricate lace--just a smooth, comfortable model. But in the eyes of her friends, Bella looked stunningly beautiful. Her dark hair was tousled and spread over her pale shoulders, creating an exciting contrast.

With unexpected tenderness, the brunette reached out to the blonde and gently ran her hand over her cheek. Her gaze moved from Lina to Edie and back. Although she already intuitively understood that everyone agreed to what was happening, she wanted to hear it aloud, to get explicit confirmation.

"I think we'll now help each other with the nagging problem," Lina said briefly and reached for a kiss. The girl immediately responded to her with no less passion; now what she had been waiting for so long would happen, and with those whom she truly loved. Isn't that happiness?

Edie didn't lag behind, smirking at the joke. Her gaze now saw only the goal, and the goal was the blonde's pale neck, which after the journalist's tender and rough kisses became covered with purple spots, but she didn't mind, only offering her neck more.

Gradually, all the girls remained only in their underwear, and the sleeping bags were laid out like mattresses. Bella and Edie lay on their backs, while Lina's agile and gentle hands began to run over their bodies. With her right hand, she traced the redhead's beautiful large breasts through her bra, massaging her nipples, which elicited a slight moan. With her left hand, she decided not to waste time and stroked the girl's wet panties. The brunette bit her lips and barely restrained herself.

The medic leaned over each in turn, tasting their tongues, and saw with what adoration they looked at her. The hand on Edie's body easily passed over her stomach, and the nails barely touched the edge of her underwear. She was teasing, not giving everything at once. The journalist wanted to scream to also earn pleasant touches, as she saw how good Bella felt right now. It was so unfair.

She herself took Lina's palm and began to guide it over her clitoris. And Lina was definitely not against such initiative. On the contrary, she seemed to be waiting just for this and began to move between the labia, and then made circular movements over the bump. The girl finally got what she wanted. The tent filled with the sounds of their enchanting voices.

"You're just torturing us, Lina, it's time to punish you for this," there was no more strength to endure.

When the brunette realized that she was simply dripping with wetness and that such light petting brought only sweet torture, not the desired release, she decided it was time to go all out. She intercepted both hands of the future doctor and pushed her onto her back, fixing her palms above her head.

Lina only had time to be slightly surprised, but there was no time for that. Bella covered her neck and her breasts, long free of forgotten underwear, with either kisses or bites--revenge for her sweet torture.

Edie didn't wait long, and most importantly--didn't let the girls forget about her. She immediately reached for the blonde's underwear and pulled it off each of her straight legs. A thin thread of wetness followed the fabric, indicating that while she was pleasuring her friends, she herself had become quite aroused.

The journalist's eyes lit up. Asking Bella, who was greedily licking the nipples, to move over, she began to tease the clitoris and lower lips of her friend with her tongue.

Lina didn't expect the girls to take on her together. She thought they would leave her on the bench and pleasure each other, but how glad she was to be wrong.

The girl couldn't remain silent. Each of her erogenous zones simply burned with desire and was caressed by soft and warm tongues, which, it turns out, can not only quarrel but also deliver unreal bliss.

However, she felt slightly rough fingers from frequent typing join them. They first slightly outlined the soft tissues, gathering as much wetness as possible, and then confidently slipped inside, bringing no less pleasure.

The girl arched toward the touches and was rewarded with another pinkish hickey on her collarbone.

"Bella, please, sit so that I can taste you," the girl moaned. She was sure she would be understood. She had long closed her eyes, getting lost in sensations, but understood that everyone should feel good. And she would definitely thank Edie a little later.

The brunette perfectly comprehended the meaning of the words. She pulled off her long-annoying panties and positioned herself so that Lina's head was between her thighs. Such a position seemed dirty and vulgar to her. She had seen something similar in porn a couple of times while helping herself relieve tension, but would never have thought that she herself would one day be in such a position.

The medic felt that the girl was ready and, grabbing her by the hips, pulled her closer. Her tongue confidently passed between the lower lips and touched the legs of the clitoris. The tech diva's body trembled, and she immediately decided to support herself with her hands because if every touch would be like this, she wouldn't last long. Lina literally kissed, leading her lips up and down. It's not for nothing that they're also called lips. The tongue no longer just slightly licked but moved quickly and continuously, like a Geiger counter approaching uranium.

This made her legs frankly tremble, but the girl didn't care. She herself felt good. The lower abdomen was burning, and Edie diligently drove her fingers in, knocking her off balance. Therefore, she also had to give her all. Pulling her friend closer by the hips, occasionally leaving gentle slaps on her buttocks, she began to penetrate with her tongue, teasing the already sensitive walls.

The tent filled with the sounds of moans. If someone had been within a mile radius, they would immediately understand how hot it was here. In confirmation of this, sweat began to flow from Bella. Droplets flowed steadily between her excited breasts and, descending downward, mixed with wetness and saliva. Now no expertise could distinguish where what was.

Tears flowed from her eyes. She felt so good. Any minute now, she was about to be covered by a wave of orgasm, which was brought to her by someone else--beloved and close. And from this feeling, it warmed her chest. But in her head, the thought incessantly beat that she herself wanted to give pleasure to another, closer and dearer one, who made her get excited every time her cute cheeks turned red like a tomato.

And the peak of pleasure was that it was she who made her face turn red. Bella wanted to see this again, but not from her crude jokes, but from how she would touch her. And here her string stretched to the limit, and she cried out. Her thighs so wanted to squeeze together, but Lina didn't allow it, firmly holding them and licking the wetness from the swollen labia.

"Please, I can't take it anymore," she begged, and the grip loosened. She simply fell forward onto her hands, trying to catch her breath.

She watched as the other girl reached her peak as well. Edie made her feel as good as possible, using everything she had: lips, tongue, fingers, and an immeasurable desire to fulfill the erotic desire. Lina breathed deeply and grabbed the journalist's second hand, which was teasing her nipples, squeezing her breasts with both palms and coming with a gradually subsiding moan. She understood that she could no longer move even a finger, but it was no longer necessary. She did what she could; now they would understand how much they needed each other.

Those whom the blonde thought about raised lust-filled gazes at each other. They were left one-on-one. Bella, although she had an orgasm, was definitely not that tired, as she still had to help the other blue-eyed beauty. The brunette licked her lips as if preparing to taste the sweetest fruit in the world. This made the journalist swallow sticky saliva and slowly approach the girl.

They both looked at the smiling Lina, and, looking at them, she simply waved her hand and wrapped herself in the nearest sheet, understanding that now it was their moment. They nodded gratefully to her and reached for each other. Now Bella was the initiative one. She took Edie by the chin and leaned forward. Unlike their first kiss, this one was passionate and greedy. The brunette ran her hand through her hair and began alternately stroking and winding the curls.

"I've always wanted to touch them like this," she whispered when they ran out of air and pulled apart to look into each other's eyes. "I want to make you blush not only on your face," she continued and ran her hand down the girl's back, reaching her hips. There had been no underwear on anyone for a long time, and no one even tried to remember when that happened.

Edie didn't need to be asked twice. From such confident touches, her cheeks and even a bit of her nose began to burn crimson. Bella observed this and became even more aroused. As proof of this, she pulled the girl closer to herself, sitting her on her lap and spreading her legs along with her own.

The journalist saw how wetness was dripping from each of them, but she still continued to be embarrassed, as Bella studied every cell of her body. She didn't even need to kiss Edie for her to feel how desired she was. The brunette carefully ran her hands over her breasts, on which long red hair cascaded and tickled the excited nipples.

"How beautiful you are," escaped from Bella, and she began to kiss the girl on the neck. She noticed how many hickeys that innocent one had left on their friend and decided she liked it. The first pinkish mark didn't make itself wait, nor did the second. Edie realized that she was completely losing control and hugged the girl by the shoulders, pulling her in and making her go lower and lower. Now a mark adorned the top of her breast, right next to the nipple.

The redhead was afraid that if Bella continued in the same vein, she would simply not restrain herself and scream with pleasure. But the movement of the lips didn't reach the pulsating point. On the contrary, she pulled away, assessing her work.

"How my kisses suit you," she said and began to run her hand over her marks. She circled a finger around the nipple, then slightly pressed and circled again. This continued until Edie snatched her friend's hand and lowered it closer to her womanhood. There, wetness had already begun to flow down her thighs and drip on the floor, but there was nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, Bella liked that the girl was melting in her hands, that she wanted more and, most importantly, how she blushed.

Despite the fact that observation brought no less pleasure than sex, making her friend languish in anticipation was cruel. With the very hand that the redhead was holding, Bella began to pleasure her.

The fingers slid easily and just as easily penetrated inside. With two at once, she massaged the sensitive walls, either bending or unbending her fingers and doing this at the speed of her tongue, which was caressing the nipples in turn.

Edie no longer held back. She hugged the girl's head and shoulders, praying that this would last as long as possible, but the spasms in her lower abdomen said that soon the spring would break, and she would be completely overwhelmed. She would be lost between sleep and reality, but before that happened, she still decided to change the course of events.

The redhead grabbed Bella by the shoulders and, while she hadn't had time to come to her senses, laid her flat on her back. The fingers abruptly exited her, leaving after them a pleasant spasm. Then she took the brunette's leg and placed it on her own, as if crossing them. Guessing her intentions, the girl only smirked and allowed the journalist to take control over her. The idea was simple: Edie pulled Bella toward herself by the hips, and their clitorises began to rub against each other. The wetness completely mixed, allowing them to move quickly and furiously.

The girl firmly clutched her friend's body, so that the skin began to redden under her fingers, but it wasn't enough. Slightly turning Bella to her side and continuing to move her hips, with her second hand, she slapped her on the buttocks, leaving a pink imprint. It didn't hurt; it was hot. She wanted to be thrown between caress and slaps, and Edie gave her this. Not stopping for a minute, she merged their labia in a dance, or rather in a long kiss where oxygen wasn't needed, and continued to torment the red-from-impacts buttocks.

They lost track of time. Consciousness returned to them only upon achieving a joint orgasm. Edie fell onto Bella's chest, and she didn't mind, just stroked and kissed her on the crown of her head. But it was getting cold. Taking the girl by the arm and finding among the scattered things and underwear a couple more sheets, they wrapped themselves up and crawled to Lina.

The brunette noticed her phone on the floor next to her and, unlocking it, saw on the screen: "Dare. Edie, dance like a madwoman for 5 minutes." She looked at the dozing blonde and was sincerely grateful to her.