“Hey,” one of his buddies nudged him in the direction of a girl talking to one of her own friends. “I bet you 50 bucks you can’t get her to go out with you.” He smiled his goofy smile. “You know I can’t say no to a bet.” He strided toward the girl, only for her to spin around quickly and take him by surprise. Her sky blue eyes bore into his. “Sure, I’ll go out with you.” Her response took him off guard. She smiled. “I have impeccable hearing. You were also like 10 feet from me and not very discreet. And you look like you don’t like to lose a bet. Sure I’ll go out with you.” She leaned up and whispered in his ear. “You’re lucky you are cute.”

Gulp. There was no going back now.

Olivia look down at her feet. She was at least twenty feet off the ground standing at the edge of a run down tree house.

A few days ago she and Della made a bet on who would win the Football game— Olivia lost. But because she didn’t have any money, Della said that she would then have to do and dare that Della told her to do. The new bet was five small dares or one big one. Della went with one big one.

Now, Olivia had to jump off the tall tree house that hovers over a small river and land in a small round float. _Welp, _Olivia thought as she took a deep breath, _it’s now or never. _

“JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!” The other ten-year-olds chanted from the safe ground below. “Don’t tell me your going to chicken out.” Della teased. Olivia could feel her blood boil.

She ran back a few paces and….

…JUMPED!…

She could feel the wind flash her hair in every direction as she closed her eyes in fright. _Plop! _

She fell into the water with a tiny splash.

Olivia opened her eyes. She was fine. She looked up from where she had jumped, now looking up, it looked about two feet off the ground.

“I guess it wasn’t as height as it looked.” Olivia said to herself before she splashed some water in the direction of Della, soaking her.

A dare. A bet. A spin on all his luck. With his life as the stake And a gun to be struck.

His buddy’s begged him not to And the old man chuckled and grinned. “Are you scared your going to die Are you a coward deep within?”

“Like your father was that day When we played this very game And your mother was the stake Will you beg like he once did?”

With a last plea from his friends He took a step towards the old man And he nodded Then he placed, His gun down on the ground.

The old man grabbed the guns And placed a round into each one
Then he spun them both around Until they were mixed and done.

The old man took the nearest gun And he grabbed the other one. When they pointed the muzzle to their heads There was no time left to run.

Shoot, Boom, One dead. The old man’s body fell to the floor. But is wasn’t his gun that pulled the trigger, But the gun of the man across.

The old man cheated But so did he, He used his fully loaded gun. Two can play the game of killer If only one of them can run.

I’ll take those odds. But they are 1 million to 1! But I’ll will a million. Just betting 1!

I sat at the end of the table, my brother, the idiot he is, sitting in his seat cards in his hands. He’d agreed to yet another game of cards, wanting to win his losses back, he’d stupidly bet our entire weeks pay, our, mine included. It was funny when he was a child, my father and mother would laugh at his ridiculous exclamations, ridiculous odds, now it was more saddening, it was sad because I am still included, even after all of his losses he includes me, says it’s for higher stakes, says he cares about me too.

Now he sat there as smug as always, I was almost certain he’d lose, as he always does, but for some reason it felt slightly different, as if something might change this time, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. He laughed as he dropped the cards on top of the pile, all I could hear was laughter and shock, everyone blocking my view as they congratulated him.

The other player was shocked, the woman against him looked devastated, I was in awe at the scene, truly shocked that he could ever succeed after so many losses. The only question was: what did he really bet on this time?

I have fifteen tattoos, have jumped out of three planes, climbed the tallest mountains in every continent, and have been married seven times. There is only one that I regret, the one that started this whole adventure.

I warn you, it’s awful, one I regret, and I’m only telling the story because of a dare.

See, I dated a woman because of a bet, and her brother cursed me. Now I have to take every bet, every dare, every time someone says ‘no balls’. It doesn’t seem that bad, but I also know every member of my local hospital’s staff. I’m very deep in debt, and live with the man who cursed me.

Of course, the curse doesn’t affect dares of the original one’s nature. I can turn those down just fine, and always will.

Hey, he didn’t specify how long this had to be, or how good the writing had to be.

I survive on loopholes.

“Oh c’mon, I so definitely can pick the winning team for the next match!!”

“Really Jono? Would you care to make it interesting?”

Jonahon grinned.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Jonathon could never say no to a bet. Even now, after skipping breakfast and lunch, Jonathan was busy making a quick mental note of how many cans of tuna he had left in the cupboard. If he cut down to one meal a day, would that last him till next week when he gets paid?

“Jono.. you gotta quit it.”

“..Joel? What?”

“You’re gambling again, arent’ you?”

“Bro, it’s just a bit of harmless fun.”

“I don’t think so. It’s out of control.”

“It’s not. I could quit anytime I want.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah I bet I could. Care to make it interesting?”

“Jono, please. You need help…”

Damn it. I was in the same situation once again.y life has never been peaceful or predictable. Mostly because of my impulsive way of thinking.

I can’t say no. But this time I’ve lost pretty much everything. Just because of a silly bet. Very typical for me.

And there we were. Standing on this cliff. My ship was gone, all my tokens were gone. I was tied to a pole hanging above a crater.

Why do I always say yes

“We’re gonna die, We’re gonna die, We’re gonna—“

“Oh my God, Daniel, would you just shut up already?! I have everything perfectly under con—“

A fierce gust of wind blew Anne off her feet.

“AHH!”

The boat tipped dangerously to the left. Daniel wrapped his arms more tightly around Anne, burying his face in her raincoat. Lightning streaked across the sky as another wave crashed onto the deck, the freezing water spraying them both like needles. Anne shielded her eyes.

“LOOK OUT!” Daniel screamed and pointed just as Anne cut the the wheel, hard, barely avoiding another wave.

“WOULD YOU STOP BEING SUCH A BABY!!” She shouted louder.

Her heart thundered in her chest. She was telling herself it was the anger, not the fear. She was mad at Daniel because Daniel was wrong. She was not afraid.

She could not be afraid.

“The sail, the sail!! Grab those ropes over there and PULL!!”

Daniel hurried over to the ropes, his frozen fingers fumbling to grasp the thick braids of cord. Thunder cracked above. He pulled. Not only was it hopelessly slippery, but he also wasn’t exactly a muscular guy. He was her scrawny second cousin who she’d just met about two weeks ago... and she wasn’t about to let him get them both killed.

“YOU MAN THE WHEEL!” Anne screamed at him. “I’ll try to veer us left!”

As she sprinted across the deck to switch places with him, she reminded herself that they were going to survive this.

They had to survive this.

Right?

————— Two weeks earlier... —————

“He’s here?” Anne asked, scanning the crowded bar. She slid her purse a little farther up her shoulder.

Julia nodded. “Right over there. The shadowy table in the corner.”

“Oh, right. Because the shadowy table in the corner is where all the not-creepy guys sit.”

“It’s where all the guys I’m dating sit.”

Anne rolled her eyes at her friend. “I still can’t believe you’re going out with my second cousin.”

“And I still can’t believe you didn’t know you had a second cousin.”

“He never came to any family functions!” Anne protested. “Mom only told me we were related when you brought him to that benefit she was at last month!”

“Why not?”

Anne winced. “I don’t know. Mom said he just seemed... off.” She shivered. “I don’t know, she thought he was weird or something!”

“Well. Today you finally get to meet him and see,” Julia said calmly, patting Anne on the back. “Now, I’m going to get a drink.”

“Um, I’m sorry, what? You’re leaving me alone with him?”

“He’s my boyfriend,” Julia said flatly. “You can trust him, Anne. Besides, he said he wanted to ask you something.”

“Wait... what?”

Julia shrugged playfully and began to walk away.

“Jules, what—“ But she just continued walking.

Anne scowled and took a deep breath. She walked cautiously over to where the guy was sitting, the tip of his hat pulled down slightly over his eyes.

Anne cleared her throat. “Hey.”

He looked up at her. He actually looked kind of pale and had soft, freckled features, completely not what a shadowy-corner kind of guy would look like.

“Um, Jules said you want to ask me something?” Anne asked.

He nodded. Anne slunk down into the booth. She hated not being in the know about something. And she hated people who made her feel out of the know even more.

“Well. I’m waiting,” she snapped.

He took off his hat and sat up.

“Here’s the thing,” he said, folding his hands in front of her. Anne was surprised to find his voice was so quiet. But it wasn’t shaky. “I’ve just accepted a quite impossible bet. My father owns a boat down by South Bay, and my buddy Simon bet me I couldn’t sail that thing through it to the East end by Saturday.”

“I don’t see the problem.”

“I can’t sail.”

Anne shook her head. “Then why’d you say yes?”

“I never say no to a bet,” he said with a wry smile.

Anne snorted. “That’s a stupid philosophy.”

“Julia told me you can sail.”

“I can.”

“So take me. I pay pretty good.”

“I don’t work for money, I work for causes.”

“This is a cause.”

Anne groaned.

“Fine. I’ll sail your stupid boat to the east end. But only because Jules wants us to get along. Deal?” She stuck out her hand, thoroughly annoyed with this whole encounter.

He smirked and shook it. “Deal.”

The clashing crescendo Always gets me 3 strangers Being pursued by wolves in the shadows I understand, the wolves are Drinking Smoking Materialistic desires Swallowed whole by those foolish enough To run away When they summoned them in the first place. “Your flesh is crying out for more.” More of what? what does your flesh crave? Do you want sex? Isolation? Do you just crave sadness sometimes? Do you want food? To Starve to death On cigarettes and spending your coin The shine is as shimmering as the glint In your eye. The sweat on your brow You worked hard to get this You deserve This. To be chased down the street like a dirty dog It makes me think Of chills and body aches Don’t I want to be alive and feel this too? Do I not seek joy? Do I not seek Chaos? Tearing away Scrambling from my desires Only for them to bite and claw at my heels It’s easy to run when you’re swimming With colorful rainbow fish And the sky above is your favorite weather But when your bike explodes It’s a chilly night with black and white And you’re running downhill How can you Stop? Face your trauma head on, Charge it like a bull ramming into Red sins