The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (19 page)

“Savannah is a fun city. I’d be up for some
sightseeing.” His hand moved toward me, but then he put it back on
the wheel. I had to do something. We’d never make it through the
night at this rate. I grabbed his hand.

He smiled, and squeezed my hand.

I noticed how small my hand looked in his.
“You have nice hands.”

“Do I?”

“Uh huh. They’re big.”

“Good to know. You have nice hands, too.
They’re soft.”

I laughed. “I don’t want this to be awkward.
Things are always natural with us.”

“This is natural.” He squeezed my hand
again.

“It is.” I pulled his hand over to rest on my
leg. That felt natural too.

“What color dress are you wearing
tonight?”

“Why?”

“Just wondering.”

“Light blue.”

“You look good in blue.”

I shifted in my seat to look at him. “I’m
glad you approve.”

“I’m excited to see you in it. You’ve never
dressed up around me.”

“I guess I haven’t.”

We spent most of the trip talking about the
annoying things about work, and how much we were ready for
vacation. Before I knew it, we pulled up to the valet line at the
hotel.

Reed got our bags and led the way inside. He
went right up to the desk. “We’re checking in. Last name is
Bryce.”

The desk clerk typed something into the
computer. “Reed?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like two keys?” the clerk
asked.

“Yes.” Reed accepted the cards.

“Oh, I see here you requested we change your
room to one with double beds. Unfortunately, we were unable to
honor that request. Is a queen bed acceptable?”

Reed turned to me, and I nodded. “That’s
fine.” My chest clenched. Did I really just agree to spend the
night in the same bed as Reed?

I followed Reed to the elevator. I decided to
calm our nerves with humor. “I don’t know if a queen is going to be
big enough. You’ll have to stay on your side.”

“We’ll see if you’re still saying that
later.” He winked. Maybe he wasn’t as nervous as I’d thought.

The elevator let us off on our floor, and we
walked down the hall to our room. Reed inserted the key card, and
he held open the door for me.

I looked around at the cream and light green
décor of the room. The bed looked comfortable, and we had a view of
a courtyard garden. “Nice room.”

“Yeah, it is.” Reed set down our bags.

I went over and unzipped mine. I picked up my
dress and hung it up in the closet.

Reed hung his suit next to it. There was
something comfortable about it—like we’d been staying in hotels
together forever.

I took a seat on the edge of the bed,
stretching my legs.

Reed looked at his watch. “We have some time.
Want to go down to the bar and get something to drink?”

“Sure, that sounds great.” The room was nice,
but other than turning on the TV, there was nothing for us to do.
“I need to change first.”

“You mean you weren’t going to wear that
sweatshirt?”

“As comfortable as it is, I should probably
dress up a little more. Although jeans are okay, right?”

“I’m wearing this.” He gestured to his jeans
and long sleeved shirt.

“Okay.”

I dug out the black sweater I’d packed. It
was simple, but it fit perfectly.

I had a tank under my sweatshirt, so I
decided it was safe to change in front of Reed. He watched with an
amused expression. “This reminds me of when you changed into your
Al’s Pizza shirt that first night.”

“You mean when I changed out of it?” I
remembered how I’d given him an eyeful of my bra.

“Yeah, that was fun, too.”

I tossed my sweatshirt at him. He caught it.
“You know, if you needed a new sweatshirt, you could have had one
of mine.”

“It would be a sweatshirt dress.”

“You’re not that short.”

“But you’re that big.”

He laughed. “Yes, I am.”

“Why do I get the sense you aren’t talking
about height?” I pulled on my sweater.

“Because I’m not.” He got up and headed to
the door.

“Wait. I’m still not ready.”

“Oh. Is this going to be a while?”

“Haven’t you ever waited for a girl to get
ready before?”

“But you pack light…”

“What does packing light have to do with
getting ready quickly?” I went back to my suitcase.

“I’m going to watch some TV.” He lounged on
the bed.

“Good idea.” I dug out my makeup bag and
brush. I wasn’t going to do much, but it’s amazing the difference a
little mascara and lip gloss can make.

Reed sat up when I walked out. He whistled.
“All right. Now you’re ready, right?”

“Yes.”

He put a hand on the small of my back as we
entered the elevator. We ran into a few of his brothers and their
dates in the lobby, but Reed led me over to our own table.

I settled into my seat with a glass of wine.
“Being anti-social?”

“We’ll have plenty of time to socialize. Now,
I just want to spend time with you.”

I loved how he simply said it like it was. “I
like that idea.”

“Good.” He took a sip of wine, never taking
his eyes off me.

We were in new territory. Our time together
before Savannah had been flirty, but it was still on the friends
side of things. Maybe it was the fact that we were far from campus
or about to spend a night in a hotel room together, but it felt
different. Whether either of us admitted it or not, we were on a
date.

***

Dressed in my blue Betsy Johnson halter dress
with black kitten heels, I took a deep breath before pushing open
the bathroom door. Reed’s reaction didn’t disappoint. “Wow. You
look amazing.”

“Thanks. You look pretty good yourself.” That
was an understatement. He looked incredible. I never would have
thought it, but Reed was the kind of guy meant to wear a suit. Some
guys looked like they were playing dress up—not Reed.

“You ready?” he asked.

“I think so.”

The hotel ballroom was gorgeous—one of those
rooms that looked like it came from another time. The wood floors
had to have been original, and they matched the details on the
walls. In the center of the room hung a huge, crystal
chandelier.

“What do you think?” Reed had an arm around
my shoulder. His arm felt warm against my bare skin.

“It’s really pretty. Do you guys always do
your semi-formal here?”

“No, but one of our alums manages this hotel
now.”

“Oh, cool.” I glanced around the large room
looking for Cara.

Reed spotted her first. “She’s over
there.”

I followed his gaze. Cara looked incredible
in her pink strapless dress. Aaron had his arm wrapped around her
waist. We walked over to join them.

“Hey!” Cara pulled me into a hug. “This is
awesome, isn’t it?”

“Definitely.”

We talked for a while before everyone moved
to the tables for dinner.

Dinner was exactly what you’d expect a
fraternity dinner to be like. Lots of shouting and drinking, with
some laughter mixed in for good measure. I enjoyed the meal, glad
I’d managed to sit next to Cara.

Cara and I chatted while we waited for the
waiter to clear our plates. “I’m glad you came. I know he is, too.”
Cara nodded to Reed.

“I hope so.”

She leaned over. “So, are you guys officially
together now? I know you said you were going as friends, but it
doesn’t seem that way.”

“I don’t know what we are.”

“But you’re sharing a room, right?”

“Yes, it’s crazy. Tonight’s going to be a
test.”

“A test?”

“Of what happens when we’re in a bed
together…”

Cara squealed, attracting both of our dates’
attention.

Aaron laughed. “Dare I ask what that was
about?”

Reed ran a finger down my blushing cheek. He
came to my rescue before Aaron could press for more details. “Do
you want to dance?”

“I’d like that.”

He took my hand and guided me onto the dance
floor as a slow song started. He held me close and led perfectly.
Someone had taught him well. I leaned my head on his chest. I loved
how strong it was. I’d never thought I’d want to be with a guy that
built, but there was something so comforting about him.

The next song was fast, but Reed still kept
me close. We danced for hours, only stopping to have a couple of
drinks. We didn’t drink much, though. I don’t think either of us
wanted to get drunk.

Reed put a hand on my shoulder as a song
ended. “Are you ready to head back?”

The night had flown by. I couldn’t believe it
was after midnight. “Yeah, I think so.”

Reed smiled. “Me too.”

We said goodnight to everyone. Cara leaned
over to whisper, “Have fun.”

Aaron added his own comment. “Don’t get too
crazy, you two.”

Reed took my hand, and we walked to the
elevator. I wrapped my free arm around myself. Even though it was
nearly winter, cold air blew out from the vent. I was grateful when
Reed put an arm around me. “Does that help?”

“Lots.”

“Good.”

We went straight up to our room, and Reed
closed and locked the door behind us. “What did you think of the
party?”

“It was fun,” I said honestly. I tried to
swallow my nerves. It was one thing to spend time in our room when
I knew we’d have to leave. This time, we wouldn’t be leaving until
morning.

“I thought so, too.”

I sat down on the edge of the bed and kicked
off my shoes.

He did the same. “You look gorgeous
tonight.”

“Yeah?”

“That dress could kill a man, but you already
know that. Normally, it would have driven me mad.”

“It didn’t work?” I tried to dial down my
disappointment.

“Oh, it worked, but at least I knew there was
a chance I’d get to take it off you.” I tried to hide my shock. Had
Reed just said what I thought he did?

“Only a chance?” I turned toward him.

“Is it more than a chance?”

“I’d say so.”

“Good.” He leaned over and brushed his lips
against mine. I thought that was it, until he started moving his
lips gently at first and then faster. I sighed, and he groaned.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long.”

“Me too.”

That was all he needed to hear. He returned
his lips to mine, quickly deepening the kiss. His tongue pushed
into my mouth, and I gladly welcomed it. My hand tangled in his
hair as one of his hands slid down my shoulder toward my chest.

He broke the kiss. “Your lips are so soft.
Just like I imagined.”

“Your hands feel as good as I’d
imagined.”

“Good.” He unzipped my dress, untying the
halter straps at the same time. The top fell onto my lap. “Mission
accomplished.”

“There’re still more hurdles.” I rose to step
out of my dress. Normally, I’d have been trying to cover myself up,
but I liked the way his eyes devoured me.

“Yeah, I guess there are.” He stood and
unclasped my strapless bra, letting it fall on the floor. “I don’t
know what I did to get this lucky, but I swear I’ll keep doing it.”
He reached for me, but I stopped him. I slowly unbuttoned his
shirt, pushing it aside before pulling his white t-shirt over his
head.

As soon as he was shirtless, Reed gently
pushed me down on the bed. He put his mouth on one of my breasts. I
moaned. He moved his lips to my neck, gently stroking my stomach
with his hand. He moved off me long enough to get out of his pants
and boxers.

“You weren’t kidding about the big part.”

“No, I wasn’t. We make a good pair, don’t
we?”

“What do you mean?” I reached for him. I
missed him touching me. I ran my hands over his arms, unable to
believe I used to think he was too muscular.

“I’m hung, and you’re stacked.” He pulled off
my panties and tossed them. “If college doesn’t work out for us, we
can make movies.”

I laughed, pulling him down on top of me. He
moved a hand between my legs, his lips leaving tiny kisses from my
neck on down. “On second thought, if we make movies, we can just
keep them for ourselves.”

“No movies.”

“Okay, no movies.” He kissed my lips before
moving to reach into his bag. He pulled out a package of
condoms.

“Someone thought he was getting lucky.”

“Don’t you mean knew?”

“Is this really the time to get cocky?”

“It’s the perfect time.”

He kissed me again, first on the lips, before
moving to my earlobes, my neck, my stomach, and he continued his
trail down. I thought I couldn’t take anymore. “Reed, please. I
want you,” I pleaded. I tried to keep my expectations to a normal
level as he moved over me. I closed my eyes—waiting. He thrust
inside me, and I knew it was going to be different. We moved
together perfectly. I opened my eyes, and he watched me intently. I
didn’t worry about being quiet. I didn’t care who heard. He brought
me over the edge, and I could barely breathe as he reached his own
climax. We lay there panting, neither of us saying a word.

He moved off me, keeping an arm around my
waist.

“Oh my god. Have I really been missing that
this whole time?”

“I’m afraid so.” He grinned. “If it makes you
feel any better, I was thinking the same thing.”

“Please tell me we’re going to do that
again.” I ran a hand down his chest.

“Trust me, we will. Many, many times. We have
months to make up for.”

“That sounds so good.”

He laughed. “My little sex addict.”

I swatted at him. “I am not—maybe a Reed
addict.”

“Reed addict? I like that.” He ran his hand
down my stomach again.

“That feels good.” I closed my eyes.

“Yeah? How does this feel?” He moved his hand
lower.

“And you talk about being lucky…” I
gasped.

His lips brushed against my earlobe. “Am I
better than that study group?”

“So much better.”