The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (14 page)

“I’m not into BDSM. Ryan was messing with
you. Or me.”

Dylan looked confused for a second before a
smile spread across his face. “Oh, I get it.”

“What?” Oh dear god, what was making him
smile?

“This is all part of the role play. You want
me to be the one to push you. I get it. I really think this is
going to be good for us. It’s going to help you get over your body
issues. You can’t completely be yourself without being properly
dominated.”

“Properly dominated? Where are you getting
this bullshit?”

“I did my research, Juliet.” He took a step
toward me. “Take off your clothes.”

I held my hands up in front of me. “Dylan,
I’m not role playing. I have absolutely no interest in being
dominated. Like I said, Ryan was messing with you.”

“Really?” His face fell. “I was looking
forward to intensifying our sex life. Why don’t we try it
anyway?”

“Try it? Not a chance.”

“Fine.” The look of disappointment that
crossed his face bordered on comical. Did he really know me so
little that he’d believe I was into bondage?

“Good. Now I’m going to get ready for bed.” I
headed toward the bathroom but then turned around as a horrible
thought came to me. “Oh, and you don’t have any weird plans of
handcuffing me while I sleep, do you?”

A guilty look crossed his face.

“Damn it, Dylan. You were going to.”

“I admit, it crossed my mind…I think you want
to try it as bad as me.”

“I’m going to sleep in Kyle’s room if you
keep this up. Or better yet, go next door.”

He zipped up his bag. “Okay, but—”

“But what?” I prepared myself.

“If you don’t want to try the bondage, could
we at least try the spanking? I think I’d like that.”

“Dylan!”

“Okay, okay. I had to ask.”

“No, you didn’t. You definitely didn’t have
to ask. Now the thong makes sense, you sicko.”

“Sicko? I only bought the stuff because Ryan
told me it was your thing.”

“If you mention his name again, I’m going to
lose it.” I still couldn’t believe Ryan had stooped so low. I
wasn’t sure if it was a joke or his way of getting back at me for
being rude to him.

“So no bondage, and no spanking?”

“None. I’m going to brush my teeth.” My life
would have made a good reality TV show.

I survived the weekend. Dylan took out the
handcuffs one more time, but when I refused to have sex with him
the rest of the night, he got the point.

On Sunday morning, he made us waffles. Hands
down, the best part of the whole weekend was the food. It was nice
having access to a kitchen and a grill again. Dylan tried to
convince me to stay an extra night, but I wouldn’t budge. I was
definitely ready to get back to campus. After a quiet drive home,
he dropped me off in front of my dorm. I lugged my suitcase up the
stairs, ready to be in my own bed.

“How was the romantic weekend?” Tally spun
around in her desk chair when I walked in.

“Ryan’s so dead.”

“Hey, that’s my boyfriend you’re talking
about.”

“Boyfriend? Since when?”

“Last night.” She smiled coyly. Wow, she’d
moved on from Gregg quickly. I guess a lot can change in
forty-eight hours.

“Well, he’s dead.”

“What did he do to deserve that fate?”

“He told Dylan I was into BDSM.”

She laughed so hard she almost fell out of
her chair.

“I appreciate the concern.”

“Sorry.” She steadied herself on her chair.
“That’s too funny. What did he do, take out handcuffs?”

“Were you in on it?”

She laughed again. “Oh my god. That’s so
awesome. I wish I could have seen your face.”

“It was horrible. He spent the rest of the
weekend disappointed. He even asked me if I’d call him
‘master.’”

“What? He asked you to call him
‘master?’”

“Yes.” I slunk down on my bed. “He is so
incorrigible.”

“So, you wouldn’t try it at all?” She
actually looked surprised.

“No! That is so not my thing.”

“How do you know if you haven’t tried?”

“Okay, we’re not having this
conversation.”

“Sorry. I was just wondering. It might not be
that bad.”

“Feel free to try it on your boyfriend—make
sure to whip him extra hard for me.”

“How’d you know I’d want to dominate?”

“Too much info, Tally. Too much info.” I
grabbed my keys again and headed to Cara’s room. I knocked, but no
one answered.

I called her.

She answered right as I expected the
voicemail to start. “Hey, you’re back!”

“Yeah, just got here. Where are you?”

“We’re at the Kappa house.”

“Who’s we?”

“You should have been at the mixer. It was
awesome. I’m with Mallory and Claire.” I heard muffled talking, but
all I could make out was my name.

“Who are you talking to?”

“Reed.”

“Oh cool.” It felt funny to know that my
friends were hanging out with Reed. I viewed him as part of a
separate piece of my life.

“You have to come.”

I debated it. Dylan would kill me, but I
wasn’t exactly thrilled with him at the moment. He deserved it
after the handcuff incident, and I really wanted to see my friends.
“All right, I’ll come by.” I went back to my room long enough to
change into jeans and a black tank.

“Where are you going?” Tally asked.

“To hang out with some friends. You want to
come?”

“What friends?”

“Cara, Mallory, and some Kappas.”

“No thanks. But have fun.” She didn’t sound
particularly convincing.

“I’ll try.” I grabbed my purse and headed out
the door.

***

I knocked on the front door of the Kappa
house. I was used to just walking in at Dylan’s house, but this
seemed different. I waited, but no one answered. I leaned in, and I
could hear music playing and a lot of talking. I decided to go
ahead and walk in.

“Hey, Juliet!” Mallory jumped off the couch
and hugged me.

“Hey. I’ve missed you, too.”

She laughed. “Everybody, this is Juliet.”

“We know each other very well.” Reed smiled,
patting a space next to him on the couch.

There was something so comfortable about
sliding in next to him. “Did you miss me, Reed?”

“I did at the mixer. I was hoping to wow you
with my dance moves.” He laughed.

“I bet. I wish I could have been there.”

“Have a good weekend with Jerk Face?”

“Fine.”

“Only fine?” I heard alarm in his voice.

I shook my head. “Pretend it’s morning.” I
referred to my disinterest in talking early in the day.

“Oh, now I need to hear.” He leaned back and
put an arm behind me on the couch.

“You don’t want to know.”

“Oh, we do.” Cara grinned. Aaron, the guy
running things when we were at the Kappa house before, had his arm
slung across her shoulders. She seemed perfectly happy to have it
there.

“I repeat. It was fine.”

“You’ll give us all the details later.”
Mallory took a sip of her drink.

“And I’m getting them at work tomorrow. I
have to hear this.” Reed laughed, but it sounded forced.

“No to all of you.” I already regretted
telling Tally about the handcuffs. There was no way I was telling
anyone else.

“Want anything to drink, Juliet?” Bill,
another Kappa, asked.

“I’m actually fine, but thanks.” I was still
exhausted from my weekend and definitely not in the mood to
drink.

“Okay.” He smiled.

My phone vibrated in my purse. I pulled it
out.
Where are you?

Reed leaned over to look at my screen. “Does
Dylan keep tabs on you constantly?”

Out with my friends. Why?

Friends? That’s not what I heard.

I groaned. Not this again. How did he even
know? Tally—I was going to kill her and her boyfriend. If Dylan
knew who I was with, he probably already knew where I was. I hoped
he wasn’t stupid enough to come and try to get me to leave.

I’m hanging out with my friends. I didn’t
see them all weekend. Feel free to do the same with your
friends.

Where are you?

I put my phone away without answering.

“You need to break up with him.” Reed said it
quietly, making sure no one else heard.

“No, I don’t. It’s none of your
business.”

“Can we take a walk?”

“A walk?” Leaving didn’t bother me, but it
would just make it harder to dodge his questions.

“Yeah. A walk. You’re not drinking
anyway.”

I crossed my arms. “I just got here.”

“Let’s go for a walk. Hear me out, and
afterward, I’ll try to keep my mouth shut.”

“You’ve promised that before.”

“I’ll try harder.”

I shook my head. “Fine.”

Reed put his beer down on the floor next to
the couch. “If you’ll excuse us, we’re going for a walk.”

“A walk?” Aaron raised an eyebrow. “Don’t get
lost.”

“We won’t.”

I shrugged when my friends gave me confused
looks. We walked out the front door and turned left in the opposite
direction of my dorm. He must have wanted a long walk.

We walked in silence for a minute or two
before Reed finally spoke. “I know you think I’m just trying to
annoy you, but I’m serious.”

“Reed, I appreciate the concern, but
everything’s fine.”

“You say that, but do you actually believe
it? You have to admit he’s controlling.”

“I stand up for myself. If you didn’t notice,
I never told him where I was.”

“It’s great that you don’t give in all the
time, but that doesn’t change what he is. He’s controlling and
manipulative. Everything he does is an attempt to dominate
you.”

I so did not need to hear the word dominate
in association with Dylan ever again.

“I can’t just stand back and watch this.”

I groaned. “Then don’t watch.”

“Shut up!” His hands fisted at his side. I’d
never seen him so angry.

I shuddered. “Calm down, Reed.”

“No. This is bullshit. I’m not letting this
happen again.”

“Again? What is this about?”

He put his head in his hands. “You’re so much
like my sister. Too pretty for your own good, and you’re so needy.
You want to be wanted so damn bad that you’ll put up with
crap.”

“Your sister? What does your sister have to
do with me?”

“She was like you at your age. She dated an
older guy—and six months into their relationship, she was engaged
and living with him.”

“And? Was it the biggest mistake of her
life?” I said sarcastically. I immediately regretted it when I saw
the look that crossed his face.

“You know what? Forget it. You want to fuck
up your life and destroy your family, go ahead. Do it.”

“What? Destroy my family? What happened to
your sister, Reed?”

He shifted his weight from foot to foot. In
the darkness, I thought I saw a few tears. “She got in too deep.
Everyone loved the guy—my parents thought he was a prince. From a
well-known family, tons of money. Sound familiar? They got married
when she was only nineteen.”

I nodded. I needed to hear the rest.

“Eventually, things got worse, and she wanted
out but felt like she couldn’t leave. I’m the only one who believed
her when she said he’d become abusive.” He got this far-off look on
his face. “My parents told her to be loyal to her husband. He
started talking about kids. I don’t think she wanted to bring kids
into her world.” Reed was a mix of anger and hurt, and I didn’t
know which one was harder to watch.

“Wait? What happened?”

“She killed herself. I guess she thought it
was her only way out.”

I touched his arm. “I’m so sorry, Reed.” I
couldn’t even imagine how hard that must have been for him.

“Don’t be sorry. Just don’t make the same
dumb mistake.”

“I’m not going to do something like that, and
I’m not planning a wedding anytime soon.”

“Please be careful.”

I still hadn’t moved my hand. “I will.”

“Promise me something.”

“Okay.” I would have promised him anything in
that moment. He looked so vulnerable.

“If you ever feel like you’re trapped, talk
to me. I couldn’t help Shannon, but I can help you. I’m not a puny
sixteen -year-old anymore.”

“Puny? You could never be puny.” Without
thinking, I moved my hand up to touch his bicep. Reed was a giant.
The last thing he could be described as was puny.

“I make it my business to make sure I never
am again.”

It all clicked. The obsession with lifting
weights, his issues with his parents, living with Al. “I
promise.”

“Good. Want me to walk you home?”

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

We walked in silence. Neither of us spoke
until we reached my dorm. “I know I say this a lot, but take care
of yourself.”

“I will. You, too. And just so you know, if
you ever want to talk, I’m here.” I hugged him.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He rubbed my back
gently, as if he was comforting me rather than the other way
around.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: The meaning of life is relative

Dear Juliet,

Are you really considering philosophy? I
thought you liked history.

Your Proud Business Major Cousin,

Amy

Fifty degrees was entirely too cold for a car
wash. I understood it was for charity, and the bi-annual car washes
were by far the highest grossing philanthropic events, but the last
thing I wanted to do was spend my morning freezing in a bikini. I’d
spent entirely too much time in bikinis that semester, and for the
first time in my life, I was actually looking forward to winter. At
least I could bury myself under sweaters again. I wore my blue
floral print bikini for washing cars. It provided slightly more
coverage than the red.