The Dare

Directed by Peter Webber
Written by Bruce Eric Kaplan

Claire has been staying at David's house since learning the details of his carjacking. But David, embarrassed by his inability to conquer his fears, tells Claire he doesn't need her to stay over any more. At work he busies himself with mindless tasks and then goes home for a sleepless night alone. The following day, David joins Claire and Edie at the movies but leaves suddenly when a dramatic movie preview causes him to have flashbacks to his carjacking. A brief sexual encounter with a bartender only further sets off his irrational fears.

Claire is oddly thrilled with the finished result of her seductive portrait of Edie. At first she wants to keep the photo to herself, but Edie convinces her to show it at her next class critique. The picture garners accolades from the teacher, but Claire is embarrassed when a fellow student references Edie as Claire's girlfriend. After the pair see a movie together, Edie makes a move on Claire who, though she admits to having strong feelings for Edie, is confused about what those feelings mean. When Edie stops by the following day, Claire agrees to have sex with her friend in order to put her confusion to rest.

Federico breaks things off with Sophia, convinced that though their relationship isn't sexual it isn't fair to Vanessa and the kids. As a final parting gift, he drops off a package for Sophia's daughter on her doorstep. Unbeknownst to Federico, Vanessa follows him to Sophia's house and is infuriated when her husband's buxom "charity" case takes the package inside. Unable to get a sitter for the kids, Vanessa waits until the following night to confront Rico. She accuses him of cheating on her and kicks him out, sending him straight into the arms of Sophia.

Ruth continues to try to connect with George. At his casual invitation, she joins him on an exhausting fossil hunt in Topanga Canyon. Dehydrated and annoyed by George's flippant disregard for her comfort, Ruth insists they drop by her sister Sarah's Topanga home. Bettina is visiting Sarah as well and the three women enjoy each other's company, while George isolates himself in front of the TV. Ruth is surprised when Sarah remarks that George's private nature reminds her of Nathaniel. As Sarah puts it: "I guess it's true what they say. We all pick the same person over and over again."

Brenda and Nate meet for a casual affair in a seedy hotel as they have for the past few weeks. Brenda claims to want to commit to Joe and end things with Nate, but he pegs their on-going affair for what it is-Brenda's fear of intimacy with Joe. Nate: "You can't fool me. I used to be Joe." Nate tries to move on and begin a relationship with his former co-worker from the dog kennel and urges Brenda to try to make things work with Joe. In the end, Brenda admits her infidelity to Joe in the hopes that they can make a new start.

Keith finally admits to his fellow bodyguard, Javier, that he's gay. To his surprise, Javier tells Celeste and the other bodyguards and then sends Keith a mixed message by writing him a joke note that implies he wants to have sex with Keith. When Keith calls to discuss the note with David, David tells him he no longer wants an open relationship and suddenly breaks down, buckling under the pressure of trying to keep his post-traumatic stress at bay.