The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (21 page)

“Of course. Would you really think
otherwise?”

“Yes,” both my brothers said at once.

I sneezed from the dust. “Can we please get
out of the attic?”

“Yes, Princess,” Nick mocked.

I didn’t respond. Instead, I headed
downstairs, pulling Reed with me. I didn’t stop till we were in the
den.

We sat on the couch, and my brothers each
took chairs.

“We’re probably supposed to grill you or
something, but anyone willing to put up with our sister can’t be
that bad.”

I stuck my tongue out at Nick.

“But seriously, it’s cool you drove Juliet
up.” Brandon was probably glad he didn’t have to make the trip.

“Not a problem. I don’t have much going on,
and I wanted to meet some of her family.”

“Our parents wanted to meet you. You’ll have
to come back some other time.” It was weird hearing Brandon talk
like Reed and I were going to be together long-term. I guessed that
was the assumption when I brought someone home.

***

“Was that Al?” I waited for Reed to hang up
his phone. I’d just come back down after taking a shower.

“Yeah. He says my parents are coming for New
Year’s instead of Christmas this year.”

“Oh. Are you going to see them?”

“You really want me to, don’t you?”

“You already know that answer. They’re your
parents, Reed.”

“I’m only going to do it if you’re with me. I
can’t trust myself to not go off on them otherwise.”

“I’ll be there.” I sat down next to him on
the pull-out couch he was sleeping on. I’d offered him my room, but
he’d refused.

“I don’t want to leave tomorrow.” Two days
had moved far too quickly. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet.

“You don’t have to.”

“Yeah, I do. I have to work Wednesday.” Reed
didn’t get a week and a half off the way I did.

“Fine. At least I’ll see you next week.”

“Uh huh, it’s just a few days.” He leaned
over and kissed me.

I broke the kiss fairly quickly. “My brothers
are still up.”

“I know, and I’m not going to cross
them.”

I laughed. “They can’t scare you.”

“They don’t, but I respect them. They gave me
the talk, by the way.”

“The talk?”

“The ‘you’d better not hurt our sister’ talk.
It was a good one, and I understand it.”

I leaned my head on his chest. “I bet you
were an awesome brother.”

“I was younger, so Shannon probably thought I
was annoying most of the time.”

“My brothers are annoying, but they’re still
great.”

“It’s fun to watch you guys together.”

“Yeah? I feel like I revert to a kid around
them.”

He played with a strand of my hair. “It’s
cute. You seem younger, but not in a bad way.”

I pecked him on the lips. “I should let you
get some sleep if you’re going to leave early.”

“Probably. I’ll miss you, though.”

“Me too. Sleep well.” I leaned to kiss him
again, but he pulled me onto his lap.

“What was that about respecting my
brothers?”

“I do respect them, which is why I haven’t
been sneaking into your room, but that doesn’t mean I can’t hold
you a little.”

“I’d like that.”

He kissed me, and I enjoyed it, not letting
myself worry about the door flying open. My brothers would have to
deal with the fact that I’d grown up.

I broke the kiss reluctantly, moving my hand
from where it had woven its way under Reed’s white t-shirt. “Good
night.”

“Sweet dreams.”

I got up before I could change my mind.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Wow

Dear Amy,

Did you hear about my new boyfriend? Brandon
and Nick didn’t eat him alive. I might be in love.

Your Giddy Cousin,

Juliet

“Finally!” Reed walked into the Delta Mu
house like it was something he did every day.

I jumped into his arms, enjoying the feel of
them around me. The house was completely empty. I was grateful that
my dad bought the whole “no men in the house” story I’d thrown him.
I hated lying to him, but I needed to see Reed.

“I said I’d be here at seven.”

“I know. You’re on time. I just hoped you’d
be here early.”

“No such luck. My dad had to make, like, five
stops before we left town. I’m lucky we got here when we did.”

“You ready to go?”

“Eager to get me back to your place,
huh?”

“Very.” He picked up my bags and walked back
to the door. I made sure the door actually locked behind us.

We walked the few blocks to the Kappa house.
I’d never seen the place so deserted. “Are you the only one
here?”

“Nope. Now you’re here too.”

“Very funny.”

“I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?” My thoughts immediately went
back to the last surprise a guy gave me. I hoped this one had
nothing to do with handcuffs. Somehow, I didn’t think that was
Reed’s style.

He started up the stairs, and I followed,
excited to see what he’d gotten me.

“Wow. Is this the right room?” I looked
around—I barely recognized the place without the dirty clothes,
books, and papers spewed all over.

“I figured that if you were staying a few
days, I might as well clean-up for you.”

I reached up and pulled his head down to mine
so I could kiss him. “Great surprise.”

“What should we do for dinner?”

“Can we order in? I’d love to find a really
bad movie to watch.”

He sat down on the edge of his bed. “A bad
movie? Why not a good one?”

“Because I don’t want to worry about missing
any good parts if I’d rather make out with you.”

He laughed that really deep laugh of his. “In
that case, let’s find a horrible movie.”

***

We spent most of the next few days in bed. I
know how that sounds, but it just sort of happened. Campus was
empty, and other than work, we had nothing else going on. It’s not
like we had sex constantly, it was more that we’d have sex and then
spend three hours naked in his bed talking. I never worried about
being naked with Reed. It always felt natural.

I couldn’t get enough of his touch. I didn’t
care where it was, but I loved having his hands on me. I’m pretty
sure he felt the same way about having my hands on him. Maybe it
came from months of repressed feelings, but we were constantly
coming up with new ways to explore each other. I’d never imagined I
had such a creative side.

On New Year’s Eve, we had plans to go over to
Al’s for dinner. His parents were in town, and Reed decided he was
ready to see them as long as I came along.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go without me
first? I can take a cab and meet you. Or if you’d trust me with
your truck, I could drop you off and—”

“No way. You said you’d do this with me.”

“I just wanted to give you time.”

“I’ll have time—with you.”

“Okay.” I smoothed out my dress, trying not
to get too nervous. Reed’s parents hadn’t seen him for more than a
few minutes in years. Surely, they wouldn’t be too concerned with
what I was wearing.

“You look great.” He always seemed to know
the right thing to say to put me at ease.

“Thanks.”

We headed out front to his car. He let out a
deep breath before turning on the engine. His whole body was tense.
I wanted to help, but I didn’t know what to do. I settled my hand
on his leg. I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for him. He pulled
away from the curb, and we made the drive over to West Ashley where
Al lived.

Reed didn’t move to get out of the car when
we pulled into the driveway of a blue, two-story house.

I placed my hand where his still gripped the
wheel. “You can do this.”

“I know.” He slowly opened his door.

I got out and met him as he reached the front
of the car. He walked as slow as humanly possible.

He didn’t have to ring the bell. The door was
pulled open by a woman with shoulder-length, dark brown hair.
“Reed!” She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.
For all of his talk, he hugged her back. He didn’t let go for at
least twenty seconds.

When he finally did, the woman turned to me.
“And this must be Juliet.”

“Yeah, Mom. This is Juliet. Juliet, this is
my mom.”

“Andie.” She gave me a light hug. We followed
her inside.

“Hello, Reed.” A tall man with graying hair
stepped into the hallway.

“Dad.” Reed greeted him with a handshake, but
his dad pulled him into a hug. It was the kind of hug with a lot of
back patting. I wasn’t surprised to see tears on his father’s face
afterward.

“Is this your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, this is Juliet.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Dave.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“Come on, come on. Let the kids come in,” Al
shouted down the hallway. The few times I’d seen Al, he’d always
called us kids. It was funny because he wasn’t that much older.

I sat down next to Reed at the beautifully
set table. Al poured everyone a glass of champagne and made a
toast. “To family and friends, new and old.”

Reed squeezed my hand under the table. I
smiled and took a sip. Reed looked more relaxed. I knew he was glad
he’d finally agreed to see his parents.

Dinner was amazing. I had no idea Al could
cook so well. Reed was decent, but he wasn’t like Al. I’d never had
duck that good, not even in a restaurant. The risotto was equally
wonderful, and the strawberry cheesecake was to die for. It made me
wonder why he served such horrible pizza. I decided that was a
story for another time.

After dinner, Reed went outside to shoot some
hoops with his uncle and dad. I figured it was a male bonding thing
and hung back with his mom.

“Come, let’s sit.” Andie took a seat on a
beige couch.

I sat on the opposite cushion. “Dinner was
lovely. It’s great to meet you.”

She folded her hands in her lap. “I can’t
express in words what tonight has meant to us. I can’t thank you
enough for everything.”

“What are you thanking me for?”

“Bringing my son back.” Tears pooled in her
eyes.

“I appreciate the credit, but it wasn’t
me.”

“Yes, it was. After five years, he’s finally
willing to talk to us. I know it isn’t a coincidence. Al told us
Reed only agreed after you encouraged it.”

“I just thought he’d waited long enough.”

“It’s been far too long. It’s hard enough
losing one child, but practically losing a second…” Tears streaked
down her cheeks.

I wasn’t sure what to do, so I let her keep
talking. “I don’t know what Reed’s told you, but it wasn’t as black
and white as he thought. Shannon never told us she was that
unhappy. If we’d known—”

I reached out an arm and then pulled it back.
I had no idea what the proper response was. “I’m sure.”

“Is he happy?”

The question came out of nowhere, but I
realized the answer was important. “Sometimes. Sometimes, he’s so
happy you can’t stop him from grinning like a little kid.”

“I bet that has to do with you.”

I shrugged. “He makes me happy, too.”

“I’m glad. I’m glad he has someone.” Her
tears fell heavily, and I had to hug her.

“I know he might not want it, but I need him
back in my life. I can’t do this anymore.”

“He wants it.” I knew my words were true. It
was fear more than anything that held him back.

“Thank you.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to her thanking
me yet again, but luckily Reed walked into the room. He sat down
between us. “Have I been missing an interesting conversation?” He
only said it to ease the tension. He must have seen his mother’s
face and realized she was crying.

When he reached over to wipe a tear off my
face, I realized I’d been crying, too. It wasn’t my place to
cry—but hearing his mom just made me feel so lucky. I had an
amazing family, an amazing boyfriend, and amazing life. I felt
embarrassed for spending so much time moping around over something
as stupid as my relationship with Dylan.

“Do you kids have big plans tonight?” Al
slumped down into a recliner. His athletic body looked out of sorts
in such a relaxed position. I’d barely ever seen him sit down. Even
during dinner, he’d gotten up every few minutes.

He must have caught me looking at him. “What?
Your boyfriend just schooled me. I’m too old for that.”

“Quit complaining, old man. I went easy on
you,” Reed ribbed. “But to answer your question, we do have plans.
We’re going to a party an alum from my house is throwing.”

“Nice. If I were your age, I’d go.”

“You need to find a girlfriend, Al.”

“What, now that you’ve decided to end your
bachelor days, I should too?”

“It’s a good experience. Trust me.” He put an
arm around the back of the couch behind me.

***

“Do you want to get out of here?” The party
had been a nice idea, but it wasn’t really our scene. Reed knew
some people, but it got boring pretty quickly.

“Sure. I have the perfect idea of how to ring
in the New Year.” I got excited just thinking about it.

“What?”

“Airplane gazing.”

He grinned. “That sounds perfect, but will
you be warm enough?” He gestured to my short dress.

“You have blankets.”

“And I’ll do my best to keep you warm.”

“You’d better.”

We pulled into the field at eleven
forty-five. That didn’t leave much time before the New Year. We
cuddled up under some blankets in the back of the truck, and
although it was colder, it felt a lot like the first time.

I snuggled in closer to his side. “I wanted
you to kiss me so bad last time we were here.”

“I wanted to kiss you, too.”