Truth or Dare by Peg Cochran

end, her head the other, her cell phone pressed to her ear.  It wasn't a real cell phone—just the kind you put minutes on every time you ran out.  Her parents wouldn't let her have a real one and didn't have one, themselves.  She'd bought it with money she'd saved from her birthday so she could talk to Lance without her parents knowing about it.  The thought of her mother answering the phone when he called made her cringe.  He would ask for Becky, and her mother would tell him there was no one there by that name!
    So really, she had no choice.   But it was annoying having to keep her voice low or play her music loud enough so no one could hear her talking.  Her mother would think she was talking to herself and would probably drag her off to see Dr. Hirschstein, Aunt Ruth's psychiatrist.
    Lance wanted her to go with Pamela to their family's beach house.  He was sure they would be able to sneak off together.  He was going to stay with some friends at a place a couple of miles away, and Pamela wouldn’t even suspect he was on the island.  Rivka realized he had finally given up trying to persuade her that it didn't matter if Pamela knew about them.  She wondered what had made him change his mind?
    She had to figure out a way to go. She forgot, for a moment, how scared she'd been after talking to Pamela—how Pamela's eyes had been so cold and calculating, how her fingers had gripped Rivka's arm until it hurt.  All she could think about was being at the shore with Lance.  Lance would be nearby the whole time she was there. 
    What could go wrong?
    She would call Pamela and tell her she was coming.  And then she'd figure out what lie to tell her parents.  And this time she wasn’t going to feel guilty about it. 
    After all, her parents had obviously been lying to her her whole life.
     
    “Guess who’s coming with us to the shore?”  Pamela licked the foam off the side of her latte and looked at Mary and Deirdre from under her lashes.
    “I don’t know.  Lance?”
    Pamela shook her head.  “Guess again.”
    Mary and Deirdre exchanged glances and shrugged.
    “Becky's coming with us.” 
    Mary peeled the paper off her straw and stuck it into her drink.  “I thought you were through with Becky.”
    “Yeah, me, too.”  Deirdre fished an ice cube out of her lemonade and chewed on it. 
    Pamela shook her head.  “Oh, no.  I’m not nearly finished with Becky yet.”
    She jumped up and grabbed her purse.  “Come on.  Let’s go shopping.”
    Mary and Deirdre exchanged another glance but then dutifully followed Pamela out to the sidewalk. 
    “Let’s go in there.”  Pamela pointed across the street toward a store that had a pink awning with turquoise stripes and the words "Elle Boutique" written on it in curly black letters.
    They wove between the parked cars and waited for the traffic to clear.  There was a sporty metallic red BMW at the curb.  Mary ran her hand over the smooth finish and peered inside at the luxurious leather upholstery.  Someday all her hard work and all the shit she had to put up with was going to pay off, and she’d be zipping around town in one of these babies with everyone turning to watch her go.
         The light changed and the traffic slowed. They scrambled across the street and stopped in the shade of the awning over the Elle Boutique. 
         "That's cute."  Deirdre pointed at a sweater in the window.  It was a pale blue cashmere v-neck.
         "Like that's going to fit you in a couple of weeks."  Pamela gestured toward Deirdre's belly.
         Deirdre looked like she was going to cry, and Mary felt her palm itching to slap Pamela for being such a bitch.  But that was Pamela.  Deirdre knew it as well as she did.  Five minutes from now she'd be buying something nice for Deirdre and being mean to someone else.
         Pamela pushed open the door, and they followed her inside.
         The shop was dark and smelled like perfume and scented