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Dared and Confused
Jackson Conroy and his friends have been playing “Truth or Dare?” together for years— long enough to know exactly how the game is going to go every time they get together, much to Jackson’s chagrin. As the group has gotten older and gone off to college, the games have become fewer and further between. Now with graduation looming just around the corner, the group decides to get together over their final Spring Break to play a few more rounds while they still can.
The game starts no differently than any other they’ve played for the past several years, but this time Jackson’s best friend takes an opportunity to corner him into kissing Chet Montgomery. Chet makes good on the dare to kiss Jackson without any hesitation. But it’s when the kiss ends that Jackson’s confusion begins.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
Dear Author,
It started with too many shots of Jack and a game of “Truth or Dare?”. It was only supposed to be a quick kiss. I’ve never kissed another guy before. So why did I find myself back in his arms, lost in his brown eyes the next night? And why does the thought of never kissing him again make me feel like I would be missing out on the hottest thing in my life?
Photo Description:
A photo of two cowboys in their early twenties kissing in a barn. One man wears a maroon-and-white gingham shirt and a black Stetson, and the other a blue-and-white gingham shirt and a straw-colored Stetson.
This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
The game starts no differently than any other they’ve played for the past several years, but this time Jackson’s best friend takes an opportunity to corner him into kissing Chet Montgomery. Chet makes good on the dare to kiss Jackson without any hesitation. But it’s when the kiss ends that Jackson’s confusion begins.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
Dear Author,
It started with too many shots of Jack and a game of “Truth or Dare?”. It was only supposed to be a quick kiss. I’ve never kissed another guy before. So why did I find myself back in his arms, lost in his brown eyes the next night? And why does the thought of never kissing him again make me feel like I would be missing out on the hottest thing in my life?
Photo Description:
A photo of two cowboys in their early twenties kissing in a barn. One man wears a maroon-and-white gingham shirt and a black Stetson, and the other a blue-and-white gingham shirt and a straw-colored Stetson.
This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
53 pages, ebook
First published July 24, 2015
124 people want to read
About the author
Adara O’Hare
8 books56 followersAdara is a geek in writer’s clothing—a mild-mannered website designer by day and a wife, mother, reader, and sometimes writer by night. She enjoys Star Wars, Firefly, manga (includes yaoi), anime (very little yaoi), and a whole lot of other hobbies, mostly encompassed by the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). She still has her collections of board and card games, stuffed animals, original My Little Ponies, and Star Wars books and action figures, though not really anyplace to put them at the moment. Thank goodness most of her M/M romance collection is eBook, not physical, or there would be no space at all left to walk in the dining room.
(NOTE: If you are sending me a friend request just to try to promote your books to me or invite me to release events, I will unfriend and block you.)
(NOTE: If you are sending me a friend request just to try to promote your books to me or invite me to release events, I will unfriend and block you.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 2, 2015
Coming of age and figuring things out. This is the second Love Is An Open Road book with an Ace character. I like that. Add in a couple cowboys and really good friends, you have a fun short story.
July 8, 2017
So yes, a kiss on a dare suddenly opens Jackson's eyes. He really had no clue, nor cared, about his lack of sexual interest in all things. Now he can't stop thinking about his best friend, Chet.
This was another sweet story about awakenings and realizations. Quite hot in some parts, and though it glosses over the tough issues in its easy resolutions, this was still an enjoyable, feel good short.
This was another sweet story about awakenings and realizations. Quite hot in some parts, and though it glosses over the tough issues in its easy resolutions, this was still an enjoyable, feel good short.
September 13, 2018
This was sometimes weird, mostly sweet friends-to-lovers short story.
The sweet: Jackson has never been attracted to or interested in anyone, male or female, until his best friend Chet kisses him on a dare during a truth and dare game. And suddenly it's fireworks and Jackson realizes there are things about himself he didn't know that he didn't know. Watching him trying to sort out his confusion and figuring out he's gray-ace was a treat.
Chet was super patient and supportive, and he's clearly been in love with Jackson for years but never said anything so as not to pressure him. There was lots of good tension leading up to the sex scene, which thankfully wasn't too long. Still, I was starting to lose interest by the time it finished.
Jackson's mom was a pure delight, y'all. She was like Christmas in July. :D
The weird: Why would Jackson's dad be so opposed to him wanting to be a veterinarian? You need those on ranches. Just find someone else to run the ranch, geez.
I also didn't care much for the hyper-sexualized truth and dare game at the beginning. There is such a thing as being *too* close to your friends, lol. I did like how it was used later though; it was a nice little callback.
Oh, then there's the Texas-speak that's all over this book like burrs in a billy goat's hide. Darn tootin! :P You can either read it or it'll drive you up the wall, lol.
The sweet: Jackson has never been attracted to or interested in anyone, male or female, until his best friend Chet kisses him on a dare during a truth and dare game. And suddenly it's fireworks and Jackson realizes there are things about himself he didn't know that he didn't know. Watching him trying to sort out his confusion and figuring out he's gray-ace was a treat.
Chet was super patient and supportive, and he's clearly been in love with Jackson for years but never said anything so as not to pressure him. There was lots of good tension leading up to the sex scene, which thankfully wasn't too long. Still, I was starting to lose interest by the time it finished.
Jackson's mom was a pure delight, y'all. She was like Christmas in July. :D
The weird: Why would Jackson's dad be so opposed to him wanting to be a veterinarian? You need those on ranches. Just find someone else to run the ranch, geez.
I also didn't care much for the hyper-sexualized truth and dare game at the beginning. There is such a thing as being *too* close to your friends, lol. I did like how it was used later though; it was a nice little callback.
Oh, then there's the Texas-speak that's all over this book like burrs in a billy goat's hide. Darn tootin! :P You can either read it or it'll drive you up the wall, lol.
July 28, 2015
A simple game of truth or dare turns into the love of a life time. Great story with fun characters, and entirely believable situations. The various support characters are all well-developed, while Jackson and Chet are very sexy and yet easy to identify with. Dared and Confused is one of my favorites for this year's Love is an Open Road event. If you read just one story from this event, this is that story to read.
wrote
December 5, 2015This is my story for the Don't Read in the Closet: Love is an Open Road (2015) event in the M/M Romance Group.
When I began writing this story, I didn't initially set out to tell a gray-ace story. It wasn't until Jacks was talking to Gabby in the barn that his confusion really came out of the woodwork. I could have done a lot more with his confusion over not being sexually attracted to his schoolmates, but I didn't want to write a full novel at the time (which it would've turned into had I gone there). Instead, I believe that Jackson dealt with the vast majority of his confusion in his teen years, and it only comes out now every so often.
I am sure that others will say he presents as more demisexual than gray-ace, to which I would agree that may be true, but he himself doesn't recognize it as such yet. Maybe in time he will change from thinking he's gray-ace to demisexual. Maybe not. That's really his call and not anyone else's.
I hope you enjoy this short story. I had a lot of fun writing it.
When I began writing this story, I didn't initially set out to tell a gray-ace story. It wasn't until Jacks was talking to Gabby in the barn that his confusion really came out of the woodwork. I could have done a lot more with his confusion over not being sexually attracted to his schoolmates, but I didn't want to write a full novel at the time (which it would've turned into had I gone there). Instead, I believe that Jackson dealt with the vast majority of his confusion in his teen years, and it only comes out now every so often.
I am sure that others will say he presents as more demisexual than gray-ace, to which I would agree that may be true, but he himself doesn't recognize it as such yet. Maybe in time he will change from thinking he's gray-ace to demisexual. Maybe not. That's really his call and not anyone else's.
I hope you enjoy this short story. I had a lot of fun writing it.
July 24, 2015
3.5 stars
No one has ever caught Jackson "Jacks" Conroy's eye. He's seen men and women naked, even kissed a girl or two, but nothing has ever given him that spark of interest. That's about to change during a game of Truth or Dare. He always plays it safe; only ever choosing Truth, but it's a Dare for another member of the group that is going to change his whole world on its head.
This story includes:
Sexy college aged cowboys.
A supportive family and secondary characters.
Great chemistry between the two MCs.
An asexual-grey sexual MC (this was handled amazingly).
And a sweet and shy main character.
I could have done without the oversexualized Truth or Dare games. I didn't really enjoy all the free love going around, but everything else was great. I would have loved to have been in Chet's head (so I could get the deep longing he felt towards Jackson) as well as Jackson's POV, but spending time with the endearingly sweet Jackson wasn't a hardship at all.
A really sweet read that left me wanting more.
My thanks to the author for their participation in the Love is an Open Road event.
No one has ever caught Jackson "Jacks" Conroy's eye. He's seen men and women naked, even kissed a girl or two, but nothing has ever given him that spark of interest. That's about to change during a game of Truth or Dare. He always plays it safe; only ever choosing Truth, but it's a Dare for another member of the group that is going to change his whole world on its head.
This story includes:
Sexy college aged cowboys.
A supportive family and secondary characters.
Great chemistry between the two MCs.
An asexual-grey sexual MC (this was handled amazingly).
And a sweet and shy main character.
I could have done without the oversexualized Truth or Dare games. I didn't really enjoy all the free love going around, but everything else was great. I would have loved to have been in Chet's head (so I could get the deep longing he felt towards Jackson) as well as Jackson's POV, but spending time with the endearingly sweet Jackson wasn't a hardship at all.
A really sweet read that left me wanting more.
My thanks to the author for their participation in the Love is an Open Road event.
July 24, 2015
Ahhhh.... My hot country boys!! I loved it! Thank you so much, Adara. It was everything I was hoping for!
August 19, 2019
Fantastic story! I loved the internal conflict here -- so nice to see someone who hasn't figured themselves out yet. And his Mom ROCKED!
September 6, 2023
Surprisingly, this was not my cup of tea.
December 26, 2015
Very sweet friends-to-lovers story with some well-done acknowledgement of "non-standard sexualities". I would have liked a little more of Chet's point of view but this is an understandable limitation of a short story. Thanks for the very enjoyable free read!
September 1, 2015
One of the all time best...loved it!
July 27, 2017
Pretty good, pretty sexy. Lots of understanding. Awesome characters (Jacks, his amazingly understanding Chet and his proud momma! )
Non-standard sexuality... REPRESENT!
Loved it, specially with the low angst and high on feelings, it was all nicely well done.
PS: I wanna steal Chet for myself
Non-standard sexuality... REPRESENT!
Loved it, specially with the low angst and high on feelings, it was all nicely well done.
PS: I wanna steal Chet for myself
September 25, 2019
This is a great short story of figuring out who you are and who you care about. I love the main characters and their courage to figure things out. I also like how a simple game brought them together. Great job with the prompt.
May 21, 2020
Gray-asexual/demisexual MC
2.5
Too much sexism, too many dumb sexual metaphors, too many other problems. But Jackson's inner voice was convincing for someone who started to understand himself as an aspec.
2.5
Too much sexism, too many dumb sexual metaphors, too many other problems. But Jackson's inner voice was convincing for someone who started to understand himself as an aspec.
July 28, 2015
Contemporary western short story
Jackson has just graduated college and is taking part in a game of Truth and Dare with his childhood friends - including Chet, who is a hand on Jackson's parents rance and three years older than Jackson. Jackson has always answered "truth" to the questions, but when Chet says dare, the dare is to kiss Jackson, 15 seconds, with tongue. The kiss stirs up unexpected feelings in Jackson, who has never sexually felt anything for anyone. The day after and his head's all over the place, he argues with his father and eventually leaves the ranch for the evening with Chet - who he talks to about his feelings. Determining that Jackson is a Grey-A in terms of his sexuality - with feelings for Chet which he finds are returned the pair start their relationship. Jackson's mother is wonderfully supportive, his dad not so much. The story ends as it starts, with another game of Truth and Dare - but I'd say that this is only a HFN ending as we really only see the very beginning of the relationship. As ever from this author a very well written story, complete with very broad character accents
Jackson has just graduated college and is taking part in a game of Truth and Dare with his childhood friends - including Chet, who is a hand on Jackson's parents rance and three years older than Jackson. Jackson has always answered "truth" to the questions, but when Chet says dare, the dare is to kiss Jackson, 15 seconds, with tongue. The kiss stirs up unexpected feelings in Jackson, who has never sexually felt anything for anyone. The day after and his head's all over the place, he argues with his father and eventually leaves the ranch for the evening with Chet - who he talks to about his feelings. Determining that Jackson is a Grey-A in terms of his sexuality - with feelings for Chet which he finds are returned the pair start their relationship. Jackson's mother is wonderfully supportive, his dad not so much. The story ends as it starts, with another game of Truth and Dare - but I'd say that this is only a HFN ending as we really only see the very beginning of the relationship. As ever from this author a very well written story, complete with very broad character accents
August 12, 2015
3.5 stars
I really enjoyed this sweet story. I think I would have liked it even more if it wasn't for the over-the-top cowboy/Texan(?) speak. It was distracting and pulled me out of the story.
^^Aside from this type of slang^^ it was a lovely story.
Thank you to the author and the volunteers who make this event possible.
And thank you, Lori, for the rec.!
I really enjoyed this sweet story. I think I would have liked it even more if it wasn't for the over-the-top cowboy/Texan(?) speak. It was distracting and pulled me out of the story.
"Sides… ya already knew I’s a whore before ya met me."
"Yeah. I’s on my way over to ask if we could take off, an’ he ambushed me."
^^Aside from this type of slang^^ it was a lovely story.
Thank you to the author and the volunteers who make this event possible.
And thank you, Lori, for the rec.!
August 1, 2015
3.5 stars rounded up
Jackson didn't ever feel sexual attraction towards anyone. Feeling aroused by a dared kiss from his male friend Chat leaves him confused and scared.
An interesting take on friends to lovers with slow burn and the theme of being asexual. There were some point in the story that fell a bit flat but all in all I really liked it.
Jackson didn't ever feel sexual attraction towards anyone. Feeling aroused by a dared kiss from his male friend Chat leaves him confused and scared.
An interesting take on friends to lovers with slow burn and the theme of being asexual. There were some point in the story that fell a bit flat but all in all I really liked it.
Want to read
August 5, 2015
Offered for FREE from the M/M Romance Group's Love Is An Open Road event. Thank you too all the amazing authors who participated!
August 15, 2015
A fun take of the old truth or dare game except this time Jackson has a wake up call about his friend Chet. Very little angst. The scene between Jackson's parents makes this story worth reading alone.
July 25, 2015
Jackson has never been sexually attracted to anyone before. He pretends to be interested in people, but he has no experience and has no desire to either. Then during one of their scheduled “Truth or Dare” outing with his friends, he ends up kissing one of the guys, Chet.
July 31, 2015
"Whatever floats yer boat plum tickles me to death".....my plums were tickled....
This is a slow burn friends to lovers with added stetsons and cowboy boots. Short read, a little entertaining, a little educational and a little sweet. Nice.
This is a slow burn friends to lovers with added stetsons and cowboy boots. Short read, a little entertaining, a little educational and a little sweet. Nice.
October 11, 2015
This was a fun story about a young man's first sexual experience.mi enjoyed the dialogue and slang, and the camera dearie with his friends. I felt the clinical descriptions (gray ace) and family drama were unnecessary distractions
August 22, 2015
An unusual story with lots of promise.
Completely not for me, I felt disconnected from it most of the time, but you might not.
P.S. either most of the books set in the South of United States toned down the accent a lot or this is Southern lingo on steroids.
Completely not for me, I felt disconnected from it most of the time, but you might not.
P.S. either most of the books set in the South of United States toned down the accent a lot or this is Southern lingo on steroids.
August 15, 2015
Awh. Short and sweet. Chet was wonderful and so accepting of Jackson's uncertainty. I definitely enjoyed it.
August 16, 2015
Fun, sweet and a little bit educational. Will definitely be checking out more from this author.
December 29, 2019
There was a lot of Texas(?) dialect.
August 4, 2015
I loved this story. Sweet, saucy(ish) and short - there wasn't a thing I disliked! Thank you!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews