Shaken Not Stirred (Mixology) (28 page)

“That’s the problem with the shallow end. Not
enough of you is under water.”

“Want me to fix that?”

“How?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he gripped my hand
and swam back to the deep end, stopping to anchor himself on the
ladder. “Is this better?” He never released me, but kept me
tethered to him so I couldn’t swim away.

“Much.” I was proud of myself for not
hyperventilating.

“Good.” He pulled me against him. “Maybe this
will keep you warm, too.”

“Umm, yeah.”

“Am I making you nervous?”

“No,” I lied.

“Are you a virgin?” He suddenly got
serious.

“No, of course not.”

“I figured you weren’t.”

“Because I look like a slut or
something?”

“No. But you’re hot, and you’ve had
boyfriends here with you before.”

“Okay, good.” For some reason, even though I
was naked in a pool with him, I was still worried about Dylan’s
opinion about the kind of girl I was.

“Would it be okay if I kissed you?”

We were currently naked together, with me on
his lap, and now he was asking my permission to kiss me? I
nodded.

“Good.” He leaned in, cradling the back of my
head as his lips met mine. His lips moved, slowly for a moment,
before he sped up and pushed his way into my mouth. He deepened the
kiss while using his free hand to cup one of my breasts. I groaned.
That seemed to turn him on more, and his kiss became frenzied. His
hand left my breast and slipped between my legs. I’d wondered what
those fingers would feel like, and they didn’t disappoint. His lips
left mine and moved down to my neck. He stopped. “Touch me.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I reached out to
grab him.

“My house or yours?”

It took me a moment to pull out of my fog and
realize what he was asking.

His hand stilled. “I mean we could do it
here, but I figure you want to use protection.”

“Oh, yeah. Of course. Yours.” There was no
way I was doing it in my grandparents’ house. But oh my god, I was
about to have sex with Dylan.

“Great.” He didn’t waste a minute. He got us
out of the pool, picked up his jeans, and towed me to his house. He
moved so quickly I didn’t have time to worry about how naked I was.
He pulled out his keys and hurriedly unlocked his back door.

“Aren’t we going to get everything wet?”

“Oh, we’re going to get things wet.”

“I meant the house. Because of the pool.”

“I know what you meant.” He pushed open the
door to his room and backed me up to the bed. He leaned over me
until I lay down.

I looked up at him, wondering if this was
actually happening.

“I’m really glad I came down to the beach.”
He hovered over me, kissing my neck while his hand moved between my
legs again. “Are you ready for me, Juliet?”

“Yes,” I managed to squeak.

“Don’t move.” He got off the bed.

I sat up. What the hell was happening?

He returned a minute later. I couldn’t help
gawking at his naked body. He was all muscle—but not in the overly
built-up way.

“I told you not to move.”

“Where’d you go?”

“I knew Kyle kept a stash here. I think he
was waiting for a chance to use one with you.” With that charming
statement, Dylan opened a condom. “It looks like he’s out of luck.”
He moved above me with a grin on his face. “I got to you
first.”

I don’t know what I expected, but this wasn’t
it. I winced when he entered me. It had been a while. I waited for
the fireworks to start, but none did, and I mean none. There was
absolutely nothing special or noteworthy about it—it was just
sex—and incredibly unsatisfying sex at that.

What felt like thirty seconds later, he
rolled off of me. “Fucking amazing.”

Amazing? Did we experience the same thing?
But this was Dylan Bradley. Clearly, the problem was with me.
“Yeah, definitely.”

“I’m so glad you’re going to Harrison. This
is going to be a fun year.”

Was he implying this was more than a one-time
thing? Did he want to actually date me? Of course, that was
something I should have thought about before hooking up, but I was
willing to break my no random sex rule for Dylan.

“No one’s expecting you home, right?”

“No. I already called my parents
tonight.”

“Good.” He pulled me close.

“Do you want me to stay?”

“Of course.” He didn’t say anything else, and
less than a minute later, he was sleeping.

What the hell?

I pushed against his arm. The last thing I
was ready to do was sleep. After a couple of attempts, I was able
to move his arm enough to slip out. I looked down at the ground,
remembering I had one slight problem—no clothes. I decided to
escape to the bathroom. It took my eyes a few seconds to adjust
once I turned on the light. I stared at my reflection in the
mirror—my hair was a wet mess, and my neck and cheeks were red from
his stubble.

I opened the closet and thankfully found a
towel. It was plush and blue and suited my purposes perfectly. I
stopped by the bed to look at Dylan for a second before heading out
the back door. I wondered what he’d think when he woke up, and I
wasn’t there. Most likely, he wouldn’t care. I walked back to our
house still wearing just the towel and poured myself a glass of
water. I took a shower and pulled on my favorite light green
pajamas before finally collapsing into bed.

I stared at the ceiling for a while. It
wasn’t Dylan’s fault it had been so disappointing. It had probably
been because I’d inflated him so much. He was just a guy.
Hopefully, it would be better next time—if there was a next time. I
was almost positive this wasn’t what Amy had in mind, but skinny
dipping before college may have been a good thing—or so I
thought.

The Hazards of Skinny
Dipping is available now!

As always, this book would not have been
possible without the support of my family. Grant, I can’t imagine
taking this journey without you.

Thank you to Jessica Watterson and Katy
Austin for your superb beta reading, and to Jennifer Snyder for
being the amazing writing partner that you are. Thanks to Holly
Westring for your editing, and to Kristina Scheid for the
proofreading. Thanks to Stephanie Nelson of Once Upon a Time Covers
for bringing my cover vision to life. Thanks also to Kelly Simmon
of Inkslinger PR for your continued support.

Thanks to all the bloggers who have continued
to help me spread the word about my books, and to my readers for
giving me the opportunity to share another story with you.