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.
Chapter Seventeen
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.
“Let’s go, girls!” Amanda sprayed us with a hose. I could have killed her. The icy spray made an uncomfortable morning so much worse. We all shrieked, and she laughed. I was really getting tired of her.
“Kill me,” Mallory said through blue lips. A Southern girl through and through, she didn’t take cold well. I didn’t enjoy it, but I was pretty sure my lips hadn’t changed color yet.
“Why don’t we just kill her instead?” Claire nodded at Amanda. Wow, Little Miss Suck-up actually bad mouthed our pledge mom.
“How many more hours?” Cara asked. She’d been surprisingly calm through the whole thing, probably because she knew she had a date with Aaron lined up. She’d fallen for him hard. I got it. He doted on her constantly and was always doing really sweet things like buying her flowers.
“Just two. We’re officially halfway done.” I didn’t need to look at my watch again. I’d checked every five minutes all morning.
“Oh, that’s Dylan’s car, right?” Mallory asked as Dylan pulled into the parking lot.
“Yup, that’s him.” I watched as he parked and got out. He was dressed in a light pink polo shirt, jeans, and flip flops. The only thing that could have made him look more college prep was if he’d popped his collar.
Mallory shivered. “Let’s convince him he needs the inside of his car cleaned. Then we can warm up.”
“The only one that would fly for would be Juliet, and he’d ask her to clean him.” Cara moved closer to me, probably under the shared body heat theory.
“Clean him? Is there a sexual reference there I’m not getting?” I wrapped my arms around my chest.
“Yes…well, I don’t know. It just sounded funny.” Cara crouched down, trying to warm up.
“Hey, baby.” Dylan walked over, kissing me carefully on the cheek so he wouldn’t get wet.
“Hi, Dylan.” Amanda strolled over. She was completely dry and dressed in jeans and a Delta Mu t-shirt. Funny, how only the pledges needed to do the cleaning.
“Hey, how much longer do you need the girls? I was hoping to take Juliet out for brunch.” He talked to Amanda like I wasn’t there. I guess I didn’t actually have any say in when and where I went.
“It’s going to be a few hours, but I could probably leave Jana in charge.” Was she seriously trying to hit on my boyfriend in front of me?
“Oh. That’s okay. I’ll catch up with her later.” He turned back to me. “Call me when you get home.”
“Don’t you want your car washed?” Amanda was unbelievable.
“Do you feel like washing my car, Juliet?”
“Oh, sure.” We were wet already. It couldn’t hurt.
Amanda stepped in front of me. “Sorry, Juliet’s busy.”
“I am?” What was she up to?
“Uh huh, take care of that car.” She pointed to an old VW bus that had just pulled in. It looked as though it hadn’t been cleaned in years. The driver was probably the same age as the car.
“Come on, Amanda. She’s my girlfriend.”
“Sorry, Dylan. She’s needed.” She looked at me. “Go take care of that car.”
“Fine.” I shrugged and started over. Cara and Mallory left with me.
“Cara, Mallory, I think Juliet can handle that alone.”
Cara spun around. “Not a chance. We all know you want to wash Dylan’s car anyway.”
We didn’t wait for her answer. Part of me expected Dylan to do something. He’d managed to get me out of sorority events on several occasions if he wanted me at something else, but evidently getting me out of my current situation wasn’t high enough on his list.
I was wrong about the driver’s age. It was a couple of guys I vaguely recognized from around campus. We ignored the guys and got to work. I was scrubbing the hood of the van when Dylan pulled around next to us and rolled down his window. “Try to stay warm. See you soon.”
“You’re not getting your car washed?”
“I only came to see you.” Sometimes he sounded sweet. That thought flew out the window when I realized he wasn’t saying it for my benefit. He glared at the bus’ owner.
“I’ll call you.”
“Good. I’ll enjoy warming you up.” Ugh, he needed to stop.
“Bye, Dylan.”
“Bye, baby.” He drove away, cranking up his stereo before he was even out of the parking lot.
Chapter Eighteen
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: sigh
Dear Amy,
College sucks.
Your Confused Cousin,
Juliet
“You gave me a hickey? You gave me a freaking hickey?” I slammed the door when I got back from the bathroom. After a few months of staying over at the Phi Omega house, I was finally used to it. It didn’t mean I enjoyed staying in a house full of guys.
Dylan grinned. “I may have gotten a little bit excited last night.”
“Really, so this wasn’t intentional?” I put a hand around my neck.
“Maybe a little…”
“Dylan!” I threw a balled up shirt at him. “What the hell is wrong with you? Were you trying to mark me as yours like some Neanderthal?” After two months of dating Dylan, I wasn’t surprised, but I was definitely mad.
“Can you really blame me?”
“Excuse me?”
“Can you blame me for wanting guys to know you’re unavailable? You’ve got Mr. Muscle hitting on you constantly, and he isn’t the only one.”
“And that makes it okay to break blood vessels, or whatever the hell a hickey is?”
“Calm down. It’s just a damn hickey. You can give me one if you want.” He wriggled an eyebrow.
“This isn’t funny.”
“Yes, it is.”
“No, it’s not. You purposely left a mark on my neck. I worried that’s what you were doing.”
“Worried? You didn’t seem worried last night.”
“Like you’d even notice if I was?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” The smug look finally left his face.
“I can’t do this. I won’t do this. It’s over.”
He sat up. “What? Are you kidding?”
“You purposely left this disgusting mark on my neck because you’re jealous that other guys look at me. How is that even remotely healthy?”
“Come back to bed, baby. You have time before class.”
“Are you even listening to me?”
“Yes. Are you PMSing or something?”
“Go to hell.” I grabbed my purse and water bottle, giving him the finger as I left. I wasn’t satisfied that my first door slam was loud enough, so I did it again.
“Trouble in paradise?” Ryan asked as I passed him on the way down the stairs.
“Dylan�
�s a prick.” I took one more step. “And so are you.” I emptied my water bottle over his head.
“What the fuck was that for?”
“The handcuffs and everything else.” Pissed as I was, there was something so satisfying about watching him sopping wet. I wished for something stronger than water though.
I crashed into a guy in a gorilla mask as I walked to the front door. “Halloween isn’t until tomorrow!” I yelled at him. Even soaking Ryan couldn’t save my mood.
I stormed back to campus, covering my neck with my hand the whole time.
I didn’t go to my room right away. I went to Cara’s. Thankfully, her roommate was out.
She opened the door, still in her pajamas. “Hey, what’s up?”
I moved my hand.
“A hickey? You have a hickey? No one gets hickeys anymore.”
“I know. I want to kill Dylan. Bad sex was one thing, but now he has to mark me? I hate him.”
“Hate’s a strong word.” She put an arm around my shoulder.
“I broke up with him.”
“I’d say I’m sorry, but it’s probably for the best.”
I sat down on the edge of her bed. “You think so?”
“I know so. The guy’s a possessive, controlling jerk. That might be tolerable if he was a god in bed, but he’s not. You’ll find someone better.”
I collapsed back on her bed. “What am I going to do about this?” I touched my neck.
“I don’t know…we could try makeup.” She looked deep in thought. “And it’s kind of cold out. I have some fun scarves.”
“Do you have any that will go with my Halloween costume for tomorrow night?”
“Oh yeah…we’ll figure it out.”
“I hope so.”
“Here, try this one.” She tossed a black and red striped scarf at me.
“Won’t I look funny wearing it inside?” I tied the scarf around my neck.
“It’s better than looking like a girl with a hickey, right?”
“You have a point.”
I dragged myself to class, hoping no one would ask about the scarf. No one did. At least I didn’t have history with Reed. I wasn’t ready to talk to him about it yet. I came back at lunchtime and got into bed. I’d already texted Reed telling him I wasn’t feeling well enough to work. It wasn’t a lie—I felt awful. Tally was sitting at her desk and turned to me. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing.” I didn’t feel like discussing it with Tally. She was still dating Ryan, and I’m pretty sure she thought both Ryan and Dylan walked on water.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to the house tonight? They’re getting a keg.”
I pulled my blanket up to my chin. “No. I broke up with Dylan.”
“What?” Tally came to sit on the edge of my bed. “Why?”
I took off my scarf and threw it on the bed, lowering the blanket to show her my neck. I might as well get the confrontation over with.
“A hickey? You dumped him for a hickey?”
“It was just the icing on the cake.” It was. A physical and gross kind of icing.
“Don’t you think you’re overreacting? You and Dylan are perfect together.”
I laughed dryly. “Perfect? Hardly.”
“You’ll realize you made a mistake. Hopefully, you’ll come to your senses before he moves on.”
“Is there a reason you’re being a bitch?”
“A bitch? I’m only being realistic.” She grabbed her keys and phone as she stormed out of the room. She was probably going to vent to Ryan about me.
“Whatever,” I said even though she was already gone.
***
My phone rang around eleven-thirty. I groaned, rolling over to glance at the screen. I didn’t pick up—it was Dylan.
He called again, and I decided to just do it. “Hello.”
“Baby, I did something stupid. Really stupid.”
“And that’s my problem because…?”
“You don’t get it. I was pissed that you never came back. I got trashed. I slept with someone.”
“We broke up. I don’t care.” Of course, it stung to know he’d moved on so fast.
“I’m so stupid. It meant nothing.”
“I have to go.”
“Babe, I’m sorry.”
I sighed. “You’ve said it.” Then my curiosity got the better of me. I had to know. “Who was it?”
“Amanda.”
My chest clenched. “Go to hell, and never speak to me again.” I knew I was the one who’d dumped him, but to sleep with my brat of a pledge mom was low. I knew Amanda was a bitch, but this went beyond anything I’d have thought her capable of. They didn’t even wait twenty-four hours.
He called back, but I didn’t pick up. Instead, I threw my phone across the room, and it hit the wall. Thankfully, it didn’t break.
“What the hell is going on?” Tally finally woke up. I swore that girl could sleep through almost anything.
“Nothing.”
I couldn’t sleep. I thought about going to wake up Cara, but that wasn’t going to help. There was only one person I wanted to talk to. I threw on jeans, my worn out hoodie sweatshirt, and the scarf just in case. I needed fresh air.
I knew walking across campus at night alone was dumb, but I couldn’t stay in my room any longer. With Tally there, I didn’t even have the privacy to mope alone.
The stragglers were just leaving Al’s when I got there. I slipped inside, knowing Reed would be in the back. He turned when he heard me enter. “Juliet? What are you doing here?”
“I dumped Dylan.”
“It’s about time, but what made you finally do it?” He put down his clipboard.
Something about telling Reed made me finally break down. And I mean break down. The tears I must have been holding back the whole time fell down my face.
His arms came around me. “It’s okay. Take your time.” He held me tighter. “I’ll kill him for you.”
I picked my head up from his chest and noticed Reed’s wry smile. “You don’t have to kill him. I just never want to see him again.”
“Are you ready to tell me why? What suddenly changed your mind?”
I glanced around. While I was crying, everyone else had left. I untied my scarf.
“Is that a hickey?”
“Yes.”
“And that has to do with why you dumped him?”
“He did it on purpose, to leave a mark so people knew I wasn’t single. It was the last straw.”
“Oh.” He tensed. Reed always had such physical reactions to things. Either that, or I was getting really good at reading him. Maybe both.
“It made me so mad. With everything else he already does, I can’t take him anymore.”
“I know it sucks now, but it was the right decision. The guy’s a controlling jackass.”
“For once, I’ll agree.”
He laughed. “You’re going to be fine.”
“I hope so.”
He took my face in his hands. “I know so.” He stared into my eyes with such intensity that I couldn’t help believing him.
“You know what sucks?”
“What?”
“I have to walk around with this dumb hickey on my neck for the next few days. I’m going to have to alter my Halloween costume to include a scarf.”
“Aren’t you going as a 1940s night club singer?”
“Yes.”
“Then do something with the mark to make it look like a vampire bite. You’ll be all dressed up, so say you’re going as a vampire’s victim.”
“Oh my god. That’s actually a good idea. Cara could help me with it. She’s all about stage makeup.”
“See, hope isn’t lost.”
“It probably doesn’t matter, though. All of my friends will be at the date party, and I obviously can’t go alone.” The last thing I needed was to show up at a date party alone. I felt low enough.
“Why not?
”
“Why can’t I go?” Did he really need to ask me that?
“Yeah, what’s the problem?” He leaned back against the counter.
“My friends all have dates.”
“So? You’re a big girl.”
“I’ll just be a fifth wheel or something.”
“No. You’ll be the strong, independent woman everyone wishes they were.”
“I could try to find a date at the last minute.”
“Juliet.”
I looked up. I hoped he was about to offer his services. “Yes?”
“You can go alone.”
“Oh. Yeah. You’re right.” I needed to change the subject—fast. “Do you have big plans tomorrow?”
“I’ve got a Sigma crush party.”
“Oh. Fun.” I tried to hide my disappointment. It bothered me more than I expected.
“Lots,” he said sarcastically. “But what can you do?”
He told me to go to my party alone, yet he was going to another sorority event? What a hypocrite. He wasn’t quite as much of a comfort as I’d hoped.
“I’d better go.” I started to walk out.
“How are you getting home?”
“The same way I got here.”
“What? Damn, I didn’t think about that. You walked here?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t do that kind of stuff, Juliet. It’s dangerous. I left my car at the house, so I’ll walk you.”
I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Do you mean to be this difficult?”
“Fine. I just know you’re tired, and it’s late.”
“I really don’t care. Help me close up, and we can go.”
I nodded and started to go through the closing motions. I wiped down the tables while Reed worked on the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later, he locked up behind us.
He matched my pace, and we headed toward campus.
“Juliet?”
Reed and I both turned when we heard my name as we passed the frat houses.
“Oh hey, Kyle.”
“What are you doing out here? Did you just get off work?”
“No. I was just talking to Reed.”
“Oh.” Kyle’s eyes shifted immediately to Reed. “I heard about you and Dylan. Are you doing okay?”
The Hazards of Skinny Dipping Page 12
