The Hazards of Skinny Dipping Read online

  “She broke things off—”

  I interrupted Reed, and he let go of Dylan. “I broke things off because you didn’t treat me the way I deserved to be treated. I should have ended things months before I did, but I was too blinded by my feelings for you to let go. Reed had nothing to do with it.” I turned around, not surprised to see everyone in the restaurant staring at the three of us.

  “I thought you wanted space. I thought if I gave you time, you’d come around.” Dylan put his head in his hands.

  “I never gave you any reason to think that. Look, we’ve known each other a long time. Maybe we’ll be friends one day.”

  “Yeah, friends. Great.” He didn’t even say goodbye.

  “You okay?” Reed looked at me worriedly.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. You don’t need to freak out like that, though.”

  “I can’t help it. No one is allowed to talk to you that way.”

  I smiled. “You’re sweet, even when you go into crazy mode.”

  “I’m always going to go into that mode when I think someone’s threatening you. I can’t help it.”

  Thankfully, Dylan never came back in. I passed him on campus a few times, but he always looked away. It was better that way. Hopefully, the weirdness would eventually disappear.

  Things were also strange with Tally. We tolerated each other, but any semblance of friendship had disappeared when she realized Dylan and I weren’t getting back together. I didn’t get it until I found out that Ryan broke up with her a few weeks later. I had no idea if they were related, but I had a feeling she thought they were.

  ***

  “Are you still working on that American Lit paper?” Reed sat down on a stool next to me at the counter. It was after eight, and I was running out of time to finish my assignment before we actually had to work.

  “Yes. I don’t like my last paragraph. It just doesn’t feel right.”

  “I love you, but you’re absolutely crazy sometimes.”

  “What?”

  “You hardly ever care about school, but then you pick these little assignments to obsess over.”

  “Oh, because you are the paramount example of normalcy?” I rolled my eyes.

  “What are you implying?”

  “I’m just saying, who are you to point fingers? You act so big and tough but get all emotional over coffee commercials.”

  “It was once, and I had a very good reason for finding it emotional.” He crossed his arms.

  “Yes, because a guy proposing to a girl over a cup of cheap coffee makes everyone weepy.”

  “Shut up.”

  “Did you just tell me to shut up?” I saved my document. The paper wasn’t getting done that night.

  “Maybe.” His grin challenged me. “You’re crazy.”

  I closed my laptop. “Take it back.”

  “No.”

  I leaned forward. “Take. It. Back.”

  “No.”

  “You asked for it.” I lunged for him, but he was already on his way into the kitchen. “Are you running away from a girl, Reed?”

  “I’m running away from a crazy girl!”

  “This is your last warning.”

  “Or what? You’re going to keep chasing me?” He laughed.

  “No. It’s going to be a lot worse.”

  “Crazy.”

  I reached into the pantry behind me and pulled out a bag of flour. “You deserve this.” I took a handful of the flour and aimed it at him. It barely got the back of his shirt.

  “Oh, we’re playing dirty, huh?” He grabbed the bag from me and proceeded to pour half of it over my head. The only positive side was that some of it got on him in the process.

  “Reed!”

  “Yes?”

  That’s when I went for the sauce. It wasn’t a small jar.

  “You’re not going to throw pizza sauce on me.”

  “Oh, I’m not?”

  “Nope. You don’t have it in you.”

  “I don’t?” I took a step toward him and tried to get him with it, but of course, I slipped on some sauce that spilled on the floor, and I ended up wearing half the jar before he caught me in his arms.

  He pushed me back against the counter. “You are such trouble.”

  “Am I trouble, or am I crazy?”

  “Both, but right now, mostly trouble.” He wiped flour and sauce off my cheek.

  “I bet I look pretty hot right now, huh?”

  “Actually you do.” He leaned over me. “Very hot.” The last words were whispered against my ear before his lips began to descend to my neck.

  I moaned. “You actually look pretty hot, too.”

  “Do I?” His lips hovered just above mine.

  “Yeah.”

  He teased me, brushing his lips against mine before pulling away.

  “No fair.”

  “I’m not kissing you until you admit that commercial was emotional.”

  “No.” I wet my lips. I wanted to kiss him so much, but I hated admitting defeat.

  “No? That’s too bad. I was looking forward to kissing you.”

  He ran a finger over my bottom lip. “Are you sure about your answer?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. This was stupid. His macho ego wasn’t going to give up. “It’s an emotional commercial.”

  “I’m glad you finally admit it.” His lips brushed against mine again. I was about to complain when he sped it up. My hands tangled in his hair as his arms wrapped around my waist. I slipped my hands under his t-shirt as his hands did the same to mine. He got my shirt off first, but I tugged on his to move him close to me again. “Take off your shirt.”

  “First you attack me with food, and now you’re ordering me to remove my clothing?”

  “I’m your girlfriend. I’m allowed to want you shirtless.”

  “At least you’re not telling me I have the ‘roid look anymore.” He pulled his shirt over his head.

  “Nope, just the Reed look.” I ran my hands over his chest. A little bit of the flour from his shirt had gotten on him. It was nothing compared to the sauce that had seeped through my shirt onto my skin. He kissed my chest between my breasts and continued down to my stomach. “Tomato basil? At least you picked a good sauce.” Something about the way his mouth felt on me drove me wild. I reached out, unbuckling his belt. “I know this is going to violate at least ten health codes, but I’m not waiting until we get home.”

  “Hopefully, we won’t get busted this time. At least we’re not outside.”

  I laughed against his mouth as I leaned up to kiss him. He stepped out of his pants, kicking them to the side. He unbuttoned my jeans, sliding them over my hips with exaggerated slowness. “I love undressing you.”

  “Then finish.”

  “I love this bossy thing. It works for you.” He slipped off my panties and dropped his boxers before lifting me up and placing me on the counter. “This is going to violate a lot more than ten codes, but I don’t care.” He pulled on my legs to position me on the very edge of the counter. A small smile spread across his lips.

  I bit his shoulder to stop myself from crying out as he moved inside me. I could have been flying, it felt so good. Confident I wouldn’t scream, I leaned my head back to let his mouth move to my neck. I raked my nails down his back.

  “Reed!” So much for keeping quiet.

  “Juliet.” Right as I thought he was about to reach his release, he sped up, as caught up in ecstasy as I was. He pushed me over the edge again just as he shuddered. Breathless, I leaned forward into him. I’d never experienced anything like it.

  “Oh my god.” My heart beat a mile a minute.

  “Yeah, this bossy thing definitely works.”

  “Maybe it’s the sauce,” I managed to choke out after my breathing returned to normal.

  “If that’s true, then I’m taking a case home.” He leaned his forehead against mine.

  That’s when we heard the bell on the counter. We hadn’t locked the front door. Did we actually have
a customer?

  We hurriedly got dressed. My t-shirt was completely soaked with sauce, so I had to take one of the extras—the smallest size was large. I looked like I was wearing a clown shirt.

  “Are you guys decent?” Danny called back. At least it wasn’t a customer.

  “Why wouldn’t we be?”

  Danny laughed. “Dude, I heard you guys as soon as I walked in.”

  I buried my face in my hands. “It was still worth it.”

  Reed kissed the back of my neck. “Completely worth it.”

  I took another minute to compose myself before joining the guys out at the counter.

  ***

  “Hey, what are you doing back here?” Reed kissed me. I’d only left his house a few hours earlier.

  “I forgot my phone in your room.” I’d noticed it after my first class when I went to call Cara. We were supposed to meet for lunch.

  “Oh, go on up. I can join you if you want.” He wriggled an eyebrow.

  I put a hand on his chest. “Not a chance. I have another class soon.”

  He laughed. “Fine, I’ll take a rain check until tonight.”

  “Only if you’re good,” I said over my shoulder as I started up the stairs.

  It took me a minute to find my phone. I knew where I’d left it on his desk, but it was buried under some papers. I had no idea how he found anything in that mess.

  He’d left his laptop on—with his email open. I couldn’t help glancing at it, and I thought I would pass out when I saw a very familiar name. I leaned over and opened the email. What the hell? I took a seat on his desk chair and searched his mail archive—there were tons. I felt the tears before I realized I was crying. He’d been emailing with Amy all semester. I found the first one, and I thought my heart had stopped.

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Subject: Favor

  Hey Reed,

  I hope Rush is going well. Okay, enough of the pleasantries. I need your assistance. My little cousin’s starting at Harrison, and I think she might need some help. She was a bit of a social hermit in high school, and she might need looking out for. Her name’s Juliet Monroe. She’s a really cool kid, but just not that with it, you know?

  Amy

  I opened the next one, even though I wanted to vomit.

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Subject: Re: Re: Favor

  Hi Reed,

  She’s sleeping with Dylan Bradley. You have to make sure he doesn’t hurt her. She’s totally impressionable and thinks he walks on water. Please help her out.

  I couldn’t read the rest. I needed to find his replies.

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Subject: Re: Favor

  Hey Amy,

  I met Juliet, and I’ll keep an eye out for her.

  And the next.

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Subject: Re: Re: Favor

  I gave her a job. That should make it easy to keep her close.

  I couldn’t take any more. I slammed the laptop closed and walked down the stairs in a state of disbelief. My chest ached—this couldn’t be happening.

  I tried to just leave—not ready to confront Reed, but he stopped me.

  “Juliet? Did you find your phone?”

  I turned toward him, well aware that my face was stained with tears. “Yes, and I found a lot more than that. You have a funny way of looking out for someone.”

  I felt gross, worthless. This was so much worse than Dylan because I’d actually fallen in love with Reed.

  He paled and reached out for my arm. I jerked away. “Juliet? What’s wrong?”

  “What’s wrong? Has this all been a joke? Make fun of the loser girl? Make her think you actually care!”

  “What? Wait, did you see—”

  “The emails—yeah. I guess watching out for me meant having sex with me, huh?”

  “Juliet.”

  “How could you!” I beat my hands into his chest over and over.

  “Come on, it’s okay. We can talk about this...”

  “No. We’re not talking this out. You’ve been lying to me this whole time.”

  I walked out onto the porch, and he followed. “Let me explain.”

  I crossed my arms. “Explain? Explain why you decided to play me like an idiot?”

  “That’s not what happened.”

  “No, what happened is you hurt me more than anyone ever has.”

  “It’s not like that. I love you.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “Yes, I do! Did I single you out at the house because of Amy? Yes. But I noticed you before I knew your name. I liked you from the moment I met you at laser tag. And then the more I got to know you, the more I found to like.”

  “I saw the emails. You gave me the job to watch me.”

  “And maybe that was part of it—but it’s been so much more since. I’m crazy about you. You have to realize that.”

  “I can’t do this. The joke’s over. I admit it, I’m the idiot who believed you actually cared about me.” I tried to stay calm, but I was breaking inside.

  “I do care about you. I love you.” He reached out and tried to hug me.

  I pulled away. “I am so tired of this. I’m so tired of guys using me and messing with me. Maybe it’s my fault.”

  “It’s not your fault. I never meant to hurt you. I was going to tell you. I just didn’t know how.”

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about that now.”

  “Please, Juliet. You have to believe me. I’m not playing a game. I’m in love with you.”

  “I don’t know what to think anymore.” I turned and walked away.

  “Juliet, please.” His voice was hoarse.

  I didn’t turn around, not once. I planned to head to my dorm, but as I passed the Delta Mu house, I made a decision. I didn’t hesitate as I walked up the brick steps and pushed open the front door.

  “Juliet, hey.” Jana looked up from the book she was reading.

  “Hey.”

  “Are you okay?” Mallory asked, getting up to walk over to me.

  “I don’t know. Do any of you have time to talk?”

  All eight girls in the room put down what they were doing, but it was Amanda who gave me the hug. “We always have time to talk.”

  That did it. I lost it. I was only vaguely aware of being led over to the couch.

  “What happened?” Mallory asked softly.

  “Reed and I broke up.” I could barely get the words out.

  “Oh no! Why? I thought things were going great.” Mallory put an arm around me.

  “It was all a lie. All of it.”

  “What do you mean? What was a lie?” Amanda asked.

  “He did everything because of my cousin.”

  “Amy? How does Amy have anything to do with you guys?” Amanda leaned forward.

  I told them. I started with the list. They were on the edge of their seats as I described the skinny dipping. “What I didn’t know was that she asked Reed to look out for me.”

  “So? Maybe that’s why he befriended you at first, but he’s in love with you. Everyone knows that.” Mallory gave me a slight smile.

  “He’s been emailing with her this whole time. He never told me. I was a project or something. Help the hopeless loser.”

  “First of all, you are not a loser. And anyone who says otherwise is an idiot.” Jana moved to sit on the floor in front of me.

  “Amy pretty much did.” I didn’t even want to think about Amy. Did she really see me that way? Maybe I should have assumed she knew Reed, but to be emailing him? I couldn’t have been more blindsided.

  “Then she’s an idiot.” Amanda said it like it was the most obvious conclusion.

  Mallory moved her arm so she could look me right in the eye. “Or more likely, she thought she was helping. Still, she was wrong.”r />
  “I can’t be with him anymore. I can’t be with someone when our whole friendship was fake.”

  “What can we do?” Jana asked.

  “Nothing. I just needed to get it out.”

  “Do you want a night out or a night in?” Amanda tied her hair up in a bun.

  “In. Definitely a night in.”

  “Okay. Mallory, go back with Juliet to get your stuff. I’ll call everyone.” Amanda really knew how to take charge.

  I shook my head. “But it’s Friday night.”

  “And you need a girls’ night.” Amanda smiled.

  If someone had told me back in August that my sorority sisters, especially Amanda, would ever help me through something like that, I would have laughed. But they did.

  We spent the night watching romantic comedies. I went through a box of tissues, but it felt good to cry. I also ate enough junk food to last a lifetime—but it was great. I was going to be okay. I knew that. If Reed had taught me anything, it was that I could be on my own. But the truth was that I wasn’t on my own. Somehow, through all the guy drama that year, I’d managed to make some amazing friends.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The first email from Amy came Friday night.

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Subject: Checking in

  Juliet,

  Are you okay? I heard.

  I didn’t write back. She tried again on Sunday.

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Subject: Worried

  Juliet,

  Please answer me. Reed told me what happened. I’m sorry. I was just trying to help.

  It was the third email that made me respond.

  To: [email protected]

  From: [email protected]

  Subject: PLEASE ANSWER