He grinned. “I knew it.”
He ran his hands up and down my arms. “You’ve got goose bumps.”
“That’s the problem with the shallow end. Not enough of you is under water.”
“Want me to fix that?”
“How?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he gripped my hand and swam back to the deep end, stopping to anchor himself on the ladder. “Is this better?” He never released me, but kept me tethered to him so I couldn’t swim away.
“Much.” I was proud of myself for not hyperventilating.
“Good.” He pulled me against him. “Maybe this will keep you warm, too.”
“Umm, yeah.”
“Am I making you nervous?”
“No,” I lied.
“Are you a virgin?” He suddenly got serious.
“No, of course not.”
“I figured you weren’t.”
“Because I look like a slut or something?”
“No. But you’re hot, and you’ve had boyfriends here with you before.”
“Okay, good.” For some reason, even though I was naked in a pool with him, I was still worried about Dylan’s opinion about the kind of girl I was.
“Would it be okay if I kissed you?”
We were currently naked together, with me on his lap, and now he was asking my permission to kiss me? I nodded.
“Good.” He leaned in, cradling the back of my head as his lips met mine. His lips moved, slowly for a moment, before he sped up and pushed his way into my mouth. He deepened the kiss while using his free hand to cup one of my breasts. I groaned. That seemed to turn him on more, and his kiss became frenzied. His hand left my breast and slipped between my legs. I’d wondered what those fingers would feel like, and they didn’t disappoint. His lips left mine and moved down to my neck. He stopped. “Touch me.”
After a moment’s hesitation, I reached out to grab him.
“My house or yours?”
It took me a moment to pull out of my fog and realize what he was asking.
His hand stilled. “I mean we could do it here, but I figure you want to use protection.”
“Oh, yeah. Of course. Yours.” There was no way I was doing it in my grandparents’ house. But oh my god, I was about to have sex with Dylan.
“Great.” He didn’t waste a minute. He got us out of the pool, picked up his jeans, and towed me to his house. He moved so quickly I didn’t have time to worry about how naked I was. He pulled out his keys and hurriedly unlocked his back door.
“Aren’t we going to get everything wet?”
“Oh, we’re going to get things wet.”
“I meant the house. Because of the pool.”
“I know what you meant.” He pushed open the door to his room and backed me up to the bed. He leaned over me until I lay down.
I looked up at him, wondering if this was actually happening.
“I’m really glad I came down to the beach.” He hovered over me, kissing my neck while his hand moved between my legs again. “Are you ready for me, Juliet?”
“Yes,” I managed to squeak.
“Don’t move.” He got off the bed.
I sat up. What the hell was happening?
He returned a minute later. I couldn’t help gawking at his naked body. He was all muscle—but not in the overly built-up way.
“I told you not to move.”
“Where’d you go?”
“I knew Kyle kept a stash here. I think he was waiting for a chance to use one with you.” With that charming statement, Dylan opened a condom. “It looks like he’s out of luck.” He moved above me with a grin on his face. “I got to you first.”
I don’t know what I expected, but this wasn’t it. I winced when he entered me. It had been a while. I waited for the fireworks to start, but none did, and I mean none. There was absolutely nothing special or noteworthy about it—it was just sex—and incredibly unsatisfying sex at that.
What felt like thirty seconds later, he rolled off of me. “Fucking amazing.”
Amazing? Did we experience the same thing? But this was Dylan Bradley. Clearly, the problem was with me. “Yeah, definitely.”
“I’m so glad you’re going to Harrison. This is going to be a fun year.”
Was he implying this was more than a one-time thing? Did he want to actually date me? Of course, that was something I should have thought about before hooking up, but I was willing to break my no random sex rule for Dylan.
“No one’s expecting you home, right?”
“No. I already called my parents tonight.”
“Good.” He pulled me close.
“Do you want me to stay?”
“Of course.” He didn’t say anything else, and less than a minute later, he was sleeping.
What the hell?
I pushed against his arm. The last thing I was ready to do was sleep. After a couple of attempts, I was able to move his arm enough to slip out. I looked down at the ground, remembering I had one slight problem—no clothes. I decided to escape to the bathroom. It took my eyes a few seconds to adjust once I turned on the light. I stared at my reflection in the mirror—my hair was a wet mess, and my neck and cheeks were red from his stubble.
I opened the closet and thankfully found a towel. It was plush and blue and suited my purposes perfectly. I stopped by the bed to look at Dylan for a second before heading out the back door. I wondered what he’d think when he woke up, and I wasn’t there. Most likely, he wouldn’t care. I walked back to our house still wearing just the towel and poured myself a glass of water. I took a shower and pulled on my favorite light green pajamas before finally collapsing into bed.
I stared at the ceiling for a while. It wasn’t Dylan’s fault it had been so disappointing. It had probably been because I’d inflated him so much. He was just a guy. Hopefully, it would be better next time—if there was a next time. I was almost positive this wasn’t what Amy had in mind, but skinny dipping before college may have been a good thing—or so I thought.
Chapter Two
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: List Complete!
Dear Amy,
I did it. I completed the entire list. They were all easy except for skinny dipping, but I did that, too. I also kind of, maybe, or okay did, hook up with Dylan Bradley. Crazy, huh? He found me skinny dipping, and one thing led to another. I’m not sure what’s going to happen when I see him at school—but it was worth it. At least he finally noticed me. I hope you’re busy saving people.
Your Favorite Cousin,
Juliet
It was a testament to modern technology that, even though Amy was halfway across the globe in a developing nation, I could send her an email. I pressed send, wishing I could see her face when she found out about Dylan. Of all people, she knew how much I wanted him.
***
I was in a room with a couple hundred other girls, all nervously clutching little envelopes. As much as it resembled a reality dating show, it was actually sorority bid day at Harrison University. After a week of rush events, it was time to finally find out which houses wanted us. I noticed a few girls missing. Supposedly, they called you ahead of time if you weren’t picked by anyone. The thought of that should have been enough to make me want to stay away from the Greek system completely, but Amy had convinced me that a sorority was important because it guaranteed a social life. I hadn’t exactly been the coolest in high school, so any social life sounded pretty good to me.
“One, two—”
“Wait, are we opening on three or four?” I interrupted my friend.
Cara rolled her eyes. “Let’s just open them.”
“Okay.” I’d promised myself I wouldn’t care what house I got, but I definitely had a preference.
“Delta Mu! Delta Mu!” Cara jumped up and down.
I looked down at mine. “Delta Mu.” I didn’t say it quite as excitedly as Cara, but I was relieved.
“Seriously? Oh my god, we’re going to be sisters!” She gave me a hug. Her blonde curls bounced as she jumped.
It was the same sorority Amy had been in, and I had a feeling the letter she wrote on my behalf might have had something to do with my acceptance, but who cared?
“Do you realize how awesome this is? We get to pledge together. My mom said it’s so important to have someone you can trust in your class.”
“Aren’t we all supposed to trust each other? Isn’t that what this is about?”
“Yes. Eventually. But, it can get rough.”
“Remind me why I’m doing this…”
“You’re so funny, Juliet.” She took my hand and pulled me along to find out what houses the rest of the girls on our floor got. It turned out we were the only ones in Delta Mu.
Cara and I had instantly hit it off. On the surface, we seemed really different, but underneath her peppy shell was some serious attitude. I had an attitude too, but I lacked the peppy exterior.
Cara wasn’t my roommate. I still hadn’t met that girl. The rest of the freshman class wouldn’t get in for a few more days, but you had to arrive early if you wanted to rush.
Cara and I headed over to the Delta Mu house, completely unprepared for the welcome the active sisters had waiting. You’d have thought we were celebrities or something. They all lined up in matching t-shirts, clapping, with huge smiles plastered on their faces. The line spilled down the brick stairs, making for an interesting climb up to the porch. As we walked through the front door, they handed each of us a shirt.
After changing into my “The Finest Go Delta” shirt, I took a seat with the rest of my pledge class. I glanced around the room. The last time I’d been in there, it had been swathed in black, resembling a night club rather than the pastel living room I saw now.
A perky brunette walked to the front of the room and greeted us with a grin. “Welcome, girls. Whether you know it or not, today is one of the most important days in your life. You’re embarking on an experience like no other. I’m Amanda, and I’ll be your pledge mom, your guide, your shoulder to lean on, and pretty much anything you need through your time as a pledge or rather, ‘new member.’” From the air quotes she used, I got a good idea of what she thought of the PC term.
We all clapped. I’m not really a big clapper, but when the other twenty girls started, it seemed like the right thing to do.
Amanda grinned again before gesturing a redhead up to the front with her. “This is Jana. She’s going to be helping me with your new member orientation. Aren’t you, Jana?”
“Yes, and I can’t wait!” She clapped. There was entirely too much clapping going on. “I’m sure you guys are wondering what we’re doing today—we’re going to play laser tag!”
Cara nudged me. “Laser tag?”
“The bus will pick us up in a few minutes, so take a moment to get to know each other, and we’ll be ready to go.”
“Hey, I’m Mallory.” A gorgeous girl with long, black hair held out her hand to both of us.
“Hey, I’m Cara, and this is Juliet.”
“Juliet? That’s a fun name.”
“Fun?”
“Yeah, so classic yet so edgy.” Mallory fidgeted with one of her bangle bracelets. If I wore the bracelets, I’d look like I was five. Mallory looked chic.
“Have either of you actually played laser tag before?” Cara asked.
I put a hand in the pocket of my skirt. “Yeah, I have two brothers, so I got dragged to a lot of those parties.”
“It’s all about sisterly bonding.” Jana sauntered over to us. When I say sauntered, I mean sauntered. She might as well have been on a runway.
“Oh, okay.” I nodded.
“Are you guys having fun yet? Bid day can be really overwhelming, but it’s supposed to be fun.”
“Lots of fun,” Mallory answered for all of us. I was sure I detected some sarcasm—Mallory was my kind of girl.
“Great! I think the bus just got here.” We followed Jana out, and sure enough, a yellow school bus was parked out front.
Cara laughed. “Wow, flashback to elementary school.”
“I know. I didn’t think they actually meant a school bus.” I got in line to board.
I turned when I heard some loud whistling. “Delta Mu’s looking hot!”
“Be nice, boys!” Jana yelled at a group of guys walking by. They were all huge—as in giant-muscles-I-wouldn’t-want-to-meet-you-in-a-dark-alley huge.
One guy yelled back, “We are being nice. See you in a few.”
“Wait, those guys are going to be at laser tag?” My jaw dropped.
“Usually we’d have the whole place rented out, but the owners double booked. We’ll be sharing with the Kappas.”
“This is going to be interesting.” Mallory laughed.
“Sisterly bonding with frat guys…right,” I mumbled.
Jana turned toward me. “What was that?”
I smiled. “Nothing.”
“Their bark is bigger than their bite. They’re actually really nice,” Jana assured us.
“I’m sure.” I stepped up onto the bus and took a seat. Cara slid in next to me, and Mallory sat with Jana across from us. I looked out the window, watching a crowd of guys. I’m sure they were some frat’s new pledge class.
“This place is hot guy central. I don’t even know where to start.” Cara ogled the guys.
“I agree.” I did, but the only guy on campus I was really looking for was Dylan.
The ride went quickly as we learned some sorority songs. I hate to admit it, but they were kind of catchy. Before I knew it, we pulled into the lot of the laser tag place. It was located in a strip mall, the kind of place where you went for groceries or frozen yogurt. It must be the cheapest kind of rental space because that’s where laser tag always was.
Inside, we geared up. It was a really funny sight to see a bunch of sorority girls wearing electronic vests and holding guns. We were about ready to go into the game room when the door opened, and the Kappa guys flowed in.
The pledges all wore black t-shirts that read “An offer you can’t refuse.” The shirts weren’t particularly original, but who doesn’t like a Godfather reference?
We listened as a middle-aged guy read off a list of instructions. Pretty much, we weren’t supposed to hurt each other or the equipment. After we grumbled our agreement, we were allowed in. It was just like any other laser tag place I’d been to. The neon lights and fog made it feel like we were stuck in Tron.
I wasn’t going to lose easily. Most of the girls were done within minutes, giggling as Kappas took them out. Cara, Mallory, and I set off together, but we got separated when a group of guys came at us Rambo style. The guy leading the pack wore a backward baseball cap. I hoped he was doing it to be funny. Not that I would have questioned it. He was giant, at least 6’4” or 6’5”, and a solid wall of muscle.
I hid behind a blockade, determined to wait out baseball cap guy. There was no way he was taking me down. I waited and waited, and finally I saw him turn the corner. I pointed my gun, aimed, and hit him straight in the back.
“Damn it.” As his vest lit up and buzzed, he searched for the culprit.
I smiled and winked at him. “Better luck next time.”
“That wasn’t very lady like.”
“Who said I was a lady?”
An active sister I was pretty sure was named Dana walked past us. Her vest blinked. “You’re a Delta Mu. Of course you’re a lady.”
I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at her. “This has been fun and all, but I’m still alive.” I gestured to my vest.
Baseball cap guy smiled. “Yeah, yeah. Go kill some more men, Annie.”
“Annie?”
“Yup, see you around.” He nodded before disappearing into the man-made fog.
I moved back into my hiding spot, but before I could even look for my next victim, the lights flashed, and the game was over. I reluctantly walked toward the exit. Maybe laser tag was
more fun than I’d remembered.
Chapter Three
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: List Complete!
Dear Juliet,
I really hope that email was a joke. I’ve warned you about Dylan. He’s a jerk. In other news, I heard through the grapevine you’re pledging Delta Mu—I’m so psyched for you. Feel free to raid my closet next time you’re at my house. I have tons of shirts and stuff. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
Your Only Cousin,
Amy
“You must be Tally.” I awkwardly pulled my towel tighter around me. Of course, my roommate and her family had to come by right as I came back from the shower. The floor was all girls, so most of us didn’t bother dressing in the bathroom.
“Yeah… and you’re Juliet?” The leggy brunette held out a hand.
I accepted the handshake. “Yup. Nice to meet you. I’ll just go get dressed in the bathroom.” I grabbed some clothes and headed to the door.
“No, don’t be silly. We’ll wait outside for a minute.” Tally’s mother smiled.
“Oh, thanks.”
I dared a look at who I assumed had to be Tally’s younger brother. He was probably fifteen or sixteen, and he had the biggest, cheesiest grin on his face.
“Come on.” Tally tugged on his arm, and they walked out.
I pulled on a pair of khaki shorts and a blue tank top. Black flip flops completed the outfit. I brushed out my hair before securing it back into a bun.
“It’s safe to come back in.” I opened the door.
“Cool.” Tally smiled.
“Obviously, I took that side.” I pointed to my bed. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.”
“Good. Well, I’ll get out of your way so you can unpack.”
“You don’t have to.”
“No, it’s totally fine. I have to be somewhere in twenty minutes anyway. I’ll see you later.” I glanced at her family. “Nice meeting you.”
The Hazards of Skinny Dipping Page 2