The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (24 page)

“Your ex may or may not be here.” Before I
even finished the sentence, Tally was peering around the
corner.

“Darn it.” The look on Tally’s face was one I
understood.

I was about to once again suggest we leave
when I noticed a group of good looking guys watching us. I smiled,
hatching a plan. One of the guys smiled back, and I took it as an
invitation.

“Be right back.”

“Hey there,” the guy who smiled said as soon
as I walked over. I didn’t need to turn around to know that Tally
and Mallory were probably staring at me.

“Hi. I know this is going to sound really
strange, but I have a favor to ask.” I couldn’t believe I was about
to do it. I turned back around and saw the look of hurt on Tally’s
face. It was the only motivation I needed. “Is there any way you
guys would share a table with my friends and me?” I gestured over
to Tally and Mallory.

I had all of the guys’ attention.

The first guy grinned. “That doesn’t sound
very strange. Forward, but not strange.”

“You see, my friend’s ex-boyfriend is here.
And, okay, my ex too, but this is about her. They’re here with
girls, and I don’t want her to feel embarrassed.”

The guys all laughed. “I get it.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Not a problem.”

“Are you guys all at the Citadel?” I gestured
to the hat one wore.

“Yeah. Why?” the one with the hat asked.

“My dad was Army.” Maybe common ground would
make me seem less weird.

“Oh, cool.”

“I’m Juliet, by the way. Want to meet my
friends?”

“Sure.” The first guy nodded.

“Well, hello there.” Mallory recovered
quickly from her surprise when I walked over with the four guys.
Tally grinned. It was worth the embarrassment for that smile.

We waited a few minutes before we got a
table. Tally made sure to take a seat with her back partially to
Ryan, but I wasn’t so lucky. I tried not to look at Dylan while I
chatted with the two guys seated on either side of me. We hadn’t
even gotten our first course when Ryan noticed us. The look of
shock on his face when he realized Tally was with me was priceless.
He nudged Dylan who looked right at me. He looked confused for a
moment but then quickly got up and walked over.

“Where’s Reed?” Dylan cut right to the
chase.

“We broke up.” I refused to look down. Dylan
couldn’t intimidate me anymore. It hurt to talk about Reed
though.

“Oh.” His shoulders relaxed but then he
looked at Chad, the guy on my right who had just put his arm around
my shoulder. His friend Mike was doing the same thing with
Tally.

Ryan looked like he was going to be sick. He
walked over right as Mike said something to make Tally laugh. The
timing was perfect. She turned and met Ryan’s eye.

“Hi, Ryan,” she said in an overly sweet
voice.

“Hey, Tally. You, uh, look great.”

“Your date looks great, too.” She nodded
toward the girls at their table. They watched us with
confusion.

“She’s not my date. We’re here as
friends.”

“Whatever.” Tally looked back over at
Mike.

Dylan was still looking at Chad and me,
trying to figure it out.

“Well, it was nice seeing you guys, but I
think your
friends
want you back.”

Dylan recovered first. “Oh, yeah. I guess
you’re right. But if you ever want to talk or meet for coffee or
something, just give me a call.”

“Good night.” I didn’t think I needed to
bother turning him down. I never thought I’d live to see the day
when Dylan asked me out for coffee.

The rest of dinner was pleasant. It actually
seemed like Tally and Mike were hitting it off. That’s the reason I
was more than willing to go with the guys to a house party.

We hung out with them a few hours, and I took
Chad’s number strictly as friends. He said he wouldn’t mind an
invite to any of my sorority parties. I promised him I’d keep him
in mind. Maybe it wasn’t the best Valentine’s Day ever, but it did
fix things with Tally. I had just turned off the light when I knew
it for sure.

“Thanks, Juliet.”

“What am I being thanked for, exactly?”

“For being you.”

I laughed. “It takes a lot of work to do
that.”

“And you manage to make it seem
effortless.”

“It’s called talent.” I went to sleep with a
smile on my face.

“Nineteen wasn’t a big birthday the last time
I checked.” I set aside my history book.

“Any birthday is a big birthday. Well, until
thirty, then it goes downhill. Or that’s what my mom says.” Mallory
continued browsing the dresses in my closet.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about going out,
I just don’t want you guys to feel like you have to make a big deal
of it.”

“You made a big deal out of mine.” Cara
smiled. I had a feeling she was daydreaming about Aaron.

“What time are we going?” I joined Mallory at
my closet. I had no clue what to wear.

“Nine. And I think you should wear this one.”
Mallory held up a simple, black halter dress. It was short, but not
too short.

“I was going to pick that one.”

“Great minds think alike.”

I laughed. “That they do.”

I had just put away my makeup bag when my
phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, but based on the extra
digits, I had a suspicion about who it might be.

“Hello?”

“Juliet, hey. Please, let me talk.”

Cara and Mallory waved as they slipped out of
the room.

I realized that I was over being angry with
her. Besides, I’d missed hearing her voice. “Hi, Amy.”

“I’m sorry. I messed up, but I was only
trying to help you.”

“I get that, and I forgive you. But next
time, let me handle it myself.” I’d always gone to Amy for advice
about everything. It was time I grew up and figured things out on
my own.

“Sometimes I forget you’re not a little kid
anymore.”

“I’m not. I’m sure I’ll keep making mistakes,
but they’re mine to make.”

“He’s a good guy,” she said nervously.

“Are you trying to push your luck?”

“It’s true. I think he really cares about
you, and if you love him, you should give it another chance.” She
sounded sincere, as if she really believed it.

I sighed. “I’m glad you called, Amy. I really
am, but I don’t want to talk about Reed.”

“Happy birthday.”

“Thanks, I wasn’t sure if you remembered what
day it was.”

“Of course I did. I miss you. Maybe you can
come out here when I have my time off.”

I laughed. “We’ll see about that.”

“Take care of yourself.”

“You too. Love you.”

“Love you too, Juliet.”

I set aside my phone with a mix of emotions.
It was great talking to Amy, but I hated how she made me think
about Reed even more than I already did.

***

The club was packed. After waiting in line
for what felt like forever, we got in.

“What do you guys want to drink?” Cara
asked.

“Just a beer for me.” I still didn’t love
getting drunk. I liked being in control, and I couldn’t do that if
I had more than a few drinks. I’d learned that the hard way at one
of Reed’s date parties. He’d been there to take care of me, but I’m
pretty sure I ended up dancing on a table. After that incident, I’d
discovered that I could nurse a beer a lot longer than anything
else.

“Same. Want to just get some Coronas?”

“Sure. Be right back.” Cara walked over to
the bar, flashing a smile at the bartender to cut ahead of about
ten people.

I laughed. “She’s got the touch.”

“You could probably pull it off, too.
Especially in a dress like that.”

“Look who’s talking.”

Mallory looked down at her tight red dress.
“Good point.”

We were still laughing when Cara got back.
“Do you want the good news or bad news first?”

“What?” My stomach dropped. By the smile on
her face, I was pretty sure I knew both.

“The good news is that Aaron is here.”

“Does the bad news have to do with Reed?” I
didn’t even need to ask. I’d run into him on campus a few times but
refused to talk to him. I missed him too much.

“Yeah, he’s here too. I think he has a
birthday present for you, by the way.”

“I don’t want anything from him.”

“You know he’s still crazy about you,
right?”

“Yeah? Then why is he flirting with Amber
Neils?” I nodded toward where he stood with the girl he’d gone to a
crush party with months before.

“He’s not flirting.”

“Whatever. Go hang out with Aaron. I’ll do my
own thing.”

“Hey, I’m not ditching you.” I didn’t need to
turn around to realize they were both following me.

“I know you want to hang out with him. I
don’t care.” I could feel tears welling. I couldn’t believe it
bothered me so much. I knew he’d date someone else eventually.

“Why don’t you just admit you want to get
back together with him? That would solve everything.” Mallory
touched my arm gently.

“Except I don’t want to. I’m not ready.”

“All right, then. Let’s go dance.” Mallory
took my hand, leading me into the crowd. I downed my beer, enjoying
the music. I decided to have one more beer, and that was probably a
good thing.

“You ready to have some real fun?” Mallory
knew how to make everything interesting. She was an awesome friend,
and it was hard to imagine surviving college without her.

“Real fun?”

She grinned and then leaned over to whisper
in Cara’s ear.

“I know you’re talking about me.”

“We are. Consider it a birthday present.”

Mallory took my hand and stopped in front of
one of those dance platforms. She got the attention of one of the
girls up there. “No way. No way, Mallory.”

“Oh, yes.” She headed up, pulling me with
her.

I took a deep breath. I could do this. I
could dance.

Mallory made it easy. We danced closely, and
I knew from the shouting that we had an audience. What did surprise
me was when Mallory whispered in my ear. “It looks like you got
someone’s attention.”

I followed her gaze. Reed stood on the floor
right next to us, watching me with wide eyes. Mallory and I jumped
down together.

“I’m going to get a drink.” She winked and
walked off.

“Any chance I can get a dance with the
birthday girl?” Reed gave me the sweet smile that always melted my
heart.

“I don’t think so.”

“Just one dance?” His eyes pleaded.

I nodded. “Just one.”

He started to move, putting his arms around
my waist. The contact felt so good that I didn’t shrug him off
until the end of the song.

“You’re really sticking to the one song
thing?” Disappointment was clear in his voice.

“I can’t do this. I don’t think—”

“Don’t. Just take this.” He slid a small USB
drive into my palm.

“What is it?”

“The emails, all of them. Do us both a favor,
and keep reading. You stopped too early.”

“Reed, I don’t know what you’re expecting it
to do.”

“Nothing. I’m not expecting it to do
anything, but I want you to read them anyway. I also want you to
know that I’m here. I’m not giving up on us. When you’re ready,
come find me.” He kissed me on the cheek. “Happy birthday.” He
watched me for a second before walking away. I stood there,
stunned, clutching the small, black piece of plastic.

I was still clutching the USB drive when
Mallory found me a few minutes later. “Do I want to know what that
is?” She touched my fist.

“Something I don’t want to look at but
probably should.”

“In that case, do you want to get a cab home?
I have a feeling Cara’s going to stay.”

I followed Mallory’s gaze to where Cara
leaned into Aaron. “Yeah, let’s head home.”

***

I read through the emails. I’d prepared with
a cup of hot chocolate and a box of tissues. Starting to read them
at one a.m. probably wasn’t the best idea, but I just wanted to get
it over with. Tally had gone home for the weekend, so I could cry
as loud as I wanted to.

I started where I’d left off. They were more
of the same. Mostly, just updates on me, but then, suddenly, they
changed.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Hey

Amy,

She’s a lot cooler than you give her credit
for. I keep thinking of ways to kill Dylan Bradley any time I see
them together. He doesn’t deserve her.

Reed

***

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Re: Hey

Reed,

Are you into my cousin? Be honest.

Amy

***

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Re: Re: Hey

What if I was?

***

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: One and only warning

Reed,

If you break her heart, I’ll break you.

Love,

Amy

***

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Re: One and only warning

Amy,

You have my permission to do that.

Reed

***

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Remember

Reed,

Remember my threat. She’s in love with
you.

Amy

***

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Re: Remember

Amy,

That’s good, because I’m in love with
her.

My breath hitched when I read his words even
though he’d told me so many times.